Cultivation Arrangements and the Cost Efficiency of Rice Farming in Taiwan

In this paper, a switching regression model is developed to analyze farmers' choice behavior and cost efficiency in field plowing arrangement in Taiwan. We find that the decision on the choice of plowing arrangement is determined by a cost comparison between self-plowing and hired-service, and other non-cost considerations, such as the availability of family labor and machinery, education level, non-farm income, age, and regional effects. Across a spectrum of farmer characteristics, empirical results indicate a potentially substantial cost-savings by hiring service for field plowing than by self-plowing. Self-plowing farmers also subject to a significant level of cost inefficiency.     

Choosing options for products: the effects of mixed bundling on consumers’ inferences and choices

For product categories such as cars, computers, vacation packages, and new homes, consumers usually choose not only the product itself, but also various options for the product. Sellers decide how to present these options to consumers, and they often sell options both individually and in bundles (mixed bundling). In this research, we examine how mixed bundling affects consumers’ inferences about the options and choices among the options. We demonstrate that as long as the seller’s motives for bundling options are not perceived to be negative by consumers, options offered both individually and in bundles are perceived to be more important and are more likely to be chosen than options offered only individually.     

Is the audit services market competitive following Arthur Andersen's collapse?

This study investigates whether audit markets remain competitive in the wake of Arthur Andersen's demise and merger with Ernst & Young to create the Big Four. We conduct the study estimating audit fee models using Australian audit market data from both 2000 and 2003 to determine whether there is any evidence of cartel pricing either before, or subsequent to, the merger. In both years, we find evidence of a Big N price premium when estimating an audit fee model across all clients, and when we estimate the model separately across large and small client market segments. This evidence is consistent with product differentiation by Big N auditors and competitive markets.     

Problems in the choice of a system for costing and pricing of in-house computer services

The problem of pricing computer services has been discussed in the literature since the early days of computing. Costing and pricing have often been interchanged in the discussions. After a discussion of the problems of measurement of resource usage, pricing for cost recovery and for resource allocation are discussed. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research and a brief summary.     

Managing insight velocity: The design of problem solving meetings

Insight velocity measures the speed with which participants in a meeting increase their understanding of a problem and its possible solutions. The problem solving meeting is an information processing system subject to the influence of rational and social forces. Traditional meeting skills and information technology, in the form of group technology, provide meeting designers with a means of amplifying and dampening these social forces to improve the effectiveness of meetings. For each phase of a meeting, a three stage information processing model (generate, evaluate, and relate) is described. Meeting design consists of two activities: (1) dividing a meeting into a sequence of information processing steps, and (2) deciding which forces to amplify or dampen in each phase. Meeting design is based on repeated application of this three stage model to maintain insight velocity. These principles of meeting design are illustrated with vignettes drawn from selected meetings addressing complex problems.     

Firm management of scientific information: an empirical update

The purpose of this paper is to extend and test a model proposed by McMillan and colleagues in 1995. That model posited that research-intensive firms that are more 'cooperative' or open in publishing their scientific findings will have higher research and development (R&D) productivity than more secretive firms. In addition, four possible predictors of this scientific information openness are proposed in lieu of two in the 1995 article. Our current effort includes an empirical examination of twenty pharmaceutical firms over thirteen years, and finds substantial support for many of the proposed relationships. In addition, interviews with field practitioners independently confirmed many of the findings. The managerial implications are also discussed.     

Conflict variables in world simulations

World modellers have neglected social and political variables in their model building, basically because of problems of quantification. Instead they have treated these factors as exogenous, which has permitted a less rigorous approach to the relationship between their inputs and the real world. Here the author introduces two sociopolitical variables—conflict and centralisation—into Forrester's World 2 model, and Boyd's modified World 2, and compares the results of a series of computer runs with the results obtained from the original models. While the propositions linking these two variables to others in the World 2 model are largely hypothetical, the stability of the modified model suggests that these linkages are authentic—and that the study's findings concerning the effect of conflict upon the world system are valid.     

Opinions about privacy: does the type of information used for marketing purposes make a difference?

The availability of personal information is at an all-time high. Technology has revolutionised the marketing industry, enabling marketers to achieve precise selectivity through database efforts. With this selectivity comes the responsibility of determining acceptable and unacceptable uses of personal information by businesses and nonprofits for marketing purposes. This paper explores opinions on information privacy by investigating the impact of education in the formulation of opinions on the use of personal information for marketing purposes. A single credit course in direct marketing does not change opinions regarding information privacy. But a series of credit marketing courses does reduce the level of restrictions desired on the availability and use of personal information for marketing. Thus, the direct marketing industry would be better served by promoting and demonstrating the ethical use of personal information through ethical marketing practices by all its practitioners rather than by attempting to educate the general public about the nature and uses of such information and data for marketing purposes. Copyright © 1999 Henry Stewart Publications