Generative Mechanisms of the Adoption of Logistics Innovation: The Case of On‐site Shops in Construction Supply Chains

Empirical studies of logistics innovations have focused on the innovation process, bypassing much the innovative artifact or solution design itself. Focusing on the artifact and solution design in a case study, we contribute to the emerging theory of logistics innovations through articulating the generative mechanisms of the adoption of logistics innovation, that is, the mechanisms through which the design of the solution enables its adoption. We study On‐site Shop, a rare example from the construction industry of a logistics innovation that has successfully migrated from a limited number of pilots to common practice. The case study is based on insights from participation in the design of the solution, and on 55 interviews conducted in a relationship triad consisting of three groups: (1) construction site users, (2) the solution designers, and (3) the suppliers. We propose that standard and efficient solution set‐up is the key enabler of logistics innovation's adoption at temporary construction sites. Communication and operating rules facilitate adoption in the triad, whereas internal and external integration further advance adoption by creating links between the innovative logistics solution and other activities. Finally, trilateral collaboration and congruent technological frames in the relationship triad sustain adoption over time.     

An Analysis of Tax Incentives to Attract FDI in Bangladesh： An Empirical Study

The purpose of the study is to understand whether it is still viable to use tax incentives to attract foreign direct investment （FDI） considering their effectiveness and costs to the country, and if not, what should be the alternative, effective, and viable means of promoting the vital FDI inflow. The study investigated various incentives provided by BOI, and other relevant sources available as secondary sources. However, the multinational enterprises （MNEs） are not attracting for investment in Bangladesh always with tax incentives and there are alternative means of attracting FDI such as direct financial grants, subsidies loan guarantees, etc. This paper focuses on tax incentives and the debate against the effectiveness and efficiency in attracting FDI.     

Why do diners tip: rule-of-thumb or valuation of service?

When diners decide how much to tip, is the decision based on social convention or on conscientious appraisal of server productivity? Previous researchers in economics and social psychology are generally inconclusive on this question. A common finding in the literature is that tip size and service quality are unrelated, a result usually obtained from OLS regressions. OLS is only appropriate if service quality is exogenous. It is argued that service quality is very likely endogenous in any regression of tip size; good quality encourages good tips, but server expectations of good tips encourage good quality. This simultaneity is accounted for by jointly estimating percentage tips and customer rankings of service quality on a sample of 247 diners in a Central Minnesota restaurant. Included are explanatory variables consistent with both the social psychology and economic views of tipping. In contrast to previous studies, it is found that service quality significantly affects tip size and when servers expect higher tips, customers rank service quality higher. Also it is found that patronage frequency and coupon redemption have no effect on percentage tips, but server gender influences quality significantly. It is concluded that the results are generally supportive of an economic hypothesis of tipping.     

Portfolio efficiency of a dynamic capital asset pricing model

In the present study we show that, based on equally weighted portfolios of continuously listed Finnish and Swedish stocks, aDynamic Model of Capital Asset Pricing (DCAPM) outperforms the static Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) in the Super Criterion Test. It is demonstrated that the portfolio efficiency of the dynamic model is improved, when using a properly defined transition matrix in the Kalman Filtering Algorithm.The advice and encouragement of Professor Leif Nordberg (Department of Statistics, Åbo Akademi University) is gratefully acknowledged. I thank Jaana Aaltonen for her assistance in monitoring the computer programs. I also thank an anonymous referee for his valuable comments and suggestions for improving the quality of the paper.     

Conditional Dependence in Precious Metal Prices

This study investigates the time-series properties of gold and silver spot prices. Both precious metal price series are found to exhibit time dependence and pronounced generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic (GARCH) effects. Splitting the data into similar economic subperiods provides superior explanation of these effects because of the observed long-run nonconstancy of the unconditional variance. Further, the power exponential distribution, as opposed to the Student-t, is found to portray accurately the thick-tailed conditional variance that remains after the GARCH effects are removed. These findings imply that constant variance pricing models are inappropriate for securities that are based on precious metal prices.     

The role of Malawian local government in community development

The promotion of basic elements of good governance including community involvement through a decentralised local governance system has been at the centre stage since the advent of the multiparty democracy in Malawi in the 1990s. This article examines the role of Malawian local government in community development and analyses the context of community involvement in local governance. The article is primarily based on documentary research, which includes journal and newspaper articles, and interviews with senior district assembly officials and local people. The major conclusions drawn are that, firstly, the decentralisation process tends to feature the district assembly very highly, with little clarity on how community-based institutions are integrated into the local government system. Secondly, the political, socio-economic and administrative factors prevailing at the local level need to be addressed pragmatically for efficient and effective community participation in development.     

Foreign direct investment and wages in domestic firms in Ireland: Productivity spillovers versus labour‐market crowding out

There is a large literature on the positive spillovers frequently thought to be associated with inward foreign direct investment. Aitken et al. (1996 Aitken, BJ, Harrison, AE and Lipsey, RE. (1996). Wages and foreign ownership: a comparative study of Mexico, Venezuela, and the United States. Journal of International Economics, 40: pp. 345–71 [Google Scholar]) identify several cases, however, where inward FDI appears to have reduced wages in domestic firms. They suggest that this might arise either because foreign firms increase the degree of product‐market competition that domestic firms face, or because they poach the best workers from domestic firms. We concentrate on the second effect, arguing that the first is unlikely to arise in the Irish case to which our data pertain. In a theoretical section we show that the labour‐market poaching effect cannot generate the results postulated if labour markets are competitive and production functions are of the Cobb–Douglas variety, but that it can arise if production functions display higher elasticities of substitution. In an empirical section based on a sample of larger Irish firms we show that, consistent with our theoretical model, foreign presence has different effects on wages and productivity in domestic exporting and non‐exporting establishments.     

Inflation targeting in an import dependent indebted economy

This paper develops a one-sector Kaleckian model of an import dependent indebted small open economy; where the mark-up rate is sensitive to both changes in the interest rate and the exchange rate and foreigners provide part of the long-term finance. The short-run consequences of an inflation targeting policy in the form of high interest rates and strong domestic currency are explored. Among the possible short-run scenarios, the one most relevant for developing countries involves a decline in the profit rate, the capacity utilization rate and the rate of accumulation as well as the employment rate and the real wage. Leverage ratio of the firms and the extent of external indebtedness play an important role in bringing about this result. Long-run analysis reveals that this scenario is associated with instability in the long run and that, also in the long run, the extent of foreign indebtedness and the responsiveness of capital inflows to the return on existing portfolios are important in determining the direction of the effects of inflation targeting on the equilibrium debt–capital ratio.