Assessment and selection of management consultants: A comparative cognitive study between small- and large-scale companies

This paper explores alternative ways of evaluating and ultimately hiring a generalist consultancy for short- and medium-term projects, and how this is shaped by the size of the clients’ company. What buying factors do managers of small and large firms have in mind when hiring consultants for their projects?Instead of employing surveys incorporating predefined buying factors based on what the researchers think would be important, a cognitive mapping methodology - the repertory grid technique - is applied to investigate the underlying phenomena. Using the repertory grid technique to draw mental models is a novel research technique within the supply management field. Recent behavioral supply chain management research found the behavior of managers to be critically influenced by mental models: the lenses through which managers perceive, simplify and interpret the world.Results show differences between the buying factors used in small- and large-scale companies: managers of large companies are more ‘reputation and outcome-oriented’ and managers of small businesses are more concerned with ‘how the services are rendered’. However, both constituents stressed the importance of expertise, quality and the relationship between the client and the management consultancy, although the character of such a relationship differed between small- and large-scale firms. Results also point out criteria that managers of small and large companies employ to discriminate between good and poor performing consultancies and to judge service delivery. The practical implications for both companies hiring consultancies and the consultancy companies are discussed. For consultancies, our findings can help tailoring their efforts to a differing clientele when marketing and selling their services. For companies hiring consultancies, fixating too much on particular buying factors may lead to biased decisions.     

“一带一路”倡议下我国重点省市物流绩效评价研究

物流建设是“一带一路”倡议发展的重点。通过物流设施建设、拓展物流业发展的新方向,促进地区融合、加强多边贸易、加速互联互通,是我国现行经济格局下“一带一路”重点建设省市物流发展的新走向。文章从政府行为、社会效益、服务水平三个维度构建了包含地区经济、物流政策、数字物流等14个指标的物流绩效评价指标体系,利用数据包络法对我国“一带一路”重点建设省市的物流绩效进行评价,发现我国物流业发展存在地区差异大、服务水平过低的现象。结合地方政府的政策解读,发现我国地区物流绩效水平呈现出一定的政策相关性,可通过合理的政策引导促进地区物流业的发展。     

数字时代企业环境审计模式创新——基于环保政策响应机制的研究

企业规避环保责任的机会主义行为导致政府环保政策成效不显著。基于利益相关者理论构建环保政策利益相关者模型,并从环保权力、责任和信息三个角度分析企业的环保政策响应机制。研究发现：由于消费者缺位以及信息不对称等因素的影响,企业的环保政策响应水平较弱。政府应将环保政策施加于消费者,通过消费者来约束企业的行为;审计主体应当转变现有的审计模式,运用数字技术,与消费者合作共同完成审计监督的工作。基于此,提出一种基于消费者需求引导的综合环保政策及新型企业环境审计模式,建议政府应重视数字技术对产业的改造升级,充分考虑消费者的因素来制定环保政策并加大对企业污染数据实时监控的普及。     

技术独董、经济政策不确定性与企业创新产出

创新产出是企业创新能力的直观体现,也是企业价值创造的源泉。以2008—2017年披露了专利授权信息的中国A股上市公司为样本,研究了独立董事技术专长对企业创新产出的影响。结果显示：（1）技术独立董事显著地促进了企业创新产出,且这种促进作用受到经济政策不确定性的负向调节;（2）技术独立董事是通过提高企业的创新投入来促进企业的创新产出的;（3）技术独立董事兼职席位与企业创新产出呈倒U型关系。根据上述研究结论,企业应当增加技术独立董事的引入并适当限制技术独立董事在其他企业兼职的行为,以充分发挥技术独立董事的创新驱动效应,提高企业创新产出。     

河北省人才集聚政策实证分析

人才作用的发挥和人才政策的落实紧密相关。论文对河北省人才政策进行分析,结合现场访谈和调查问卷数据的收集,实证研究了河北省近三年人才政策对人才集聚的效果,结果显示,不同类型人才政策对人才集聚均产生影响,但影响程度各异。人才对人才管理政策、人才激励政策较为关注,而人才吸引政策和人才发展保障政策则产生较小影响。最后提出了河北省进一步完善政策实现区域人才集聚的对策建议。     

强化全面预算管理在科研事业单位中的应用

随着国有企事业单位经济体制改革的不断深入,原有“财政补贴”的科研事业单位获得的财政支持将会逐步减少,已经面向市场开展经营活动的科研事业单位最终将推行“自收自支”模式。随着中央财政补助收入的逐年削减,以及民营企业市场准入政策的推进,科研事业单位面临的市场竞争更加激烈,不能创造经济效益的单位不可避免地面临重组或剥离,根本无法生存。因此,怎样适应新的发展形势,推行全面预算管理并进行精准管控成为军工科研事业单位的一项重要课题。     

肃北县乡村振兴战略实施情况的调查与思考

论文通过对肃北县实施乡村振兴战略情况的调查,阐述了肃北县实施乡村振兴战略的主要做法,针对肃北县乡村振兴战略实施过程中存在的问题,提出发展特色产业、实施生态立县、传承传统文化、创新治理体系、培育吸引人才和加强党的建设六个方面的政策建议。     

人工智能行业税收政策建议

论文从中国人工智能的产业现状着手分析,依据人工智能行业发展特点及前景趋势,针对现阶段发展过程中出现的问题,在科技研发、应用推广和产业发展等方面提出了促进人工智能发展的税收优惠政策建议,以引导人工智能产业的健康可持续发展。     

Developing and applying a framework to evaluate participatory research for sustainability

The normative implications of participatory research imply ongoing social learning that ought to lead to personal and institutional transformation. Sustainability science also requires reflexive scientific practice in order to enable the co-generation of solutions that take account of uncertainty and multiple forms of knowledge. However, there is little published peer-reviewed material on how to assess to what degree the rhetoric regarding the benefits of participatory research are achieved in practice, particularly with regard to participatory research for sustainability. This paper outlines how linking the rationales for participatory research and for sustainability science to the principles of evaluation can deliver a conceptually coherent evaluation framework for assessment. The approach for evaluating participatory research in this context consists of framing the evaluation, i.e., setting boundaries on the subject within its social, political, environmental and institutional context and selecting appropriate criteria, methods and data sources. The application of the framework, using a summative evaluation of participatory research for sustainability in north-east Australia, illustrates its strengths and weaknesses, concluding with a consideration of its applicability to further participatory sustainability science.     

The cyclical behaviour of fiscal policy: evidence from the OECD

This paper addresses the topic of cyclicality in fiscal policy. In particular, we show that the level of cyclicality varies across spending categories and across OECD countries. In line with leading theories of fiscal cyclicality, we show that countries with volatile output and dispersed political power are the most likely to run procyclical fiscal policies. Wage government consumption is highlighted as the most important channel by which these variables affect fiscal cyclicality.