Tactical product decisions

The focus of this article is a discussion of both how and when to make tactical product decisions for existing products. Although the literature refers to these decisions in the context of strategic planning, the author considers that it is inadequate in explaining how and when these decisions should be arrived at relative to tactical planning. A range of criteria for tactical decisions is proposed.     

Research notes and communications management objectives in mergers and acquisitions

A taxonomy of managerial goals in mergers and acquisitions is developed through a cluster analysis of data from interviews with merger and acquisition practitioners. These clusters of objectives overlap with some objectives cited for mergers and acquisitions in the academic literature, but the correspondence is not complete. Further analysis shows that different types of mergers and acquisitions are characterized by different managerial objectives. The implications of this research for the development of a contingency model of the relationship between managerial objectives and mergers and acquisitions are discussed.     

A comparison of the financial institutions' view and the market's view of country creditworthiness

In 1979, both Institutional Investor and Euromoney began publishing country risk ratings. For years, international commercial bankers have used these rating services as part of their international evaluation process for lending to sovereign governments. An examination of these services suggests that Institutional Investor's ratings, which are based upon questionnaire responses from commercial bankers, reflect the financial institutions' perception of country creditworthiness. On the other hand, Euromoney's ratings represent a market view in that they are based upon data observed from financial and credit markets. The purpose of this article is to investigate the consistency between the financial institutions' view and the market's view in assessing the creditworthiness of developing and newly industrialized countries.     

AGENCY COSTS AND CAPTIVE FINANCE SUBSIDIARIES IN CANADA

Agency theory is employed to formalize the intuitive rationale for the widespread practice of setting up captive finance subsidiaries: reduced agency costs of debt increase the firm's consolidated debt capacity. Of the two Canadian industries tested, firms forming captives had significantly higher use of debt in manufacturing but failed to show any significant difference for merchandising. In light of confounding influences from tax-clientele effects, size difference, and support in tests on U.S. firms, the mixed finding should encourage further testing. The outcome of these tests suggests that it is potentially useful to think of captive finance subsidiaries in light of agency theory.     

Debate: Public procurement needs outcome evaluations

This article considers public procurement papers presented at the recent annual conferences of the International Purchasing and Supply Education and Research Association (IPSERA). It reflects on whether the studies presented at IPSERA align with public procurement priorities. It identifies congruence between research and practice, but also areas in which research is leading practice, such studies of sourcing from low-cost countries, service delivery and risk management. Future trends in public procurement research are then discussed.