Product Location with Foresight

Traditional location literature concludes that firms will optimally differentiate in order to alleviate a tendency toward competitive pricing. However, it has recently been shown that firms will minimally differentiate if they (correctly) anticipate an absence of price competition. This paper examines the relationship between product location and the sustainability of cooperative pricing, in horizontally and vertically differentiated markets. Further, it describes equilibrium locations when firms are able to choose their locations jointly and when they must choose independently.     

Entrepreneurship in the Theory of the Firm

This paper develops micro-economic foundations for a theory of entrepreneurship and growth, focusing on innovation and opportunity as intermediate linkages between the two. Expanding upon points of tangency between Schumpeter and Coase, the paper argues that transactions costs are the glue that holds together entrepreneurial “new combinations.” Technological/organizational complexity of production is defined as the extent to which a technical decision by one unit within the firm affects the productive efficiency of other units. Where decreasing transactions costs tend to pull incumbent organizations apart, the possession of difficult to imitate production practices by the same organizations keeps them together. The dissolution of incumbent firms creates opportunities for entrepreneurs; the prospect of Schumpeterian rents provides the incentive to realize those opportunities.      

Do Company Directors Underestimate the Adoption of Corporate Governance Provisions？ A Survey Approach

This paper examines whether company directors underestimate the adoption of corporate governance provisions within Ghanaian listed firms. Using a survey approach, the respondents, who were company executives and non-executive directors with knowledge of the Ghanaian Code and its provisions, regard the code as a benchmark for good corporate governance practices within Ghanaian listed firms. They also report some improvement in the standard of corporate governance in their companies since the introduction of the Code. Many of the company directors indicated their preparedness to comply with further corporate governance requirements, such as the adoption of a formal nomination committee something not been currently included in the Ghanaian Code. However, the directors noted that they receive inadequate support from the regulatory and institutional bodies for the implementation of the Ghanaian Code provisions. Many of the directors also supported the review of the Ghanaian Code by an independent committee. With regard to the adoption of the Ghanaian Code and its influence on firm performance, the respondents indicated that the adoption of the specific governance provisions in the area of chief executive officer （CEO）/chairman roles separation, having a balance of executive and non-executive directors on the board, the establishment of audit and remuneration committees, and the full adoption of the Ghanaian Code provisions were all influential in determining firm performance. They, however, did not support the adoption of the board size provision as influential to firm performance. This raises questions about the usefulness of the range of board size as recommended by the Ghanaian Code.     

Editorial Introduction

No abstract available for this article.     

Decision-Maker Characteristics and the Global Intensity of Professional Service Firms

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to examine the global intensity of professional service firms in light of the firms' and top managements' characteristics. Questionnaires were sent to 1,600 service firms in the United States representing a broad cross-section of service industries potentially engaged in international business. The results indicate that the international experience and focus of top management, as well as firm size, contribute to differences among the levels of global intensity investigated.     

农村政策金融功能定位与结构特征探讨——外国案例的实证分析

文章针对“市场失灵”说的不足，提出了基于农业、农村经济“弱势性”的分析框架，并对美国、日本和印度进行了实证分析。美国农村政策金融的结构特征主要源于农业的一般弱势性，日本主要源于“小农户”的弱势性，而印度复杂的农村政策金融结构的形成则源于包括“人多地少”、农户结构、城乡二元经济结构等在内的多重“弱势集合”。结论：一国农业、农村经济的“弱势性”既决定着其农村政策金融功能定位的演变，又决定着其结构特征。     

“十三五”时期城商行的创新发展战略

城商行在“十三五”时期既面临着重要的发展机遇，也受到很多不利因素的冲击，城商行应该在创新思维引领下努力发展财富管理业务、资产管理业务和投资银行业务，并且建立这三者业务为一体的业务模式，扩大自己的盈利空间，同时强化自身的管理体制创新以及风险机制创新，从而在未来复杂多变的市场环境中更好地持续健康发展。     

Improving bus bridging responses via satellite bus reserve locations

This paper presents a new method for assessing satellite bus reserve location to best service unplanned rail service disruptions by optimising location in relation to travel time to rail replacement, the volume of rail replacement incidents and the scale and spatial distribution of passengers affected.When rail disruptions unexpectedly occur, re-establishing network connectivity is paramount and the provision of bus bridging (or bus replacement service) is common. Minimising response times are critical in reducing impacts to affected commuters. Currently, reserve buses for such purposes are usually sourced from existing bus depot locations, which are generally situated to suit regular day to day operations. Strategically locating satellite bus reserves according to criteria such as disruption likelihood provides the opportunity to better cater for disrupted demand.The method is presented and analysis highlights how ideal depot locations within the network changes as consideration is given to travel time to locations where bus bridging commences, likelihood of a disruption warranting bus bridging and commuter volumes affected. The paper discusses the implications of findings for future research and practice.     

General Patterns of Cell Phone Usage Among College Students

Abstract

There has been tremendous growth in the cellular telephone industry in recent years. The present study was undertaken in order to better understand the pattern of usage among one of the most important target markets for cell phone products—young adults attending college. Data were collected from a total of 383 cell phone consumers residing in four states in different geographic regions of the United States. Respondents ranged in age from 18-57 with a median age of 23 years. Data analyses revealed several interesting and potentially important patterns of usage. Among these were the findings that the majority of those surveyed indicated that they use their cell phones for the purpose of social stimulation, to remain continually available, for domestic reasons, to leave themselves memos and reminders, for time-keeping, for emergency purposes, and to use the phone's phonebook function.

It was also found that the cell phone market among the target population is relatively mature in that the vast majority of the sample (90.5%) indicated that they have owned a cell phone for more than one year. The maturity of the market, however, was found to vary as a function of geographic region. This particular finding has implications for regional cell phone marketing strategies. A number of other differences of potential importance for market segmentation and target marketing purposes also emerged and are discussed in detail.