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The purpose of this paper is to test the capability to properly analyze the electrical circuits of a novel constitutive relation of capacitor.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test the capability to properly analyze the electrical circuits of a novel constitutive relation of capacitor.
Design/methodology/approach
For ceteris paribus, the constitutive relations of the resistor and inductor have been reformulated by following the novel constitutive relation of capacitor. The responses of RL, RC, LC and RLC circuits defined on the fractal set described by these definitions have been derived by means of the fractal calculus and fractal Laplace transformation. A comparative Hamiltonian formalism-based analysis has been performed where the circuits described by the conventional and the formerly proposed revisited constitutive relations have also been considered.
Findings
This study has found that the novel constitutive relations give unreasonable results unlike the conventional ones. Like such previous revisited constitutive relations, an odd Hamiltonian has been obtained. On the other hand, the conventional constitutive relations give a reasonable Hamiltonian.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s knowledge, for the first time, the analysis of fractal set defined electrical circuits by means of unconventional constitutive relations has been performed where the deficiency of the tested capacitive constitutive relation has been pointed out.
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Albertas Skurvydas, Virginijus Kundrotas, Irena Valantinienė and Dovilė Valančienė
The main purpose of this article is to survey and analyze the paradigm of complex dynamic systems (CDSs) and the possibility of applying them in the management of social systems…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this article is to survey and analyze the paradigm of complex dynamic systems (CDSs) and the possibility of applying them in the management of social systems, because the CDS perspective is taking its maiden steps in this field, whereas it already has widespread support in physics, biology, and even philosophy.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic and logical analysis of the CDS paradigm, the differences between physical, biological, social, and humanitarian systems, and the changes in the philosophy of systems are described in the paper.
Findings
This paper and the published studies reported are the first to show that the CDS paradigm is undoubtedly not a fashion but a necessity, if we are to manage social systems more efficiently.
Originality/value
This paper is a first attempt to analyze CDSs and the possibility of applying them in the management of social systems.
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Robert Stretcher and Steve Johnson
Capital structure decisions rely on a complex array of theoretical foundations and practical considerations. At the managerial level, it is impractical to base decisions purely on…
Abstract
Purpose
Capital structure decisions rely on a complex array of theoretical foundations and practical considerations. At the managerial level, it is impractical to base decisions purely on theory. While one can develop a perception of an optimal capital structure, the decision is often obscured by practical limitations to the theoretical base. In order to be useful to practicing managers, policies and decision techniques need to be efficiently accomplished and based on available information. This paper seeks to provide that practical framework.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper recounts the simple theoretical base for capital structure, highlights some of the problems encountered when applying the theory to reality, and suggests a framework for practical managerial decisions about capital structure. This exposition is especially useful in undergraduate business curricula, in particular for finance majors considering professional management as a career.
Findings
While application of traditional capital structure theory is often impractical, numerous tools are available for use by professional managers to make informed decisions about capital structure.
Practical implications
The conclusions from this paper provide a framework for current and prospective professional managers for making appropriate capital structure decisions in their management careers.
Social implications
Proper managerial techniques and considerations for leverage and capital structure can potentially benefit society through more prudent use of debt, based on the variety of measures presented in this paper.
Originality/value
Topics discussed in this paper have been in development since the 1950s. The contribution of this paper is the creation of a framework for understanding and applying these topics, for pedagogical and management training purposes.
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Phuc Nguyen and Lin Crase
Under the pressure of competition from non‐state‐owned enterprises (non‐SOEs) since the Renovation in 1986, the Government of Vietnam has sought to reform state‐owned enterprises…
Abstract
Purpose
Under the pressure of competition from non‐state‐owned enterprises (non‐SOEs) since the Renovation in 1986, the Government of Vietnam has sought to reform state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) in order to improve their productivity and efficiency. Whilst the theoretical efficiency benefits from the SOE reform have interested many, this study seeks to add empirical insights to this debate using Williamson's transaction cost economics (TCE).
Design/methodology/approach
Organizational integration and transaction costs – two dimensions of firm efficiency – were compared between SOEs and non‐SOEs using multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA). The analysis was conducted in the context of the within‐firm logistics processes of international multimodal transport (IMT) in Vietnam.
Findings
SOEs were as efficient as non‐SOEs along organizational integration and transaction costs dimensions.
Research limitations/implications
Results of the study contribute to the ongoing research on SOEs reform in Vietnam. They add tentative support to the reform process, although the study also highlights the need for further research incorporating the wider motivation for the SOE reform and/or the broader influence of competition and private ownership.
Originality/value
This study assesses the efficiency of the SOE reform in Vietnam from a perspective that has never been done before, Williamson's TCE.
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In this chapter, we address the question of what health economic models represent. Are they realistic? And, does model realism matter? Or, is model usefulness in terms of…
Abstract
In this chapter, we address the question of what health economic models represent. Are they realistic? And, does model realism matter? Or, is model usefulness in terms of informing pricing, reimbursement, and prescribing decisions all policymakers care about? The usefulness of models is circumscribed given that: (1) market failure is inherent in healthcare and (2) models oversimplify the preference structure underlying choices. We suggest, however, that models which employ the ceteris paribus clause can be useful in order to isolate factors that play a role in healthcare decision-making and ultimately characterize agents’ multiattribute utility functions through discrete choice experiments. As a result, policymakers gain important knowledge about decision criteria in the healthcare system.
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Naveen K. Jain, Douglas R. Hausknecht and Debmalya Mukherjee
The paper aims to understand which location determinants are relevant in a subsidiary location decision under the interaction influence of an emerging‐market firm's (EMF) resource…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to understand which location determinants are relevant in a subsidiary location decision under the interaction influence of an emerging‐market firm's (EMF) resource and internationalization motives.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper prepares a typology of an EMF's resources which are different from those of a developed‐country firm. It proceeds to argue which internationalization motives are likely to work for an EMF endowed with a specific resource. Finally, the paper posits the impact of resource and internationalization motives on the relevance of some location determinants over others in an EMF's location decision matrix.
Findings
The conceptual framework proposes a relationship between EMF resources, internationalization motives and location determinants and prioritizes some location determinant(s) over others for various combinations of EMF resource and internationalization motives.
Research limitations/implications
The paper contributes to the literature by proposing a unique typology of EMF resources. The overall framework informs the scholars about the importance of idiosyncratic resources as the basis of differential location decisions.
Practical implications
This article presents a guiding framework for multinational managers to assess optimum location decisions on the basis of idiosyncratic firm resources and internationalization motives.
Originality/value
The paper fills a scholarly gap by proposing a framework that relates firm resources and internationalization motives to location determinants. In the process, the paper also proposes a resource typology for resources unique to EMFs.
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The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyse the crucial variables of pedestrian flow value of the shopping centres in Hong Kong.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyse the crucial variables of pedestrian flow value of the shopping centres in Hong Kong.
Design/methodology/approach
The study identifies the key determinants of pedestrian flow value (PFV) which is measured by net rental income per floor area per pedestrian flow. Based on the rental and pedestrian flow survey data of 146 shopping centres along the subway (Mass Transit Railway) stations in Hong Kong, the authors have estimated the marginal effects of these determinants on the PFV. The research explains different variations' impacts of pedestrian flow on the rental value of the shopping centres in Hong Kong.
Findings
It is found that shopping centres owned by the same owners tend to achieve a lower PFV, which suggests that owners of multiple shopping malls may adopt a uniform pedestrian flow management strategy that may not be ideal for each individual mall.
Research limitations/implications
This study focuses on the shopping centres that are located along the railway stations. Researchers are encouraged to test the shopping centres that are less affected by the railway stations.
Practical implications
It is useful for shopping centre owners and operators to determine the optimal strategy for managing pedestrian flow in their shopping centres.
Originality/value
The relationship between pedestrian flow and the shopping centre value is coined in the research as pedestrian flow value (PFV) which is to calculate the pedestrian flow effectiveness measured by net rental income per floor area per pedestrian flow.
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Őrn B. Bodvarsson and John G. Sessions
When immigrants experience “nationality discrimination” in the labor market, ceteris paribus their earnings are lower than native-born workers because they were born abroad. The…
Abstract
When immigrants experience “nationality discrimination” in the labor market, ceteris paribus their earnings are lower than native-born workers because they were born abroad. The challenge to testing for nationality discrimination is that the native/immigrant earnings gap will very likely also be influenced by productivity differences driven by incomplete assimilation of immigrants, as well as the possibility of racial or gender discrimination. There is relatively little empirical literature, and virtually no theoretical literature, on this type of discrimination. In this study, a model of nationality discrimination where customer prejudice and native/immigrant productivity differences jointly influence the earnings gap is presented. We derive an extension of Becker's market discrimination coefficient (MDC), applied to the case of nationality discrimination when there are productivity differences. A number of novel implications are obtained. We find, for example, that the MDC depends upon relative immigrant productivity and relative immigrant labor supply. We test the model on data for hitters and pitchers in Major League Baseball, an industry with a history of immigration, potential for customer discrimination, and clean detailed microdata on worker productivities and race. Ordinary least squares (OLS) and decomposition methods are used to estimate the extent of discrimination. We find no compelling evidence of discrimination in the hitter group, but evidence of ceteris paribus underpayment of immigrant pitchers. While our test case is for a particular industry, our theoretical model, empirical specifications, and general research design are quite generalizable to many other labor markets.
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Certain general principles of regulation and control are developed and substantiated by means of evidence from a variety of fields. First, success in regulation is a function of…
Abstract
Certain general principles of regulation and control are developed and substantiated by means of evidence from a variety of fields. First, success in regulation is a function of several variables including adaptability, use of heuristic devices, system structure and characteristics of its constituent parts. Second, both internal specialization of a system and the variety of its dependencies on the environment are important. However, while the variety is important only in the short‐run, system structure is important both in the short‐run and the long‐run. Third, according to the contemporary cybernetic paradigm, a self‐regulatory system must be an open system. This is concluded to be a myth. The theory is developed and illustrated.
Nixon S. Chekenya and Shingirai Sikomwe
Using data for the period 1965–2016, we investigate whether there are systematic differences between the investment performance of Black fund managers and those of other races in…
Abstract
Purpose
Using data for the period 1965–2016, we investigate whether there are systematic differences between the investment performance of Black fund managers and those of other races in South Africa and whether investors recognize these differences. The two-tailed test results show that there is no significant difference between the two means considering the 12 months yield return at a hypothesized mean difference of zero. There is no statistical difference at 5% level of significance implying that the performance of Black fund managers is as equally as that of managers of other races. Our results also show that the percentage of Black fund managers in South Africa is still too low even as the workforce gets diverse. There's no single explanation for what is happening in this industry. The findings cannot be explained by differences in fund characteristics such as age, total assets under management or expenses or from the performance lenses. The results seem hard to reconcile with an explanation of differences in portfolio characteristics such as return volatility or market, size, value and momentum exposures.
Design/methodology/approach
We test the glass cliff hypothesis by employing conditional logistic regression (CLR). The approach enables the use of case/control style of analysis where White/majority fund managers are the control population and professional minorities are the case group. The selection of these as fund managers is our event or outcome variable. To test savior effect hypothesis, we employ analysis of variance (ANOVA). The technique enables us to compare variances between the groups: when a White male fund manager replaces a professional minority, when a White male fund manager replaces a White male fund manager and when a professional minority replaces a professional minority.
Findings
Our analyses so far have documented a woeful underrepresentation of Black fund managers in South Africa's mutual funds industry. We explore potential explanations for these trends. Our analysis is meant to be suggestive. Are Blacks, women, people of color and ethnic minorities finding success in the investment industry? Are they having rewarding and fulfilling careers? Or is the industry still homogenous (just a White man's world) with a thin veneer of diversity layered on for public relations effect? The percentage of Black fund managers in South Africa is still too low even as the workforce gets diverse. There is no single explanation for what is happening in this industry. The findings cannot be explained by differences in fund characteristics such as age, total assets under management or expenses or from the performance lenses. Also, the results seem hard to reconcile with an explanation of differences in portfolio characteristics such as return volatility or market, size, value and momentum exposures.
Research limitations/implications
The two-tailed test results show that there is no significant difference between the two means considering the 12 months yield return at a hypothesized mean difference of zero. There is no statistical difference at 5% level of significance. Our results so far establish that, ceteris paribus, the performance of Black fund managers is as equally as that of managers of other races.
Practical implications
The two-tailed test results show that there is no significant difference between the two means considering the 12 months yield return at a hypothesized mean difference of zero. There is no statistical difference at 5% level of significance. Our results so far establish that, ceteris paribus, the performance of Black fund managers is as equally important as that of managers of other races.
Social implications
The two-tailed test results show that there is no significant difference between the two means considering the 12 months yield return at a hypothesized mean difference of zero. There is no statistical difference at 5% level of significance. Our results so far establish that, ceteris paribus, the performance of Black fund managers is as equally important as that of managers of other races.
Originality/value
This paper investigates whether there are systematic differences between the investment performance of Black fund managers and those of other races in South Africa and whether investors recognize these differences. Our hypothesis is that due to Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) laws in the country and possibly, due to a perception of discrimination in the market, it is only Black fund managers with superior fund management skills that enter the profession. As such, we expect to find superior performance among Black fund managers. We also conjecture that investors recognize this phenomenon and reward Black fund managers with more fund flows and more investment mandates than others.
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