Expert systems: The integrative sales management tool of the future

Personal computer technology has provided a major opportunity to develop revolutionary approaches to the solution of business problems. While applications of artificial intelligence and expert systems are rapidly emerging, few have been developed in the sales management area. Specifically, this paper proposes the creation of an expert system to enhance sales management activities and their coordination with the entire marketing function within an organization.     

A requirements planning system for the Space Shuttle Operations schedule

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is charged with developing a Flight Operations Planning Schedule for Space Shuttle Operations in the 1980s. During this decade, NASA plans to launch up to thirty space shuttle flights per year when the program reaches the mature phase. Traditional planning techniques for space flights (PERT-type models) are inadequate for this task because of their inability to resolve conflicts arising from multiple demands for limited resources generated by numerous simultaneous projects (space flights). This paper describes a requirements planning system developed by the authors and adopted by NASA for this resource constrained multiple project scheduling problem.     

Industrial targeting in free trade areas with policy independence

Abstract.  We investigate the limits of a mechanism for free trade area (FTA) formation that simultaneously satisfies internal industrialization targets. For arbitrary targets, we find necessary and sufficient conditions that guarantee that the mechanism is efficient for member countries individually, even if other members do not implement the efficient policy. When the objective is conservative – designed to protect the level of industrialization previously achieved by the target industry – member countries are guaranteed gains from the efficient policy and their FTA participation. The analysis covers cases with transportation costs and explains why minimally restrictive rules of origin support efficiency and policy independence.     

Toward a contingency theory of CRM adoption

Acknowledging the paucity of research on customers who are the targets of customer relationship management (CRM) efforts, this paper presents a contingency theory framework and set of research propositions suggesting that successful CRM adoption is contingent on a variety of contextual factors that influence value exchange in B2B channel relationships. Grounded in theoretical perspectives on the customer selection process, channel governance, transaction costs, power distribution in marketing channels, and dynamic capabilities, the authors identify five broad categories of variables potentially important in studying CRM adoption and directly affecting CRM success/failure.     

Competition and optimal departures from stock market value maximization by firms

Models of firm decisionmaking under uncertainty have done a good job of explaining the implications of spanning and competitive behavior. An opportunity set dominance argument under these conditions predicts the optimality of stock market value maximization. This paper reexamines the firm's choice rule assuming competitive behavior but without the restrictive assumption of spanning. The resulting rule breaks into two parts consisting of the traditional market value maximization component plus another term depending on the welfare effect of a change in the contract structure. Necessary and sufficient conditions, including spanning, for this term to be zero are derived.