Benefits and barriers of telework: perception differences of human resources managers according to company's operations strategy

Telework as an integration of Information and Telecommunication Technologies with Human Resources management, means a new job organisation paradigm for companies working in the New Economy. However there are very few empirical studies that have analysed the perception differences of telework benefits and barriers in industrial and service companies. This paper contributes with empirical data to the relationship between the use of telework techniques and the implementation of this new work organisation with the company's operations strategy. The paper uses data from Spanish companies to test the relationship between innovation, employee training, and other production strategy performance parameters with the feasibility of telework adoption.     

Replacement Investment: Optimal Economic Life Under Uncertainty

Replacement investment is essentially a regenerative optimal stopping problem; that is, the key decision concerns when to terminate the life of existing plant – and hence when to start over again. This paper examines this optimisation problem within a continuous time framework and studies the qualitative and quantitative impact of uncertainty on the timing of new investment (and the criteria that should be used for terminating the life of existing plant).     

An exploratory study of exclusive dealing in channel relationships

The channel literature has paid little attention to issues related to exclusive dealing governance arrangements. Consequently, there is only limited knowledge about how exclusive dealing impacts various channel processes and outcomes. This gap is especially regrettable since exclusive dealing, in addition to being one of the most commonplace governance formats within the distribution channels, is also one of the best exemplars of viable unilateral governance formats. In this initial investigation, the authors explore the linkages among the constructs of exclusive dealing, relationalism, communication, and performance. Empirical data for the study were drawn from the photocopier industry. He obtained his M.B.A. and D.B.A. degrees from Boston University. His primary research interest includes channels of distribution, franchisor-franchisee relationships, and consumer purchase behavior in international contexts. He has published articles inJournal of Marketing Channels and the proceedings of several marketing conferences. This article was crafted when Rajiv Dant was at Boston University. He received his M.B.A. from Bombay University and his Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. His research focuses on channels of distribution, with primary emphasis on franchise structure, franchisee-franchisor relationships, and public policy aspects of franchising growth and ownership topics. His research has been published inJournal of Marketing, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Research in Marketing, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of the Operations Research Society, Marketing Letters, Journal of Small Business Management, Journal of Economic Psychology, Southern Business & Economics Journal, Philosophical and Radical Thought in Marketing, Journal of Healthcare Marketing, Journal of Marketing Channels, andInternational Small Business Journal.     

Low Income Dynamics in 1990s Britain

This paper analyses low income dynamics in Britain using the first four waves of the British Household Panel Survey. There is much low income turnover: although there is a small group of people who are persistently poor, more striking is the relatively large number of low income escapers and entrants from one year to the next. Simulations using estimated low income exit and re-entry rates demonstrate the importance of repeated low income spells for explaining a person's experience of low income over a given period. We also document the characteristics of low income stayers, escapers and entrants.     

The Economic Benefits of Australian University Degrees: Bachelor and Research Higher Degrees

The investment in Australian bachelor and research degrees results in significant economic benefits for the individual and for society.     

Models for which the MLE and the conditional MLE coincide

The MLE, CMLE and MMLE coincide in a linear regression model with fixed individual effects. In this case, there is no incidental parameters problem and the MLE is consistent. The equivalence of these estimators is important because CMLE=MLE implies both the consistency of the MLE and the efficiency of the CMLE. In general, we cannot expect to find a CMLE or MMLE, since there may be no fixed-dimension sufficient statistic for the effects, nor an appropriate transformation of the data whose distribution does not depend on the effects. However, we show that the MLE, CMLE and MMLE do coincide in systems of seemingly unrelated regressions and in systems of simultaneous equations. We establish this result for systems in which (exogenous) variables in addition to (or other than) the intercept may have coefficients which vary over individuals, provided that the set of such variables is the same in every equation.The financial support of the National Science Foundation is gratefully acknowledged.     

Economists and Data

This paper is concerned with one central question: the choice between theories, and the role played by data in that choice. It deals with the uses economists may make of data and the importance of understanding the institutional basis that gives rise to the data - an area in which labour economists have traditionally been particularly strong - and with the relevance of assumptions. It deals with the ultimate need to choose between competing theories (despite the role of conventionalism) on the basis of data rather than retreating into a comfortable 'methodological pluralism'. It considers the role of test replication, with reference to the practice in natural science (and its role there in checking scientific fraud) and concludes that, despite extensive technical problems of testing, economists have to accept a data check if the rhetoric of mathematical technicality is not to overwhelm the need to explain. Parallels are drawn with experience in physics (and the implications of the development of Chaos and Catastrophe for a naively predictionist view are noted), medicine and history (of which, it is argued, modern economists are far too neglectful).     

Racial differences in the feminization of poverty

The feminization of poverty refers to female householders and their children becoming an increasing percentage of the poor population. After examining effects of race on poverty of female-headed households from 1959 to 1989, this study investigates statistical relationships among female poverty, economic and labor market conditions, and transfer payments (specifically AFDC) by means of the Granger causality test over the period from 1966 to 1988. This study reinforces the plausible assumption that policies which would lower the unemployment rate of females and would increase real economic growth could be expected to reduce the number of poor female households.