E-Business Transformation via Alliance Clusters

The number of firms using alliances as part of their corporate venturing or market entry strategies has surged over the past decade. Three common reasons cited for pursuing alliances are technology convergence, market access and alliance partners' complementary resources. This paper contrasts the alliance strategies of HP and IBM, two major competitors in electronic services (i.e. Internet-based 'e- service') businesses, using the Familiarity Matrix as a display tool to portray the strategies. Whereas the HP strategy is to attempt to establish its technology infrastructure as the standard e-services infrastructure on the Internet, IBM aims to position its IBM Global Services, rather than its technology, at the center of this ecosystem.     

An empirical comparison of bankruptcy models

Four types of bankruptcy prediction models based on financial statement ratios, cash flows, stock returns, and return standard deviations are compared. Based on a sample of bankruptcies from 1980 to 1991, results indicate that no existing model of bankruptcy adequately captures the data. During the last fiscal year preceding bankruptcy, none of the individual models may be excluded without a loss in explanatory power. If considered in isolation, the cash flow model discriminates most consistently two to three years before bankruptcy. By comparison, the ratio model is the best single model during the year immediately preceding bankruptcy. Quasi-jack-knifing procedures suggest that none of the models can reliably predict bankruptcy more than two years in advance.     

A Report on the Impact of the Living Conditions Studies (LCS) on disability in southern Africa

ABSTRACT

The living conditions studies (LCS) on disability are a survey method that has been used in a standardised manner across eight countries in southern Africa. This paper discusses an evaluation of the LCS that were carried out between 2000 and 2015. The methodology of this evaluation was a desk top study as well as interviews with relevant stakeholders from each of the countries. Results of the desk top study show an upward trend in citations for countries which have been cited in the literature, and that the scholarly as well as the grey literature reveal a clear trend that certain countries tend to dominate in uptake coverage. Results from the interviews generally show that the surveys were accepted by all countries in a positive and favourable light. Each country, with their unique context, has their own story. Recommendations based on the evaluation are discussed.     

Interpreting the estimates from four national surveys of the number of people without health insurance.

Four national surveys conducted between 1977 and 1980 seem to yield four different estimates of the number of people under 65 years old who lack health insurance. In this paper four explanations for the different estimates are assessed. The sample framework designs and methods for ex post weighting of the surveys' respondents are very similar. Nonresponses to the health insurance questions on the surveys were handled differently, and this remains a possible explanation of some of the differences in the estimates. But the most likely explanation of the differences is the following. Three of the four surveys ask people about their health insurance at the time of the interview. The fourth, the Current Population Survey, asks people about their health insurance during the previous year. But the Current Population Survey estimate of the uninsured population is remarkably close to the point-in-time estimates from the other three surveys. The same holds true for the surveys' estimates of the Medicaid population and people covered by private health insurance. Hence, if we assume that the Current Population Survey respondents are answering the health insurance questions with respect to when they are interviewed, the four surveys' estimates of the uninsured population at a point in time are very similar.     

The Mis-Match of Expectations and Tools in Transition Economies

The fall of the former Soviet Union and the opening of the countries of Eastern Europe has prompted examination of why central planning failed, why capitalism with all its faults is succeeding, and what actions and institutions are necessary to move command economies toward successful, sustainable market economic systems. As they privatize State Owned Enterprises (SOE's) expectations are that the companies will function with the success experienced by western companies. Governments hope to derive tax revenue from company profits and expect companies to provide jobs. Effecting the change is, however, far greater than changing the name plate on the door. Transition success will hinge upon institutional and infrastructure changes that need to be wide-spread.The ethical quagmire is that without changes in the infrastructure of the command economy system private enterprise is doomed to fail. Governments will then be deprived of the anticipated revenue streams emanating from businesses. Governments may then not be able to fulfill the economic and social expectations of their citizens. This would be not only counter-productive for businesses and government but also confusing and bewildering to the general populous. This paper explores structural impediments in transition economies and discusses how each blocks and distorts the formation of a true market economy.     

The Massachusetts Classified Board Law

This study investigates the impact of the Massachusetts Classified Board Law on shareholder wealth. This state law is the first law to explicitly require a change in the structure of the board of directors of every firm within the state. In addition, restrictive rules on replacing members of the board of directors enable directors to insulate themselves from takeover attempts. We find this law decreased share values by 16 percentage points for firms without anti-takeover amendments. However, firms with a golden parachute outperformed firms without golden parachutes by 23 percent. This supports the hypothesis that financial markets consider many firm characteristics when evaluating the impact of state anti-takeover legislation. The management entrenchment hypothesis is supported for firms without prior anti-takeover charter amendments. The shareholder interest hypothesis is supported for firms with golden parachutes.     

Why Have We Ignored “The Distribution of Benefits from College Instruction”?

The authors have been concerned about the fact that many economics education researchers concentrate on aggregate scores when attempting to measure the impact of various experimental approaches. Noting that the effect of an innovation might be positive for some students and negative for others, they argue that the members of an experimental group should not be treated as if they were all equal in skills and abilities. Then they suggest disaggregation procedures and give the results of their own analyses of various subgroups of students who were exposed to computer-assisted instruction. Their findings lend support to those who favor disaggregated analyses.     

Managerial perceptions of project stability

This research investigated the importance of stability (ability of schedules to absorb disruption) to project outcomes. Managers involved in aviation systems development were surveyed for their perceptions of importance and usefulness for project attributes and performance management measures. Traditional measures of cost, schedule, performance, and earned value were compared to proposed measures of stability. Stability and earned value had both importance and usefulness to the managers. Stability was perceived to be as important as the more common measures. Perceptions differed depending on program size, scope, and stage of completion and between managers depending on experience and certification level.     

E-Business Transformation via Alliance Clusters

The number of firms using alliances as part of their corporate venturing or market entry strategies has surged over the past decade. Three common reasons cited for pursuing alliances are technology convergence, market access and alliance partners' complementary resources. This paper contrasts the alliance strategies of HP and IBM, two major competitors in electronic services (i.e. Internet-based 'e- service') businesses, using the Familiarity Matrix as a display tool to portray the strategies. Whereas the HP strategy is to attempt to establish its technology infrastructure as the standard e-services infrastructure on the Internet, IBM aims to position its IBM Global Services, rather than its technology, at the center of this ecosystem.