A SIGNALING MODEL OF COMPETITIVE POLITICAL PRESSURES

This paper models competitive political pressures as a signaling phenomenon. People participate in collective action in support of or against the status quo, or they abstain. Their actions and abstentions inform the decision of a policymaker who may overturn the status quo in favor of a policy alternative. By providing an informational microfoundation for the widely used reduced-form "pressure production functions" and "political influence functions," the analysis allows me to reexamine the role of the free rider problem in creating a bias towards vocal special interests.
The signaling hypothesis finds empirical support with a study of pro- and anti-Gulf War demonstrations that took place in San Francisco and Kansas City (Missouri) in early 1991.     

The implementation of organic principles and values in the European Regulation for organic food

The paper is based on selected findings of the research project EEC 2092/91 (Organic) revision. It contributes to an improved understanding of the core ethical values associated with and principles of organic farming, analyses reference to such values in the European Regulation (EEC) 2092/91 and its ongoing revision, and contrasts them with current practice of organic agriculture. An analysis of differences in the implementation of the Regulation by national governments and private standards is presented. Ethical values are per se in need of interpretation, so the final section sets out procedural issues arguing for a deliberative model of decision-making, when aiming to achieve a coherent integration in the structure of a regulation.     

The effects of shocks on the Austrian unemployment rate – a structural VAR approach

Assuming full hysteresis in the Austrian labour market, a simple macroeconomic framework is used to model the effect of four structural shocks, i.e. shocks to productivity, demand, wages and labour supply. By using SVAR analysis, we derive impulse-response functions that show the effects of these shocks on unemployment. What constitutes a distinctive feature of our study is the deliberate use of overidentifying restrictions, allowing for a likelihood ratio test. The objection to SVAR methodology, that it relies on arbitrary assumptions, can thus be overcome, as invalid sets of identifying restrictions are rejected. First version received: September 2000/Final version received: March 2002 RID="*" ID="*"  I thank Juan F. Jimeno, Martin Wagner, Helmut Hofer and Bernhard B?hm for their assistance; Robert Kunst and Martin Spitzer for their discussion of an earlier version of this paper; Thomas Sparla, Michael Roos and two anonymous referees for their helpful comments.     

Comparison of statistical analysis methods for object case best–worst scaling

Abstract

Aims: Different methods have been used to analyze “object case” best–worst scaling (BWS). This study aims to compare the most common statistical analysis methods for object case BWS (i.e. the count analysis, multinomial logit, mixed logit, latent class analysis, and hierarchical Bayes estimation) and to analyze their potential advantages and limitations based on an applied example.

Methods: Data were analyzed using the five analysis methods. Ranking results were compared among the methods, and methods that take respondent heterogeneity into account were presented specifically. A BWS object case survey with 22 factors was used as a case study, tested among 136 policy-makers and HTA experts from the Netherlands, Germany, France, and the UK to assess the most important barriers to HTA usage.

Results: Overall, the five statistical methods yielded similar rankings, particularly in the extreme ends. Latent class analysis identified five clusters and the mixed logit model revealed significant preference heterogeneity for all, with the exception of three factors.

Limitations: The variety of software used to analyze BWS data may affect the results. Moreover, this study focuses solely on the comparison of different analysis methods for the BWS object case.

Conclusions: The most common statistical methods provide similar rankings of the factors. Therefore, for main preference elicitation, count analysis may be considered as a valid and simple first-choice approach. However, the latent class and mixed logit models reveal additional information: identifying latent segments and/or recognizing respondent heterogeneity.     

Networks and capabilities as characteristics of logistics firms

The research purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse how three basic types of logistics firms differ in terms of their core capabilities and network development as well as the effects of the difference. Based on the resource-based view and the industrial network approach, a conceptual framework is developed to differentiate logistics firms. Two case studies of logistics firms are used as examples to demonstrate how the framework can be used. Logistics firms have clear differences in capabilities and network focus. These firms follow different dominating logics of value creation that make them develop in different ways and think totally differently. This research enhances our understanding of the different logics of logistics firms and their interdependence. They are complementary and interacting in the logistics service supply chain. Moving between the basic types of logistics firms means changing the capabilities and network focus, which is costly and difficult. The conceptual framework can be used as a tool to comprehend multiple types of logistics firms. It also helps us to analyze related strategic moves.     

Performance Differences in German Higher Education: Empirical Analysis of Strategic Groups

Initial investments and different strategic actions of universities lead to their different positions in the higher education sector. Pursuing similar strategies leads to similar positions that influence structure and performance within the system. Institutions cannot only choose to focus on research or on teaching, but also to focus either on natural sciences or social sciences. Using 73 public universities in Germany, this paper examines the existence of strategic groups based on performance. Common strategic variables only partly determine performance in high and low efficiency groups.     

Local indirect least squares and average marginal effects in nonseparable structural systems

We study the scope of local indirect least squares (LILS) methods for nonparametrically estimating average marginal effects of an endogenous cause X on a response Y in triangular structural systems that need not exhibit linearity, separability, or monotonicity in scalar unobservables. One main finding is negative: in the fully nonseparable case, LILS methods cannot recover the average marginal effect. LILS methods can nevertheless test the hypothesis of no effect in the general nonseparable case. We provide new nonparametric asymptotic theory, treating both the traditional case of observed exogenous instruments Z and the case where one observes only error-laden proxies for Z.     

An interaction approach to global sourcing: A case study of IKEA

This study explores the process of global sourcing through a case of the Swedish furnishing retailer IKEA from an interaction perspective. With a point of departure in the streams of existing research on global sourcing and the internationalization process of firms through networks, a research question is proposed concerning supply network interactions as an influence in the global sourcing process. The study uses an in-depth qualitative case study methodology, focusing on IKEA and its development of a supply network for the PAX wardrobe system during the years 2003–2009. The findings draw on 29 interviews in Sweden and China, ranging from interviews with the supply management function of IKEA to interviews with Swedish and Chinese suppliers and sub-suppliers. The findings show that the global sourcing process is influenced by interactions and network effects between supply network actors. In particular, we find that relationships between suppliers were identified and set up by IKEA, but cascaded into deeper interactions amongst suppliers at different supply network tiers. Our study contributes to global sourcing research in indicating the importance of interaction amongst supply network actors, showing how the global sourcing strategy of one actor may significantly influence the sourcing strategies of other actors. Global sourcing decisions therefore need to be understood and coordinated across global supply networks.     

The currency of talent management—A reply to “talent management and the relevance of context: Towards a pluralistic approach”

In this paper we provide a commentary on the article in this Special Issue by Thunnissen, Boselie, and Fruytier on the relevance of context to the field of talent management. We concur that a more critical, pluralist approach to talent management scholarship is needed, that talent management should go beyond a mere economic exchange between talent and their employer, and that further research is needed to explore the link between macro, meso and micro level considerations. Thunnissen, Boselie, and Fruytier pose insightful questions about the contribution of talent management to the social and moral development of society and legitimating talent management at meso level. For us, these questions raise issues about the extent to which individual agency in ethical issues is possible in environments designed to regulate and control talent. We suggest that underexplored notions of strategic exchange and individual identity provide a richer picture of the talent employment relationship and raise a number of possible directions for future talent management research.     

Äquivalenz von Axiomen in der Theorie der rationalen Wahl

Zusammenfassung Unter der Bezeichnung Schwaches bzw. Starkes Axiom der Theorie der Revealed Preference treten in der Literatur verschiedene Forderungen auf. Es kann jedoch gezeigt werden (siehe Abschnitt III), daß zwischen ihnen ein unmittelbarer Zusammenhang besteht. Wie Gale nachgewiesen hat, ist Äquivalenz zwischen dem Starken und dem Schwachem Axiom nicht allgemein gegeben. Jedoch können Bedingungen für eine solche gefunden werden (vgl. Abschnitt IV). Unter diesen Voraussetzungen besteht auch Äquivalenz zwischen den genannten Axiomen und Richters Kongruenzaxiom (vgl. Abschnitt IV).