Knowledge transfer in an innovation simulation model

To understand the development of innovation processes in these knowledge-driven economies, one needs to focus on underlying processes of creating and sharing new knowledge. In this paper, an evolutionary simulation model is used to achieve some insights into these innovation processes. The model is based on the one hand on rules about market performance, investments and R&D strategies, and on the other hand on a model concerning knowledge creation (the ability of firms to create knowledge through intramural R&D efforts and the ability to discover and absorb new developments from basic academic research and competitors) and knowledge transfer based on an exponentionally expanding pool of (not necessarily new) knowledge of innovations in the own sector, but also from external sources. It is demonstrated that the imitative firm can be economically more successful but this strategy may prove to be superior only after a long time span.     

Influencing factors on train punctuality—results from some Norwegian studies

This paper discusses the concept of train punctuality, influencing factors and some strategies for improving punctuality. The purpose of the paper is to give an overview of important elements to consider in the preparation of train punctuality improvements, supported by empirical results from studies in Norway. A high capacity utilisation is widely assumed to reduce punctuality. However, the studies from the Oslo area show that capacity utilisation alone cannot explain all variations in punctuality during the day. We particularly point to the number of passengers in the trains as an additional explanation factor. Our own and previous research seems to imply that the key success factor for punctuality on local and regional trains in congested areas is the management of boarding and alighting passengers. On single track lines, such as long distance lines and regional lines in not congested areas, the key success factor seems to lie in the management of train crossings. The paper also discusses precision versus slack strategies as means of improving punctuality. Future research on influencing factors for train punctuality aimed at developing a model for punctuality prediction is proposed.     

The relationship between supplier control and competition in public sector outsourcing

The aim of this article is to develop theory and contribute to empirical studies about how the effectiveness of bureaucratic controls in public sector outsourcing is contingent upon supplier competition, and why and how this interaction plays out differently for hard and soft types of outsourced services. In previous inter‐organizational management control (IOMC) research there is a contradiction between theory and empirical results concerning how bureaucratic control and supplier competition interacts in aligning suppliers. While IOMC theory suggests competition reduces the need for bureaucratic control, empirical studies clearly indicate the opposite. We extend previous research and theorizing by differing between the outsourcing of hard and soft types of services and by testing the joint effect of bureaucratic control and competition on supplier alignment. The empirical case for testing theory is outsourcing by competitive tendering in the public sector. We use transaction level data from 166 local government suppliers in Sweden. In accordance with our prediction, the effect of bureaucratic control in aligning suppliers decreases with supplier competition when hard types of services are outsourced. For soft types of services, our results indicate that bureaucratic control is not contingent upon supplier competition. Furthermore, we show that when supplier competition is low the effect of bureaucratic control on supplier alignment is stronger for hard than for soft types of services. These results constitute an important contribution to the central notion of the interplay between bureaucratic control and competition in the IOMC literature.     

Seasonal asymmetries in wholesale–retail cost pass-through

This article investigates the extent of seasonal asymmetries in wholesale to retail cost pass-through in the Canadian apple market. We model nonlinearity in cost pass-through in a panel two-regime error correction model. The model employs weekly store-level retail matching wholesale price data for a major US retail chain. Our results reveal distinct seasonal asymmetries in cost pass-through. Retail prices adjust faster during the fall indicating significantly higher pass-through in response to a change in input composition and seasonal expansion of alternative marketing channels. This input composition effect on cost pass-through highlights the general importance of time-variant market conditions and their respective determinants in explaining cost pass-through dynamics in commodity markets.     

Gegenöffentlichkeit(en) und partizipativer Journalismus im Internet

There have been many claims in research literature that participatory journalism constitutes a forum for counter-public spheres. This article attempts to test this hypothesis by analysing empirically the relationship between counter-public spheres and participatory journalism on three levels (article elements in professional media, full-fledged articles in professional media, participatory media). On each level, prominent cases of participatory media are selected in order to give an overview of the different forums of counter-public spheres. Many forms of counter-public spheres can be found. Indicators are counter-agenda setting, social mobilising, media participation, and collaborative communication. However, there are marked differences in terms of quality and audience reach of the counter-public spheres analysed.     

Globalization and economic development

A feature of the continuing integration of the world economy is the globalization of production and the consequent rise of trade in parts and components. Products are more internationalized and less identified with any particular country. Non-trivial shares of the value-added of many exports consist of imports and vice versa. Extension of the international division of labour beyond finished products offers developing countries a broader range of choices for industrialization. This paper explores the implications of these developments in the context of a standard trade model. Component specialization in a developing country's import sector is shown to be superior in overall welfare terms to specialization in the integrated product. Output and employment are higher in the sector, but the wage-rental ratio is lower.