Balancing creativity and time efficiency in multi‐team R&D projects: the alignment of formal and informal networks

The business world is denoted by an increasing number of multi‐team research and development (R&D) projects, however, managerial knowledge about how to run them successfully is scarce. The present study attempts to shed light at this kind of projects by investigating the alignment of formal and informal network structures and their effect on the challenge to balance project creativity and time efficiency. In order to analyze this issue data in two multi‐team R&D projects in space industry are collected. There are two intriguing findings that are partly contradicting the state‐of‐the‐art knowledge. First, formally ascribed design interfaces and informal communication networks overlap only marginally because the informal communication networks are characterized by many more linkages. Second, the weak overlap between formally ascribed design interfaces and the informal communication networks is inversely U‐shaped associated with the team's creativity, whereas it negatively impacts the team's time efficiency.     

Dutch Vice Prime Minister:NL Welcomes More Chinese Investment

Mr.Maxime Verhagen, Vice Prime Minister & Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation of the Netherlands - together with a large business delegation of 45 companies from the Nether-lands - visited China from May 9 to 14.     

Staff localization and organizational characteristics: Western business operations in China

Localizing their staff is a common aspiration among foreign firms in China. The capability of foreign companies to build strong local management teams has been identified as crucial for their future success. However, because of the uneven progress so far, it has been suggested that some types of organizations may be more disposed to localize than others. To explore this issue, a mail survey was directed at Western business operations in China. Two sets of variables were examined: the nature of the organization in China and the characteristics of the parent organization. Unexpectedly, the results showed that the nature of the organization in China was not associated with staff localization. On the other hand, as expected, two characteristics of the parent corporation seemed to matter. International experience of the parent corporation had a positive relationship with staff localization while the percentage of turnover from foreign operations had a negative association with staff localization. Although highly tentative, due to the exploratory character of this investigation, it seems that the characteristics of the parent corporation seems to play a more important role in the localization process than the nature of the organization in China.     

Herding and information based trading

This paper expands on the existing literature on information asymmetry by testing if herding exists. We test herd behavior in a transparent and order-driven market using intraday data. We propose (1) a modification in the herding measure, (2) that investors tend to herd more based on fundamental analysis relative to technical analysis, and (3) that informational asymmetry can be identified by applying the informational cascade model to herding. In general, our analyses agree with the existing literature that herding tends to be more prevalent with small stocks and in economic downturns and that investors are more likely to herd when selling rather than buying stocks. Most importantly, our results reveal the existence of informational cascades, which highlights the crucial role played by so-called fashion leaders, especially when more informed investors trade with “noise”.     

Exploring Mediating and Moderating Influences on the Links among Cycle Time,Proficiency in Entry Timing,and New Product Profitability*

Development cycle time is the elapsed time from the beginning of idea generation to the moment that the new product is ready for market introduction. Market‐entry timing is contingent upon the new product's cycle time. Only when the product is completed can a firm decide whether and when to enter the market to exploit the new product's window of opportunity. To determine the right moment of entry a firm needs to correctly balance the risks of premature entry and the missed opportunity of late entry. Proficient market‐entry timing is therefore defined as the firm's ability to get the market‐entry timing right (i.e., neither too early nor too late). The literature has produced divergent evidence with regard to the effects of development cycle time and proficiency in market‐entry timing on new product profitability. To explain these disparities this study (1) explores the mediating roles of development costs and sales volume in the relationships among development cycle time, proficiency in market‐entry timing, and new product profitability, respectively; and it (2) explores the moderating influence of product newness on the relationship between development cycle time and development costs and that of new product advantage on the link between proficiency in market‐entry timing and sales volume. The results from a survey‐based study of 72 manufacturers of industrial products in the Netherlands suggest that development costs mediate the relationship between development cycle time and new product profitability and that sales volume mediates the link between proficiency in market‐entry timing and new product profitability. In addition, the findings indicate that new product advantage strengthens the positive relationship between proficiency in market‐entry timing and sales volume. The results provide no evidence for a moderating effect of product newness. These results have important implications because to maximize new product profitability managers need to distinguish between costs and demand side effects of development cycle time and market‐entry timing on new product profitability. Keeping this distinction in mind should help them to better determine the relative profit impact of investments in cycle time reduction or improved entry timing. Moreover, the findings suggest that highly advantaged products that enter the market at the right time may have a highly attenuated sales volume. It also implies that new products with lower advantage may have very little leeway in hitting the “sweet spot” in market. The message is that “doing the right thing” (i.e., to develop a highly advantaged new product) may be at least as important as correctly balancing the risks of premature entry and the missed opportunity of late entry.     

I Love My Beijing Life

Time flies.More than 4 year has already passed since February 2007 when I came.When I was a little girl, one of my dreams was to go to Beijing even though I did not know what Beijing was like.I just knew the Beijing's Heav-enly Peace Gate (Tiananmen) as we learned that red song (the song singing the praise of the CPC) "I love Beijing Tiananmen..." Then when I was a middle-school student, I began to long for studying in the Tsinghua University or Peking University, the first-class uni-versities in China.Finally I didn't fulfill my dream of studying in Tsinghua or Peking University, but I really brought myself to Beijing, studying in another university and worked here.     

REPRESENTATIVE ECONOMIC AGENT,PROPENSITIES TO SAVE,AND MONEY DEMAND STABILITY

In simple‐sum aggregate money demand studies, long‐run elasticities and the propensities of individuals to save are presumed to be equal and can be depicted by those of the representative economic agent. This study uses panel data to test this hypothesis within the theoretical framework of the inventory‐theoretic transactions approach and finds it fails to hold. At the microeconomic level, money demand functions are not homogeneous, and the impacts of monetary policies on economic activities of households are not as stable as those suggested in aggregate money demand studies.     

Price vs. quantity-based approaches to airport congestion management

This paper analyzes price and quantity-based approaches to management of airport congestion, using a model where airlines are asymmetric and internalize congestion. Under these circumstances, optimal congestion tolls are differentiated across carriers, and a uniformity requirement on airport charges (as occurs when slots are sold or tolls are uniform) distorts carrier flight choices. Flight volumes tend to be too low for large carriers and too high for small carriers. But quantity-based regimes, where the airport authority allocates a fixed number of slots via free distribution or an auction, lead carriers to treat total flight volume (and thus congestion) as fixed, and this difference generates an efficient outcome as long as the number of slots is optimally chosen.     

The Influences of Institution Attended and Field of Study on Graduates' Starting Salaries

This paper examines the determinants of Australian university graduates' starting salaries, with an emphasis on the institution attended and field of study. It is shown that there is little difference between the starting salaries of students who attended Group of Eight universities and those who attended other universities. There are modest differences in starting salaries across fields of study. However, these differences are considerably less than those associated with the type of employment obtained. These results suggest it is what you do in the labour market, rather than where or what you have studied, that is the main determinant of labour market outcomes.     

The Stability of Monetary Unions: Lessons from the Breakup of Czechoslovakia

In 1993, Czechoslovakia experienced a two-step breakup. On January 1, the country disintegrated as a political union, while preserving an economic and monetary union. Then, the Czech–Slovak monetary union collapsed on February 8. This paper analyzes the economic background of the two breakups from the perspective of the optimum currency area literature. The main finding is that the Czech and Slovak economies were vulnerable to asymmetric economic shocks, such as those induced by the economic transition. In particular, the stability of Czechoslovakia was undermined by the low correlation of permanent output shocks, low labor mobility, and higher concentration of heavy and military industries in Slovakia. J. Comp. Econom., December 1999, 27(4), pp. 753–781. Center for European Integration Studies (ZEI), University of Bonn, Walter-Flex-Strasse 3, 53113 Bonn, Germany, and Center for Economic Research, Tilburg University, Netherlands; Academia Istropolitana Nova, Bratislava, Slovakia, Central European University, Nador u. 9, 1051 Budapest, Hungary, and Center for European Integration Studies (ZEI), University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany; Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS), Stumpergasse 56, 1060 Vienna, Austria.