Assessing an electronic performance support system for the analysis of jobs and tasks

In this research project the concept of ‘Electronic Performance Support Systems’ will be introduced. An Electronic Performance Support System (EPSS) is an integrated computerised environment that supports and occasionally monitors employees while doing their jobs. In general an EPSS contains the following four components: tools (to perform a job), information (needed to do the job correctly), advice (for the difficult parts of the job) and training (to extend the employees knowledge and skills). In this study the effectiveness of an EPSS for instructional designers is reported.     

A translog estimation of the average cost function of the steel industry with financial accounting data

This paper proposes a measure to assess firm performance which is based in neoclassical production theory and yet can be empirically estimated with widely available financial accounting ratios. A translog cost function is estimated, and fitted per-unit average cost figures are generated based upon the firm's individual characteristics and industry norms. The deviation of a firm's actual average per-unit cost from the fitted value is proposed as a predictor of firm profitability. This measure is then tested on firms in the steel industry. It is shown that the accounting ratios generate a cost function which behaves in accordance with neoclassical microeconomic theory, and accounting profits are indeed found to be inversely related to the calculated efficiency measure.The authors are indebted to the participants of the Forty-Fourth International Atlantic Economic Conference, Philadelphia, PA, October 9–12, 1997, and an anonymous referee. Any shortcomings remain the responsibilities of the authors.     

Zu neuen Gerichtsentscheidungen über die Verstärkung des Verbraucherschutzes

Zusammenfassung Der Beitrag zeigt an zwei Beispielen aus der deutschen Gerichtspraxis, daß Verbraucherschutz nicht nur ein Anliegen an die Gesetzgebung beinhaltet. Vielmehr können Gerichte durch das ihnen vorliegende Fallmaterial verbraucherpolitisch wirken und damit die Rechtsstellung des Verbrauchers verbessern.

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Two court rulings strengthening the protection of consumers

The author describes two examples of consumer protection by German courts. It is suggested that the improvement of the consumer's position is not only a task for the legislator, but is also the result of effective law handling in courts.

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Theo Rasehorn ist Vorsitzender Richter am Oberlandesgericht Frankfurt, 6000 Frankfurt/Main.     

Acquisition Pattern Analysis for Relationship Marketing: A Conceptual and Methodological Redefinition

Traditionally, relationship marketing focuses upon the interaction between suppliers and consumers. In this article, the authors propose that relationship marketing cannot ignore another type of (long-term) interaction: the one between consumers and products. Both types of interaction should be taken into account when assessing the nature and the quality of the relationship. The relevant literature on consumer–product interactions is limited. Existing theoretical concepts, including brand loyalty, cannot adequately cover the full notion of consumer–product interactions. Acquisition pattern analysis (APA) seems capable of providing an alternative. It provides an insight in the structure of product sets and acquisition orders. However, the available techniques for APA cause confusion by their emphasis on either the structure or the order of product acquisitions. The authors propose a methodological improvement, which has analytical implications as well. A study on purchases of financial products demonstrates the proposed alternative approach, and managerial implications are discussed.     

How advertising in offline media drives reach of and engagement with brands on Facebook

ABSTRACT

Research investigating the drivers of consumers’ engagement with brands on social media is proliferating. However, little is known about how advertising outside social media drives engagement with brands on social media. This study aims to explore the relation between advertising spend in different offline media (TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, out of home), and reach of and engagement with brand pages on Facebook. The study uses a unique real-life data-set containing information about the Facebook pages of 45 brands for approximately three years combined with Nielsen Advertising Spend data. Results showed that while advertising in offline media influenced organic and viral reach, the number of page likes was directly influenced by advertising on Facebook only. It can be concluded that offline advertising is relevant in driving consumers’ online brand engagement; however, there is a unique set of drivers for organic reach, viral reach and likes.     

Turkish trade unionists and Turkey’s membership of the European Union

In all the discussions regarding Turkey’s accession to the EU, little attention has been paid to the views of workers. This paper provides a statistical analysis of the views of over 6000 Turkish trade union members on Turkey’s EU membership. Parameters are estimated using multilevel probit models where the nested structures of workers into trade unions and federations were taken into account since they shared some joint characteristics because of belonging to these organisations. It confirms the extensive disillusion with the EU found elsewhere in Turkish society but more interestingly it disconfirms an idea that those inside the EU may too easily assume to be the case: that it is those with what might be considered modernist characteristics among the Turkish population who are most likely to be in favour of EU entry. The idea seems to chime well with assumptions that the EU is a progressive, modern force. But whatever the validity of such a view, EU entry is not in fact found to be the favoured goal of the young and the best educated: it is older workers who are the most likely to support entry and those who are educated to the highest level the most likely to oppose it. Amongst the main three trade union federations there is also a greater propensity of members of trade unions affiliated to Hak Is (the Islamic federation) to support entry than those in Turk Is (centre right) or DISK (historically the most militant).     

A strategic network choice model for global container flows: specification, estimation and application

Container flows have been booming for decades. Expectations for the 21st century are less certain due to changes in climate and energy policy, increasing congestion and increased mobility of production factors. This paper presents a strategic model for the movement of containers on a global scale in order to analyse possible shifts in future container transport demand and the impacts of transport policies thereon. The model predicts yearly container flows over the world’s shipping routes and passing through 437 container ports around the world, based on trade information to and from all countries, taking into account more than 800 maritime container liner services. The model includes import, export and transhipment flows of containers at ports, as well as hinterland flows. The model was calibrated against observed data and is able to reproduce port throughput statistics rather accurately. The paper also introduces a scenario analysis to understand the impact of future, uncertain developments in container flows on port throughput. The scenarios include the effects of slow steaming, an increase in land based shipping costs and an increased use of large scale infrastructures such as the Trans-Siberian rail line and the opening of Arctic shipping routes. These scenarios provide an indication of the uncertainty on the expected port throughputs, with a particular focus on the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.     

For those about to talk we salute you: an experimental study of credible deviations and ACDC

We test the Average Credible Deviation Criterion (ACDC), a stability measure and refinement for cheap talk equilibria introduced in De Groot Ruiz et al. (Equilibrium selection in cheap talk games: ACDC rocks when other criteria remain silent, Working paper, University of Amsterdam 2012a). ACDC has been shown to be predictive under general conditions and to organize data well in previous experiments meant to test other concepts. In a new experimental setting, we provide the first systematic test of whether and to which degree credible deviations matter for the stability of cheap talk equilibria. Our principal experimental result is that in a setting where existing concepts are silent, credible deviations matter and matter gradually, as predicted by ACDC.     

Financial liberalization,openness and convergence

All industrialized nations relied on capital account controls for significant periods of their economic development and relaxations of capital account restrictions thought to be an integral aspect of economic development. Economists long advocated the removal of capital controls as a stabilizing factor of the development process to improve efficiency and return economies from distorted factor prices to production frontiers. Empirically, however, financial liberalizations have become associated with capital flow reversals, where initial capital inflows at the onset are subsequently offset by capital outflows resulting in higher levels of accumulated indebtedness. We investigate how capital flow reversals caused by financial liberalizations affect the speed of convergence of an economy. We show that financial liberalizations reduce short run convergence speeds, implying that open economies should experience significantly less output volatility but also longer transitions. The increased smoothness in response to initial shocks comes at a cost: as foreign borrowing rises to smooth domestic income fluctuations causing an increase in the domestic interest rate OECD data confirms our findings.