The moderating effect of institutional context on the relationship between associational activity and new business activity in emerging economies

Varying institutional environments provide the foundation for a great deal of international business (IB) research yet relatively little empirical work has examined the association between institutional factors and new business development in emerging economies, although the importance of new business development for economic transition and growth is widely acknowledged. Drawing from social network and institutional theories, we address this gap by examining the effect of associational activity on the level of new business activity in emerging economies, and testing the thesis that associational activity becomes more instrumental for new business creation when aspiring entrepreneurs confront higher institutional burdens (i.e., obstacles derived from underdeveloped or absent institutions). On the basis of data from two cross-national research projects—the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and the World Values Survey—we find a positive relationship between a country's associational activity and new business activity; this relationship is stronger for higher regulatory and normative institutional burdens and lower cognitive institutional burdens. This study is among the first to examine empirically the possible substitution effect between social ties and institutions to predict new business activity; it paints a nuanced picture of how social networks might be more instrumental in contexts characterized by weak institutions. We discuss the implications of these findings for IB theory and practice and offer directions for further research in the area.     

第三方物流信息系统中基于agent的web服务组合研究

为解决第三方物流信息系统中web服务智能组合问题,对基于agent的web服务组合开展研究,提出基于agent的Web服务组合模型,设计服务组合的流程,分析基于agent的物流web服务组合关键问题。     

When did firms become more different? Time-varying firm-specific volatility in Japan

We document how firm-specific volatility in sales, earnings and employment growth evolved year by year in Japan. Our volatility measure also indicates the evolution of firm turnover. We find that patterns in firm-specific volatility have changed when macroeconomic circumstances have. Firm turnover declined during the economic stagnation of 1991–1997. The deep downturn of fiscal years 1998–2002 coincided with a substantial increase in turnover in market, profit and employment shares. Firm volatility tended to decline during the recovery after 2002. We assess whether the rise in firm turnover and deep downturn in 1998–2002 indicate that after a period of stagnation, weak firms were finally allowed to shrink or fail. Our evidence suggests that the widening in the firm growth distribution at that time did not reflect weak firms shrinking relative to healthy firms, indicating that the two recessions in 1998–2002 were not “cleansing”.     

Freedom of Choice in Technology Strategy? An Analysis of Technology Strategy in the Large Commercial Aircraft Industry

Many companies experience difficult situations as a result of their selected strategy. Strategic management theories implicitly assume that companies have a free choice in setting their strategy. Hence, when companies experience difficult situations this is because of management inadequacy. It is questionable whether companies always have a free choice. This research examines this issue by examining the new product strategies of the two main competitors in the commercial aircraft industry. The development of the A380 aircraft was selected to determine to what extent the companies had a choice in setting their product development strategies. The conclusion is that neither has the alleged freedom for setting its strategy. Implications of this finding are that the strategy theory needs to be adjusted for this choice issue, and that management should not always be held fully responsible for the developing events.     

Business incomes in rural Nicaragua: the role of household resources,location, experience and trust

This paper analyses the determinants of business income for rural households in Nicaragua. A sample of 1030 households was studied in order to assess the importance of material and behavioural factors that influence income from business activity. The households are involved in manufacturing, trade, services or have a mixture of businesses. They generally have a low income and asset value. Households supplement their income from wages and agricultural activities. To estimate non-farm business income per employed person we analyse the impact of resources, location, entrepreneurial experience and trust. Our results show that household resources and entrepreneurial experience are significant determinants for business income in all sectors. Trust is also important, particularly generalized trust. The contribution of other forms of trust, such as institutional trust, depends on the sector in which households participate.     

我国银行业不良资产状况和变化趋势分析

我国银行业在转轨过程中积累了大量的信贷风险,不良贷款主要集中在国有商业银行,且不良贷款率较高,损失类贷款比重较大,主要产生于制造业、批发零售业和房地产业。我国新一轮投资膨胀可能会造成银行不良贷款大幅上升,这些贷款风险可能会在今后几年内显现。     

聚丙烯酰胺对室温磷化液磷化性能的影响

考察了功能性聚合物聚丙烯酰胺对室温磷化液磷化性能的影响。结果发现 ,向磷化液中加入聚丙烯酰胺 ,有利于其磷化性能的提高 ;聚丙烯酰胺功能基团的离子性影响磷化液的磷化性能 ,与非离子和阴离子功能基团相比 ,阳离子功能基团更有利于磷化性能的提高 ;聚丙烯酰胺的离子度和分子量对磷化液磷化性能几乎没有影响 ;随着聚丙烯酰胺浓度的增大 ,磷化液磷化性能提高 ,但其浓度增大到一定值后 ,磷化性能不再有明显的变化。     

Median‐voter Equilibria in the Neoclassical Growth Model under Aggregation*

We study a dynamic version of Meltzer and Richard's median‐voter model where agents differ in wealth. Taxes are proportional to income and are redistributed as equal lump‐sum transfers. Voting occurs every period and each consumer votes for the tax that maximizes his welfare. We characterize time‐consistent Markov‐perfect equilibria twofold. First, restricting utility classes, we show that the economy's aggregate state is mean and median wealth. Second, we derive the median‐voter's first‐order condition interpreting it as a tradeoff between distortions and net wealth transfers. Our method for solving the steady state relies on a polynomial expansion around the steady state.