Small & Medium Gold & Fashion Enterprises (SMEs) in Arezzo,Italy: Competitive Challenges and Strategic Implications

ABSTRACT

This paper provides some empirical evidence on organizational characteristics and strategies of firms in the Italian gold and fashion industries. The analysis is based on a data set of three SME clusters in Arezzo (a city and province in Tuscany, Italy, southeast of Florence) which led us to the identification of two main alternative strategies which can be implemented when facing the new global competition: a firm-centered brand strategy and an outsourcing strategy (a supply alliance with co-branding possibilities with one or more large Italian firms). We analyzed the resources and competencies of firms that adopted different export marketing strategies and further explored the relationship between strategic choices and performance of participating firms (measured in terms of growth, innovation, and export capabilities). The results show that the choice of a strategy is strongly influenced by the ability of SMEs to respond to changes in consumer behavior and competition, and that some variables significantly affect performance. Both strategies can be effective, and in some cases it is suggested to follow the middle of the road competitive approach: combining the two strategies, exporting own brand directly to the end markets and collaborating with a large firm in order to achieve a sustainable and significant competitive advantage.     

HR practices from the perspective of managers and employees in multinational enterprises in China: Alignment issues and implications

China's significance as a destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) is a major factor in Asia-Pacific economic growth. This paper identifies important yet unexplored matters of human resource management (HRM) in multinational enterprise (MNE) subsidiaries in China. Specifically, the study explores the alignment issues between managers and employees with respect to their knowledge of HR practices, their experience of HR practices, and their perceived effectiveness of HR practices. Both interviews and a survey covering seven MNE subsidiaries operating in China finds a lack of alignment between managers and employees in each instance, for example, in their views of intended and actual HR practices and perceived effectiveness of these practices in the areas of performance assessment, recruitment and selection and career development. The implications of the differences for managers of MNEs operating in China are identified and discussed. The limitations of the study are acknowledged and areas for further study are also suggested.     

Evaluating density forecasts from models of stock market returns

Density forecasts have become important in finance and play a key role in modern risk management. Using a flexible density forecast evaluation framework that extends the Berkowitz likelihood ratio test this paper evaluates in- and out-of-sample density forecasts of daily returns on the DAX, ATX and S&P 500 stock market indices from models of financial returns that are currently widely used in the financial industry. The results indicate that GARCH-t models produce good in-sample forecasts. No model considered in this study delivers fully acceptable out-of-sample forecasts. The empirical findings emphasize that proper distributional assumptions combined with an adequate specification of relevant conditional higher moments are necessary to obtain good density forecasts.     

Backhouse and Boianovsky on “disequilibrium theory”. A review article of transforming modern macroeconomics. Exploring disequilibrium microfoundations, 1956–2003

Abstract

This article is an in-depth analysis of Backhouse and Boianovsky's book, Transforming Modern Macroeconomics: Exploring Disequilibrium Microfoundations, 1956–2003. I start with questioning Backhouse and Boianovsky's too broad understanding of the disequilibrium approach. Thereby they bring together theories that should be kept separate, those by Patinkin, Clower and Leijonhuvud on the one hand, and those by Barro and Grossman, Drèze and Benassy, on the other. I also substantiate my disagreement with their claim that an inner link exists between fixed price equilibrium theories and imperfect competition modelling. Finally, I put forward a few conjectures about the reason why fixed price modelling petered out.     

Herding in analyst earnings forecasts: evidence from the United Kingdom

We present an empirical analysis of herding behavior in analyst forecasts of earnings-per-share. Herding is defined as 'excessive agreement' among analyst predictions, i.e., a surprising degree of consensus relative to the predictability of corporate earnings. The data are for U.K. companies between 1986 and 1997. We examine the effects of forecast horizon and analyst coverage on forecast accuracy and dispersion. The evidence supports overoptimism, overreaction, and herding in analyst forecasts.
G1, G14     

现代项目管理中的人和组织因素研究框架

一、项目管理概述项目管理(ProjectManagement)是20世纪50年代后期发展起来的一种管理方法,它一出现就引起举世瞩目。也有学者将项目管理的历史追溯到古代埃及的金字塔、古罗马的尼姆水道、中国古代都江堰和万里长城等。通常地,项目是指为产生独特性产品或服务所做的一次性工作。独特性是指项目经历的过程及其产品从未有过;而一次性则指项目有明确的起始与中止时间,通常只做一次。项目管理和企业职能管理有区别又有联系:项目管理是目标导向型,注重成果和跨部门协作;项目管理提供了一个跨职能部门、甚至跨组织(企业)的工作平台;项目管理是高…