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1 – 10 of over 28000Tzong‐Ru (Jiun‐Shen) Lee and Yenming J. Chen
This paper, being complementary to existing perspectives, aims to examine the behaviors and the strategies of production migration of polluting firms from an economic point of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper, being complementary to existing perspectives, aims to examine the behaviors and the strategies of production migration of polluting firms from an economic point of view under appropriate decision conditions in terms of uncertain influence of supply chain support and green technology progress.
Design/methodology/approach
Strategic alternatives are investigated by using option pricing tools to examine the impact of various characteristics of green technology development and supply chain relations on the timing of the decision.
Findings
The theoretical and empirical results show that a polluting firm should not consider the option of relocating to offshore countries if uncertainty has been anticipated. It is suggested that, by facing green technology development uncertainty, a firm should be refrained from relocating production abroad if technology develops and offshore cost advantage disappears soon. On the other hand, a pre‐emptive migration strategy is preferable when the green technology is anticipated to be delayed.
Practical implications
A polluting firm in a supply chain faces challenges of uncertainty depending on whether it decides to produce domestically or to relocate internationally. The analysis conveys a concept that polluting firms can be more profitable by promoting clean production technology, instead of relocating to offshore or so called pollution havens.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the existing literature on the evaluation of offshore migration option values by taking extra consideration of uncertainty in the supply chain cost, green technology progress and complementing to studies in a moral perspective.
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Madhu Viswanathan, Arun Sreekumar and Roland Gau
The authors look back and forward in terms of challenges and opportunities for marketing, viewed from the vantage point of the subsistence marketplaces stream. The authors discuss…
Abstract
The authors look back and forward in terms of challenges and opportunities for marketing, viewed from the vantage point of the subsistence marketplaces stream. The authors discuss how marketing can evolve and expand to address the scale and scope of challenges that lie ahead. By way of challenges, the authors discuss the confluence of uncertainties, such as inherent in the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) contexts, in environmental issues, and in the arena of technological solutions, as well as the confluence of unfamiliarities among managers, students, and researchers. The authors discuss opportunities for marketing through a bottom-up approach and argue for evolving marketing with rapidly changing reality in BoP markets, a harbinger and an innovation laboratory for all contexts.
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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…
Abstract
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.
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The integration of technology into the workplace has resulted in a long trend of changing working conditions, from agriculture to today’s growing “knowledge economy.” This latest…
Abstract
The integration of technology into the workplace has resulted in a long trend of changing working conditions, from agriculture to today’s growing “knowledge economy.” This latest development depends on information technology, which may continue to evolve through eventual convergence with nanotechnology and biotechnology. Knowledge work places more emphasis on an expanded skill set, as opposed to the smaller set of specialized skills typically needed in an industrial economy. Future technological progress might lead to further enhancement of human potential or to even greater inequality (individual and national) in income distribution, generating even larger pressures toward the divisions in society. This is illustrated by recently proposed scenarios of accelerated and logistic growth of technological progress. In an attempt to understand these dynamics, a simple model is constructed to clarify a possible relationship between technology and social systems. The model, based on the technology maturation process, focuses on the delay in social systems in responding to a technological change. Examples of current problems of technology and social issues are reviewed in the model’s context. Some potential approaches to framing these problems from an ethical viewpoint are reviewed, including applying Rawlsian concepts of fairness and the “veil of ignorance” and applying a simple discount rate to balance perceived future risks, technological solutions, and uncertainty.
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The introduction of advanced manufacturing technologies can result in prolonged start‐up phases long after commercial production has started up. Progress of manufacturing…
Abstract
The introduction of advanced manufacturing technologies can result in prolonged start‐up phases long after commercial production has started up. Progress of manufacturing performance is often prevented owing to extensive start‐up losses, giving rise to uncertainty. Based on a longitudinal case study of a Swedish manufacturer of engines for the automotive industry, the paper investigates the start‐up process of an advanced manufacturing system. The theory underlying learning curves and manufacturing progress functions are used to illustrate progress in manufacturing performance that takes place as time passes and the production volume is accumulated. A start‐up methodology, the concept of full‐speed testing, is outlined, empirically documented and analyzed by means of qualitative and quantitative inquiry. Full‐speed testing is a methodology for detecting potential problems and limitations in technology and organization, and for increasing the rate of direct labor‐ and cognitive learning. Tentative support is found for the notion that material supply, organization design and increased problem‐solving capacity are related to the rate with which manufacturing performance progresses as time passes and production capacity is accumulated.
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Information Technology (IT) has ushered in not only large societal opportunities but also large uncertain ‐ ties and risks. Future developments, like ubiquitous networked embedded…
Abstract
Information Technology (IT) has ushered in not only large societal opportunities but also large uncertain ‐ ties and risks. Future developments, like ubiquitous networked embedded systems, are technologies society may face. Such technologies offer larger opportunities and uncertainties because of their ability to widely distribute power through their small, inexpensive, and ubiquitous characteristics. Many interpretations of how these technologies may develop have been postulated, ranging from the conservative Precautionary Principle, to uncontrolled development leading to “singularity.” With so much uncertainty and so many predictions about the benefits and consequences of these technologies, it is important to raise ethical questions, determine potential scenarios, and try to identify appropriate decision points and stakeholders. Rather than going along an unknown path, perhaps lessons could be learned from recently deployed technologies, such as nuclear technology, that were controversial but offered similarly large potential benefits and risks. The experience of nuclear technology development, with its various successes and failures, is recalled and compared with potential scenarios in the development of networked embedded systems
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Accounting’s definition of accountability should include attributes of socioenvironmental degradation manufactured by unsustainable technologies. Beck argues that emergent…
Abstract
Accounting’s definition of accountability should include attributes of socioenvironmental degradation manufactured by unsustainable technologies. Beck argues that emergent accounts should reflect the following primary characteristics of technological degradation: complexity, uncertainty, and diffused responsibility. Financial stewardship accounts and probabilistic assessments of risk, which are traditionally employed to allay the public’s fear of uncontrollable technological hazards, cannot reflect these characteristics because they are constructed to perpetuate the status quo by fabricating certainty and security. The process through which safety thresholds are constructed and contested represents the ultimate form of socialized accountability because these thresholds shape how much risk people consent to be exposed to. Beck’s socialized total accountability is suggested as a way forward: It has two dimensions, extended spatiotemporal responsibility and the psychology of decision-making. These dimensions are teased out from the following constructs of Beck’s Risk Society thesis: manufactured risks and hazards, organized irresponsibility, politics of risk, radical individualization and social learning. These dimensions are then used to critically evaluate the capacity of full cost accounting (FCA), and two emergent socialized risk accounts, to integrate the multiple attributes of sustainability. This critique should inform the journey of constructing more representative accounts of technological degradation.
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Tom A.E. Aben, Wendy van der Valk, Jens K. Roehrich and Kostas Selviaridis
Inter-organisational governance is an important enabler for information processing, particularly in relationships undergoing digital transformation (DT) where partners depend on…
Abstract
Purpose
Inter-organisational governance is an important enabler for information processing, particularly in relationships undergoing digital transformation (DT) where partners depend on each other for information in decision-making. Based on information processing theory (IPT), the authors theoretically and empirically investigate how governance mechanisms address information asymmetry (uncertainty and equivocality) arising in capturing, sharing and interpreting information generated by digital technologies.
Design/methodology/approach
IPT is applied to four cases of public–private relationships in the Dutch infrastructure sector that aim to enhance the quantity and quality of information-based decision-making by implementing digital technologies. The investigated relationships are characterised by differing degrees and types of information uncertainty and equivocality. The authors build on rich data sets including archival data, observations, contract documents and interviews.
Findings
Addressing information uncertainty requires invoking contractual control and coordination. Contract clauses should be precise and incentive schemes functional in terms of information requirements. Information equivocality is best addressed by using relational governance. Identifying information requirements and reducing information uncertainty are a prerequisite for the transformation activities that organisations perform to reduce information equivocality.
Practical implications
The study offers insights into the roles of both governance mechanisms in managing information asymmetry in public–private relationships. The study uncovers key activities for gathering, sharing and transforming information when using digital technologies.
Originality/value
This study draws on IPT to study public–private relationships undergoing DT. The study links contractual control and coordination as well as relational governance mechanisms to information-processing activities that organisations deploy to reduce information uncertainty and equivocality.
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Sylvia Odusanya, J. Jorge Ochoa, Nicholas Chileshe and Seungjun Ahn
The purpose of this paper is to provide a holistic view of the link between the identification of complexity contributing factors, the application of project management approaches…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a holistic view of the link between the identification of complexity contributing factors, the application of project management approaches and their impacts on the performance of Information Technology (IT)-enabled change projects.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative approach of an embedded single-case design comprising three IT-enabled change projects delivered in Australia was used to explore the impact of complexity contributing factors and project management approaches on project performance measures. Semi-structured interviews were used as the main data collection method. Thematic analysis was used as the data analysis approach.
Findings
The results from the thematic analysis highlight that complexity contributing factors are related to two categories of complexity defined in this paper: technical uncertainties and uncertainty in goals and deliverables, both have an impact on the performance of IT-enabled change projects. It also highlights key project management approaches such as the use of an adaptive management approach and good communication as key to managing complexity. It also identifies a misalignment between stakeholder perception of success and the project management success measure for complex IT-enabled projects.
Research limitations/implications
The research is based on data collected from Australian participants involved in three case studies. Additional data collection and reviews from practitioners in the field of project management could further refine and improve this research.
Practical implications
The research facilitates the identification of specific complexity contributing factors at the early stage of a project to ensure that the appropriate project management approaches and success measures are used.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to rethinking the pathways towards improving project performance in the IT sector by expanding the identification of project complexity to understanding how complexity and the management approaches impact project performance.
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