Generating Regional-Scale Improvements in SME Corporate Responsibility Performance: Lessons from Responsibility Northwest

This paper describes the research carried out into small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and corporate responsibility (CR) in the Northwest of England during Phase I of Responsibility Northwest, a partnership programme designed to significantly increase the CR of the region. By engaging with significant numbers of SMEs and SME support providers across the region, key insights were gained in three key areas:

Mises and the moderns on the inessentiality of money in equilibrium

The challenge of rendering monetary exchange intelligible within a Walrasian general equilibrium framework is well known. Perhaps less well known is the difficulty of integrating monetary and exchange economies in decentralized conceptions of equilibrium, of which the evenly rotating economy of Ludwig von Mises (1949) is an early example. After reviewing the prospect for money in the evenly rotating economy, I survey the modern literature on frictions that make money useful for exchange. While exploring techniques commonly used to generate a useful role for money in this environment, I make a distinction between exchange frictions and epistemic frictions. Although theoretical efforts have largely focused on exchange frictions, recent experimental evidence suggests that epistemic frictions warrant further attention. I conclude that Mises should be seen as a pioneer in this literature, though recent advances demonstrate that the set of frictions capable of rendering money useful is much larger than he envisioned.     

Do travel visa requirements impede tourist travel?

Yes. Using a travel visa data set developed by Lawson and Lemke (2012) and travel flow data from the World Bank and the UN’s World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), we investigate the deterrent effect of travel visa requirements on travel flows. At the aggregate level, a one standard deviation more severe travel visa regime, as measured, is associated with a 30 % decrease in inbound travel. At the bilateral level, having a travel visa requirement on a particular country is associated with a 70 % reduction in inbound travel from that country. The gains associated with eliminating travel visas appear to be very large.     

中国的成本计算方法和成本管理实践研究

为消除目前国际社会特别是欧美对我国企业成本计算数据的疑虑、从技术层面上推动我国市场经济地位工作和应对贸易摩擦,2005年以来,商务部财务司与美国管理会计师协会(IMA)联合开展了中国企业成本计算课题研究。经过2年多的调查、研究、论证、分析,今年年初最终完成了课题研究报告,并于近日举行了课题研究报告发布会。本刊根据研究报告摘录整理了相关文字,简单介绍本课题的研究背景、接受实地调查企业的成本会计实务以及课题研究结论,供参考。     

Creating supply chain relational capital: The impact of formal and informal socialization processes

Establishing closer social ties between buying and supplying organizations is increasingly cited as a critical differentiator of high and low performers in global supply chains. While the creation of relational capital within an organization is a relatively well identified concept in organizational research, comparatively little research exists on the inter-organizational socialization processes that create relational value in supply chains. In our research, we extend theoretical models of group social conduits into this context, and develop a model that posits the impact of formal and informal socialization processes on the creation of relational capital between buyers and suppliers. Results from our study of 111 manufacturing organizations in the United Kingdom suggest that informal socialization processes are important in the creation of relational capital, which in turn can lead to improved supplier relationship outcomes. Formal bridging socialization conduits appear to play a lesser role in deriving these benefits.     

Strategic Suppliers' Technical Contributions to New Product Advantage: Substitution and Configuration Options

Current theory lacks clarity on how different kinds of resources contribute to new product advantage, or how firms can combine different resources to achieve a new product advantage. While several studies have identified different firm‐specific resources that influence new product advantage, comparatively little research has explored the contribution of strategic supplier resources. Combining resource‐based and relational perspectives, this study develops a theoretical model investigating how a strategic supplier's technical capabilities impact focal firm new product advantage and how firms combine different resources to gain this advantage. The model is tested using detailed survey data collected from 153 interorganizational new product development projects in the United Kingdom within which a strategic supplier had been extensively involved. Empirical results support our research hypotheses. First, supplier technical performance is shown to have a significant positive impact on new product advantage. Next, we show that while supplier technical capabilities have a positive influence on supplier technical performance, the a priori nature of the supplier's task moderates the relationship. Finally, our data support our hypotheses related to the positive relationship between relationship‐specific absorptive capacity and new product advantage, and the proposed negative moderation of supplier technical capabilities on this relationship. Based upon these findings, we encourage managers to recognize that strategic suppliers' with greater technical capabilities perform better regardless of the degree of creativity required by their task; but that strategic suppliers with lower technical capabilities may partially compensate (substitute) for their lack of technical capabilities, if they are able to respond to high problem‐solving task requirements. Furthermore, we suggest that the firm's development of relationship‐specific absorptive capacity is much more important when a strategic supplier is less technically capable. A buying firm's relationship‐specific absorptive capacity can, according to our data, substitute for low supplier technical capabilities. On the other hand, where the supplier has strong technical capabilities, investments in relationship‐specific absorptive capacity have no effect on new product advantage. Our findings reinforce recent calls for research on how firms can combine different resources and capabilities to achieve superior performance.     

An Empirical Analysis of the Austrian Business Cycle Theory

The Austrian economists Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich A. Hayek developed a unique theory of the business cycle. In their view, an unsustainable boom ensues when the rate of interest prevailing in the market falls below the natural rate. The boom is characterized not only by an increase in aggregate production but also by a distortion of the structure of production. Similarly, the recession that follows is characterized by a decline in aggregate production as the structure of production is repaired. Hence, the Austrian account of macroeconomic fluctuation stresses the misallocation and reallocation of resources in addition to the overproduction and underproduction of more conventional business cycle theories. In a recent article, Lester and Wolff (Review of Austrian Economics 26(4):433–461, 2013) attempt to consider the empirical relevance of the Austrian view. We argue that the authors’ use of the federal funds rate as an indicator of monetary policy is inappropriate in that it fails to distinguish a low market interest rate from a market interest rate that is low relative to the natural rate. Using an estimate of the natural rate provided by Selgin et al. (2011), we attempt to improve upon their analysis.     

Overhauling the new product process

The three cornerstones of successful product development are process, strategy, and resources, according to the benchmarking study reported in this article. Of the three, having a high quality new product process had the strongest impact on business's new product performance. A high quality new product process meant: an emphasis on up-front homework; sharp, early product definition; the voice of the customer evident throughout; tough go/kill decision points; a focus on quality of execution; and a thorough yet flexible process. The research results point strongly to a need to overhaul firms' new product processes—from idea to launch—to incorporate these and other key success drivers, such as the quest for real product superiority, and the need for true cross-functional teams. The goals of an effective new product process—that is, the specifications or key elements of a high quality process—are outlined, a vital starting point to any process reengineering exercise. The article ends with a quick look at a third generation stage-gate or new product process, together with some tips and hints on how to proceed to overhaul your company's new product process.     

Friedman Versus Hayek on Private Outside Monies: New Evidence for the Debate

Friedrich Hayek is often credited with the resurgence of interest in alternative monetary systems. His own proposal, however, received sharp criticism from Milton Friedman, Stanley Fischer, and others at the outset, and never gained much support among academic economists or the wider population. According to Friedman, Hayek erred in believing that the mere admission of competing private currencies will spontaneously generate a more stable monetary system. In Friedman's view, network effects and switching costs discourage alternative systems in general from emerging and prevent Hayek's system in particular from functioning as desired. I offer new evidence provided by events in Somalia since the 1990s as support for Friedman's initial doubts.