The transaction costs perspective on international supply chain management; evidence from case studies in the manufacturing industry in the Netherlands

Transaction costs are barriers for internationalisation processes. This paper investigates the practical relevance of transaction costs economics (TCE) for international supply chain management (SCM) in this era of globalisation, which is characterised by splitting up the supply chain in more and more parts. The analysis is based on data from in-depth interviews with seven manufacturing companies in the Netherlands which are actually engaged in this modern way of organising production. It is shown that the balance between transaction costs and sheer production costs (transformation costs) plays a prominent role in the strategic decisions on how and where to organise production. Especially intangible (or ‘soft’) transaction costs are important in this respect. The analysis provides insight in practical experience in the manufacturing industry in the Netherlands with transaction costs and shows how transaction costs affect decisions on transaction management, personnel policy and internationalisation of R&D. This study is to our knowledge the first to confront the theory of TCE with practice of manufacturing firms in their internationalisation decisions using in-depth interviews instead of survey data.     

Ein Index zur numerischen Bestimmung der Niveau-Eigenschaft eines psychologischen Tests

Zusammenfassung Es wird ein Index definiert, der den Grad, in dem ein Intelligenz- oder Leistungstest die Eigenschaften und Bedingungen eines ideal-typischen Niveau-Tests erfüllt, kennzeichnet. Der Index variiert in den Grenzen von 0 bis 1, wobei der Wert 0 einem idealtypischen Schnelligkeitstest (Speed-Test) und der Wert 1 einem idealtypischen Niveau-Test entspricht. Dieser Index kann aufgrund einer einmaligen Testdurchführung bestimmt werden; er ist abh?ngig von der Zeitbegrenzung des Testes und vom Leistungsniveau der untersuchten Stichprobe. Es wird vorgeschlagen, einen Test mitw> > 0,7 als Niveautest, einen solchen mitw<0,3 als Schnelligkeitstest zu bewerten. Die Berechnung vonw wird an Hand bekannter Tests demonstriert und einige Anwendungsbeschr?nkungen er?rtert.

---

Summary An index (w) for determining a test as to its degree of being a speed or a power test is proposed varying like a coefficient of correlation from zero to one. This index may be derived from a single testing a posteriori. It is dependent on the given time limit and on the achievement level of the sample tested. From empirical evidence it is suggested to accept a test with an indexw>0,7 as a power test and a test withw<0,3 as a speed test. Numerical examples for calculatingw are given and some restrictions for its application are discussed.

---

---

Herrn Prof. H. Münzner (Berlin) danken die Verfasser für die Durchsicht des Manuskriptes und für seine wertvollen Anregungen.     

Get ready for the L-bomb: A preliminary social assessment of longevity technology

The societal impacts upon various sectors of the United States population resulting from the retardation of the cellular aging process in men and women is the subject of this study. Significant biomedical research advances of recent years, as well as future fruitful areas of bio-science exploration in genetic programming, parabiosis, vitamin therapy, body temperature control, calorie quality and quantity intake, and the control of free radicals in body compounds, indicate the life span of the present generation may be expanded by a considerable number of years. The potential impact upon various sectors of our societal structure and institutions would be enormous. This study proposes to evaluate and assess the impact of the resultant population alteration upon seven major social variables (employment, income, resource consumption, education, the social service load, social institutions, and legal problems). This will be analyzed over a number of ten year time segments.The study will attempt to determine the effects of longevity technology upon the social impact variables within the framework of five basic working lifetime scenarios as follows: (1) normal working lifetime, (2) extended working lifetime, (3) delayed working lifetime, (4) segmented working lifetime, and (5) divided working lifetime. Two computer models of the United States—a demographic and an econometric—will be used to systematically measure the implications of these scenarios for the social impact variables.     

Tourism,faith and politics in the Holy Land: an ideological analysis of evangelical pilgrimage

This article aims to enhance the discussion of the role of ideology in the development of tourism practices through a closer examination of the case of Christian pilgrimage. The analysis focuses on the theo-political ideology of Christian Zionism and its roles and manifestations in the context of evangelical pilgrimages to Israel. Findings suggest that ideological dynamics within the development of these tours can be discussed by distinguishing between four tourism actors, namely, ideological organizations, tour organizers, Israeli officials, and the tourists. We suggest that these actors can be differentiated from each other in accordance with their ideological roles and orientations. Additionally, by demonstrating the similar utilization of pilgrimage by theo-political opponents of Christian Zionism, such as Sabeel and FOSNA, this article illustrates how pilgrimage to the Holy Land has become an arena for competition between these two rival ideologies within the Evangelical movement. The article concludes with a discussion on the role of pilgrimages to Israel as a platform through which theo-political ideologies are manifested, distributed, utilized, and consumed.     

BOTTOM-UP APPROACH FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN SRI LANKA

Low-income communities, whether in urban or rural areas, need certain basic facilities that are difficult or impossible to acquire either due to poverty or other constraints. Welfare-oriented governments have, therefore, attempted to provide these basic facilities, but not with great success. Recently new approaches have been adopted to improve the situation by encouraging people to become involved in community-level decision making with respect to their needs and to implement the construction of acceptable facilities. The communities would then shoulder a greater responsibility, leading to development with a higher degree of sustainability.     

The Economic Impacts of Climate Change on Canadian Agriculture and the World: How Big are the Impacts Really?

A computable general equilibrium model was used to assess the impacts of global climate change on Canadian Agriculture. The assumption of ceteris paribus was relaxed. The results indicated that many supply and demand factors have potentially larger impacts on the Canadian and world economies over the next 5 decades than climate change. The distribution of regional impacts varied substantially. Such information is valuable for the agricultural sector and policymakers trying to allocate limited resources .     

12036/6GraphicAbstract.png

Institute of Engineering and Computational Mechanics, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany