An agent based model concept for assessing modal share in inter-regional freight transport markets

This paper introduces an Agent based modelling approach to model inter-urban freight transport between two or more trading regions. The use of the model is to ascertain the modal share of competing transport modes (road and intermodal) while taking complex transport service supply–demand dynamics into account. It is structured by modules describing company generation, supplier choice, modal competition and International road freight transport market dynamics. The behaviour of individual actors is simulated using normative agent behaviour and market knowledge. Using the micro-simulation approach, shippers and carriers (primarily road hauliers and a maritime based intermodal operator) interact through simulated contracts resulting in the generation of tours. The service performance of the tours is fed back into the model for decision making during contract deliberations. Preliminary application of model to Mediterranean case study show that market share gains of around 25–30% are obtained with policy interventions of financial subsidies to intermodal services and more frequent shipping services in the intermodal transport respectively.     

The Internationalization of Firms From India: Investment,Mergers and Acquisitions

This paper analyses the rapid expansion in outflows of foreign direct investment from India and the spurt in foreign acquisitions by Indian firms, during the past decade, situated in the wider context of international investment from developing countries. Much of the investment was in manufacturing activities and most of the acquisitions were in industrialized countries. The economic stimulus and the strategic motive for the internationalization of firms from India were provided by a range of underlying factors driving the process, which differed across sectors and firms. The rapid growth in investment and acquisitions by Indian firms were partly attributable to factors implicit in the liberalization of the policy regime and the greater access to financial markets; but it must be recognized that Indian firms could not have become international without the capacity and the ability to compete in the world market. The attributes of Indian firms, which created such capacities and abilities, are embedded in the past and have emerged over a much longer period of time.     

Analyzing the Structure of the International Business Curriculum in India

This article analyzes the structure of the international business curriculum through a questionnaire-based survey among current students and young managers who are studying or have studied international business courses in one of the top B-Schools of India. Respondents have the opinion that international business is more than internationalization of different functional areas and is to be treated as a separate academic discipline. In the context of pedagogy, respondents feel the need for more elective courses on international business and prefer learning through different methods such as foreign country visits, simulation, and role playing activities.     

Why poor people get rich: Kenya 1960–1979

This paper challenges the conventional model underlying much thinking on Kenya which has stressed the extant inequality of assets (including human capital) and the presumed weakness of intersectoral links owing to structural rigidities in the system. On the basis of recent survey data, the authors test their hypothesis that the pattern of growth and distribution in the Kenyan smallholder sector is best understood rather as being the outcome of the complex interaction of rural factor market failure and urban labour market participation. The sources of growth may be distinguished as improved resource allocation, capital formation and innovation, so that the transmission mechanisms from factor market malfunctioning and urban employment onto growth and distribution must be via these three components. The arguments which follow question the orthodox views on such phenomena as urban bias, trickle-down growth, the functions of urban-rural remittances, and the need for land reform.     

The real exchange rate,capital inflows and inflation: Sri Lanka 1970–1982

Zusammenfassung Realer Wechselkurs, Kapitalimporte und Inflation: Sri Lanka 1970–1982. - Der Aufsatz unterscheidet zwischen effektiven Kaufkraftparit?ten und realen Wechselkursen. Die Bedeutung der letzteren als ein diagnostisches Werkzeug wird hervorgehoben, indem der Kapitalverkehr einbezogen und das Salter-Modell auf eine offene Volkswirtschaft mit Zolltarifen ausgedehnt wird. Bei Anwendung des Modells auf Sri Lanka stellt sich heraus, da\ die Inflation der Jahre 1977–1982, die mit der unvermeidlichen Erh?hung des realen Wechselkurses infolge massiver Kapitalimporte verbunden war, aus der Erh?hung der Preise von nicht-handelbaren Gütern herrührte und nicht so sehr aus einer exzessiven Geldmengenausweitung. Der Autor meint, eine nicht-inflation?re und wirksame Absorption von sozial erwünschten Kapitalzuflüssen erfordere, da\ die notwendige Erh?hung des realen Wechselkurses durch eine Senkung der Z?lle - also der heimischen Preise handelbarer Güter- herbeizuführen ist und nicht durch eine Erh?hung der Preise nicht-handelbarer Güter oder durch nominale Wechselkursbewegungen. Eine Verringerung der Protektion würde auch den Kaufkraftparit?tenwechselkurs senken, was erforderlich ist, damit die Wettbewerbsf?higkeit auf den Exportm?rkten erhalten bleibt.

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Resumen El tipo de cambio real, importaciones de capital e inflación: Sri Lanka entre 1970 y 1982. - El trabajo distingue entre tipo de cambio real y tipo de cambio efectivo PPA y enfatiza la importancia de este último como instrumenta de diagnóstico integrando la cuenta de capital y extendiendo el modelo de Salter a la economía abierta distorsionada por aranceles. Se aplica el modelo a Sri Lanka resultando que la inflación entre 1977 y 1982, que acompa?ó al inevitable aumento del tipo de cambio real, a raíz de la importación masiva de capital, fue debida más bien al aumento de los precios nomínales de los bienes no comerciados que a la expansión monetaria excesiva. Se arguye que la absorción eficiente y no inflacionaria de importaciones de capital socialmente deseadas requiere que la revaluación necesaria del tipo de cambio sea producto de una reducción de aranceles, o sea, del precio nacional de los bienes comerciados, y no de aumentos en los precios de los bienes no comerciados o de movimientos nominales del tipo de cambio. Reducir la protección significaría también devaluar el tipo de cambio PPA necesario para mantener la competitividad de las exportaciones.

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Résumé Le taux de change réel, afflux des capitaux et inflation: Sri Lanka 1970–1982. — L’article distingue les taux de change PPA effectifs et réels et souligne l’importance du dernier taux comme instrument diagnostique en intégrant la balance des capitaux et étendant le modèle de Salter à une économie ouverte aux tarifs douaniers. L’auteur applique le modèle à Sri Lanka et trouve comme résultat que l’inflation en 1977–1982 qui accompagnait l’augmentation inévitable du taux de change réel incitée par des afflux massifs des capitaux était due à l’augmentation du prix monétare des biens non-commercés au lieu de l’expansion monétaire excessive. Il argue que l’absorption non-inflationniste et efficiente des afflux des capitaux qui sont désirables d’un point de vue social rend nécessaire la révaluation du taux de change réel qui devrait être accomplie par une réduction tarifaire et des restrictions quantitatives et ainsi par la réduction des prix locaux des biens commercés au lieu des augmentations des prix des biens non-commercés ou des mouvements en taux de change nominal. Une réduction de la protection dévaluerait le taux de change PPA ce qui est nécessaire pour maintenir la capacité concurrentielle des exportations.

     

When winning is everything

In the heat of competition, executives can easily become obsessed with beating their rivals. This adrenaline-fueled emotional state, which the authors call competitive arousal, often leads to bad decisions. Managers can minimize the potential for competitive arousal and the harm it can inflict by avoiding certain types of interaction and targeting the causes of a win-at-all-costs approach to decision making. Through an examination of companies such as Boston Scientific and Paramount, and through research on auctions, the authors identified three principal drivers of competitive arousal: intense rivalry, especially in the form of one-on-one competitions; time pressure, found in auctions and other bidding situations, for example; and being in the spotlight--that is, working in the presence of an audience. Individually, these factors can seriously impair managerial decision making; together, their consequences can be dire, as evidenced by many high-profile business disasters. It's not possible to avoid destructive competitions and bidding wars completely. But managers can help prevent competitive arousal by anticipating potentially harmful competitive dynamics and then restructuring the deal-making process. They can also stop irrational competitive behavior from escalating by addressing the causes of competitive arousal. When rivalry is intense, for instance, managers can limit the roles of those who feel it most. They can reduce time pressure by extending or eliminating arbitrary deadlines. And they can deflect the spotlight by spreading the responsibility for critical competitive decisions among team members. Decision makers will be most successful when they focus on winning contests in which they have a real advantage--and take a step back from those in which winning exacts too high a cost.     

Who Learns What?—A Study Based on Entrepreneurs from Biotechnology New Ventures

Despite a proliferation of research in the field of entrepreneurship, our understanding of entrepreneurial learning remains limited. We do not have systematic answers to many key questions. To what extent does the context of the learning shape that learning? How does the prior experience of an entrepreneur influence what they learn in new ventures? Does the specific role that the entrepreneur plays in a new venture, and the characteristics of the venture team, influence learning? To address this gap, and to progress the broader program of empirical research into entrepreneurial learning, we need to more fully explicate both the context and the content of learning. That is the objective and contribution of this study. We find that prior experience, the “division of (decision‐making) labor” and the “knowledge” characteristic of the venture team shape learning. One implication is that future research will need to assess more carefully both the content of new learning from the new venture experience, and the context of learning.     

Factors Affecting Students’ Preferences to Study Abroad Programs: A Case of Indian Business School Students

ABSTRACT

This study makes an attempt to explore the factors affecting Indian students’ preferences to study abroad programs. A survey administered in one of the leading business schools of India and subsequent analysis reveals the significance and importance of study abroad for Indian students. Result shows that the top-ranked factors affecting students’ preferences to study abroad are: quality of education in the host country, safety issues in the host country, and reputation and ranking of the host institution. Also, USA was found to be the most preferred country for study, and students belonging to a family business prefer the USA for study. However, no significant relationship was found between country choice and gender of the student. Similarly, specialization of the study was not found to be a significant factor of country choice.