The utilization of individual capabilities in group approaches to strategic decision-making

Previous research has found that groups using dialectical inquiry (DI) or devil's advocacy (DA) make better strategic decisions than groups using a consensus (C) approach. This paper explains those findings by using new data to show that the DI and DA approaches make better use of the capabilities of individual group members. Specifically, the DI and DA groups yielded significantly higher quality recommendations and assumptions than the average of the individuals in the respective groups, whereas the C groups did not. Moreover, the recommendations and assumptions of the DI groups and the recommendations of the DA groups significantly exceeded those of the best individual in the respective groups. There were no significant differences for the C groups.     

THE EFFECT OF A SINKING FUND ON THE REOFFERING YIELDS OF NEW PUBLIC UTILITY BONDS

In this study, empirical tests are conducted to determine the impact of a sinking fund on reoffering yields of a sample of new public utility bonds sold between January 1977 and March 1982. The findings of the regression analysis are consistent with the hypotheses that the value of the sinking fund varies with the default risk of the issuer and with market expectations of future interest rate movements, and that the sinking fund improves the liquidity of a bond issue.     

Testing a DSGE Model of the EU Using Indirect Inference

We use the method of indirect inference, using the bootstrap, to test the Smets and Wouters model of the EU against a VAR auxiliary equation describing their data. We find that their model generates excessive variance compared with the data. But their model fits the dynamic facts quite well if the errors have the properties assumed by SW but scaled down. We compare a New Classical version of the model which also performs reasonably if error properties are chosen using New Classical priors (notably excluding shocks to preferences). Both versions have (different) difficulties fitting the data if the actual error properties are used. A model combining rigid and flexible-wage/price sectors, with a weight of around 5% on the rigid sector, does best in fitting the data.     

The Contribution of Small and Medium Enterprises to Economic Development in Ukraine and Belarus: Some Policy Perspectives

The paper considers the development of small and medium enterprises (SME) in two transition economies where market reforms have been slow (Ukraine and Belarus), focusing specifically on the role of government in the process. Empirical data from a study on SMEs and economic development in Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova are used to consider the contribution of SMEs to different aspects of transformation whilst data from a second project are used to show the support needs of SMEs.Following the introduction, which summarises the aims and methodology, the second section presents brief profiles of the context for SME development in each country. Part 3 summarises some of the main empirical findings, focusing on those aspects that have potential policy significance, specifically with respect to employment, innovation, and market orientation, whilst the fourth section considers survey evidence of the support needs of SMEs. The final section draws out the main policy implications of the findings, whilst also setting out an agenda designed to increase the contribution of SMEs to economic development in the future.On the whole, the empirical results demonstrate that some SMEs have developed in Belarus and Ukraine despite the actions of governments, although the number of private enterprises per capita remains small and their qualitative characteristics often reflect the difficult operating conditions. As a result, their contribution to economic and social change is less than it could be, mainly due to an unstable environment and an institutional context that has yet to establish the framework conditions for sustainable private sector development. In terms of policy priorities, the survey data suggest that reform of the distorted legal and financial infrastructures that exist in these countries is the highest priority need.     

Short-run maquiladora employment dynamics

The Ciudad Juárez maquiladora sector has grown enormously during the last three decades. To examine whether the trends underlying this remarkable performance are quantifiable, this paper analyzes the short-term time series characteristics of this portion of the metropolitan economy. The econometric methodologies employed include both univariate and transfer functions, with the latter using autoregressive integrated moving average analysis augmented by causality testing. Data are drawn for the sample period of January 1981 to December 1998. Empirical results indicate that inflation-adjusted wage rates, factories in operation, U.S. industrial performance, and the international value of the peso play important roles in determining month-to-month fluctuations in borderplex maquiladora payrolls.Financial support for this research was provided by El Paso Electric, the Fulbright Council for International Exchange of Scholars, and the Public Policy Research Center at the University of Texas at El Paso. Helpful comments were provided by Jeff Brannon, Jim Peach, and seminar participants at the University of Texas at El Paso, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, and New Mexico State University. Econometric research assistance was provided by Roberto Coronado and Roberto Tinajero.     

Differential efficiency,market structure and price

A persistent question in industrial economics is the underpinning of the link between market concentration and price. How much of the link can be attributed to market power and how much to market efficiency? This paper develops a theoretical model to address that question. Applied to the US portland cement industry, the model indicates that both impacts matter. In relative terms, however, the market power effect is twice as large as the efficiency effect. An implication for merger policy is that the beneficial efficiency effects of mergers may not be obtained without the detrimental market power effects as well.     

UK Retailers and Global Responsibility

The social responsibility of the business community has been widely discussed in the past few years. In retailing terms, it is often defined in terms of a need to behave ethically and to discharge a sectoral responsibility to provide society with the retail facilities it needs. This article argues that retailers could and should consider their responsibilities on a global scale and that their unique relationship with the consumer places them in a position where a major impact could be made on some of the important global issues facing us as we enter the 1990s.     

Trends in Total Advertising Expenditure in 16 Countries, 1970–1981

Television advertisements deal with a host of human problems by identifying a problem or cultivating a perception that a problem exists, then demonstrating the capacity of a product to resolve that problem. This study examines the nature of problems and their resolutions on prime-time television. Findings reveal that the problem-presentation, problem-resolution format is extremely prevalent among television advertisements. Further, these advertisements deal with only a narrow range of human needs, and they often exaggerate the magnitude and urgency of problems in a way that makes them appear larger than life. Resolutions are depicted to be easy and quickly implemented, and are portrayed to resolve the problem with a high degree of certainty. These findings are discussed in terms of cultivation theories.     

Technology,organizations and incrementalism:high rise system building in the UK

Since th problems of inflexible technologies are well known, we may ask why they are selected. The case study here agree with others in a wider research programme in that there was a great deal of pain surrounding the inflexible innovation of high rise system built flats; there were technical alternatives which were more flexible; the technology was supported by a centralized bureaucracy whose perception of risk was distored; and there were organizaional alternatives which were less centralized. Lessons are drawn about the problems of developing inflexible technology and the degreee of organizational centralization appropriate for technological innovation. These are restated in terms of incrementalism. A good technology is one which can be developed incrementally, by a relatively decentralized organization.