Launching strategy for electric vehicles: Lessons from China and Taiwan

China has seen explosive growth in the sales of electric bikes since 1998. The boom was triggered by Chinese local governments' efforts to restrict motorcycles in city centers. However, many Chinese cities have started to extend the restriction to electric bikes. Whether China's electric bike economy will continue to develop is highly uncertain. The experience of China's electric bike boom suggests that limiting the fossil-fueled alternatives could be an effective policy tool in fostering the commercialization of electric vehicles. The failure of Taiwan's electric scooter policy, on the other hand, indicates that subsidies alone may not be a sufficient launching strategy. The policy approach of limiting the alternatives deserves serious consideration if policymakers wish to foster electric vehicles.     

供应商选择问题的随机机会约束规划模型及其混合遗传算法

在供应商的最大供应数量、质量水平、送达时间均为随机变量且预算给定的条件下,建立了供应商选择问题的随机机会约束整数目标规划模型.鉴于传统方法求解随机规划较为困难,给出了一种将随机模拟、神经元网络和遗传算法结合在一起的混合遗传算法并用多个算例进行了验证,结果表明该算法有较强的适应性.     

季节性库存条件下混合仓储空间的决策模型研究

研究并建立了混合仓储空间决策模型，并对模型进行了求解，从而使企业能够便捷迅速地为其季节性库存制定出最优的自有仓库库容。     

Semiparametric analysis of clustered survival data under nonparametric frailty

In this article a novel approach to analyze clustered survival data that are subject to extravariation encountered through clustering of survival times is proposed. This is accomplished by extending the Cox proportional hazard model to a frailty model where the cluster-specific shared frailty is modeled nonparametrically. We assume a nonparametric Dirichlet process for the distribution of frailty. In such a semiparametric setup, we propose a hybrid method to draw model-based inferences. In the framework of the proposed hybrid method, the estimation of parameters is performed by implementing Monte Carlo expected conditional maximization algorithm. A simulation study is conducted to study the efficiency of our methodology. The proposed methodology is, thereafter, illustrated by a real-life data on recurrence time to infections in kidney patient.     

Globalising the hotel industry 1946–68: A multinational case study of the Intercontinental Hotel Corporation

This article employs one case study, of Intercontinental Hotel Corporation, to examine the globalisation of the hotel industry between 1946 and 1968. The results show that the advent of multinational hotel development was characterised by the importance of government policies in shaping multinational expansion, whose trajectory was also closely related to the growth of the airline industry, underpinned by consumer demand change. This historical analysis illuminates capabilities specific to a firm as well as the entry mode and locations selected for international expansion as important factors in driving financial performance. Finally, this study contributes to the international business and business history literature by exploring international business development in the context of a small sample size and longitudinal approach.     

Madeira embroidery: A failed collective brand (1935–59)

The regional cluster of the Madeira embroidery sector in the political context of 1935 to 1959 provides the basis for an analysis of a common strategy aimed at strengthening the business competitiveness of the industry. The strategy was a government initiative aimed at improving the material welfare of workers and based on the creation of a collective brand. The aim of this paper is to show that the mixed corporatist organisation that managed the initiative was an example of hybrid governance and that the strategy failed because the regulations introduced were not successful in transforming a weak cluster into a strong one. As a result, competition was kept within a circle of low-wage production centres that left Madeira at a disadvantage.     

Text Services and Universal Service Obligations

NETNOMICS: Economic Research and Electronic Networking -     

An Examination of Mandatorily Convertible Preferred Stock

I investigate the determinants of the use of mandatorily convertible preferred stock and assess market reaction to its issue. The security is dividend enhanced and converted into common stock within four years. Issuers have high debt ratios, low interest coverage, and bankruptcy risk. Market response to the issue was neutral suggesting the preferred issue resolved the lemon problem associated with common stock. Firms' Z-scores and abnormal returns are inversely related indicating the issues reduced financial distress. Market response was most positive for low risk firms with high cash flows.     

Hybrid strategic groups

The notion of strategic groups has recently emerged as a critical perspective for uncovering firms' strategic postures/recipes and competitive market structures. Firms within strategic groups generally adopt similar strategic recipes and compete more intensely than firms across strategic groups. Building on recent research, the authors develop the concept of hybrid strategic groups, which blend the strategic recipes of more than one group, in contrast to existing conceptualizations of strategic groups, where either firms tightly follow the recipes of a strategic group (i.e., core firms) or firms loosely follow the recipes of a strategic group (i.e., secondary firms). Thus, competition among firms depends not only on the strategic group but also on the overlap of that strategic group with other strategic groups. The authors devise a combinatorial optimization-based classification procedure utilizing a bilinear model that accommodates multiple variable batteries that can estimate hybrid strategic groups. The proposed methodology is illustrated by using archival data on public banks. For this illustration, the hybrid strategic group solution outperforms ordinary cluster analyses and offers critical insights into the nature of competition among firms. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

双选信道下的CPM-FMT联合调制

为了提高双选择性衰落信道下滤波多音（FMT）多载波系统的性能,从子载波调制角度出发,提出了一种连续相位调制-滤波多音（CPM-FMT）联合调制方法。该方法首先将比特数据流串并转换后进行CPM映射,接着对映射后的信号进行重组,然后进行FMT调制。在接收端首先将接收的信号进行FMT解调并进行逆重组,然后进行CPM解映射恢复出比特数据流。实验结果表明,CPM-FMT联合调制方法优于传统调制的QPSK-FMT方法,在误码率为10-3时,白噪声信道下性能最大提高了10 dB,时间频率双选择性衰落信道下性能提高了5 dB,同时该方法对多谱勒频偏具有良好的稳健性。这表明CPM-FMT方法能显著提高FMT系统在双选择性衰落信道下的性能,可应用于高速移动环境下的宽带无线传输系统。