Day-care policy in France and its consequences for women: a study of the Metropolitan Paris area

Paris et sa banlieue sont les mieux loties de toutes les régions de France en équipement et en service de garde de jeunes enfants. ainsi que le plus de jeunes mères qui travaillent. Divers services de l'état, du département et de la municipalité sont responsables pour la création, la gestion, et l'agrément des services de garde. Le coût, le financement, la tarification et la disponibilité des services publics et les services privés à travers la capitale, sa proche et sa lointaine banlieue sont analysés. On trace l'affrontement qui se développe entre différentes instances de l'état autant que le rôle des partis politiques, des syndicats et d'autres groupes de pression. L'analyse de la politique en vigueur dégage certaines implications théoriques et spécifiques. Pour les jeunes mères les services de garde (leur disponibilité et leur coût) deviennent un facteur essentiel dans l'accès l'emploi. Une inégalité très nette dans celui-ci apparaît entre hommes et femmes, parisiennes et banlieusardes, femmes qualifiées et non-qualifiées.     

New Product Development Process Implementation in a Business-To-Business Firm: The Driving and Moderating Factors for Improved Program Performance and Time-To-Market

Purpose: The study aims to examine the critical factors affecting the implementation of a formalized new product development (NPD) process in a business-to-business (B-to-B) company with product-driven growth.

Methodology/approach: Case study using a combination of survey, artifacts, and long interviews

Findings: The findings suggest that (1) the initial phase proficiency can improve NPD effectiveness (NPD program performance) and NPD efficiency (i.e., time-to-market), but this relationship is moderated by the effective communication of the new NPD process throughout the entire firm; (2) the process formalization enhances time-to-market and NPD program performance, but its effects are asymmetric and contingent upon the decision concerning the inclusion of ad hoc and extended NPD team members; and (3) the product approval (executive) committee’s (PAC) ineffective communication could alienate team members from NPD efforts while resource availability moderates the influence of PAC’s decision making quality on time-to-market.

Research implications: Future research could examine the PAC decision-making quality as a multidimensional construct, composed of rigor and timeliness dimensions. That way, a more granular understanding of the effect of PAC decisions could be achieved. Future studies could make a clear distinction of the NPD process type in the study context when NPD decisions are examined.

Practical implications: Managers should acknowledge that decision-making processes and their comprehension by worker bees affect an NPD program’s success. It is interesting to note that removing go-no go decisions by the product approval committees at each phase may not lead to faster product development as these executive committee meetings have double entendre: they are not only to get the executives informed and get their signoff, but also is a facilitator to capital approvals. Hence, appropriate measures must be taken to remove or ease all bottlenecks in the NPD process.

Originality/value/contribution: This study uncovers several crucial factors that can improve the effectiveness and time-to-market of an NPD program in B-to-B companies, especially when firms implement a new formalized NPD process.     

The emotional side of price

This exploratory study considers the role emotion plays in relationships among several constructs surrounding price. The findings suggest that some aspects of emotion—here surprise and enjoyment—play a role in consumers' responses to and use of price information. Surprise and enjoyment were found to act in concert with involvement, price consciousness, and price–quality associations in respondents' complex reactions to price. Everyone's personal experience suggests that emotions can influence people's reactions to the price of products; this research lends preliminary empirical support to such everyday experiences. The results of this exploratory study clearly point to the need for more definitive studies in the future. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Participants' values and incentive plans

Incentive plans are designed to motivate participants to pursue what is valued by an organization. This article discusses how values may influence the design of incentive plans and the success of their implementation. In situations where the incentive plan fits participants' values, the authors predict a process of mutual reinforcement. When values and incentives collide, they propose two possible yet conflicting outcomes: the “carrot effect” and the “snubbed carrot effect.” They conclude by addressing the implications of fit and misfit for research and practice. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Die Grundsicherung für Arbeitsuchende im europäischen Kontext

Wirtschaftsdienst - Während auf europäischer Ebene eine Stärkung von Mindestsicherungssystemen im Rahmen der Umsetzung der Europäischen Säule sozialer Rechte diskutiert...     

Sustainable reverse supply chains and circular economy in multichannel retail returns

The percentage of products being returned in multichannel retail are high and further increasing, yet many retailers and manufacturers are unaware of the importance and scale of this issue. They consider dealing with returns as a cost of doing business and are oblivious of the potential for conflicts between their corporate social responsibility commitments and their returns practices. This article investigates how far sustainable practices and circular economy concepts have been implemented in retail returns systems; it identifies vulnerabilities, barriers, and challenges to the implementation of sustainable, circular practices and suggests ways to overcome them, as sustainability, loss prevention, and profit optimisation can go hand in hand with the right approach to the organisation of the reverse supply chain. Implications of this research on strategic management are outlined. The research was conducted using in‐depth interviews and observations with four major retailers in the United Kingdom, 17 structured interviews, 100 retailer website reviews, and three retail community workshops, all with British and other European retailers.     

A cluster analysis of highly productive business and management education scholars

The authors examined the publications and impact of highly productive business and management education (BME) scholars across the business disciplines of accounting, economics, finance, information systems, management, marketing, and operations management. Results from a hierarchical cluster analysis revealed five clusters of scholars: leading BME Scholars, leading discipline-focused BME scholars, high-profile BME scholars, focused BME scholars, and recognized BME scholars. The article includes a discussion of findings and their implications for BME scholarship, future BME scholars, and business schools.     

Examining the heterogeneity of treatment patterns in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder among children and adolescents in the Texas Medicaid population: modeling suboptimal treatment response

Objectives: To examine suboptimal responses (SR) in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among pediatric patients in the Texas Medicaid program receiving osmotic-release oral system methylphenidate (OROS-MPH) or lisdexamfetamine (LDX) and apply an SR prediction model to identify patients most likely to experience an SR to either OROS-MPH or LDX therapies.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using Texas Medicaid claims data of ADHD children and adolescents (6–17?years of age) initiating OROS-MPH or LDX. Primary SR endpoints were drug discontinuation, switching, and augmentation 12-months post-ADHD drug initiation. Logistic regression models were developed to predict SR to OROS-MPH and LDX in 1:1 matched groups of children and adolescent cohorts.

Results: A total of 3,633 children and 1,611 adolescents were matched for each cohort. SR was observed among more children (76.4% vs 72.3%; p?p?=?0.002) initiating OROS-MPH compared to LDX. Patient sub-groups with the highest predicted risk of OROS-MPH SR experienced significantly lower observed SR rates (p?Conclusions: This study demonstrated how a personalized medicine approach using administrative claims data can be used to identify sub-groups of child and adolescent ADHD patients with different risks for suboptimal response with OROS-MPH or LDX in a Medicaid population.