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Issue
1, Volume 8, January 2011
Title of the Paper: An
Integrated DEA-based Model to Measuring Financial Performance of Construction
Companies
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Authors:
Ching-Yi Chiu, Mei-Wei Wang
Abstract: This paper proposes an evaluation model which effectively assesses
the financial performance of construction companies. This model successfully
combines the methods of Strength Weakness Opportunity Threats (SWOT),
Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The
model first analyzes the operational characteristics of construction companies
by using SWOT and, therefore, selects the representative indicators for
evaluating financial performance. Next, it adopts CCA to solve the problems
generated by the indicators’ correlation and ensures the ability to
distinguish performance evaluation. The model finally can utilize DEA to
acquire reasonable efficiency values and priorities of financial performance.
Through the case studies presented in the paper, it is evident that the
proposed model is an effective tool that can rationally execute performance
evaluation of construction companies and also suggests valuable improvements
for company operations.
Keywords:
Financial performance, indicators’ correlation, evaluation model, construction
companies, data envelopment analysis
Title of the Paper:
Migration among Multicities
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Authors:
Ming Guan
Abstract: This paper proposes a simple model of economic geography within the
Dixit-Stiglitz-Iceberg framework that may be used to analyze migration
patterns among three cities. The costbenefit tradeoffs affecting incentives
for three types of migration, including echelon migration, are discussed. This
paper develops a tractable, heterogeneous-agent, general equilibrium model,
where agents share constant human capital, and explores the relationship
between the benefits of echelon migration and gross human capital. Using
Chinese numerical solutions, we study the manifestation of echelon migration
and how it responds to changes in transportation cost and elasticity of
substitution. Numerical results demonstrate that (i) there are positive
relationships between a migration’s benefitand-wage ratio, (ii) there are
positive relationships between gross human capital ratios and wage ratios as
to origin and destination, and (iii) we identify 13 varieties of human capital
convergence among cities. In particular, this model predicts population shock
resulting from the processes of migration choice and echelon migration.
Keywords:
Dixit-Stiglitz-Iceberg framework, elasticity, echelon migration, trade-off
Title of the Paper:
Influence of Various Business Regulations on the Amount of Foreign Direct
Investments
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Authors:
Maja Samanovic, Maja Cukusic, Mario Jadric
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to establish connections between 25
quantitative indicators on business regulations, laws and the protection of
property rights, and the amount of foreign direct investment that can be
expected accordingly. In this area, a growing number of econometric and
survey-based studies have been published already. Their focus is mostly on the
macroeconomic factors which determine the level of FDI in a country, but
relatively few studies cover the link between FDI and laws, regulations and
institutional arrangements that shape the daily economic activity in every
country. For the purposes of this research publicly available databases from
the Internet were used. The data mining rule-based approach, CN2 rule method
was used. The findings of this research could be used to build an expert
system for predicting the amount of FDI, based on the input of relevant
business indicators.
Keywords:
Foreign direct investments, business regulations, data mining, CN2 rule
induction algorithm.
Issue
2, Volume 8, April 2011
Title of the Paper: New
Business Strategies and Marketing Opportunities Utilizing a Liberalized
Spectrum Management Framework
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Authors:
George Mastorakis, Evangelos Pallis, Vassilios Zacharopoulos, Athina Bourdena
Abstract: The current global move to switch from analogue to digital
terrestrial television has opened up an opportunity for the re-allocation of
valuable spectrum resources in VHF/UHF frequencies. In one way, spectrum bands
once used for analogue TV broadcasting will be completely cleared, leaving a
space for deploying new licensed wireless services, and in another way,
digital terrestrial television technology geographically interleaves spectrum
bands to avoid interference between neighboring stations, leaving a space for
deploying new unlicensed wireless services. In this context, this paper
studies spectrum availability in VHF/UHF frequencies, elaborates on their
exploitation under a dynamic management approach and discusses their potential
business strategies for introducing secondary systems/services within primary
bands (i.e. TV bands). Following existing technological and scientific
approaches for dynamic spectrum access, it presents a liberalised spectrum
exploitation, based on “spectrum commons” and “spectrum markets” regimes
rather than the custom “command and control” one.
Keywords:
Liberalized Spectrum Management, Spectrum Markets, Business Strategies,
Marketing Opportunities
Title of the Paper:
Models for Natural Resources Management
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Authors:
Marius Bulearca, Catalin Popescu, Cristian Sima, Constantin Ghiga, Cornelia
Neagu
Abstract: Natural resources are not homogeneous in nature, having certain
features in the productive process that require grouping them into different
categories by different criteria. Consequently, natural resources cannot be
addressed all at once, but only distinctly, according to relevant criteria
selected based on the proposed goals. This criteria selection process requires
special mathematical models and features that form the main object of the
present paper. Furthermore, the paper also intends to cover the social
importance of understanding resources misuse, which is based on the social
opportunity cost and the total economic value. These concepts, alongside the
types and sources of inefficiency in resource management, will subsequently be
analyzed, in order to gain a complete and informed picture, while also
understanding the market and government failures in this respect.
Keywords:
Economic management principles, mathematical models, mining industry, natural
resources market, scarcity, property rights regime, social opportunity cost,
total economic value
Title of the Paper:
Factors Affecting Hospital’s Adoption of a Market Orientation
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Authors:
Wen-Bao Lin
Abstract: This study investigates factors affecting hospital’s adoption of a
market orientation and the difference between public and private hospitals in
Taiwan in their market orientation after implementation of the National Health
Insurance program. Hospitals, both private and public, with more than 100
sickbeds are selected from three municipalities in Taiwan, namely Taipei,
Taichung, and Kaohsiung. The subjects are high-ranking executives in these
hospitals. A total of 152 copies of the questionnaire are distributed.
Empirical results are as follows: (1) Private hospitals are faced with a
higher degree of environmental uncertainty than public hospitals and are thus
characterized by higher levels of market orientation; (2) Private hospitals
are more influenced than public hospitals by their organizational
entrepreneurship in market orientation; (3) Private hospitals pay more
attention to professional ethics and are more market-oriented than public
hospitals; (4) Market orientation has significant and positive influence on
hospital’s organizational performance. Compared with previous studies, this
study has the following features: (1) Difference in market orientation between
public and private hospitals in Taiwan is seldom addressed in previous
studies. Unlike these studies, which are mainly focused on hospitals in the US
and European nations, this paper discusses market orientation among hospitals
in Taiwan. (2) Previous research on issues concerning hospital management is
mostly concentrated on discussion of medical quality, and the research on
factors affecting hospital’s market orientation is really rare. However,
investigation of these factors is really necessary. (3) Integration of
multivariate analysis and nonlinear fuzzy neural network model for an
empirical test is rare among previous studies of related issues. This
methodology is expected to be more contributive to the academic area.
Keywords:
Market orientation, environmental uncertainty, entrepreneurship, professional
ethics
Issue
3, Volume 8, July 2011
Title of the Paper:
Assessing the Relative Performance of U.S. University Technology Transfer:
Non-Parametric Evidence
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Authors:
Tao Huang, Yun Ken, Wen-Cheng Wang, Chih-Hung Wu, Shian-Hung Shiu
Abstract: This study presents non-parametric evidence on the relative
efficiency of U.S. university technology transfer performance (TTP) through
data envelopment analysis (DEA) model. We also compare three alternative DEA
models —Charnes-Cooper-Rhodes (CCR), slack-based measure (SBM), and
supper-efficiency slack-based measure (super SBM) to determine relative
efficiencies and to measure the slack values among universities on the basis
of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) licensing survey
data. We hope the result of this study is able to offer a performance ranking
and provide managerial suggestions for each university to improve their
technology transfer performance (TTP).
Keywords:
U.S. university, Technology transfer performance, Relative performance, Data
Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Super-efficiency, Slack-based measure (SBM)
Title of the Paper:
Innovation, Risk and Proactivity: Are Firms Following These Strategies?
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Authors:
Nelson Duarte
Abstract: In the present paper, management strategies are analysed in order to
evaluate the degree of entrepreneurship in firms’ management by the use of
innovation, risk and proactivity strategies. Since we are dealing with
management strategies, it is possible to relate them to the concept of
Intrapreneurship. This study was done in a region of northern (Portugal Vale
do Sousa) and focus on Industrial and Construction sectors. The region is
composed of six concelhos in some of which it is possible to identify some
industrial districts. In order to get a valid sample, a group of 251 firms
were analysed. Each strategy was analysed individually and the results pointed
to a lack of culture of entrepreneurship in firms’ management. Only
Proactivity presented a positive result in firms’ management. When grouping
the results, it was possible to conclude that the degree of intrapreneurship
is very low and firms are surviving (even succeeding) by following
conventional (old fashioned) management strategies.
Keywords:
Innovation, Risk, Proactivity, Small firms, Intrapreneurship, Strategy
Title of the Paper: A
Theory Documenting the Feasibility of a Global Capital Market from an
Accounting Perspective
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Authors:
Carmen Giorgiana Bonaci, Jiri Strouhal, Razvan V. Mustata, Dumitru Matis
Abstract: Paper proposes a theory for testing the feasibility of a global
capital market from an accounting perspective. The theory connects the area of
accounting regulations and the place where the result of their application is
put into use, namely the capital market. Quantifying this connection is done
indirectly, by using two direct connections. Firstly there is quantified the
similitude degree of the considered accounting regulations based on a detailed
content analysis. Secondly there is quantified to what extent the foresights
of the considered accounting regulations are actually used in practice by
companies being listed on the capital market. Once determined the two
correlations there is derived the link between a certain capital market and a
set of accounting regulations that is different from the one officially being
applied by companies listed in the considered market. The proposed theory is
tested by considering accounting regulations issued by the International
Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board
(FASB) and companies being listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), focusing on financial assets’ measurement.
Paper concludes by validating the proposed theory based on the fact that we
have dimensioned a conceptual and methodological algorithm that was applied
and generated results allowing the interpretation of the feasibility of a
global capital market between financial reporting theory and practice.
Keywords:
Feasibility, capital market, theory, accounting regulations, accounting
practices
Issue
4, Volume 8, October 2011
Title of the Paper:
TAM2-based Study of Website User Behavior—Using Web 2.0 Websites as an Example
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Authors:
Mei-Ying Wu, Han-Ping Chou, Yung-Chien Weng, Yen-Han Huang
Abstract: In recent years, we have seen a return of web-based applications
built with new ideas and new commercial models. The key momentum for the
development of such applications is the Web 2.0 technology. Web 2.0 websites
are dynamic and characterized by user interaction, sharing, and participation.
The emergence of this new business model brings new business opportunities. In
fact, website users are the main contributors of business opportunities. Thus,
for operators of Web 2.0 websites to enjoy the business opportunities,
understanding user behavior is of great importance. In this study, Technology
Acceptance Model 2 (TAM2) is adopted as the research framework to explore
relationships between constructs associated with Web 2.0 website user
behavior. Data are collected through a questionnaire survey. Hypotheses are
proposed and validated through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and
Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in order to understand user acceptance of
Web 2.0 websites. Results show that most of the hypotheses proposed on the
basis of TAM2 are empirically supported. It can be inferred that the current
Web 2.0 websites are generally accepted by users. Moreover, from the research
results, users’ intentions and behavior associated with use of Web 2.0
websites can be understood; hence, the results serve as a reference for those
planning to start a business on Web 2.0 websites. It is believed that Web 2.0
websites will continue to be the source of new business opportunities on the
web.
Keywords:
Web 2.0, technology acceptance model 2 (TAM2), confirmatory factor analysis
(CFA), structural equation modeling (SEM)
Title of the Paper:
Long-Run Structural Modelling of the Czech Macroeconomy
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Authors:
Jana Hanclova
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to modify and empirically verify the
modelling strategy developed by Garratt, Lee, Pesaran and Shin (2006). The
strategy provides a practical approach to incorporating theoretic long-run
relationships of a small open economy through a structural vector error
correction model (VECM). The basic macroeconomic framework is a core small
open economy model consisting of five long-run relationships based on
production technology and output determination, arbitrage conditions, long-run
solvency requirements and accounting identities and stock-flow relations. This
leads to five expected long-run equations: the relative purchasing power
parity (PPP), the real money market equilibrium condition (MD), the output gap
(OG), the interest rate parity (IRP) and the interest rate relationship –
Fisher inflation parity (FIP). We apply this modelling strategy to the Czech
economy. The data are quarterly and run from the first quarter 1999 to the
fourth quarter of 2010. The domestic variables are real money stock, real
gross domestic product, the nominal interest rate, the rate of inflation and
the domestic price level. Further endogenous variables are the nominal
exchange rate, the foreign price level, foreign real GDP, the foreign interest
rate. We are able to identify the long-run structure amongst those variables
and to test over-identifying restrictions on the cointegrating vectors. We
analyse the consequences of imposing the long-run restrictions for the impulse
response function, where we focus on a Czech monetary policy shock. This shock
has a significant effect on domestic inflation and real domestic output.
Keywords:
Long-run structural model, Czech economy, Small open economy, Purchasing power
parity, Interest rate parity, Output relationship, Money market, Fisher
inflation parity, Impulse, Response Functions.
Title of the Paper:
The Travelling Salesman Problem and its Application in Logistic Practice
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Authors:
Exnar Filip, Machac Otakar
Abstract: The article describes The Travelling Salesman Problem as a logistic
transport task. The first part defines the TSP as a mathematical model and
briefly describes main established methods of solving the problem. The second
part brings experience with practical task solutions in a distribution company
within specific conditions and other requirements of the transport management
in the company.
Keywords:
Travelling Salesman Problem, Genetic Algorithm, Objective Function,
Constraints in Practice, Transport Management
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