The Changing Business Environment in Tunisia

ABSTRACT

The present article investigates the business environment of a single Arab country, Tunisia, which is one of the least explored markets in international business literature. The study revealed that the market is witnessing considerable change subsequent to the liberalization policy in general and the move towards the trade agreement with the European Union in particular. By doing so, the article attempts to contribute to the actualization of business studies treating national markets in the Arab region given that the bulk of research dealing with this area are concerned either with business in the pre-liberalization era or mass marketing in the oil-rich Arab economies.     

Economic policy uncertainty and the credit channel: Aggregate and bank level U.S. evidence over several decades

Economic policy uncertainty affects decisions of households, businesses, policy makers and financial intermediaries. We first examine the impact of economic policy uncertainty on aggregate bank credit growth. Then we analyze commercial bank entity level data to gauge the effects of policy uncertainty on financial intermediaries’ lending. We exploit the cross-sectional heterogeneity to back out indirect evidence of its effects on businesses and households. We ask (i) whether, conditional on standard macroeconomic controls, economic policy uncertainty affected bank level credit growth, and (ii) whether there is variation in the impact related to banks’ balance sheet conditions; that is, whether the effects are attributable to loan demand or, if impact varies with bank level financial constraints, loan supply. We find that policy uncertainty has a significant negative effect on bank credit growth. Since this impact varies meaningfully with some bank characteristics – particularly the overall capital-to-assets ratio and bank asset liquidity-loan supply factors at least partially (and significantly) help determine the influence of policy uncertainty. Because other studies have found important macroeconomic effects of bank lending growth on the macroeconomy, our findings are consistent with the possibility that high economic policy uncertainty may have slowed the U.S. economic recovery from the Great Recession by restraining overall credit growth through the bank lending channel.     

Perceived situational effects on price sensitivity

In this article, the multidimensionality of price as perceived by members of a consumer panel is examined. Respondents are first classified as price-sensitive or non-price-sensitive with respect to a durable and a nondurable product. Several dimensions of price are then described within the framework of brand purchase decision situations, and consumer evaluations of the importance of each situational dimension are measured. Dimensions perceived as important by price-sensitive persons are different from those considered important by non-price-sensitive consumers. Variations exist in the importance of price dimensions based on type of product.     

Price-Anderson act declared unconstitutional: The decision and its effects on nuclear power

In March 1977, the $560 million limit on liability in the Price-Anderson Act was declared unconstitutional. The Price-Anderson Act sets forth a combination private-public insurance and compensation system for handling risks associated with commercial nuclear operations. The limit was found to violate the due process and equal protection provisions of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This paper examines the salient points of the decision which include: (a) the effects of nuclear plant operations on the plaintiffs; (b) the dependence of nuclear power development on the Price-Anderson Act; (c) the plaintiff's right to bring suit; and (d) the rationale for declaring the Act unconstitutional. The potential effects include the possibility that many utilities and suppliers of nuclear plant components will terminate their nuclear business, the availability of capital funds for nuclear plants will be reduced, and that cost of capital will be increased to reflect the greater risk of nuclear development.     

安徽省绿色农产品一体化经营的现状、问题及对策

本文在研究安徽省绿色农产品一体化经营现状的基础上,分析了安徽省绿色农产品一体化经营过程中存在的主要问题,进而提出必须提高思想意识,转变经营观念;抓好绿色龙头企业建设;进一步加强服务体系建设;协调利益联结机制,形成良好的运行机制等对策与建议;以促进安徽省绿色农产品一体化经营快速健康发展。     

以"混合政体"预防制度腐败——波利比乌斯廉政思想初探

波利比乌斯通过其"政体循环说",将政治制度的蜕变与腐败视为必然,认为导致制度蜕变与腐败的根本原因在于人性,进而通过其"混合政体论"作为预防制度腐败的不二法门,从而在一定程度上超越了亚里士多德为代表的希腊廉政思想,成为由制度腐败观向权力腐败观的过渡标志,为后世权力腐败的预防提供了借鉴.     

A Decade of Service-learning: A Review of the Field Ten Years after JOBE’s Seminal Special Issue

This article reviews developments in the field of service-learning, both in terms of general management education and business ethics specific courses, over the past 10 years. Using the 1996 Journal of Business Ethics special issue on service-learning as a benchmark, numerous accomplishments are presented and continued barriers are discussed. Finally, three issues are raised as next steps for service-learning authors and practitioners as we move forward into the next decade: (1) designing effective and sustainable university/community partnerships, (2) addressing problems stemming from the conspiracy of courtesy, and (3) optimizing the intersection between online learning and service-learning.     

The role of information technology in strategic buyer–supplier relationships

Information technology (IT) has long been acknowledged as an integral part of inter-organizational business exchange. The extant research, however, tends to emphasize the focal company perspective and focuses on operational issues, perceiving IT and business relationships as separable. Through a qualitative dyadic case study, our study defines how IT is positioned with regard to various elements of a strategic buyer–supplier relationship and the respective actors' operational and managerial behaviors. The study defines the role of IT regarding the structural, action, and management layers of a relationship and shows how IT can be a strong element around which relationship management activities are implemented to improve the consistency and performance of the relationship. The study prepares the ground for further qualitative and quantitative research to enhance a holistic understanding on IT in relation to the structures and processes in inter-organizational contexts of business relationships and networks.     

The impact of opportunity connectedness on innovation in SMEs’ foreign-market relationships

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) use of business networks has grown significantly during the last decades, partly due to increasingly complex innovation processes. This article investigates how different kinds of networks, depending on location, contextualize innovation in specific foreign market business relationships. Building on internationalization, network, and innovation research we develop a model that views opportunity connectedness in specific host-markets, home-markets, and other international markets as prerequisites to innovative collaboration and innovation outcomes in foreign business relationships. The results of our linear structural relations (LISREL) analysis of Swedish SMEs provide empirical evidence that the effect of opportunity connectedness on innovation outcomes in foreign business relationships is mediated by the level of innovative collaboration. These results indicate that SMEs need a relatively higher level of innovative collaboration in their partnerships with foreign market customers to convert opportunities conceived in home- and international- market networks into innovative outcomes in comparison to opportunities conceived in host-market networks. This finding implies that as opportunities become increasingly contextually remote, the importance of collaborative business relationships increases. By showing these results, the study contributes to research in the international small-business domain that seeks to identify important prerequisites of SME innovation.     

越南的国际经营环境及其对中国企业“走出去”的启示

越南作为亚太地区活跃的新兴经济体，外部投资环境得天独厚，经济体制、政治体制和对外贸易投资体制等内部经营环境持续改善，吸引了包括中国在内的各国企业在越南投资兴业。鉴于越南市场开发潜力大，而同时又具有不确定性，中国企业应内外兼修，抓住两国改革开放及经济发展红利所带来的投资机遇，规避经营风险，维持双方长久合作共赢的局面。