Product Quality and the Criminal Law

When considering product quality, focus on the civil law as the means of obtaining consumer redress should not blind one to appreciation that the criminal law also has a useful role to play. Even in circumstances in which physical harm to the consumer has not occurred, economic detriment can be sufficient for the quality of a product to be questioned in the context of not only civil but also criminal proceedings. This article uses the example of English law to explore the rationales for regulation of product quality backed by criminal sanctions, and shows how there may be overlaps but also divergences in the scope of coverage of civil and criminal laws.     

Tax Deductions and the Marginal Welfare Cost of Taxation

Recent work emphasizes the efficiency costs of tax deductions that distort the pattern of household spending. Using evidence on the sensitivity of taxable income to tax rates, this work suggests that the marginal welfare cost (MWC) of income taxes in the United States could be dramatically higher because of tax deductions, and might exceed unity. This paper develops an alternative approach for assessing the MWC using evidence on underlying parameters (e.g., labor supply elasticities, the demand elasticity for tax-favored goods). A MWC of around 0.3 to 0.5 seems more consistent with these parameter values, though this estimate is still significantly higher because of tax deductions.     

The mediating role of work engagement on the relationship between job involvement and affective commitment

This study examines job involvement and work engagement as predictors of affective commitment. Specifically, we test the proposal of Hallberg and Schaufeli (2006) that work engagement is a mediator of the relationship between job involvement and affective commitment using a survey of 405 Italian working adults. To test the model, mediation effects technique and structural equation modelling were applied to the collected data. Our hypothesis that work engagement fully mediates the relationship between job involvement and affective commitment was supported. This is the first study to demonstrate the importance of job involvement in promoting affective commitment via three dimensions of work engagement. We therefore assert that HR managers should direct their available resources to promoting job involvement and work engagement in their employees.     

Do market information processes improve new venture performance?

Does market information improve new venture performance? While some researchers argue that entrepreneurs do not need formal processes to collect and use market information, others suggest that the use of formal market information processes is positively related to firm performance. In this paper, we hypothesize that new venture performance is an increasing function of (1) the firm's level of customer interaction and (2) the use of formal processes for collecting and utilizing market information. We also hypothesize that these linkages will be stronger among new ventures serving emerging markets (i.e., markets in which customer needs and segments are evolving). We test these hypotheses using data collected from 224 new ventures located in the United States. Our findings indicate that, regardless of market condition, formal processes for the collection of market information are positively associated with the use of formal processes for market information utilization and this relationship is stronger among firms serving established markets. In addition, new venture performance is positively associated with the use of formal processes for utilizing market information and this relationship is also stronger in established markets. We also find that, in emerging markets, new venture performance is a positive function of the use of formal processes for collecting market information. Contrary to expectations, we find that, regardless of market condition, the level of customer interaction has a negative relationship with the use of formal processes for market information utilization and no significant relationship with performance.     

Challenges of managing the development of breakthrough products in Japan

We propose a contingency model and hypothesize that increases in product innovativeness weaken the influence of product synergies and development proficiencies on product performance. We incorporate these hypotheses in a path model linking measures of product synergy, development proficiency, product competitive advantage, and product performance. We test the model using data from Japan on 412 high-innovativeness projects and 375 low-innovativeness projects. We find that product innovativeness weakens three key relationships that determine new product success: (i) the impact of technical synergy on technical proficiency, (ii) the impact of technical proficiency on product competitive advantage, and (iii) the impact of product competitive advantage on new product success.     

R&D-marketing integration in Japanese high-technology firms: Hypotheses and empirical evidence

The authors review studies of U.S. high-technology firms and hypothesize that, in Japanese high-technology firms, the perceived level of achieved integration reflects perceptions of organizational structure and climate. To evaluate these hypotheses, the authors examine the perceptions of marketing managers from 264 Japanese high-technology firms. Findings indicate that managerial perceptions of information-sharing and integration in budgeting were negatively correlated with perceptions of formalization. The authors also find that perceptions of information-sharing and integration in the early stages of new product development were positively correlated with perceptions of employee participation in decision-making and with perceptions of the value placed by senior management on R&D-marketing integration. He holds a B.S. in mathematics from Jian University in China, an M.S. in statistics from Cornell University, and an MBA and Ph.D. from the University of Virgina. His articles appear in theJournal of Product Innovation Management andResearch-Technology Management. His research interests focus on improving new product development processes in high-technology firms. One current project addresses the determinants of new product success and failure in Japanese firms, and a second examines cross-functional project team management in Japan. He holds a B.A. in history from Metropolitan State College, an M.D. in economics from the University of Texas at Arlington, and a Ph.D. in management science from the University of Texas at Dallas. His articles appear inMarketing Science, Marketing Letters, International Journal of Research in Marketing, and theJournal of Product Innovation Management, among others. His current research focuses on new product development in Japan and China.     

Learning in the thick of it

The U.S. Army's Opposing Force (OPFOR) is a 2,500-member brigade whose job is to help prepare soldiers for combat. Created to be the meanest, toughest foe that soldiers will ever face, OPFOR engages units-in-training in a variety of mock campaigns under a wide range of conditions. Every month, a fresh brigade of more than 4,000 soldiers takes on this standing enemy. OPFOR, which is stationed in the California desert, always has the home-court advantage. But the force being trained--called BLU FOR--is numerically and technologically superior. It possesses more resources and better, more available data. It is made up of experienced soldiers. And it knows just what to expect, because OPFOR shares its methods from previous campaigns with BLUFOR's commanders. In short, each BLUFOR brigade is given practically every edge. Yet OPFOR almost always wins. Underlying OPFOR's consistent success is the way it uses the after-action review (AAR), a method for extracting lessons from one event or project and applying them to others. AAR meetings became a popular business tool after Shell Oil began experimenting with them in 1998. Most corporate AARs, however, are faint echoes of the rigorous reviews performed by OPFOR. Companies tend to treat the process as a pro-forma wrap-up, drawing lessons from an action but rarely learning them. OPFOR's AARs, by contrast, generate raw material that is fed back into the execution cycle. And while OPFOR's reviews extract numerous lessons, the brigade does not consider a lesson to be learned until it is successfully applied and validated. It might not make sense for companies to adopt OPFOR's AAR processes in their entirety, but four fundamentals are mandatory: Lessons must benefit the team that extracts them. The AAR process must start atthe beginning of the activity. Lessons must link explicitly to future actions. And leaders must hold everyone, especially themselves, accountable for learning.     

The Future Direction of China's Cross‐border Insolvency Laws,Related Issues and Potential Problems

The enactment of bankruptcy laws by the People's Republic of China (PRC or China) in 2006 was a necessary step in the development of its economy. This law represented a significant modernisation of the insolvency framework, supporting the transforming economy, but it was also a law of political expediency, for the enhancement of external relations. One aspect of the enhancement of external relations was the provision of cross‐border insolvency rules. However, this complex area of law was addressed in only one article, which was only a starting point, leaving many details unaddressed, and further reforms are required. In particular, it is desirable that the law provides a greater level of predictability as to the likely outcomes of cross‐border insolvencies, to encourage inward trade and investment, as well as encourage external trade. Both inbound and outbound business dealings are important to China's continued economic development. It is clear also, however, that insolvency law and practice is still a developing area for China. The establishment of a modern and unified system of insolvency laws was a big step for China, representing a sacrifice of tight controls on insolvencies, but the impact of this law in practice is only recently developing, with a loosening of state controls, after a very slow start. 1 The establishment of a cross‐border insolvency framework represents a further challenge; one that is likely to beset with considerable difficulties, as any further development of this law would potentially entail some further loss of control over proceedings, not least in outbound cases, and resistance may be anticipated. In keeping with China's historical approach to lawmaking in the area of bankruptcy law, it is likely that the cross‐border insolvency framework will develop gradually and with caution. This article assesses the way forward in respect of cross‐border insolvency laws, contending that an incremental approach over a period of years, in three broad stages, is required, with more developed and country‐specific approaches providing a link, or interim stage, between the clarification of the Article 5 and the formal adoption of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Model Law on Cross‐Border Insolvency Proceedings 1997 (Model Law) in China. Copyright © 2018 INSOL International and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How should heavy-duty trucks be taxed?

This paper develops and implements an analytical framework for estimating optimal taxes on the fuel use and mileage of heavy-duty trucks in the United States, accounting for external costs from congestion, accidents, pavement damage, noise, energy security, and local and global pollution. The analysis allows for endogenous fuel economy, increased auto travel in response to reduced truck congestion, and distinguishes driving by truck type and region. We estimate the optimal (second-best) diesel fuel tax at $1.12 per gallon and implementing it increases welfare by $1.34 billion per annum. Optimizing over both fuel and mileage taxes, and differentiating mileage taxes by vehicle type and region, yields progressively higher welfare gains. The most efficient tax structure involves a diesel fuel tax of 69 cents per gallon and charges on trucks that vary between 7 and 33 cents per mile; implementing this tax structure yields estimated welfare gains of $2.06 billion.