US domestic barter: an empirical investigation

This paper studies the barter industry developed in North America during the 1950s, pointing out some of its main characteristics. Thus, it examines its two main sectors: (i) corporate barter and (ii) commercial barter. Contrary to expectations, the analysis of official data shows that this phenomenon is essentially pro-cyclical for the commercial barter component. Moreover, commercial barter activity turns out to be complementary to the cash economy. While the two sectors display some differences in their pattern, they both help firms to increase their profits.     

A tidal wave for change. The case of the automotive supply chain in the West Midlands

The focus of this paper concerns change in the automotive supply chain, industry responses, and policy and strategic implications. Automotive components suppliers are buffeted by global trends and forces, including rising quality standards, environmental issues, and product and process innovation. Although the higher ranks of the supply chain adapt to change continuously, new technologies on the horizon threaten to make many automotive components manufacturers obsolete within some three to ten years. The West Midlands region is particularly vulnerable given its high concentration of automotive suppliers. The potential for related diversification is limited and investment is needed in new manufacturing activities (rather than assembly or sales/distribution) related to environmental, alternative power and electronic technologies. This will position the UK's automotive supply base at the forefront of technological advance against strong and aggressive global players notably from the US, Germany and the Far East. Both the private and public sectors have a strategic and supporting role to play in ensuring that opportunities are maximised. The West Midlands case study has a broader currency for initiatives targeting diversification both in vehicles production and in other manufacturing sectors. Its significance is heightened by the increasing tendency for other sectors-such as food and drink production, and domestic appliances- to adopt automotive practices.     

Practice Makes Better: Using Immersive Cases to Improve Student Performance on Day 1 of the Common Final Examination*

In the context of an accredited CPA program, we investigate whether an immersive case delivered over several weeks in a team-based environment in the Performance Management elective module improves student performance on Day 1 examinations and whether all students benefit equally from the immersive case. Results show that using an immersive case prior to Capstone 1 significantly improves student performance on practice Day 1 examinations and Day 1 of the Common Final Examination (CFE). Although high-ability students and non-English-as-a-second-language (ESL) students with co-op experience perform better regardless of whether an immersive case is used, ESL students benefit from using an immersive case when evaluating performance on Day 1 of the CFE. In addition, spending six to eight weeks preparing extensively for the CFE after graduate classes end in July seems to contribute to closing performance gaps between students. This study benefits the education process by identifying a tool that educators can use to improve performance on the CFE. It provides insights that may prove useful to CPA Canada and accredited post-secondary institutions as they revamp their programs to align with Competency Map 2.0.     

Information Asymmetry in Business-to-Business Negotiations: A Game Theoretical Approach to Support Purchasing Decisions with Suppliers

Group Decision and Negotiation - The digital transformation confronts purchasing and supply management (PSM) with numerous new challenges, such as digital procurement objects and the information...