Distinguishing costs of cooperation and control in alliances

Firms simultaneously face the need to cooperate with and control an alliance partner. To complement the transaction cost perspective's emphasis on the need to control and limit opportunistic behavior, we examine the sources and impact of the cooperation costs incurred in order to work with a partner. We propose that these costs increase with greater joint task complexity and interpartner diversity, and perceptions of equitable behavior affect the perceptions of these costs. Hypotheses derived from the framework are tested in a sample of 231 contractual alliances between architects and general contractors in the Hong Kong construction industry. We find that both cooperation costs and transaction costs affect the level of time and effort a manager expends on an alliance, supporting our fundamental proposition that the costs of cooperation and control are conceptually and empirically distinct. We argue that cooperation costs should be incorporated into studies that compare the choice of alternative partners and alliance structures, as well as among the broader categories of market, hierarchy, and hybrid governance forms. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Intrafirm Knowledge Transfer and Employee Innovative Behavior: The Role of Total and Balanced Knowledge Flows

Research on intrafirm knowledge transfer has generally found a positive impact of knowledge inflows on the innovation of an organizational unit. However, the role of knowledge outflows during knowledge transfer is less clear. This paper argues that knowledge outflows influence innovation through a self‐learning mechanism and a fairness assessment mechanism, and play a unique and important role on team innovation. Based on this new understanding on knowledge outflows, it is necessary to examine the impacts of inflows and outflows simultaneously in innovation research. This paper expresses the sum and difference of knowledge inflows and outflows as total and balanced knowledge flows. A theoretical model is proposed to examine the distinct and synergistic effects of total and balanced knowledge flows on employees' innovative behavior of an organizational unit. The model was tested on 148 retail units of an apparel firm based on survey responses from both shop managers and staff. Results showed that total and balanced flows have independent direct effects and a synergistic effect on employee innovative behavior: employees of a unit had the highest levels of innovative behavior when knowledge flows were high and balanced at the same time. This paper contributes to the literature by taking into account both the direction and magnitude of knowledge transfer to examine team innovation.     

The Shrinking Earnings Premium for University Graduates in Hong Kong: The Effect of Quantity or Quality?

In 1989, the Hong Kong government embarked on a program to increase the provision of first-year first-degree places. The expansion of tertiary education represents a large and exogenous increase in the supply of university graduates to the territory. This article measures the labor market effects of the expansion program by studying the changes in earnings premium for university graduates. Two alternative hypotheses—crowding and quality effects—are identified to explain why the earnings premium shrank. The results support the view that the declining quality of university graduates is the prime candidate for the declining earnings premium. (JEL J31 , I28 , J18 )     

Does School Quality Matter? Evidence from the Hong Kong Experience

This paper analyses the differential returns to education and to language ability of natives and Chinese immigrants in Hong Kong. The large difference in quality between Hong Kong schools and Chinese schools provides a natural experiment for evaluating the effect of school quality on students' performance in the labor market. We show that the rate of return to schooling is more than three times higher among local-born workers than among Chinese immigrants to Hong Kong. Our analysis also suggests that English language education is one important component of the success of the Hong Kong education system.     

怎样提高学生在专业英语学习中的成效

专业英语教学是职业教育不可或缺的重要组成部分,基于教育者对英语教学改革深入探讨的成果,和笔者教学经验的总结,本文就当前提高专业英语的教学效果,提出了几个观点,供大家针砭切磋。     

The predictive power of the implied volatility of options traded OTC and on exchanges

This paper investigates the efficiency of stock index options traded over-the-counter (OTC) and on the exchanges in Hong Kong and Japan. Our findings suggest that implied volatility is superior to either historical volatility or a GARCH-type volatility forecast in predicting future volatility in both the OTC and exchange markets. This paper is also one of the first to compare the predictive power of the implied volatility of stock index options traded OTC to that of exchange-traded stock index options. Our evidence suggests that the OTC market is more efficient than the exchanges in Japan, but that the opposite is true in Hong Kong.     

Managing the Inter-Firm Cooperation Process: Exploratory Case Studies of Hong Kong Architects and Contractors

Researchers have suggested that both the contract and the process of inter-firm cooperation are important for its success. However, empirical knowledge of the inter-firm cooperation process is very limited. Drawing on extant literature on cooperation and competition and social exchange theory, we propose an action pattern model which describes the cooperating process in a parsimonious and systematic way. Twelve case studies were conducted on architect-contractor cooperation dyads in Hong Kong to explore the cooperation process using the lens of the action pattern model. Results gave rich anecdotal accounts of the three key parameters of the model: action acquiescence as a lubricant to deal with unspecified contractual situations, action simplicity as a signaling device to partners, and action reciprocity as a reward and punishment tactic. The implications of the action pattern model are discussed.     

商业银行营销策略研究

随着我国金融体制的改革进一步深入,商业银行面临空前的竞争压力,因此必须转变经营观念,充分认识市场营销的重要性,加大营销策略制定和实施的力度。因此,分析商业银行开展营销活动的现状,找出其中存在的问题,研究商业银行营销策略无疑是十分必要的。