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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the development of a novel test instrument to quantify the eco‐functional properties of various shopping bags. One of the main properties, which lies at the interface of both ecological and functional properties, is the reusability of shopping bags. Other properties at this juncture also include the impact strength and weight holding capacity of a shopping bag.

The developed tester can be used to assess these three properties (reusability, impact strength and weight holding capacity) of any type of shopping bag. This study discusses the concept and development of an eco‐functional tester for shopping bags. It also reports test results of the reusability, impact strength and weight holding capacity of different types of shopping bags. Reusability and impact strength are expressed by two variants: absolute maximum capability and comparative maximum capability.

According to the test results, plastic bags outscore paper bags in the single use category and woven bags top the reusable bags category.

To date, there is no scientific instrument reported in the literature that quantifies the reusability of different shopping bags. The value of reusability can be directly utilized for LCA calculations. Other functions derived from this instrument are equally important, since they decide the useful life time of shopping bag and they assist the LCA practitioner to decide the functional unit of the study. This unit is the base of any LCA study and upon it comparisons are made.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to investigate if there is any evidence of differentials in the well-being achievements of two groups which will be called the “artificially” and the “truly” not poor; and second, to test the hypothesis that income from work is a better entitlement than income received from social programs.

The author used data from the 2008 Brazilian Household Budget Survey and selected two groups. Both groups are composed of people living between the absolute and the relative poverty line. The group that is living above the absolute poverty line only due to cash transfer programs will be considered the “artificially” not poor. And people who are out of absolute poverty but not receiving any help from social program are considered the “truly” (and not absolutely) poor. The hypothesis was tested using structural equation modeling.

The results support the hypothesis that people who are not receiving income from cash transfer programs achieve a higher level of well-being in the dimensions of housing and food. Food and housing capabilities affect each other and such result reinforces the multidimensionality of the Brazilian poverty.

The main limitations refers to the restrict number of dimensions and to the necessity to adapt the indicators available to answer the paper objectives.

The paper results can help the policy makers to better understand the cash transfer programs attainment and boundaries.

The paper results highlight that the cash transfer programs, even being useful to improve people well-being, are not sufficient to promote human capabilities and are not truly undertaking the multidimensional deprivations of the poor.

The paper compares two groups of people living with identical amount of income acquired from different origins.

Briefly reviews previous literature by the author before presenting an original 12 step system integration protocol designed to ensure the success of companies or countries in their efforts to develop and market new products. Looks at the issues from different strategic levels such as corporate, international, military and economic. Presents 31 case studies, including the success of Japan in microchips to the failure of Xerox to sell its invention of the Alto personal computer 3 years before Apple: from the success in DNA and Superconductor research to the success of Sunbeam in inventing and marketing food processors: and from the daring invention and production of atomic energy for survival to the successes of sewing machine inventor Howe in co‐operating on patents to compete in markets. Includes 306 questions and answers in order to qualify concepts introduced.

Today, most of the car manufacturers world-wide have embraced the principles of lean manufacturing on strategic and operational level. On strategic level car companies like Toyota (Womack et al., 1990) shifted 63 per cent of the value of the car towards the first, second and third tier suppliers for the co-production and co-development of cars as an effect of lean implementation. However, lean implementation was also followed by for instance Ford and GM in the USA, the latter company faced a sudden disruption in 2009 due to the break-out of the financial crisis in 2008, while Ford survived. Could this be foreseen? The exclusive use of (classic) financial performance indicators may give a false image of a company’s current and future performance. There is a need for a model to identify “the stars and the laggards’ regarding car companies by taking into account non-financial and intangible dimensions as advocated by Neely et al. (2003) regarding the third generation of business performance measurement systems. The purpose of this paper is therefor to propose a method to measure and benchmark car company performance which includes the non-financial R&D dimension as well as supply chain, value creating and employee dimensions. These dimensions are present in the value leverage model (van Blokland et al., 2012a, 2012b) which can serve as a basis for this method. The aim is to contribute to the third generation business performance measurement systems by further development of the value leverage model towards a maturity model for benchmarking car company performance. The proposed method can provide a big picture and give insight regarding company performance and direction of the performance.

Value leverage can be measured by a correlation analysis regarding three dimensions, namely, supply chain, R&D and value creation, all relative to the employee or capita which results in the average value leverage (AVL) factor. This AVL factor can be used to compose a combined relative and absolute ranking. The score regarding the AVL results in a relative ranking expressing the level of stability regarding the car companies value chain and system. For the absolute ranking the car companies receive per variable parameter a score according to their absolute performance relative to the other car companies. The relative and absolute ranking are presented on the vertical and horizontal axes forming a matrix. The matrix is the basis for the stability-value leverage maturity model for measuring and benchmarking company performance. With the proposed method, the following main research question can be answered: “How can company performance be measured and benchmarked from a stability-value leverage perspective?”.

With the proposed method, stability-value leverage performance can be measured. The relative ranking on the vertical axis and the absolute ranking form together a matrix which is presented by a scatterplot. A matrix with four maturity levels emerged from the analysis by introducing the average score of all the car companies together in the data set crossing the matrix vertical and horizontal. The four levels are as follows: Level I, low stability – low value leverage; Level II, low stability – high value leverage; Level III, high stability – low value leverage; and Level IV, high stability – high value leverage. Stability-value leverage performance of car companies can be measured over time which makes it possible to observe to which direction the car company migrates for instance from Level I to Level III, before and after the financial crises in 2008. The car companies BMW, Daimler, Audi, Ford and Honda are the best performing companies in stability-value leverage over the period 2000-2014, as they are situated at Level IV. With the findings, the main research question can be answered. The value leverage indicators can be used for measuring and benchmarking company performance regarding four maturity levels of stability and value leverage. The direction of performance can be observed as well.

This research is limited to the car industry. Further research is devised to test the indicators for instance on the truck manufacturing industry. Further research towards new variables is part of the ongoing research.

With the value leverage maturity model, it is possible to inform stakeholders about stability, value leverage and value creation capability of car companies. Weak performing companies can be identified in an early stage with this method to anticipate for instance on possible discontinuation of a car company effecting in merger an acquisition processes.

With the method stakeholders such as employees, users of cars and investors can be informed about how and why car companies perform in an unstable or stable manner.

This research towards ranking and classification of car companies aligns with theories regarding lean manufacturing and maturity models, as these models are used to compare companies on their level of perfection or excellence.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

The purpose of this paper is to update existing Kauffmann’s NK model to evaluate the manufacturing fitness of strategic business capabilities. The updated model is tested in a digital manufacturing (DM) setting to investigate the sequence for developing cumulative capabilities that can yield the maximum payoff.

The authors develop a grey–DEMATEL–NK fitness model and show its application, through a case study, to a DM firm in India.

The grey–DEMATEL–NK model helps evaluate multiple manufacturing capabilities and indicates that quality–flexibility–cost–delivery is the sequence that yields the maximum manufacturing fitness (competitive payoff) for a DM firm. This sequence helps the firm reorganise its internal business processes and is different from that used to develop cumulative capabilities in a traditional manufacturing setting (quality–delivery–flexibility–cost).

This study presents a pilot model for computing the cumulative capabilities payoff and prescribes a sequence for developing cumulative capabilities within a DM context.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the popular “information transmitted” interpretation of absolute judgments, and to provide an alternative interpretation if one is needed.

The psychologists Garner and Hake and their successors used Shannon's Information Theory to quantify information transmitted in absolute judgments of sensory stimuli. Here, information theory is briefly reviewed, followed by a description of the absolute judgment experiment, and its information theory analysis. Empirical channel capacities are scrutinized. A remarkable coincidence, the similarity of maximum information transmitted to human memory capacity, is described. Over 60 representative psychology papers on “information transmitted” are inspected for evidence of memory involvement in absolute judgment. Finally, memory is conceptually integrated into absolute judgment through a novel qualitative model that correctly predicts how judgments change with increase in the number of judged stimuli.

Garner and Hake gave conflicting accounts of how absolute judgments represent information transmission. Further, “channel capacity” is an illusion caused by sampling bias and wishful thinking; information transmitted actually peaks and then declines, the peak coinciding with memory capacity. Absolute judgments themselves have numerous idiosyncracies that are incompatible with a Shannon general communication system but which clearly imply memory dependence.

Memory capacity limits the correctness of absolute judgments. Memory capacity is already well measured by other means, making redundant the informational analysis of absolute judgments.

This paper presents a long‐overdue comprehensive critical review of the established interpretation of absolute judgments in terms of “information transmitted”. An inevitable conclusion is reached: that published measurements of information transmitted actually measure memory capacity. A new, qualitative model is offered for the role of memory in absolute judgments. The model is well supported by recently revealed empirical properties of absolute judgments.

The implications and influence of different cognitive map structures on decision-making, reasoning, predictions about future events, affect, and behavior remain poorly understood. To-date, we have not had the mechanisms to determine whether any measure of cognitive map structure picks up anything more than would be detected on a purely random basis. We report a Monte Carlo method of simulation used to empirically estimate parameterized probability outcomes as a means to better understand the behavior of cognitive map. Using worked examples, we demonstrate how the results of our simulation permit the use of exact statistics which can be applied by hand to an individual map or groups of maps, providing maximum utility for the collective and cumulative process of theory building and testing.