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1 – 10 of over 19000John K Shank, William C Lawler and Lawrence P Carr
An important management topic across a wide spectrum of firms is reconfiguring the value delivery system – defining the boundaries of the firm. Profit impact should be the way any…
Abstract
An important management topic across a wide spectrum of firms is reconfiguring the value delivery system – defining the boundaries of the firm. Profit impact should be the way any value chain configuration is evaluated. The managerial accounting literature refers to this topic as “make versus buy” and typically addresses financial impact without much attention to strategic issues. The strategic management literature refers to the topic as “level of vertical integration” and typically sees financial impact in broad “transaction cost economics” terms. Neither approach treats fully the linkages all along the causal chain from strategic actions to resulting profit impact. In this paper we propose a theoretical approach to explicitly link supply chain reconfiguration actions to their profit implications. We use the introduction by Levi Strauss of Personal Pair™ jeans to illustrate the theory, evaluating the management choices by comparing profitability for one pair of jeans sold through three alternative value delivery systems. Our intent is to propose a theoretical extension to the make/buy literature which bridges the strategic management literature and the cost management literature, using A-P-L and SCM, and to illustrate one application of the theory.
Ayodeji E. Oke, Seyi S. Stephen and Clinton O. Aigbavboa
Birger Maekelburger, Christian Schwens and Rüdiger Kabst
Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to suggest a dynamic framework to investigate foreign market mode choices of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) over…
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to suggest a dynamic framework to investigate foreign market mode choices of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) over time.
Design/methodology/approach – We introduce a dynamic economic perspective drawing on the behavioural Uppsala Internationalisation Model (UIM) and the economic Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) framework. Often stigmatised as being static, TCE can benefit from the dynamic nature of the UIM. The UIM framework, however, can benefit from the economic determinants of the TCE.
Findings – We test the framework and our hypotheses in a dataset of 206 internationally operating German SMEs with the two data points initial and subsequent mode choice in the same foreign market. Thereby we demonstrate the hypothesised shifting effects of asset specificity and learning on the chosen foreign market mode over time.
Originality/value: The contribution of this chapter is on the link between the UIM and TCE. Particularly for SMEs, dynamics are relevant due to limited international experience and the notion of efficiency is important due to resource constraints. The investigation along the two data points, initial mode and subsequent mode, provides new insights into the effects of asset specificity and learning over time.
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Anyone who follows climate change policy debates even casually knows that these debates are shot through with controversy about what ought to be done and who ought to be doing it…
Abstract
Anyone who follows climate change policy debates even casually knows that these debates are shot through with controversy about what ought to be done and who ought to be doing it. What sometimes get lost in these debates, however, are much deeper differences over the nature of the climate change problem itself. That is my focus in this chapter. I will take climate change as a prime example of broader debates over what constitutes “sustainable development” and draw upon different strands of the sustainability literature to show how these disagreements play out in the climate change context.
Stanislav Ivanov and Craig Webster
Purpose: The purpose is to introduce the fundamental economic concepts that must be wrestled with the incorporation of robots, artificial intelligence and service automation…
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose is to introduce the fundamental economic concepts that must be wrestled with the incorporation of robots, artificial intelligence and service automation (RAISA) into the travel, tourism and hospitality industries.
Design/methodology/approach: This chapter uses cost-benefit analytical framework of the incorporation of RAISA technologies into travel, tourism and hospitality industries.
Findings: The chapter elaborates on the economic fundamentals of RAISA adoption into the travel, tourism and hospitality industries. The analysis reveals that many financial and non-financial costs and benefits need to be considered when taking a decision to use RAISA technologies. Automation of tasks leads to simultaneous substitution and enhancement of human employees. Introduction of RAISA technologies results on inevitable deskilling of some and upskilling of other tourism and hospitality jobs.
Research limitations/implications: The chapter is conceptual and conclusions are limited by the views and interpretations of the authors.
Practical implications: RAISA technologies will become increasingly omnipresent in the travel, tourism and hospitality industries. That is why an understanding of the costs and benefits and many of the practical impediments to the incursion of RAISA into the workplace should be understood to make a transition from human-performed tasks to technology-performed tasks.
Social implications: Replacement of human labour will have significant social implications for the workforce and employers.
Originality/value: This is one of the few publications that discuss the economic aspects of the incorporation of RAISA technologies into travel, tourism and hospitality industries.
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Marc Wouters, Susana Morales, Sven Grollmuss and Michael Scheer
The paper provides an overview of research published in the innovation and operations management (IOM) literature on 15 methods for cost management in new product development, and…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper provides an overview of research published in the innovation and operations management (IOM) literature on 15 methods for cost management in new product development, and it provides a comparison to an earlier review of the management accounting (MA) literature (Wouters & Morales, 2014).
Methodology/approach
This structured literature search covers papers published in 23 journals in IOM in the period 1990–2014.
Findings
The search yielded a sample of 208 unique papers with 275 results (one paper could refer to multiple cost management methods). The top 3 methods are modular design, component commonality, and product platforms, with 115 results (42%) together. In the MA literature, these three methods accounted for 29%, but target costing was the most researched cost management method by far (26%). Simulation is the most frequently used research method in the IOM literature, whereas this was averagely used in the MA literature; qualitative studies were the most frequently used research method in the MA literature, whereas this was averagely used in the IOM literature. We found a lot of papers presenting practical approaches or decision models as a further development of a particular cost management method, which is a clear difference from the MA literature.
Research limitations/implications
This review focused on the same cost management methods, and future research could also consider other cost management methods which are likely to be more important in the IOM literature compared to the MA literature. Future research could also investigate innovative cost management practices in more detail through longitudinal case studies.
Originality/value
This review of research on methods for cost management published outside the MA literature provides an overview for MA researchers. It highlights key differences between both literatures in their research of the same cost management methods.
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