Equipment replacement policy: a survey

Over the past ten years there has been a considerable increase in application of theoretically correct measurement methods in determining the economic life of equipment. Approximately 89% of the firms surveyed have equipment replacement policies. The discounted rate of return method is the most widely used in determining the service life of equipment; the MAPI formula is not widely used. Difficulties in applying a replacement policy can be classified into three groups: operational, organizational, and economic. The problems mentioned most often are operational. In organizational difficulties there is usually a lack of coordination between staff and line managers. Economic problems are generally the limited funds available for equipment replacement. Formal educational programs are lacking for the development of equipment replacement managers. For the firms having replacement policies, individuals with engineering degrees are preferred over those in other disciplines for the management of the equipment replacement policy.     

Current Account, Capital Formation and Terms of Trade Shocks: a Revisit of the Harberger-Laursen-Metzler Effect

This paper extends the Blanchard model of a closed-economy to a three-good (exportable, importable and non-tradable goods) open-economy model with capital accumulation and uncertain lifetimes to study the impacts of terms of trade shocks on the current account. The simulation results show that a model with uncertain lifetimes is more appropriate to describe a small open economy like Taiwan at the steady-state equilibrium than a model with infinite lifetimes. We find that the Harberger-Laursen-Metzler effect is discernible for temporary or permanent terms of trade shocks. Furthermore, the steady state is a saddle point and the speed of convergence of capital and consumption is quite low.     

ADVERSE SELECTION IN ELECTRONIC MARKETS: EVIDENCE FROM ONLINE STAMP AUCTIONS

We analyze adverse selection costs in online stamp auctions, based on a comparison of prices on eBay with those of matched stamps at a specialty stamps auction site in the U.S., Michael Rogers, Inc. (MR), which we know a priori has low quality uncertainty. We find that buyer prices are 10–15% lower on eBay as compared to MR, and the price difference, increases with the value of the stamps. Consistent with this adverse selection discount we find that the seller reputation mechanism on eBay has an economically modest, although statistically significant, effect on auction price and probability of sale.     

Fair value disclosures and crash risk

In response to the public criticism of the inadequate disclosures mandated by SFAS No. 157, Fair Value Measurements, the FASB issued ASU (Accounting Standards Update) 2010–06, Improving Disclosures about Fair Value Measurements, and ASU 2011–04, Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements, in an effort to increase the reporting transparency. We examine whether the increased fair value disclosures required by these two updates effectively decrease crash risk, defined as the frequency of extreme negative stock returns. In support of the hypothesis, we find that increased transparency from these updates reduces crash risk among U.S. banking firms and that the reduction is greater in banks that have a higher level of Level 3 financial assets.     

The value of ongoing venture capital investment to newly listed firms

We examine whether the market values continuing venture capital (VC) investor involvement in firms post-IPO. Compared to the US, Australian VC investors exit their investments post-IPO by on-market sales rather than distribution of holdings to their investors. Lockup periods tend to be longer and ownership thresholds for reporting trades lower. We find that the market responds positively to buy transactions, negatively to sell transactions of VC investors and negatively to the resignation of VC directors. These results are consistent with VC investors in the firm having a positive influence and creating value from which the VCs and other shareholders benefit.     

Understanding the factors affecting the adoption of the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoTs) is widely considered as one of the most important infrastructures for promoting economic development and technological innovation. The purpose of this study is to find the key factors influencing IoT adoptions, specifically in Taiwan’s logistics industry. In this study adopts a model which is a hybrid of technology, organisation and environment (TOE) and the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory method (DEMATEL) to evaluate the complex factors influencing the adoption of IoT. The study employs the TOE framework as a basis to develop a general evaluation framework, and the DEMATEL technique conceptualises a structural model and then identifies the causal relationships among factors through a cause-effect relationship diagram. Finally, we also divided the complex influencing factors into cause and effect groups to better clarify the causal relationships for decision-making, to ensure the efficiency of IoT adoption.     

The dynamic welfare cost of seignorage tax and consumption tax in a neoclassical growth model with a cash-in-advance constraint

Using a public finance approach, this study investigates welfare costs between seignorage and consumption taxes in a standard growth model. One of these two taxes is used to finance exogenous public spending to balance the government budget. The steady-state welfare cost of consumption taxes is lower if the consumption effect dominates the leisure effect. This paper compares equilibrium along transitional dynamic and steady-state paths and finds that because of lower consumption and leisure and thus higher welfare costs of consumption taxes during early periods, the welfare cost of consumption taxes is larger than the welfare cost of seignorage taxes.     

Managing TFT-LCDs under uncertainty: When crystal cycles meet business cycles

Understanding the correlation between the crystal cycle and the business cycle is important, because it can help managers to anticipate change, reduce environmental uncertainty, and formulate operational objectives. To this end, we focused on China and the U.S. in our analysis. We found that the economic indicators that were the most relevant in the characterization of China's huge and burgeoning TFT-LCD market are gross domestic production and industrial production. We complemented this finding by conducting similar analyses in the U.S. market using a more comprehensive list of economic indicators.     

A fuzzy multi-criteria decision model for international tourist hotels location selection

The main purpose of this paper is to present a fuzzy multi-criteria decision making (FMCDM) model for international tourist hotel location selection. In this article we created 21 criteria for selecting the international tourist hotel location acquired from literatures review and practical investigations. And the methods of fuzzy set theory, linguistic value, hierarchical structure analysis, and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process are used to consolidate decision-makers’ assessments about criteria weightings. Finally, an empirical study for identifying the international tourist hotel location selection in Taiwan is conducted to demonstrate the computational process and effectiveness of FMCDM proposed by this paper.     

Competency analysis of top managers in the Taiwanese hotel industry

The purpose of this study was to identify top managers’ competencies in hotel unit leaders perceived to be most critical for career development, and using the Fuzzy Delphi and Analytic Hierarchy Process methods to determine perceptions of the importance of various competencies in different dimensions. This study uses snowball sampling methods to collect data from 25 hotel top managers and uses qualitative and quantitative surveys, including interviews, questionnaire review and a questionnaire survey. A two-stage research design is adopted to understand the differences in perceived competency requirements better. The analytical results demonstrate the required competencies of top managers in the hotel industry, and divide them into generic and technical dimensions, 18 competency domains, and 107 competency indices. The top three most important competency domains are “leadership,” “crisis management,” and “problem-solving.” The proposed management competency framework provides an important implication for educators, practitioners, and researchers.