Key problems facing industrial distributors

This article reports on a survey of the problems faced by industrial distributors. Five major problem categories are identified and managerial implications are derived from the findings.     

A look at the public policy conflict regarding the discovery of accountants' tax accrual workpapers

This article focuses on the conflict in public policy between the need to provide the investing public with accurate information with regard to corporate financial statements and the need to provide the IRS with the necessary tools in order to assure corporate compliance with the tax laws of the country. The conflict arises because of the contention of the IRS that it is entitled to have access to an independent auditor's tax accrual workpapers on the one hand, and the contention by CPAs that such access will prevent adequate disclosure to the independent auditor. The article examines the policy questions on both sides of the issue and concludes that regardless of any decision by the Supreme Court in a pendingcase, Congress should pass legislation to resolve the conflict and clearly identify the scope of any previlage accorded with regard to tax accrual workpapers.     

Differentiation of the Peasantry Under Feudalism and the Transition to Capitalism: In Defence of Rodney Hilton

The focus of the essay is one specific theme pursued by Rodney Hilton: that of differentiation of the English feudal peasantry and the implications this had for the development of capitalism in England. His contribution on this, along with those of E. A. Kosminsky and of Maurice Dobb, are considered and are contrasted with the view of Robert Brenner. For Brenner peasant differentiation has no causal importance: it is an outcome of transformation and not a driving force in its securing. For Hilton, it is central to transformation: it is not an outcome but a determining variable, a causa causans rather than a causa causata. The Brenner position, it is argued, is incomplete in its ignoring of peasant differentiation in feudal England. It was one of Hilton's accomplishments to explore this in scholarly detail, and with analytical precision. It is suggested that if this is abstracted from an adequate examination of the transition to capitalism in England cannot proceed.     

中国外资立法的最新发展和完善

从立法的角度看，中国主要通过三种方式加大吸引外资的力度并逐步加强对外资利用的监管和引导：一是严格遵守入世承诺，扩大外资准入的领域；二是通过对公司法及其配套规章的修订，减少对外商投资企业活动的干涉，增强其活力；三是颁布和完善外资并购的相关立法，为活跃和规范中国并购市场奠定法律基础。     

Self‐regulation through Goal Setting*

Goals are an important motivator. But little is known about why and how people set them. We address this issue in a model based on two stylized facts. First, goals serve as reference points for performance. Second, present‐biased preferences create self‐control problems. We show the power and limits of self‐regulation through goals. Goals increase an individual's motivation—but only up to a certain point. Furthermore, they are painful self‐disciplining devices. Thus, greater self‐control problems may result in tougher goals; but for a severe present bias goals either lack a motivating force, or are too painful to be accepted.     

Effects of Production Location on Perceived Automobile Values

Abstract

The factors contributing to a positive brand image and the impact of a lower cost production location have typically been treated as independent. In the international arena, two streams of literature have developed around these two issues. The so-called Country-of-Origin (COO) literature has dealt primarily with consumer perceptions and evaluations of foreign-made products, while the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) literature has focused on the determinants of investments by firms operating in foreign countries. We believe that a major reason for the lack of influence of COO studies on FDI is the typical format of the results of COO research, which tend to involve average values on various psychometric-type measurement scales. This paper demonstrates a method for generating monetary values in COO research via conjoint analysis. One such result, reported herein, is that a change in the production location of a $17,000 automobile from the USA to Mexico results in a change in value of $1,952 among a particular group of consumers. Hopefully, this type of result will be more meaningful to FDI researchers and practitioners than scaled items, and lead to their consideration of the relatively consistent findings of the COO literature in the future.     

The IAS/IFRS application on the intangible assets of non-listed companies

With the introduction of IFRS （International Financial Reporting Standards） most of the intangibles are expensed on the income statement and hence they ＂disappear＂ from the balance sheet, while investments in tangible assets are capitalized. Based on a sample of 128 firms, made up of 99 SMEs （Small and Medium Enterprises） and 29 large firms, and through a simulation of IAS （International Accounting Standards） transition, the authors＇ study finds that IAS 38 reduces the amount of intangible assets recognized on the balance sheet of SMEs, while large firms do not appear to experience such large reductions in their intangible assets. The differential effect of IAS 38 on SMEs and large firms can be explained by the different growth strategies of these firm types. SMEs largely depend on internal paths of growth and intangibles assets that typically arise from internal growth strategies are eliminated from the balance sheet under IAS 38. Larger firms are less exposed to such reductions in their intangibles assets, because they mostly follow external paths of growth and the treatment of those intangible assets that typically arise from external growth strategies requires the impairment test.     

The distinction between commercial and non-commercial bus services in Germany: Given by nature?

German public transport services by bus are characterized by a regulatory framework that distinguishes between commercial and non-commercial services. Contrary to the apparent views of legislators, this paper shows that costs and revenues are not the only parameters determining whether or not operators are able to provide services in a commercially viable way.Apart from the local characteristics of the specific service, we show that the classification of services as commercial versus non-commercial is determined in large part by the public transport authorities that set minimum quality standards to be provided by operators. Our analysis shows that the authorities awarding the contracts in some cases affect market organization significantly depending on how they make use of this power. Furthermore, market organization differs substantially with respect to the awarding structure and the contractual relationships, thus creating a challenge for operators and authorities in an embryonic market.