Procedure for the Implementation of the Precautionary Principle in Biosafety Commissions

In order to fulfil their responsibilities under the precautionary principle, biosafety commissions should lay down guidelines concerning the understanding and application of this principle and work towards an operational procedure. With this contribution, we propose a step‐wise procedure that aims to establish the understanding of the precautionary principle within biosafety commissions and to provide a methodological approach for the application of this principle to specific cases in the course of risk assessment. This approach is based on systematically investigating the consensus view within a group of 15 biosafety experts with the help of sets of checklists. For step 1, we propose a checklist of 13 criteria aimed at defining the understanding of the precautionary principle. For step 2, we propose 4 criteria for the decision on whether or not to use the precautionary principle. For step 3, 11 criteria for the use of the precautionary principle are presented. In step 4, additional criteria for specific applications could be included. In step 5, possible recommendations to decision‐making authorities are proposed.     

Flexibility,Firm-Specific Turbulence and the Performance of the Long-lived Small Firm

The hypothesis that flexibility enhances the long run prospects of the small firm is explored by examining precipitating causes of organizational change within it, and consequential adjustments. The study is fieldwork based and uses evidence gathered directly from entrepreneurs. New measures of flexibility and firm-specific turbulence are used to explain long-run performance, measured over 28 distinct attributes. Econometric estimates (using GLS and Heckman selectivity correction) are reported, on the relationship between flexibility, firm-specific turbulence and performance. Firm-specific turbulence is shown to have a negative effect on performance, but the latter is enhanced by increasing the flexibility of the small firm.JEL classification: C42, D21, G33, L2, M13, M21.     

Payment method and perceptions of ownership

How consumers pay influences how they feel about a transaction. In particular, paying by card has been argued to have an effect on the perception of cost, making it less salient and painful. We propose and show that payment method also influences how consumers feel about the acquired good. Specifically, we focus on effects of the payment method on psychological ownership, i.e., the perception of an object as “mine.” We propose that cash payment results in stronger psychological ownership because it influences the extent of perceived investment in an object. We provide evidence for the proposed effect from field and laboratory settings. Results of a longitudinal exit survey and an experiment show that cash payers report higher levels of immediate psychological ownership than card payers. However, this effect seems to depend on the meanings associated with a payment method. Asian students (who associate credit card payment with investment and debt) do not exhibit this effect. Moreover, the initial boost in psychological ownership seems to be comparably short-lived. While those paying in cash experience no further increase in psychological ownership over time, those paying by card do.     

Take me on a ride: The role of environmentalist identity for carpooling

Sharing does not need to involve corporate providers but can also happen on a peer-to-peer (P2P) basis. P2P sharing platforms who match private providers and users are thus dealing with two different customer segments. An example of this is carpooling, the sharing of a car journey. Recent years have seen considerable research on why people use sharing services. In contrast, there is little knowledge of why people may offer a good for sharing purposes. Drawing on identity theory, this paper suggests that users and providers of carpooling need to be addressed differently. A pilot study and two studies, including both actual car owners and nonowners confirm that the extent to which one identifies as an environmentalist predicts car owners' willingness to offer carpooling, but does not affect nonowners' willingness to use carpooling services. These findings remain robust when controlling for various potential confounds. Furthermore, Study 2 suggests that an environmentalist identity plays an important role for car owners' actual decision to offer a ride via an online platform. These results suggest that marketers of P2P platforms need to pursue different strategies when addressing potential users and providers on the same platform.     

业绩指标的游戏

公共机构一般通过业绩指标、座位排名、明星职员评选等方式实现业绩管理目标,这很可能让管理者们陷入无聊的数字游戏中。我们对相关人员展开调查,希望探究目前业绩评价制度存在的问题,并提出相应的解决措施。     

An Analysis of Structural Change in China using Biproportional Methods

Traditional IO techniques have been used and applied in detail to the case of the Chinese economy with a view to describing and analysing the gradual, albeit radical, transformation of the Chinese industrial fabric since the beginning of the economic reforms. Using a Biproportional Filter, our study has a threefold objective: to measure and analyse structural change that has taken place in the Chinese manufacturing sector since 1985; to highlight those industries that have been most responsible for the change; and to explain the reasons for these changes.     

信息技术对美国医疗卫生服务系统的影响兼Kaiser案例研究

美国拥有世界上最昂贵的医疗服务体系,同时还存在很多问题和矛盾的地方,包括治疗结果不理想和高成本问题.为了说明信息技术对医疗卫生体系的影响,分析了一个案例,从组织结构、战略和实践方面,研究了美国最大的封闭医疗组织-Kaiser在应用信息技术方面的实践及所取得的初步成就.Kaiser的HealthConnect系统一开始表现出美国健康维护组织的未来前景,更重要的是它对于美国医疗体系的改革提供了很好的借鉴.     

Saturation in qualitative research: exploring its conceptualization and operationalization

Quality & Quantity - Saturation has attained widespread acceptance as a methodological principle in qualitative research. It is commonly taken to indicate that, on the basis of the data that...     

Online display advertising for CPG brands: (When) does it work?

This study examines how online display ads, alone or in combination with more conventional media (television and print), can help drive sales in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) sector. It also assesses how the combined sales effect of online and offline ads depends on the volatility of their expenditures over time. We explore these relations for 154 brands across 68 Dutch CPG product categories. We find that, even though display ads are not effective for the “average” CPG brand, they do have a significant impact for a sizable, and considerably larger than expected by chance, subset of brands. Importantly, this impact depends on the type of product. While display ads are found to be ineffective for low-involvement utilitarian products, they can significantly enhance sales for other CPG product types. Moreover, the effect depends on whether they are used in combination with other media: while display ads are best used as a stand-alone medium for high-involvement utilitarian products, it is better to combine them with traditional media for hedonic products. Finally, the long-term effectiveness of display messages increases significantly when they are spread more evenly in time.     

German Investment in Ireland and in the Central and East European Countries

The accession of Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) to the EU is expected by many to lead to the diversion of foreign direct investment towards the CEECs and away from other EU countries. The following paper focuses on the investigation of the internationalisation strategies and location choices of German multinational corporations (MNCs) in manufacturing against the background of growing regional economic integration, and particularly the fifth EU enlargement. It draws on the findings of a case study and interview results covering three German MNCs and their location choices for investment in both Ireland and the new EU member countries from Eastern Europe. This research project has been co-funded by the RIA in Dublin and DAAD. A first version of this work was presented at the September 2005 Irish Academy of Management Annual Conference in Galway.