Technology evaluation in Taiwan's technology industries: Strategies, trajectories, and innovations

Technology evaluation, as an organizational process, is the essential ability to comprehend the values of technologies very soon after they emerge. Meanwhile, the technology evaluation process is inevitably influenced by the firm's industrial context, such as its technological trajectory. This study defines technology evaluation strategy in terms of the processes, methods, and participants involved, and uses this definition as a taxonomy to explore different types of technology evaluation strategies. A survey on the technological industries is conducted to explore types of technology evaluation strategies and their relationships with the advantages of different types of innovation under the effects of different technological trajectories. The survey identifies four types of technology evaluation strategies, namely, those of the flexible executive strategist, the emergent executive intuitionist, the deliberate quantitative strategist, and the deliberate consensual strategist, are identified. This study has found that certain types of technology evaluation strategies have better innovation performances than the others. The patterns of technological trajectories are also found to influence a firm's technology evaluation strategy and the advantages of certain types of innovations. The established explanations of the relationships among the technological trajectory, innovation type, and technology evaluation strategies may guide technology businesses to develop a better technology evaluation capability. The theoretical framework developed in this research enriches the strategic management literature with a new taxonomy for technology evaluation strategies.     

Effects of mentoring functions on receivers' organizational citizenship behavior in a Chinese context: A two-study investigation

This research examines the relationship between mentoring functions received by employees and their organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and the moderating effects of perceived quality relationships with mentoring function providers in China. Results of Study 1 from a sample of 385 supervisor-subordinate dyads reveal that role modeling received by protégés positively relates to their OCB, and perceived mentoring relationship quality moderates the association between career support received and protégés' OCB. Moreover, nonprotégés and protégés who receive high levels of overall mentoring functions perform more OCB than protégés who receive low levels of mentoring functions. Results of Study 2 from 258 supervisor-subordinate dyads show that role modeling received by subordinates positively relates to their OCB directed at individuals (OCBI) and at the organization (OCBO) while career support received positively relates to OCBO. Additionally, leader-member exchange moderates the linkages of role modeling with OCBI and OCBO.     

美国反垄断领域的福利转移市场——利益集团对反垄断法目标的异化

反垄断法是美国市场经济的基本法。长期以来,人们一直认为反垄断法的制定与实施都以公共利益为目标追求。而事实上,反垄断法自始至终都受到利益集团的利用与滥用,并因而严重地偏离了公益方向,由阻却市场力量的利器异化为谋取集团私利最大化的工具。     

The Evolution of Health Insurer Costs in Massachusetts, 2010–2012

We analyze the evolution of health insurer costs in Massachusetts between 2010 and 2012, paying particular attention to changes in the composition of enrollees. This was a period in which Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) increasingly used physician cost control incentives but Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) did not. We show that cost growth and its components cannot be understood without accounting for (1) consumers’ switching between plans, and (2) differences in cost characteristics between new entrants and those leaving the market. New entrants are markedly less costly than those leaving (and their costs fall after their entering year), so cost growth of continuing enrollees in a plan is significantly higher than average per-member cost growth. Relatively high-cost HMO members switch to PPOs while low-cost PPO members switch to HMOs, so the impact of cost control incentives on HMO costs is likely different from their impact on market-wide insurer costs.     

The managed heart: The structural analysis of the stressor–strain relationship and customer orientation among emotional labor workers in Korean hotels

This study examined the structural relationships among three different dimensions of workplace stressors (customer-related stressor, CRS; work environment-related stressor, WERS; job-related stressor, JRS), negative affectivity (NA), emotional exhaustion (EE), and the negative effect of that strain on customer orientation (CO) in the context of the emotional labor (EL) of frontline employees in the hotel industry. Data were collected from self-administrated questionnaires distributed among frontline employees in room and F&B divisions in Korean deluxe tourist hotels, where EL is intense. The results of the structural equation analysis indicated a positive association between all three workplace stressors and NA and between NA and EE. There was also a relationship in the opposite direction with EE and CO, as hypothesized. The moderating effect of organizational level on the workplace stressors–NA relationships was also confirmed. In addition, in an alternative model, we found that NA partially mediates the relationship between JRS and EE; whereas, NA fully mediates the relationships between CRS/WERS and EE. Practical implications are discussed in detail and limitations of the study and future research directions are also suggested.     

Moderating effect of capital intensity on the relationship between leverage and financial distress in the U.S. restaurant industry

During the recent and ongoing economic turmoil, countless businesses have been facing financial distress and many have filed for bankruptcy. This issue is especially critical for the restaurant industry due to restaurants’ sensitivity to economic fluctuations. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the financial distress issue in the U.S. restaurant industry. In particular, the study examines a moderating effect of capital intensity on the relationship between a firm's leverage and degree of financial distress. The dataset includes publicly traded U.S. restaurant firms during the period 1990–2008. The study measures the degree of financial distress by modified Z-scores, and findings suggest a positive moderating effect of capital intensity on the relationship between leverage and financial distress.     

农民权益保障视角下的土地征用程序研究*——以河北省5个建设项目为例

[目的]以河北省奥运村核心区、京张高铁、大唐电厂、京蔚高速、延崇高速5个建设项目为研究对象,分析我国现行征地程序制度在实际实施中存在的问题,并提出有针对性的政策建议,为我国征地程序的完善和征地工作的开展提供参考。[方法]通过问卷调查和访谈了解农民对于征地的认知,从自由的事先知情的同意(FPIC)原则的4个方面对征地程序制度及实施情况进行对比分析。[结果](1)我国的土地征用程序不能完全符合FPIC原则,(2)征地程序实施的偏差使农民权益受损,(3)征地中的非正式治理方式激化征地矛盾,(4)政府和农民的对立关系破坏平等协商机制,(5)政府对不同规模征地项目的实施行为存在明显差异。[结论]保障农民权益和减少用地矛盾需要从FPIC层面完善征地程序,增强在实施中的程序公开和透明,并打破政府和农民之间的对话壁垒,实现协商的"全过程性"和"灵活性"。     

Public trust and corruption perception: disaster relief

Public trust in government and nongovernment organizations is essential to the public’s willingness to donate and to support those organizations. We measure public trust in disaster aid using people’s perception of these organizations’ effectiveness in delivering aid relief to the victims of two recent major earthquakes in China. Based on the survey data collected in 2013 from about 2100 residents in Hong Kong, we document the vulnerability of these residents’ trust perceptions in aid delivery. We find that the sharp decline in trust perception is highly negatively correlated with their perception of corruption of local governments in China.     

农民对宅基地权利认知及影响因素研究*——以河北省新乐市为例

［目的］通过对河北省新乐市农民在宅基地权力认知及影响因素方面的分析,探究我国农村宅基地制度并提出相关建议。［方法］文章受制度功能可信度理论启发,以河北省新乐市14个行政村为调研对象,探究农民对宅基地相关权利认知情况,同时采用Spearman相关性分析研究影响农民宅基地认知的因素。［结果］调研地自发宅基地流转市场已形成,宅基地制度功能处于社会保障功能向财产功能转变的过渡阶段; 农民对宅基地所有权认知不明晰,但并不影响宅基地市场建立; 在宅基地流转中,农民更关注相互之间信任、村委会保留的记录、流转中形成的“事实产权”; 农民性别、年龄、受教育水平和家庭人口数是影响权利认知的主要因素。［结论］依据制度功能可信度理论充分考虑宅基地制度在现阶段的功能变化,因地制宜; 政府应关注农民的宅基地使用权问题,使其真正成为农民的财产; 应对农村宅基地流转中形成的事实产权逐渐正式化; 应制定年轻人就业帮扶和年长者社会保障等相关政策,避免宅基地流转影响农村社会稳定性。     

ERM crisis in retrospect: What if a European central bank had been in existence before 1992?

This paper explores whether policy coordination or a single monetary policy implemented earlier would have kept the U.K. in the process of European monetary integration. On the basis of the pre-ERM crisis empirics by Douven and Plasmans (1996), a counterfactual game simulation approach is used, and five scenarios are established for comparison with the actual historical records. The final answer is negative.