Interconnection in Network Industries

Recent deregulation of telecommunications in the U.S. and elsewhere has highlighted the importance of interconnection in network industries. In this paper, we analyse interconnection in a deregulated network where the participants compete in the final retail market. We consider both the case of a mature industry as well as one where a new entrant challenges the incumbent. In the later case, network externalities allow the incumbent to use the terms of interconnection to maintain its dominant position. Moreover, in either case, competition in the retail market can be undermined by collusion over access prices. We discuss the implications for some of the provisions of the new U.S. Telecommunications Act, specifically mandatory interconnection and reciprocity of tariffs, comparing these to the simple bill and keep rule.     

Modeling Overnight Recreation Trip Choice: Application of a Repeated Nested Multinomial Logit Model

In this paper we apply the repeated nested multinomial logit model, a version of a random utility model (RUM), to estimate the choice of an overnight versus single day recreation trip, along with the other usual choice of which of the sites to visit, and less typically, the choice of whether to participate (in our application – to fish) at all. We also find statistically significant income effects in the empirical results. The application is to Atlantic Salmon fishing and the data set is for Maine resident angler's fishing trips to rivers in Maine and Canada.     

Entry Barriers in Politics,or: Why Politics,Like Natural Monopoly,Is Not Organised as an Ongoing Market-Process

In the paper Entry Barriers in Politics, or: Why Politics, Like Natural Monopoly, Is Not Organised as an Ongoing Market-Process, an analytical framework for dealing with processes of political competition is presented. The idea goes back to Tullock's model of democracy as franchise-bidding for natural monopoly. To this, basic insights of New Institutional Economics and Austrian Ecomomics are added. It is shown that incomplete contracts which arise in economic bidding schemes, characterise political competition. At the same time, they create leeway for political entrepreneurship. The same is true for various barriers to entry in politics. These barriers affect a trade-off between political stability and contestability which is discussed in view of incentives and opportunities for politicians to engage in positive-sum, long-term investments in political reforms.     

Everybody wins? A discourse analysis of competing stakeholder expectations in Social Impact Bonds

ABSTRACT

This paper explores how diverse stakeholders frame their expectations of Social Impact Bonds (SIBs). Using discourse analysis, the authors examine competing expectations in SIB press releases, showing how they differ between stakeholders, between institutional contexts, and how they evolve over time. The paper highlights how the prioritization of social finance and collaboration discourses privileges the role of private investors, which in turn diminishes the role of service providers as innovators.     

Domain-independent approach to risk reduction

Abstract

The popular domain-specific approach to risk reduction created the illusion that efficient risk reduction can be delivered successfully solely by using methods offered by the specific domain. As a result, many industries have been deprived of efficient risk reducing strategy and solutions. This paper argues that risk reduction is underlined by domain-independent methods and principles which, combined with knowledge from the specific domain, help to generate effective risk reduction solutions. In this respect, the paper introduces a powerful method for reducing the likelihood of computational errors based on combining the domain-independent method of segmentation and local knowledge of the chain rule for differentiation. The paper also demonstrates that lack of knowledge of domain-independent principles for risk reduction misses opportunities to reduce the risk of failure even in a mature field like stress analysis. The domain-independent methods for risk reduction do not rely on reliability data or knowledge of physical mechanisms underlying possible failure modes and are particularly well suited for developing new designs, with unknown failure mechanisms and failure history. In many cases, the reliability improvement and risk reduction by using the domain-independent methods reduces risk at no extra cost or at a relatively small cost. The presented domain-independent methods work across unrelated domains and this is demonstrated by the supplied examples which range from various areas of engineering and technology, computer science, project management, health risk management, business and mathematics. The domain-independent risk reduction methods presented in this paper promote building products and systems characterised by high-reliability and resilience.     

Adoption of Environmental Reporting and Management Practices: An Analysis of New South Wales Public Sector Entities

This paper analyses the level of environmental disclosure and the corresponding adoption of environmental management practices by New South Wales public sector entities in 1996. From the analysis of 35 entities, it was found that the development of environmental management practices and the level of environmental disclosure were significantly associated. The results suggest that entities were responding to increased political visibility through higher levels of environmental disclosure, however they were also responding through the development of environmental management practices.     

Do charitable causes need to segment their current donor base on demographic factors?: An Australian examination

Modern charities are facing increasing pressures requiring them to use more effectively a range of marketing activities, and segmentation may be one such tool. The giving literature suggests that the demographic factors of gender and age might serve as appropriate segmentation criteria and this paper examines whether motivations of existing donors vary by age or gender. The results suggest that there may be limited benefits in segmenting existing donors and that charities may be able to use similar promotional strategies for all existing donors. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications     

Vertical Integration in the Malting Barley Industry: A "Silver Bullet" for Coors?

The Coors Brewing Company owns a single-site, integrated malting facility and brewery in Golden, Colorado; a second brewery in Memphis, Tennessee; and a mixing facility in Elkton, Virginia. Coors operates a research and development program that breeds barley varieties suitable for malting at the Golden site. Coors contracts with 900 growers in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming for approximately 160,000 acres of malting barley. This case study is designed for senior- and graduate-level courses in agribusiness management. The case relates three theories of vertical coordination to Coors' decision to contract 100% of its malting barley requirements.     

Identification management and its bases: Bridging management and marketing perspectives through a focus on affiliation dimensions

There has been growing interest in both management and marketing regarding how individuals become identified with organizations and how organizations attempt to manage these identifications. The authors present a framework built on explicit and implicit points of convergence in research conducted in both these disciplines. In their review of the management and marketing literatures, the authors suggest three fundamental mechanisms, or “bases”, for managing organizational identification: relational, behavioral, and symbolic. Furthermore, the authors argue that how an individual is affiliated with an organization will impact the relative influence of these identification management bases. The authors conclude by suggesting how management and marketing scholars can create a theoretical space for future interdisciplinary work Such a change would involve moving away from “employees” versus “customers” as a prime division between the fields and moving toward a more fine-grained approach that emphasizes the unique characteristics of individual-organizational relationships. M. Teresa Cardador (cardador@uiuc.edu) is a doctoral student in management at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research explores issues related to workplace attachment and identification, work orientation, and the experience of employees who find work highly meaningful and engaging. Michael G. Pratt (mpratt@uiuc.edu) is a James F. Towey Fellow and an associate professor of management at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan. His articles have appeared in leading management outlets, includingAdministrative Science Quarterly, theAcademy of Management Journal, theAcademy of Management Review, andResearch in Organizational Behavior. He recently coedited (with Anat Rafaeli) a book titledArtifacts and Organizations: Beyond Mere Symbolism (Lawrence Erlbaum, 2005). His current research examines issues of organizational attachment (e.g., identification and commitment), multiple identities and meaning, and intuition. Dr. Pratt’s work focuses largely on professionals in both traditional and dispersed work contexts.     

The role of foreign currency debt in financial crises: 1880–1913 versus 1972–1997

We show that exposure to foreign currency debt does not necessarily increase the risk of having a financial crisis. Some countries do not suffer from financial fragility despite original sin. Before 1913 British offshoots and Scandinavia afflicted with it avoided financial meltdowns. Today many advanced countries have original sin, but few have had crises. In both periods, aggregate balance sheet mismatches are associated with a greater likelihood of a crisis. The evidence suggests that foreign currency debt is dangerous when mis-managed. This is part of the difference between developed countries and emerging markets both of which borrow in foreign currency.