Managing international strategic alliance relationships

The objective of this study is to investigate the development of international strategic alliances (ISAs) and to identify the important factors for each phase of an alliance relationship. We have developed a framework about the process development of alliances that is based on an extensive literature study. The framework is used to study and analyze three cases of ISAs. The findings and conclusions are presented in a manner that can help managers to recognize the stages they have to go through and, more important, to be aware of the determinant variables in each stage of an alliance life cycle. This study found that the continuity of an alliance relationship is highly dependent on how partners manage their operational phase. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

TRUST AND VIRTUAL DISTRICTS: EVIDENCE FROM THE MILAN INTERNET EXCHANGE

Peering decisions between Internet Service Providers (ISPs) contain substantial non‐measurable aspects requiring trust and informal cooperation among peering partners. We study whether virtual districts are observed between Internet peers. Our empirical analysis of the bilateral peering decisions at the Milan Internet Exchange confirms that these decisions are significantly influenced by: travel time either between ISPs' headquarters or towards the exchange—a proxy for distance, bandwidth—a proxy for size, and European connectivity. Proximity still plays a role in reducing the transaction costs of monitoring and punishing deviant behavior within an industry where trust is essential for Internet universal connectivity.     

The limits to growth — Malthus revived

The publication of “The Limits to Growth — A Report for the Club of Rome’s Project on the Predicament of Mankind” has resulted in a world-wide discussion of this vital issue. The following article reviews different aspects of the study.     

Government debt dynamics and the global financial crisis: Has anything changed in the EA12?

This paper seeks to shed light on possible changes in the government debt dynamics for the first 12 euro area countries. Structural breaks are present around the global financial crisis for most countries, but not for Germany and France, the two core countries in the euro area. The properties of the government debt dynamics differ markedly across the countries receiving bailouts.     

A Cross-National Investigation of the Measurement Equivalence of Computerized Organizational Attitude Surveys: A Two-Study Design in Multiple Nations

Multinational organizations frequently administer employee surveys online. This process is accompanied, however, by concerns about the psychometric equivalence of measures administered by different modalities. Using data from a large multinational organization (N = 57,861 in Study 1; N = 105,734 in Study 2), the present research examined cross-national generalizability of the measurement equivalence of an organizational attitude survey administered by computer and paper-and-pencil. Results of multiple group confirmatory factor analysis indicated psychometric equivalence of the test modalities in disparate national samples. Implications for the cross-national use of computerized organizational attitude surveys are discussed.     

Nature in Economic Theories: Hans Immler Traces Recognition of the Environment—and Its Neglect—in Various Classics

Abstract . Labor and capital are usually considered as the primary factors of production, the costs of which are of utmost importance. In contrast, nature (including all natural resources), as the essential third factor, is disregarded. She is generally assumed to be always available, self-regenerating, and to be exploited without long-term costs. In other words, she is more or less viewed as a constant. Hans Immler's new treatise represents an important contribution in that he emphasizes the role and function of the natural environment, and its neglect, in the formulation of theories of value and their long-term consequences on contemporary economic theories and on the person and society. This essay traces Immler's evaluation with extensive quotations—especially with regard to Physiocracy and the classical economists— of nature's role and function, or their neglect, in the formulation of theories of value through the writings of Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas, William Petty, John Locke, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, and others—all dealt with in Part 1 of his book—and Francois Quesnay and the Physiocrats—the topic of Part 2.     

Macroeconomic Factors in the Dynamics of Corporate and Household Saving: Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe

This article uses panel data estimations on annual data from 10 Central and Eastern European countries to assess the effect of different macroeconomic variables on the dynamics of corporate and household saving. The analyses show that changes in the macroeconomic environment affect the saving rates in both sectors, but with marked differences across the two sectors. The differences are most pronounced for the output gap, the real interest rate, the inflation rate, and the current account balance. Some variables, including the unemployment rate and changes in the real exchange rate, are unimportant in both sectors. The different results for the two sectors underscore the importance of analyzing the factors driving the dynamics of corporate and household saving separately.     

Return to work after cancer and pre-cancer job dissatisfaction

We investigate the association between pre-cancer job dissatisfaction and return-to-work probability 3 years after a cancer diagnosis. We use a Danish data set combining administrative data and a survey to breast and colon cancer survivors. We find that the return-to-work probability has a negative correlation with pre-cancer job dissatisfaction with mental demands (where the correlation is driven by the high-educated) and with physical demands and the superior (where the correlation is driven by the low-educated). Educational gradients in the probability of returning to work after cancer are not significantly affected by controlling for pre-cancer job dissatisfaction and pre-cancer ability to work.