An investigation into the mediating role of cross-functional coordination on the linkage between organizational norms and SCM performance

Organizational norms as a set of embedded values and beliefs have long been recognized in literature to provide norms that bind individuals into collectivities. Drawing on resource dependence and relational marketing theories, the present study specifies five organizational norms: cooperative, cross-functional information sharing, intraorganizational knowledge sharing, participative culture and mutual trust for supporting cross-functional coordination in supply chain management (SCM). These organizational norms are examined in terms of the mediating role of cross-functional coordination for the relationship between organizational norms and supply chain performance. Analyses of data from a survey of high-tech firms in the U.K. substantiate that organizational norms impact on both supply chain responsiveness and firm performance through cross-functional coordination as a mediator. The implications of the positive effect of organizational norms on SCM performance are discussed for theory, practice and research.     

The role of e-marketplaces in supply chain management

Electronic marketplaces (e-marketplaces) have a profound influence on the way in which organizations manage their supply chains. Proponents of the e-marketplace concept suggest that web-based trading systems, such as World Wide Retail Exchange (WWRE) and GlobalNetXchange (GNX), would enable companies to more efficiently buy, sell, and manage their supply chain processes on a global scale. This study investigates the extent to which e-business tools of the e-marketplace are used by channel members in the retail sector for business-to-business supply chain management (SCM). The study is based on a survey involving food service companies, retailers, and wholesalers in the UK. It is shown that the e-marketplace supply chain applications enable the majority of companies to automate transaction-based activities and procurement-related processes rather than strategic supply chain activities. The results also indicate that full participation in e-marketplaces requires companies to integrate their internal and external supply chain activities and share strategic information.     

Analysis of Credit Risks in Asset-Backed Securitization Transactions in Singapore

Asset-backed securitization (ABS) is a relatively new financial instrument in Singapore's capital market, which has been accepted by developers (originators) as an alternative source of financing. Credit assessment and rating requirements have not been imposed on the ABS bond issues. Default-risk evaluation has also been understated, if not omitted, in the process of structuring ABS deals. This is the first study that applies a theoretical default-risky swaps valuation model to evaluate credit risks in ABS bonds in Singapore. The Monte-Carlo simulation results, based on the Century Square shopping mall ABS case, show significant effects of the changes in rental volatility and default-free interest rate volatility on the default-risk premium of swap. More specifically, an increase in the rental volatility reduces the default-risky swap values significantly. However, an increase in the instantaneous default-free interest rate volatility increases the default-risk premium of swaps, and this effect is only observed in the high default-free interest rate volatility regime (above 20 percent). The results suggest that the rental dynamics of the securitized real estate are critical in determining the default risks of ABS deals. The fixed-rate (coupon yield) and floating-rate (rental cash flows) should therefore be adequately determined to reflect the default risks, which may be caused by the rental dynamics of the securitized real estate.     

House Price and co-Residence with Older Parents: Evidence from China

Numerous Chinese families choose to reside together with their elderly parents due to the considerable impacts of conventional values such as filial duty in Chinese society. However, as house prices rocketed up in major Chinese cities over the past decade, this arrangement is facing a sizeable challenge, therefore also raising new research question about it. This paper attempts to investigate the phenomenon of co-residence of adult children with their elderly parents in China. Using the 2013 data of China Household Finance Survey (CHFS), we document that house price is indeed a significant determinant for the pattern of intergenerational co-residence. Our empirical results can provide interesting insights into the important implication of rising house price for household residential arrangements in this country.     

The 2015 Maastricht-NUS-MIT International Real Estate Finance &; Economics Symposium: Editors’ Introduction to the Special Issue

We use an empirical model of commercial mortgage spreads to examine how tenant diversification impacts credit spreads for mortgages on retail properties. We find that mortgages on properties with a highly diversified tenant base have spreads that are up to 7.1 basis points higher than spreads on mortgages for single-tenant properties, but that mortgages on properties with moderate levels of tenant diversification have spreads that are up to 5.2 basis points lower than mortgages on single-tenant properties. The spread discount for mortgages on properties with moderate levels of tenant diversification disappears when the lease of the property’s largest tenant expires before the loan matures. Despite the spread discount that is given to properties with moderate levels of tenant diversification, we find that the likelihood with which a mortgage goes into default increases as tenant diversification increases.     

International spillovers of China's structural reforms

This paper sheds light on the international spillovers of China's reforms in upgrading industrial capabilities, liberalizing capital account, internationalizing the renminbi, and transition to flexible exchange rates. Drawing on two-country New Keynesian model of endogenous entry and portfolio adjustment, we find that China's industrial upgrading that peddles on yuan appreciation lifts all boats through global production network irrespective of capital account convertibility, degree of renminbi internationalization, and exchange rate reform. Feasibility of appreciation-driven upgrading is called into question, however, when renminbi reform and capital account liberalization go in parallel. We also show that international spillovers disappear once renminbi internationalization is associated with liberalized capital account and flexible renminbi exchange rates.     

Managing political imperatives in war time: strategic responses of Philips in Australia, 1939–1945

The Australian subsidiary of Dutch multi-national enterprise Philips came under secret service surveillance and faced risk of government takeover as enemy property during World War II. It was also excluded from Australian government contracts for war-related communications equipment at a time when it was forced to reduce civilian production. These threats to its assets and operations required the firm to develop an adaptive corporate strategy in order to respond to the political imperatives it faced; not just minimising political risk, but also taking advantage of the opportunities that war-related production offered during the war years and after.     

RESPONSES OF ECONOMIC SYSTEMS TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE: PAST EXPERIENCES

Current discussions of climate change are overly focused on the science underpinning environmental impact, with little attention to socioeconomic consequences. The economics of environmental change in particular is insufficiently informed by the lessons that past experiences can yield. Drawing on case studies from Europe and Asia, this special issue underlines the importance of historical context, as well as markets, institutions, technology, and the role of international trade in understanding how economic systems have responded to environmental changes. Past economies have responded dynamically to environmental change rather than simply constrained deterministically by the climatic and ecological events that have engulfed them.