STABILITY OF THE UTILITY MAXIMIZATION PROBLEM WITH RANDOM ENDOWMENT IN INCOMPLETE MARKETS

We perform a stability analysis for the utility maximization problem in a general semimartingale model where both liquid and illiquid assets (random endowments) are present. Small misspecifications of preferences (as modeled via expected utility), as well as views of the world or the market model (as modeled via subjective probabilities) are considered. Simple sufficient conditions are given for the problem to be well posed, in the sense that the optimal wealth and the marginal utility‐based prices are continuous functionals of preferences and probabilistic views.     

Knowledge Synthesis and Innovative Logistics Processes: Enhancing Operational Flexibility and Performance

Research results are presented providing an empirical examination of the impact of knowledge synthesis and innovative logistics processes on operational flexibility. The research is theoretically grounded in the resource‐based view of the firm, augmented with the knowledge‐based view. Knowledge synthesis and innovative logistics processes are proposed as key resources in the development of an important logistics capability: operational flexibility. A structural model analysis of survey data collected from logistics executives supports the proposed relationships and indicates that innovative logistics processes can lead to greater operational flexibility. Operational flexibility is also shown to lead to higher levels of logistics performance.     

Best–Worst Scaling Approach to Predict Customer Choice for 3PL Services

This study describes a simple, theoretically based methodology to analyze the nature of customer demand for third‐party logistics provider service components. The method overcomes limitations in prior studies and enables us to examine the relative importance of product and service attributes as they pertain to the choice of third‐party logistics providers. Two distinct types of customers populate our data: those professing operational attributes and those seeking relational attributes. The theoretical and practical implications are that improved supply chain models can be developed when separate demand structures are taken into account.     

Supply Chain Management Competency and Firm Financial Success

Supply chain management (SCM) plays a major role in creating (or destroying) shareholder value by influencing the three major drivers of firm financial performance: revenue, operating costs, and working capital. Yet, the relationship between SCM competency and firm financial performance is not well‐established. Drawing on the resource‐based view of the firm, this study assesses this relationship using Delphi‐style opinion data from AMR Research’s Supply Chain Top 25 rankings to assess SCM competency and Altman’s (1968) Z‐score statistic as the measure of financial success. The study findings show that firms recognized by industry experts for SCM competency have significantly higher Z‐scores than their close competitors and industry averages.     

Toward Greater Validation of Supply Chain Management Theory and Concepts: The Roles of Research Replication and Meta‐Analysis

Although researchers have been working for over three decades to identify, construct, and test the critical concepts and theories that comprise the supply chain management (SCM) discipline, the field’s theoretical basis has yet to be thoroughly vetted through repetitive, rigorous study. Emerging theories in SCM offer great explanatory potential, but if they are to stand the tests of time, place, and reason, research findings must be accumulated and synthesized. For the field to prosper, we advocate the execution of multiple studies that replicate findings across contexts while simultaneously encompassing relevant theoretical extensions. Furthermore, as SCM research streams mature, scholars should then employ meta‐analytic techniques to gain consensus across studies, such that findings can be more confidently extolled to both academic and practitioner constituencies. In this article, we evaluate the progress of replication and meta‐analysis to date within the SCM field and provide some prospects for thematic research that could perpetuate accelerated validation.     

Materialism,fashion consumers and gender: a cross‐cultural study

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among materialism, gender and fashion consumer groups from two countries – one representative of an individualistic culture (US) and one representative of a collectivistic culture (Korea). Participants were 397 students from a university in Korea (n = 221) and a university in the US (n = 176) who completed the questionnaire. The materialism construct showed adequate reliability for participants in both cultures. Fashion change agents scored higher on materialism (centrality and success) than fashion followers. Females scored higher on materialism than males which seemed to be based on higher scores on the centrality subscale. Participants from the US and Korea differed on all three subscales of materialism with US participants scoring higher on centrality but lower on success and happiness than Korean participants. The findings of this study provide valuable implications for fashion marketers and retailers in Korea and US. The findings are limited to Korean and US consumers and cannot be generalized to other cultures. This paper fills a gap in the literature by comparing materialistic values between genders and fashion consumer groups in an individualistic culture (US) and a collectivistic culture (Korea).     

A forecast simulation analysis of the next‐generation DVD market based on consumer preference data

Just as standards wars over formats had characterized VCRs upon introduction to the market, the next‐generation DVD standards war between Blu‐Ray and HD‐DVD lasted 6 years before Blu‐Ray won the contest. Beginning with stated preference data drawn from a structured conjoint survey conducted before Blu‐Ray became the de facto standard of the next‐generation DVD format, we estimate consumer preferences on digital video players. A Bayesian mixed‐logit model is used and market share simulations are conducted under various scenarios based on the estimated parameters from Bayesian mixed‐logit model to surmise the future South Korean digital video‐player market. Results indicate that consumers feel that network size and title availability are more important than hardware‐related facets of the product, such as definition and storage capacity. The level of title availability and price of the Blu‐Ray player for Blu‐Ray's dominance over DVD will dramatically vary by the penetration rate of DVD players.     

我国大型飞机航空电子系统的发展与思考

在分析各种宏观政策可能性的基础上,才能对证券市场进行合理的分析和判断。在流动性过剩短期内不能根本性缓解的情况下,与通货膨胀、经济过热以及房价高企相比,接受一定程度的股市泡沫也许是一个最合适的选择。从长期来看,化解股市泡沫的根本途径不是打压股市,而是提高上市公司的质量。在大量过剩的流动性从银行存款流向股市的时候,我们至少可以因势利导做两件事,一是调整我国的宏观金融结构;二是调整我国的产业结构和实现产业升级,并以此实现上市公司质量的提升。     

Mix of Fiscal and Monetary Policy Rules and Inflation Dynamics in China

The present paper examines the role of the mix of fiscal and monetary policy rules in determining inflation dynamics using fiscal and monetary policy reaction functions and Markov‐switching vector autoregression methods based on quarterly data in the period 1992–2007. Our results show that fiscal and monetary policies in China can be adequately described using some simple rules, and that significant regime shifts took place around 1998. Fiscal policy tended to be active and countercyclical in the pre‐1998 period, then switched to be passive and more countercyclical, whereas monetary policy was characterized as passive and procyclical in the pre‐1998 period, and switched to be active and countercyclical afterwards. The mix of fiscal and monetary policy rules can explain inflation dynamics better than the monetary policy rule alone. Therefore, price stability requires not only appropriate monetary policy but also appropriate fiscal policy.