Remote control and maintenance outsourcing networks and its applications in supply chain management

The paper analyzes the impact of e-business technologies on maintenance management and supply chain operations. The aim of this work is to investigate the network organization level of supply chains in case of remote maintenance application and to understand how maintenance policies are coupled with information technology (IT) solutions. To this purpose two literature reviews are presented: firstly, on the supply chain and network integration, and then on the evolution of maintenance using information technology. Following this, the paper present four specific industrial case-studies of eMRO network organisation. They have been chosen as reference models from a set of practical applications and pilot tests performed by the authors in different production sectors in the last 5 years. Technology complexity environments, maintenance outsourcing level, and supply chain integration context are discussed for each case-studies with particular regards to the profitable forms of collaboration provided by the introduction of IT and the Web. This analysis work toward the development of a framework useful to: (1) classify different e-maintenance systems and understand the relationships between the different members of the network, and (2) identify the variables which can influence the introduction and development of the systems.     

Identifying changes and trends in Hong Kong outbound tourism

Despite the numerous research endeavors aimed at investigating tourists’ preferences and motivations, it remains very difficult for practitioners to utilize the results of traditional association rule mining methods in tourism management. This research presents a new approach that extends the capability of the association rules technique to contrast targeted association rules with the aim of capturing the changes and trends in outbound tourism. Using datasets collected from five large-scale domestic tourism surveys of Hong Kong residents on outbound pleasure travel, both positive and negative contrasts are identified, thus enabling practitioners and policymakers to make appropriate decisions and develop more appropriate tourism products.     

The Role of Monetary Policy in the New Keynesian Model: Evidence from Vietnam

This paper re-designs the New Keynesian model developed by Ireland (2004 Ireland, P. N. (2004). Technology shocks in the New Keynesian model. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 86(4), 923–936. doi: 10.1162/0034653043125158[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and then uses the Vietnamese data from January 1995 to December 2012 to estimate the model's parameters. The empirical results show that the State Bank of Vietnam had been more aggressive as well as more responsive to aggregate fluctuations in the period before August 2000 than in the latter period. Thus, this change in the policy stance could be a potential reason for the declining importance of monetary policy in generating movements in output growth, inflation, interest rate, and the output gap across the subsamples. Another notable finding is the dominant role of the cost-push shock in explaining fluctuations in inflation, interest rate, and the output gap, leading to a policy implication that more attention should be devoted to developing substitute and complement industries so as to mitigate negative effects of the cost-push shocks by reducing the degree of dependence on imports.     

Competition and risk in South East Asian commercial banking

This article investigates the effects of competition on bank risk taking behaviour in four South East Asian countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam). Our main finding is that competition does not increase bank risk-taking behaviour and the results appear robust to different model specifications, estimation approaches and variable construction. We also find that concentration is inversely related to bank risk whereas regulatory restrictions positively influence bank risk-taking.     

Tail dependence between gold and sectorial stocks in China: perspectives for portfolio diversification

This article analyzes the relationship between gold quoted on the Shanghai Gold Exchange and Chinese sectorial stocks from 2009 to 2015. Using different copulas, our results show that there is weak but significant tail dependence between gold and Chinese sectorial stock returns. This means that the dependence between extreme movements of the two assets is not pronounced and confirms the role of gold as a safe haven asset. Based on analyzing the efficient frontier, CCC-GARCH optimal weights, hedge ratios and hedging effectiveness, we further show that adding gold into Chinese stock portfolios can help to reduce their risk. Gold appears to be the most efficient diversifier for stocks of the materials sector and the less efficient for the utilities sector. As a robustness check, we also compare gold to oil and indicate that gold is more efficient than oil in the diversification of Chinese stock portfolios.

     

Institutions for private sector development and pro‐poor growth: Evidence from Vietnam

Using the Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey 2008, we explore the differences in pro‐poor growth performance in provinces in Vietnam according to the quality of the provinces’ institutions that support private sector activity. We exploit the localized and varying effect of French colonial legacy across Vietnamese provinces to address the endogeneity of institutions. We find strong and robust evidence of a positive effect of good‐quality institutions that support private sector activity on pro‐poor growth and that enhanced working hours and hourly wage and extended income from non‐farm self‐employment play critical roles in this outcome.     

Does bank competition promote financial inclusion? A cross-country evidence

The idea of financial inclusion has recently been discussed as one of the key strategies to enhance economic development (World Bank 2014). We move this discussion forward by examining if bank competition is a crucial component enforcing financial inclusion, which is arguably a finance supply-side driven process. In this study, we compute the financial inclusion index built on Sarma (2008) approach to better reflect banks’ willingness and capability to provide financial services. Applying System Generalized Method of Moments to the panel of 93 countries, we find that bank competition promotes financial inclusion.     

Marketing Metrics Use in a Transition Economy: The Case of Vietnam

ABSTRACT

This article explores the use of marketing metrics by a sample of Vietnamese firms, providing an example of the use of marketing metrics in a “transition” economy as it grows and becomes more market and marketing driven. The analysis reports usage frequency and then develops a set of “correlation chains” linking firm characteristics, metric use, and various indicators of performance. Vietnamese managers generally report that several types of metrics are used. Ownership structure and industry also impact which metrics are utilized. An initial assessment of chains relating metric use to firm performance indicates that the impact is complex and indirect.     

AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF BEN GRAHAM'S NET CURRENT ASSET VALUE RULE

This paper presents evidence that the net current asset value rule developed by Ben Graham in 1930 is still profitable in the 1970s and early 1980s. The abnormal gain is not due to future mergers because both the merged and nonmerged subsamples have positive and statistically significant returns in the post-event period.     

Evaluating museum visitor experiences based on user-generated travel photos

ABSTRACT

This research introduces online travel photos published on social media platforms as a complementary data resource to examine the behavior and experience of museum visitors. The practical value of online travel photos is demonstrated through a case study of popular Hong Kong museums, particularly by using the photo content and metadata available from the Flickr platform. The proposed approach is a generic method for understanding museum visitor behavior and preferences, and supports museum practitioners in developing improved products for visitors. The case study findings are particularly beneficial for tourism managers, especially those in Hong Kong, in promoting and attracting tourists to visit local museums.