An Input–Output Analysis of the Philippine BPO Industry

This paper provides a profile of the Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, makes comparisons with India and other BPO providers, and summarises the results of an input−output analysis of the Philippine BPO industry's inter-sectoral linkages and its potential impact on compensation and employment. The input−output analysis shows that the BPO industry is not a key sector in terms of stimulating production in other sectors of the Philippine economy. Growth in the sector's revenues, however, can have a significant impact on compensation and employment. If appropriate policies are enacted and human capital improved, it is estimated that the Philippine BPO sector may become an important employment-generating sector.     

Reintegrating Ethics and Institutional Theories

Organizational ethics and institutional theories are extended by recovering Weberian and Pre-Weberian theorizing that emphasized the joining of ethics and institutional theories. Understanding how ethics and institutional systems influence each other can advance our understanding of the nature and causes of structural organizational ethics issues and help guide potential reforms. We consider the interplay of these elements during the recession of 2008–2009, highlighting how structural ethics problems may have to be addressed at the institutional levels and not solely the individual or organizational levels.     

The equity impacts of bus rapid transit: A review of the evidence and implications for sustainable transport

The paper offers an analysis of empirical evidence on the equity impacts of operational Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems in the Global South. The focus is on vertical equity, i.e. whether BRT systems achieve progressive benefits for poorer segments of the population. Findings from Africa, Asia, and Latin America all suggest that BRT does offer significant benefits to low-income groups, in terms of travel time and cost savings, access enhancement, and safety and health benefits. However benefits are often skewed toward medium-income users and thus less progressive than they might be. Two primary reasons for this are insufficient spatial coverage and inappropriate fare policies. While many features of BRT potentially allow it to deliver pro-poor outcomes, such outcomes only materialize if BRT implementers pay specific and sustained attention to equity. The paper identifies key issues that need to be addressed to steer BRT implementation toward more socially sustainable outcomes—including better integration with other transit, paratransit, and nonmotorized transport services, and with the housing sector.     

Equilibrium Investment Strategies and Output Price Behavior: A Real-Options Approach

The effects of competitive interactions on investment decisionsand on the dynamics of the price of a nonstorable commodityare studied in a model of incremental investment with time tobuild and operating flexibility. I find that an increase inuncertainty may encourage firms to increase their capacity.Furthermore, I show that it may be optimal to invest in additionalcapacity during periods in which part of the operational capacityis not being utilized. The impact of competition on the propertiesof the endogenous output price is dramatic. For example, I findthat price volatility may be increasing in the number of competitorsin the industry.     

Aqui No Se Habla Agencia.* An Examination of the Impact of Adverse Selection and Framing in Decision‐Making: a US/Mexico Comparison

US companies seeking cheaper labor or extraordinary returns have often seen foreign direct investment as a panacea. However, many of these companies founder on the horns of a control dilemma. While raw economic data such as labor rates prove to be true, productivity and decision‐making styles are so different that companies fail to maximize their investment returns. This situation is worsened as companies attempt to impose culturally inappropriate home country controls on their foreign investment. This study examines one of the potential sources of failure, escalation of commitment, which occurs when decision‐makers over‐commit incremental resources to failing investments without reasonable probability of recovery. This behavior has been widely documented in US domestic literature (see Whyte and Hook, 1997 , for a summary). However, there is also some evidence that such behavior is culturally bounded ( Chow et al., 1997; Sharp and Salter, 1997; Greer and Stephens, 2001 ). This study extends previous findings on cross‐cultural differences in decision‐making among managers by comparing the responses of managers in the USA and Mexico to an escalation of commitment exercise. The cross‐cultural validity of two US based theories, agency (adverse selection) and framing (prospect theory), is tested. The results indicate that at base Mexican managers were more risk seeking. However managers from the more individualistic USA were significantly more likely than Mexican managers to escalate in the presence of agency (adverse selection) based incentives. Negative framing among managers was universal in escalating commitment.     

Asymmetric rivalry between strategic groups: response,speed of response and ex ante vs. ex post competitive interaction in the spanish bank deposit market

The objective of this study is to examine asymmetric rivalry between strategic groups in a given industry. Two research hypotheses argue for the existence of asymmetric rivalry in the sense that strategic groups of small companies have a greater degree of response but a slower speed of response to the actions of strategic groups of large companies, than vice versa. To test this, we use an ex post approach that examines the news releases published on the strategic actions and reactions of firms. A third hypothesis compares ex ante competitive expectations with ex post asymmetric rivalry between strategic groups. To test this, we compare ex post news on actions/reactions with an ex ante approach that estimates conjectural variations. The empirical application carried out on bank deposits in the Spanish market defines strategic groups in terms of size due to the historical and institutional conditions of the industry (deregulatory change). The results obtained show that rivalry patterns between strategic groups in terms of company size can be predicted as asymmetric in the sense that smaller bank strategic groups have a greater degree of response (Stackelberg ‘leader–follower’ competitive interaction), and a slower speed of response to the actions of larger bank strategic groups than is found the other way around. Moreover, ex ante expectations of aggressiveness on the part of larger strategic groups characterize greater ex post reactions from the smaller‐size strategic groups. Therefore, the size distribution of strategic groups is valuable to research on complex industries with deregulation changes. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The concept of absorptive capacity: Origins,content and practical relevance

Ever since the end of the Second World War there have been regular calls for a comprehensive and extensive “Marshall Plan” for Third World countries. One of the most popular lines of counter-argument is that developing countries do not even possess the necessary absorptive capacity to make effective use of larger international transfers of purchasing power. On the strength of this “Low Absorptive Capacity Thesis”, as S.P. Schatz called it in 1961¹, a politically unpleasant prlblem, yet one which represents a question of principle in development policy, has for years been dismissed or passed on to the fundamental planning departments of development aid institutions and to the representatives of science and research. What exactly lies behind this problem?     

The Internet of Things (IoT) in retail: Bridging supply and demand

A sales channel serves two primary functions: delivering information and products to customers. Omnichannel retailing allows for the decoupling of these two functions as consumers can learn about products through channels that differ from those used to purchase them. This separation requires a sophisticated inventory and supply chain operation, as well as integration of all customer touchpoints, in order to match fast-moving supply and demand. The Internet of Things (IoT) can play a fundamental role in channel integration because it allows companies to rebalance supply and demand. We classify IoT initiatives on an opportunity map, presenting a strategic framework that distinguishes initiatives by the value they create and by their major area of impact. We justify the adoption of IoT in terms of its enabling capabilities—those immediately realized by deploying IoT sensor data—but its true potential resides in its enhancing capabilities—unanticipated benefits following IoT adoption—at the intersection of supply and demand.