Recentralization as an Alternative to Urban Dispersion: Transformative Planning in a Neoliberal Societal Context

Growing dissatisfaction with the prevailing dispersed urban form and its generalized reliance on the automobile has resulted in the formulation of planning models seeking to substitute dispersed development with recentralization. A survey of 301 planning documents with a metropolitan focus, originating from the 58 US and Canadian urban regions with a population exceeding one million, reveals widespread support for urban recentralization. But interviews with 55 planners, involved in the preparation of these plans and/or the implementation of their proposals, highlight actual and foreseen barriers to the implementation of recentralization strategies. The article interprets the popularity of recentralization in planning documents as the outcome of planners' attempts to reconcile their commitment to sustainable development with societal factors affecting planning possibilities. Still, we anticipate serious problems in achieving large‐scale recentralization due to urban development path dependencies emanating from the prevailing urban form and dynamics, institutional structures, and from the limited urban transformative potential afforded by neoliberalism.     

The changing role of guanxi in influencing the development of entrepreneurial companies: a case study of the emergence of pharmaceutical companies in China

“Guanxi” is a term in Chinese referring to the reciprocal nature of interpersonal relationships. Its attributes, which are specific to Chinese culture, have been the focus of recent literature. Whereas the impact of guanxi seems to be quite similar to that of general relationships, ties or connections, it is characterized by a number of different dimensions. In this paper, we studied 44 entrepreneurial companies in the pharmaceutical industry in China to examine these attributes in greater detail. We use a system dynamics model to simulate the influence of various guanxi variables – the strength, scale and structure of guanxi – on the development of entrepreneurial companies.     

Assessing response styles across modes of data collection

Cross-mode surveys are on the rise. The current study compares levels of response styles across three modes of data collection: paper-and-pencil questionnaires, telephone interviews, and online questionnaires. The authors make the comparison in terms of acquiescence, disacquiescence, and extreme and midpoint response styles. To do this, they propose a new method, namely, the representative indicators response style means and covariance structure (RIRSMACS) method. This method contributes to the literature in important ways. First, it offers a simultaneous operationalization of multiple response styles. The model accounts for dependencies among response style indicators due to their reliance on common item sets. Second, it accounts for random error in the response style measures. As a consequence, random error in response style measures is not passed on to corrected measures. The method can detect and correct cross-mode response style differences in cases where measurement invariance testing and multitrait multimethod designs are inadequate. The authors demonstrate and discuss the practical and theoretical advantages of the RIRSMACS approach over traditional methods. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A novel decomposition of aggregate total factor productivity change

Journal of Productivity Analysis - An industry is an ensemble of individual firms (decision making units) which may or may not interact with each other. Similarly, an economy is an ensemble of...     

Interest and reaction time analysis of credit card offers: Managerial implications of high level research procedures

This paper presents a new approach to the optimisation of direct mail offers. Conjoint measurement will be used to identify two aspects of an offer: the degree of interest; and the speed at which an individual processes the information. The approach allows the marketer to create offers that are simultaneously attractive to customers and easy to understand. The approach is illustrated by a credit card case study.     

Analytical Issues in External Financing Alternatives for SBEs

As the amount of information about an enterprise is generally not neutral with respect to firm size, financiers have problems to identify the default risk associated with a borrower or to have control over a borrower's investments. This review paper analyses how various control mechanisms are fit to reduce this information problem and how various types of capital suppliers are endowed to finance small business enterprises.     

Unlocking the potential of Italian broadband: Case studies and policy lessons

A number of regional initiatives have recently revived the Italian broadband sector, although their fortunes vary depending on governance, market and geographical issues. However, all these initiatives jointly succeeded in sparking a heated debate on how public–private interplay can facilitate the deployment of broadband networks in a country still lagging behind European frontrunners such as Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. In the light of European Union regulation and recent case law, the paper examines three regional initiatives (Progetto Banda Ultra Larga Lombardia, Trentino Network and Lepida Emilia Romagna) by using the conceptual model on public private interplay developed by Nucciarelli, Sadowski, and Achard (2010). Thereafter, the paper elaborates on initiatives' ups and downs to focus on conditions and trigger events that have made them a success or a failure story. Lessons learnt conclude.     

Thinking the unthinkable – the end of the Dutch river dike system? Exploring a new safety concept for the river management

Since 1100 the Dutch relied on their continuously expanding extensive dike system for keeping dry feet and dry goods. But how durable and safe is this traditional dike concept, now the sea-level is rising and rainfall patterns seem to change? Can they continue to raise their dikes in the future or should they give more room to the river? In the Dutch mind higher dikes are saver. In practice, however, higher dikes may lead to higher risks as the consequences of failure rise. What is wrong with the risk perception of the Dutch citizen? How should risks be communicated to the public, how should a public debate on safety regimes be organized? In a study project a new safety concept in which the Dutch rivers got a free flow was explored and communicated. In an effort to reframe the issue a transition path, scenarios, impact studies and ex ante evaluations of this new safety management regime were made. A new safety paradigm seems to be taking shape. Context scenarios show under what circumstances frequent flooding can be made acceptable to the Dutch citizen and the inhabitants of the Dutch polders.