131 research outputs found
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The Impact of Social Relations on Environmental Compliance of Small Firms
Get PDFThis paper responds to a question of regulatory compliance: Why do similar actors comply with regulations at one time and
place, but not in another? The paper attempts to fill the gaps in traditional compliance theories and argues that when
identity concerns prevail, compliance behavior is a manifest expression of two-fold socio-political relationship that arises
from interactions among regulatees, and between formal regulators and the regulated. The comparative case studies
presented here are based upon participant observation. To provide interviewees with settings that foster freer responses,
many interviews were conducted in informal, social locations. Collected free-flowing narratives were complemented by more
structured questions related to environmental regulations at hand. The research reveals that although regulated entities are
sometimes instrumentally rational or norms-oriented, they also base their behavioral choices on situated judgments in ways
that are more varied and changing than existing compliance theories have suggested. The paper highlights how the social
relations of actors are manifested in identities of self and others, and in turn translate into compliance choice making
Financing Drug Research: What are the Issues?
Get PDFThe current system of patent financing for prescription drug research leads to large and growing inefficiencies. In addition, patent rents create perverse incentives that can lead to both bad health outcomes and the slowing of the research process. This paper examines several alternative mechanisms for financing prescription drug research including a prize system, an auction-based patent buyout system and direct public funding for research. It outlines the advantages and disadvantages of each system by a series of criteria, including marginal cost pricing, openness of research findings, incentives for excessive marketing and the adequacy of research funding
Preparing for a Services Economy: An Evaluation of Higher Education in India
Get PDFThis report is part of a larger study to examine the role of higher education in India's success in providing globally traded services. In this report, we assess the quality of software engineering education. We find that the institutional structure has the capacity to produce a quality of engineer suited to the current needs of the marketplace. This is a remarkable achievement considering the rapid change in both job requirements and the role of private provision in higher education. While it is too early to assess whether the currently emergent needs, particularly in research, project management and entrepreneurship, will be met by the current structure, we argue that the state's role as regulator will be critical. While the state has so far demonstrated its capabilities of being an effective regulator, we argue that new regulatory capabilities will be needed of the state to address the evolving demands
Securing their Future? Entry and Survival in the Information Security Industry
Get PDFIn this paper we study how the existence of a functioning market for technology differentially conditions the entry strategy and survival of different types of entrants, and the role of scale, marketing ability and technical assets using the context of the Information Security Market (ISM). Markets for technology facilitate entry of firms that lack proprietary technology and increase vertical specialization. However, they also increase the relative advantage of downstream capabilities, which is reflected in the relatively improved performance of incumbent Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) firms compared to startups. We find that diversifying entrants perform better relative to startups. Contrary to earlier studies, we find that spin-offs are rare in the ISM. Moreover, they do not perform any better than other startups. Also, firms founded by entrepreneurs from unrelated industries, perform markedly better than other startups. These findings reflect the non-manufacturing setting of this study, as well as the distinctive nature of software technology
Understanding and Mitigating Product Uncertainty in Online Auction Marketplaces
Get PDFThe Internet interface poses a difficulty for buyers in evaluating products online, particularly physical experience and durable goods, such as used cars. This increases buyers' product uncertainty, defined as the buyer's perceived estimate of the variance in product quality based on subjective probabilities about the product's characteristics and whether the product will perform as expected. However, the literature has largely ignored product uncertainty and mostly focused on mitigating buyer's seller uncertainty. To address this void, this study aims to conceptualize the construct of product uncertainty and propose its antecedents and consequences in online auction marketplaces.
First, drawing upon the theory of markets with asymmetric information, we propose product uncertainty to be distinct from, yet affected by, seller uncertainty. Second, based on auction pricing theory, we propose that product uncertainty and seller uncertainty negatively affect two key success outcomes of online marketplaces: price premium and transaction activity. Third, following information signaling theory, we propose a set of product information signals to mitigate product uncertainty: (1) online product descriptions (textual, visual, multimedia); (2) third-party product certifications (inspection, history report, warranty); (3) auction posted prices (reserve, starting, buy-it-now); and (4) intrinsic product characteristics (book value and usage). Finally, we propose that the effect of online product descriptions and intrinsic product characteristics on product uncertainty is moderated by seller uncertainty.
The proposed model is supported by a unique dataset comprised of a combination of primary (survey) data drawn from 331 buyers who bid upon a used car on eBay Motors, matched with secondary transaction data from the corresponding online auctions. The results distinguish between product and seller uncertainty, show the stronger role of product uncertainty on price premiums and transaction activity compared to seller uncertainty, empirically identify the most influential product information signals, and support the mediating role of product uncertainty.
This paper contributes to and has implications for better understanding the nature and role of product uncertainty, identifying mechanisms for mitigating product uncertainty, and demonstrating complementarities between product and seller information signals. The model's generalizability and implications are discussed
Knowledge Transfer and Quality Practices in the Implementation of a Sourcing Capability Model
Get PDFThis study adopts a knowledge transfer framework to examine the implementation and assimilation of a process
improvement program for outsourcing service providers. Our theoretical model identifies the factors affecting knowledge
transfer during both the initial implementation stage and the subsequent stage of full assimilation of improved outsourcing
processes into organizational practice. We evaluate our theoretical model using detailed archival data collected on the
implementation of an outsourcing capability model in the offshore delivery center of a large service provider. Findings
indicate that knowledge transfer characteristics affect the time to implement the improved processes in the delivery center,
but do not significantly relate to the likelihood of full assimilation. We also find an unexpected curvilinear relationship
between implementation time and assimilation success such that processes with very low or very high implementation times
are more likely to be fully assimilated
Why is Strategic R&D (Still) Homebound in a Globalized Industry? The Case of Leading Firms in Wireless Telecom
Get PDFThis paper looks at internationalization of R&D in the wireless telecommunications industry. We compare the
international distribution of R&D activities that led to the development of wireless standards to other (non
standard related) projects. While there is greater evidence that leading companies in this industry are sourcing
globally their know how, still more strategic R&D projects remain homebound. This finding is further
elaborated through conversations with R&D and IP managers at Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia, and Qualcomm.
Semi-structured interviews suggested that a closer look at the internationalization of R&D investment requires
scholars to consider maturation and decentralization of R&D and Intellectual Property (IP) management;
uncertainties and asymmetries of information, as well as organizational “inertia” might be the reasons for
sub-optimal exploitation and “appropriability” of results of foreign R&D subsidiaries.
This paper brings therefore forward important questions related to the organization of R&D and inventive
activity in this industry worthy of exploration in subsequent research. What interviews emphasized was the
importance of IP appropriability. The need for some projects to be better synchronized with IP managers is an
element that can contribute to keeping certain R&D activities more homebound than others.
This alternative explanation, which relates more to the specificities of IP management and the interactions
between IPR and R&D functions of firms, has not been explored yet by the literature and might require further
investigation.
The paper is structured as follows. The second section provides a brief conceptual discussion of major
interpretations of R&D internationalization and a review of the major themes in the empirical literature. Also
we consider the specificities of the wireless telecommunications industry. The third section discusses the data
that we use and provides the empirical analysis based on recently collected data on essential patents notified to
the ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute). In the fourth section we validate our statistical
analysis through interviews with managers at the four companies. The fifth section synthesizes and concludes
the paper
Telework that Works: Teleradiology and the Emergence of Nighthawk Radiology Groups
Get PDFInformation technology enabled remote work is typically seen as an imperfect substitute for spatial proximity (Armstrong
and Cole 2002, Gaspar and Glaeser 1998, Olson et. al. 2002). For night radiology, however, the use of teleradiology
applications to create a new type of radiology group appears to have facilitated improvements in productivity, lifestyle, and
quality of interpretations.
This paper describes the diffusion of teleradiology applications in the United States and the "nighthawk" radiology groups
that have consequently emerged. The emergence of nighthawk radiology groups - a new type of radiology group which
specializes in doing night reads - has had important ramifications for the delivery of radiological services in the United
States. Based on interviews, site visits and direct observation of radiologists, the introduction of nighthawk radiology
offered a series of benefits without threatening the quality of radiology services rendered remotely.
This research found that nighthawk radiology groups emerged, not out of a deliberate program of reengineering, but out of
a reaction to a particular set of historical circumstances. The lessons that can be learned from the study of nighthawk
radiology, however, are relevant to a host of industries with work tasks that can be easily relocated, but where relocation is
seen as conflicting with quality concerns. The professional nature of radiology work, as well as the updating of quality
assurance programs, played a crucial role in assuring quality, while shaping the outcomes of the use of teleradiology to
outsource and offshore American radiology services
Still a Coordinated Model? Market Liberalization and the Transformation of Employment Relations in the German Telecommunications Industry
Get PDFThis paper examines recent changes in collective bargaining and employer strategies in the German telecommunications
industry following wide-ranging market liberalization measures in the late 1990s. Findings demonstrate that Germany’s
distinctive industrial relations and vocational training institutions continue to influence the employment systems adopted
by large firms, despite declining bargaining coverage and increased fragmentation in collective agreements. However,
practices that invest in worker skill and discretion in core workplaces are coupled with outsourcing and subsidiary strategies
that allow employers to reduce labor costs for more peripheral jobs. Research is based on interviews and site visits at major
telecommunications firms, as well as secondary analysis of company documents and industry reports
Printing Industry Offshoring: Perspectives from US-Based Printers
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In this paper we look at how U.S. printers perceive offshoring trends in the printing industry, and explore how they are
responding to its opportunities and challenges.
Methodology/ Approach
We relied on data collection comprising of three stages, exploratory interviews, an industry survey, and follow-up interviews.
Findings
Printers are aware of the offshoring threat and are being affected by it. In terms of products and services, quick and variable
printing, as well as non-standard IT services (with the exception of data management), are the areas that are less likely to
suffer from job loss due to the offshoring. To respond to the threat of offshore outsourcing, printers are trying to either focus
on “safe” products, introduce new services, or offshore themselves.
Research Implications
Due to a low response rate, we were unable to use performance data in our analysis. This is a limitation that researchers in
this industry will have to find a way to overcome given that for a large percentage of the industry there is no public data
available.
Practical implications
While many U.S. printers are feeling the negative effects of offshoring, they are less likely to take advantage of its benefits.
Value of Paper
Most offshoring studies to date have relied on publicly available data, which has significant limitations. This study uses a
mix of both survey and interview data to attain a more nuanced view of how the U.S. printing industry is being affected by
and responding to offshoring