Low price conspiracy: Trade regulation and the case of Japanese electronics

Conclusion The analysis of low price conspiracy suggests that even if it were legal, it requires very special and uncommon conditions. Such conditions were not present in the U.S. television industry, and the Supreme Court correctly concluded that the evidence did not support the existence of a low price conspiracy involving Japanese television manufacturers. The Court indicated that persuasive actual cost evidence must be presented to overcome economic logic that predation is very unlikely. Predation can still be shown but the standard of proof is high. After all allegations of low price conspiracy may be more likely to limit competition than any actual low price conspiracy itself.     

Information Systems Project Abandonment: A Case of Political Influence by the Stakeholders

This paper serves as a stimulus to investigators to examine the role organizational politics plays in decisions leading to the abandonment of information systems (IS) projects. While prior research has identified the development of IS projects as a highly political process, where stakeholders may be more concerned about furthering their self-interests than about contributing to the overall success of the project, there has been little research on identifying the political factors contributing to IS project abandonment. Our case demonstrates six types of political action that took place that caused an electronic commerce (e-commerce) project to be abandoned. Finally, when analyzing mistakes and their principal causes, there is one important lesson that we should learn. That is, all organizations make mistakes and there is the potential for learning from project abandonment experiences.     

Implementation strategy and performance outcomes in related diversification

Strategy research has a long‐standing interest in the performance consequences of corporate diversification. In theory, resource sharing should yield economic benefits in related multi‐business firms, but the extensive empirical research remains equivocal. To explore this paradox, this paper examines the process of implementing a related diversification strategy. Working from existing theory, a formal model is constructed that describes the process and performance implications of a related diversification move. The model is analyzed using computer simulation, and the analysis suggests that successful diversification strategies require managerial policies that maintain organization slack. In the absence of such policies, related diversification can negatively impact firm performance even when substantial synergy opportunities exist. The analysis also demonstrates, contrary to existing theory, that diversification strategies based on a very high degree of relatedness can lead to lower performance than less related strategies in some circumstances. Counter‐intuitively, extracting potential synergies may require additional investment in shared resources. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

绩效管理：打破“执行”藩篱

在发展过程中不通过谨慎控制投资与开销,而且不努力开发不同战略的公司将遭遇生存危机。相反,通过为其隐性知识员工提供信息技术与商业智能,从而提高员工能力的公司将取得突破。     

问责制：绩效管理的基石

绩效管理是将员工行为与高层战略相联系的有效途径。它还能够通过预测性分析为管理者和员工团队提供所需要的信息,帮助他们更好地完成决策和折衷分析。绩效管理的重点并不在于监督表盘,而在于推动表盘运转。     

AT THE CROSSROADS: THE LIFE INSURANCE INDUSTRY AND FINANCIAL SERVICES REFORM

Abstract: In September of 1996, The Board of Directors of the American Council of Life Insurance ("ACLI")reversed decades of policy and embraced for the first time the concept of reciprocal ownership or "affiliations" between life insurance companies and commercial banks. Under this new policy mandate, the ACLI is advocating federal legislation that would permit banks to sell all types of insurance and control insurance underwriters through separate affiliates or subsidiaries. In return, 1) insurers would have the authority to acquire banks; 2) the insurance activities of banks would be fully subject to state insurance regulation; and 3) federal bank regulators would be precluded from preempting state regulatory authority.
This article reviews the various factors that precipitated this watershed policy decision, discusses the structural and regulatory issues that are important to life insurers, and speculates briefly on the prospects for financial services legislation.     

Agricultural Industrialization: A Metaeconomics Look at the Metaphors by Which We Live

Agriculture continues to be driven by rapid technological change on the base of a particular kind of value system. This path produces an abundance and variety of high-quality food and success for many. It also produces externalities, not the least of which is the sense of gloom among youth who might otherwise pursue food system careers. Perhaps we need to be carefully examining the values implicit within the invisible hand, subjecting it to scientific scrutiny. One alternative is a kind of metaeconomics that focuses on moral inquiry, recognizing both a self-interest and a joint others-interest in the outcomes.