Optimized Software Licensing – Combining License Types in a License Portfolio

Although software licenses usually range among the most expensive items within the IT budget, they still lack the necessary attention by many companies. Therefore, most companies inadequately have implemented their software asset management neglecting further potential for cost reduction, which can be obtained by optimizing the use of different license types. This paper shows how possible savings can be realized by combining different types of licenses in a license portfolio. The model presented is based on the most common license types considering different user groups as well as their behavior. Additionally to cost risks, the risk of service quality is also taken into consideration. The following examples illustrate the model’s high relevance and show how it can be applied in practice. Accepted after two revisions by Prof. Dr. Hasenkamp. This article is also available in German in print and via http://www.wirtschaftsinformatik.de: Gull D, Wehrmann A (2009) Optimierte Softwarelizenzierung – Kombinierte Lizenztypen im Lizenzportfolio. WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK. doi: 10.1007/11576-009-0182-x.     

REVERSE LOGISTICS: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RESOURCE COMMITMENT AND PROGRAM PERFORMANCE

In response to increasing volumes of returned products, firms are establishing programs to guide the reversal of flows in the supply chain, i.e., reverse logistics. With reverse logistics programs firms seek cost savings and efficiencies related to reclamation, redistribution, and disposal of products returned “upstream” to the retailer or manufacturer. This paper reports on a recent survey of electronics catalog retailers regarding reverse logistics program involvement. In addition to creating a profile of current reverse logistics activities in an industry characterized by high volumes of returns, the research also examines the relationship between investment in reverse logistics related resources and reverse logistics program performance.     

Preliminary Evidence for the Neurophysiologic Effects of Online Coupons: Changes in Oxytocin,Stress, and Mood

Coupon use saved consumers $2.9 billion on packaged goods in 2012 with over 90 million Americans using online coupons. Besides saving money, why is coupon use so widespread? An experiment was run where participants (N = 90) shopped online and one‐half received a coupon worth $10. It was found that those who received a coupon had a 14% increase in oxytocin (OT), an 8% decrease in the stress hormone adrenocorticotropin, a 4% decrease in heart rate (HR), a 27% decrease in respiration, a 4% decrease in skin conductance levels, and a 90% increase in high‐frequency HR variability. These factors showed almost no change for those who did not receive a coupon. The findings indicate that coupons elicit physiological reactions similar to having a positive social interaction. In addition, self‐reported happiness correlated with the change in OT (r = 0.43). These findings provide new insights into why online coupon use is so pervasive.     

The Effect of Socially Responsible Investing on Portfolio Performance

More and more investors apply socially responsible screens when building their stock portfolios. This raises the question whether these investors can increase their performance by incorporating such screens into their investment process. To answer this question we implement a simple trading strategy based on socially responsible ratings from the KLD Research & Analytics: Buy stocks with high socially responsible ratings and sell stocks with low socially responsible ratings. We find that this strategy leads to high abnormal returns of up to 8.7% per year. The maximum abnormal returns are reached when investors employ the best‐in‐class screening approach, use a combination of several socially responsible screens at the same time, and restrict themselves to stocks with extreme socially responsible ratings. The abnormal returns remain significant even after taking into account reasonable transaction costs.     

The Impact of Regret on the Demand for Insurance

We examine optimal insurance purchase decisions of individuals that exhibit behavior consistent with Regret Theory. Our model incorporates a utility function that assigns a disutility to outcomes that are ex post suboptimal, and predicts that individuals with regret‐theoretical preferences adjust away from the extremes of full insurance and no insurance coverage. This prediction holds for both coinsurance and deductible contracts, and can explain the frequently observed preferences for low deductibles in markets for personal insurance.     

Mixed up? that’s good for motivation

We show that career concerns can arise in the absence of ex ante uncertainty about an agent’s type, if his unobservable actions influence future productivity. Implementing effort in mixed strategies allows the principal to endogenously introduce uncertainty about the agent’s ex post productivity and generate reputational incentives. Creating such ambiguity can be optimal for the principal, even though this exposes the agent to additional risk and reduces output. This finding for an environment with imperfect commitment contrasts with standard agency models, where implementing mixed strategy actions typically is not optimal if pure strategies can also be implemented.     

PRODUCTION INTERRELATIONSHIPS IN SRI LANKAN PEASANT AGRICULTURE

Technical change and the extent to which commodity supplies and input demands are interrelated in Sri Lankan peasant agriculture are explored in this paper. Using a multiple-product dual model, a seemingly unrelated system of product supply and input demand equations is estimated for four crops and four variable inputs. Restrictions based on competitive behaviour and a twice continuously-differentiable production function are maintained in the non-linear least squares estimation. A number of important interrelationships in individual product supplies and input demands are identified, further documenting the need to account for intercommodity production relationships in econometric and simulation studies and in policy formulation. Non-joint production and Hicksneutral technical change are both rejected.