Telematics: Decision Time for Detroit

With implications for navigation, safety, entertainment and vehicle maintenance as well as regulation and infrastructure investment in roads, telematics has the potential to transform driving more than any other innovation for decades. In the already well-established Asian telematics industry, revenue tends to come from extra charges at the time of vehicle-sale, with most subsequent services provided free. The US model has evolved differently, with much of the cost of telematics hardware and software subsidized in the initial vehicle sale price and revenue coming from services used. The decision to invest in telematics is therefore riskier in the US. This article first briefly summarizes the potential of telematics. It then analyzes the investment risks, particularly for automakers. It concludes with recommendations on how the US auto industry can minimize risk and make the most of the opportunities.     

Developing countries and the future of the automobile industry

This paper reassesses the controversial view which has assumed that, at some point in the future, the global automobile industry, having reached maturity, would naturally migrate to the leading developing countries where the markets are growing more rapidly and wages are substantially lower. The authors argue that the threshold facing a developing country seeking to establish a domestic automobile industry has risen because of two recent developments: the rise of Japan as a major automobile producer; and a new wave of technological and organizational innovation. This involves use of state-of-the-art microelectronics and flexible manufacturing system, as well as complete restructing of component supply resulting in considerable unit cost and lead-time advantages.The authors look at what these trends mean for both the OECD and the developing countries. They outline the conventional view in more detail and then present an alternative analysis of the evolution of the industry. New policy options for the developing countries are spotlighted.     

Technology Management in a Mature Firm: Structuration Theory and the Innovation Process

Most innovation studies focus on the activities or characteristics of individuals (agency) or on organizational attributes such as size and formalization (structure). In attempting to reconcile this agency-structure dichotomy we draw on structuration theory to examine the innovation process in detail. Structural properties (signification, domination and legitimation) are constantly reproduced from social interaction (communication, power and sanctions) by means of the modalities (interpretative schemes, facilities and norms) drawn on by knowledgeable, reflexive actors. This framework is utilized to examine the case of a mature manufacturing company in which managers and engineers were attempting to access new technologies. The data were acquired by means of a 6-year, on-going study which began in 1992 and which we suggest is essential for a thorough understanding of the innovation process.     

倘若……？压力测试运用不同方案测定的国家金融体系面临冲击时的脆弱性

20世纪90年代的金融危机强调了对金融部门脆弱性的详细了解的重要性。作为一种反应，IMF和国际社会一道开始开发新工具来更好地评估金融体系的稳定性。这些工具之一，压力测试，强调了一个国家的金融体系如何预见一系列的冲击的。     

Sociality and money1

This is a translation of ‘Socialité et argent’, a text by Emmanuel Levinas originally published in 1987. Levinas describes the emergence of money out of interhuman relations of exchange and the social relations – sociality – that result. While elsewhere he has presented sociality as ‘nonindifference to alterity’ it appears here as ‘proximity of the stranger’ and points to the tension between an economic system based on money and the basic human disposition to respond to the face of the other person. Money both encodes and effaces sociality, both designates and disguises social relations. It arises from the way that needs and interests are manifested in exchange relations, in what he calls the ‘interestedness’ of economic life. But interests are always already cut through by the fact that being is always ‘being with others’. Being is always ‘interbeing’. Interestedness is always confronted by disinterestedness, that is, by a sociality marked by the ‘goodness of giving’, attachment to and concern for the poverty of the other person. Levinas concludes with a discussion of sociality and justice, posing questions about the tension between the demand to respond to an Other immediately before me and at the same time to respond to the demands of an other Other (the third person) who also invites a response.     

REDUNDANCY, NATURAL TURNOVER AND THE PARADOX OF STRUCTURAL CHANGE

The properties of the labour market are such that moderate employment shifts can be accommodated by, and might even encourage, the natural movement of labour between jobs. But the scale and extent of employment adjustments in recent years has produced an altogether different response. Voluntary movement has fallen dramatically as unemployment has risen. Redundancies have increased in importance in absolute and relative terms. The pace of adjustment in recent years has reduced the natural flexibility of the labour market and has created a serious impediment to the optimal distribution of labour. Moreover, an economic doctrine which emphasizes the importance of flexibility and personal choice in the labour market, has effectively reduced both.     

Tournament Rituals, Category Dynamics, and Field Configuration: The Case of the Booker Prize

abstract    In this article we theorize the ways in which tournament rituals, in the form of prominent industry award ceremonies, configure organizational fields. We review field theory to distil four criteria to which field-configuring mechanisms should conform. We undertake an archival study of the Booker Prize for Fiction to explore how this tournament ritual has configured the field of contemporary English-language literature by championing the distinctive category of post-colonial fiction.     

Using a Validation Process to Develop Market Segmentation Based on Travel Motivation for Major Metropolitan Areas

Studies on market segmentation based on travelers' push motivation have been conducted without implementing a statistically validated procedure for establishing the segmented markets. The purpose of this study is to identify validated traveler market segments by examining what travelers' push motivation dimensions are among the heterogeneity of travelers to a major metropolitan area. The six push motivation dimensions were extracted from the 20 motivation items by conducting factor analysis (i.e., Social/Interaction, Excitement/Fun, Relaxation, Sightseeing, Family/Friends, and Sports). Cluster analysis identified the three homogeneous groups of travelers. Subsequent discriminant analysis verified the existence of the three travelers' markets in the metropolitan area. Managerial implications are suggested for the three push motivation‐based segments.