Offshoring and international competitiveness: antecedents of offshoring advanced tasks

During the past decade, offshoring has become an established business practice. Yet it is still more common to offshore less advanced tasks compared with offshoring more advanced tasks, i.e., tasks closer to the core activities of the firm. The latter is a new phenomenon which raises many new issues on the boundaries of the firm. More or less advanced tasks can be found within all activities, e.g., in sales and marketing where telesales is on the less advanced end of the scale while branding and identity building are on the advanced end of the scale. This article focuses on the antecedents of advanced offshoring, exploring what causes firms to offshore some of their more advanced tasks. Our findings indicate that while the lower cost of unskilled, labor-intensive processes is the main driver for firms that offshore less advanced tasks, the offshoring of advanced tasks is part of firms’ strategy to achieve international competitiveness through access to cross-border knowledge flows and foreign knowledge resources. Furthermore, offshoring of advanced manufacturing tasks seems to be more widespread and experience-based than the offshoring of advanced service tasks.     

A Participatory Simulation to Facilitate Farmers' Adoption of Livestock Feeding Systems Based on Conservation Agriculture in the Uplands of Northern Vietnam

In the mountain areas of northern Vietnam, extensive husbandry of large-ruminants is limited by the lack of natural forage. Since 2000, the Mountain Agrarian System Program has been concerned with this issue and has evaluated technical alternatives aimed at sustainable integration of crop-livestock systems. One alternative consists of feeding systems for largeruminants based on cropping systems with plant cover. Diffusion of information about the new system is supported by a set of interactive communication tools for use between farmers and researchers. A participatory simulation method was developed that combines a compartmental model of the village territory with five technical innovations. Farmers simulate the adoption of the innovations they choose among food-forage cropping systems in rotation or in association, and urea-treated straw. They evaluate the quantity of forage that can be grown for their herd using the chosen set of techniques.

Simulations revealed farmers' constraints and objectives in adopting sustainable cropping systems on the hillsides while maintaining a small animal husbandry system. The results obtained by each farmer provide a useful basis for discussion about the implementation of innovation. This participatory simulation method could be more widely used to facilitate the diffusion of innovations such as integrating livestock feeding systems with conservation cropping practices.     

Market orientation: an option for universities to adopt?

• The primary objectives of this exploratory paper are to test the concept of market orientation adapted from related literature in the education context and to examine the effects of market orientation as a second‐order factor on university student satisfaction. The revised scale, validated through exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, constitutes a good fit. Specifically, the new scale is statistically and positively related with student satisfaction, indicating that market orientation is an important factor that leads to higher student satisfaction. The findings show that the degree to which students are satisfied with their choice of university depends significantly on how market oriented the university is. In other words, the effective application of market orientation strategy relates to student satisfaction and to the decisions they make when selecting a university. To that end, market orientation is an option for universities to adopt. The empirical results add to the meager and emerging literature on marketing and branding of universities and will be of interest of university administrators and marketing and branding managers of universities. The paper concludes by discussing conclusions, implications, limitations, and future research.

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Financial Restraints in a Mature Welfare State--The Case of Denmark

The Scandinavian welfare states are mature in the sense of havinga high level of standards for public provisions of welfare servicesas well as a high replacement level for income transfers, especiallyfor low-income groups. In this welfare model, individuals havebasic rights to welfare services and social transfers independentlyof their ability to pay, their labour-market history, etc. Thefinancial viability of the model relies on a high tax burdenand a high level of labour-force participation for males andfemales. Evaluated on the basis of international comparisonsof income levels and inequality, the model has performed well.In a forward-looking perspective, however, the welfare modelfaces problems that may put the financial viability of the modelat risk. Two important challenges are demographic changes andthe so-called growth dilemma (increased demand for servicesand leisure). We discuss these issues using Denmark as an exampleand argue that while these two challenges may be of the sameorder of magnitude, it is easier to propose solutions to thedemographic challenges than to the growth dilemma which areconsistent with the basic principles of the welfare state. Footnotes ¹ E-mail addresses: tandersen{at}econ.au.dk; lhp{at}dreammodel.dk     

On the Efficiency of Decentralized Exchange with Resale Possibilities

This paper studies decentralized exchange by bilateral matching and bargaining when resale is possible. Decentralized exchange involves the risk that goods and services may be allocated inefficiently; if low-valuation buyers consume while high-valuation buyers do not, then social welfare is reduced. If resale is possible and transaction costs are negligible, we would nevertheless expect an efficient allocation to result from decentralized exchange. This paper suggests that this depends on the nature of the commodity; while the allocation of a durable good will be efficient, the allocation of a "consumable" good need not.     

The dynamic impact of macroeconomic factors on initial public offerings: evidence from time-series analysis

This article examines the explanatory power and the dynamic impact of macroeconomic conditions on Initial Public Offering (IPO) activities in US during the period from 1970 to 2005. Applying time-series econometric techniques, we find the existence of long-run equilibrium relationships between IPO activities and selected macroeconomic variables. Stock market performance and volatility are shown to play the most important role in the timing of IPOs. The Fed funds rate and the 10 year US Treasury Bond (TB) yield play a comparable role in determining the amount of proceeds raised in the IPOs. There also exist different short-run dynamic adjustment mechanisms between IPOs and macroeconomic factors towards the long run equilibrium path and they are mostly completed within the period of 6 months to 1 year. The results have some useful implications for forecasting IPO activities.     

International interdependencies in fiscal stabilization policies

Trade links imply that business cycle fluctuations are transmitted among trade partners. To the extent that fiscal policy can mitigate business cycle fluctuations international interdependencies in stabilization policies arise. We analyse in a two country general equilibrium model the role of fiscal policy in mitigating risk or providing implicit insurance in the presence of capital market imperfections and adjustment failures (rigid wages). It is shown that there is a welfare case for an active stabilization policy, and that it is larger in the presence of adjustment failures (rigid wages). Non-cooperative policy decisions imply inefficiencies in fiscal stabilization policies, which in the case of flexible wages may imply too much stabilization, whereas stabilization is always insufficient in the case of rigid wages.     

The nexus between firm-supply-chain relationships and the potential for tourism development: A case study approach

This exploratory study examines the importance of firm-supply chain relationships for tourism development. Based upon prior observations, two firms seeking to boost their tourism offerings and operating in a popular Vietnamese tourist destination were selected. Semi-structured face-to-face and online interviews were conducted and complemented by on-site visits, and firm information. Various salient dimensions emerged from the data analysis. The ‘performance catalyst’ and ‘detectable value adding’ dimensions underscore the supply chain's benefits, while the ‘discerning relations’ dimension highlights deeper relationships through mutual support, building trust, or demonstrating care. Conceptually, the study proposes a framework with associated theoretical and practical implications.     

Product Market Integration and Heterogeneity—Rent Sharing and Pricing to Market

International product market integration makes market penetration easier and therefore creates both export opportunities and import threats. This changes the competitive position of firms and is associated with changes in trade, production, and specialization structures. The gains and losses in this process are unlikely to be equally shared due to heterogeneity across firms/sectors. In a Ricardian trade model with heterogeneity across firms, we find “pricing to market”—effects not only for exports, but also for pricing in the domestic market even for nontradables. Rents to be shared in wage bargaining differ across tradables and nontradables. It is shown that lower trade frictions affect the scope for “pricing to market” and cause wages to become more closely driven by (relative) productivity. Labor market prospects tend not to improve for low wage jobs, and not to deteriorate for high wage jobs.