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• The battery in electric vehicles is a strategic component in the value chain. • The transition to electric vehicles in Europe is developing unevenly among countries. • Capital ownership and technological leadership are key factors of transition. • The concentration of the industry in fewer countries and car groups is increasing. This work inquires as to the impacts of the transition from combustion to electric vehicles in accordance with the Core/Semi-Periphery/Periphery configuration of the European automotive industry. We propose a double objective: i) to propose from a C-SP-P framework a methodology by which to analyze the reconfiguration of the European automotive sector in the transition to electric vehicles; and ii) to apply that proposal to an examination of the sector for the 2017–2022 period. Our findings reveal that this transition has been driving a reconfiguration where only Germany's automotive sector has maintained and consolidated its core position. Other economies such as France, Italy, the UK, and even Spain have seen their positions weakened (albeit for different reasons). The emergence of Hungary and Poland as hubs in battery production is not seen as sufficient to drive significant improvement in those countries' positions, given the weakness they exhibit in other dimensions analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the effect of religious labor market concentration on clergy wages. Using data on the state-level Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) from the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA), and data on individual clergy wages from the Census/American Community Survey (ACS), I estimate the effect of monopsony in the market for religion on clergy wages for the years 1980 to 2020. Ordinary least squares (OLS) estimates suggest the elasticity of individual clergy wages to the state-level HHI ranges between -0.05 and -0.17. These results are robust to the inclusion of controls for individual clergy characteristics, state-level religious tradition adherent shares, state-level labor market concentration, state- and year-fixed effects, and religious group-specific time trends. Application of the Oster (2019) test for selection on unobservables suggests that OLS understates the negative effect of concentration on clergy wages. The OLS results are supported by an instrumental variables (IV) specification exploiting a Bartik-style instrument interacting historic concentration with national concentration growth. The IV estimates suggest elasticities between -0.11 and -0.19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving sustainable agri-food systems (SAS) requires the collaborative work of multiple participants. Using a systemic analytical approach, the limiting factors for the sustainable transition of the agri-food system (AS) of the Mexican avocado value chain (VC) were studied. International, national and government data sources were consulted and complemented by three case studies. Short-term policies, current VC and AS governance structures, inadequate infrastructure for the sustainable use of natural resources and insecurity limit the achievement of the SAS. Acceptable economic indicators for the sector should allow for social and environmental improvements by introducing more efficient irrigation systems and improving current working conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present investigation elaborates on the level of game theory application for the applied and theoretical analyses of climate change and development studies. This editorial shows that the common good character of global climate alongside the increasing internalization of environmental externalities through national regulations and international environmental treaties jointly result in the increasing congruence between the context of climate change problems and the game theoretical method. Furthermore, the adoption of the Paris Accord by the overwhelming majority of developing countries as well as the disproportionate vulnerability of the Global South have led to an increasing shift in focus with regard to international development cooperation, from poverty alleviation and economic growth to green growth and circular economy solutions, within developing countries. The underutilization of game theory in the context of development studies is not satisfactory. This paper underlines the importance of implementing an impetus to researchers for scholarly discussions and applications of game theory in a discourse on the following topics: 1. economic growth; 2. climate change mitigation and adaptation; and 3. a broader socioeconomic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the plans and layouts of Chinese ceramic workshops from the Tang to Ming periods (seventh to seventeenth century AD) to understand how ceramic production was organized and how organization developed over time. Through the comparative examination of 254 workshops from 96 workshop sites, two workshop types have been defined based on the spatial arrangement of their production facilities. This paper argues that each workshop type reflects a different degree of labor specialization, and despite some regional differences, the organization of ceramic production developed in a consistent way across China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postmodern organizations strive to cultivate open innovation systems to foster product innovation and commercialization. Cultural dynamics can be a massive obstacle in flourishing the inbound and outbound open innovation in many organizations. However, little is known about the effect of different types of culture on the open innovation dimensions. This research aimed to investigate the role of cultural subtleties in nurturing inbound and outbound open innovation in the organizations. A quantitative research design was employed, and data were collected from a random sample of 231 managers from the automotive industry. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses using Smart PLS. The results indicated that hierarchy culture, associated with formal rules and regulations, negatively affects the inbound and outbound open innovation. The Market culture has a positive relationship with inbound and outbound open innovation while adhocracy culture could positively impact the inbound open innovation only. On the other hand, clan culture has a negative effect on the outbound open innovation. We concluded that the organizational culture focused on internal integrations is more suitable for outbound open innovation, and the type of organizational culture focused on external differentiation is more likely to support inbound open innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the relationship between the State and big capital (chaebols) in the South Korea in three periods: the phase of constitution of the heavy industry between the 1960s and 1980s, the period of institutional transformation characteristic of neoliberal financialization in the 1990s, and the limited reversal of liberalizing reforms after the 1997 crisis. For this, we reject forms of evaluation of economic policies that assume universally correct models to identify errors and successes in the cases analyzed. On the contrary, we emphasize the class character of the Korean state and its role in coordinating the more general interests of capitalist accumulation rather than serving the particularistic interests of corporations. Therefore, we emphasize not only the State's capabilities, but its partnership with the chaebols for the definition and execution of common objectives in each period. We conclude that, like economism, political voluntarism should be rejected as a model of comparative analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regulation of the electricity sector, in general and in the particular case of Spain, has been brilliantly analysed by economists and contemporary jurists placing the emphasis, preferably, on economic efficiency and social justice. This article, based on the writings of economic historians in recent years, has as its objective to shed light on the logic to regulatory changes in Spain. Exactly as has been done for other countries, the explanation of factors and of the characteristics of this regulatory change, without doubt, will contribute to the understanding of its special nature within the overall international panorama, as well as a better understanding of the contributions of other previous and future works from different perspectives of analysis. The conclusions on the historical construction of the regulation of the electricity industry until the twentieth century allow us to define four big stages, deeply conditioned by their political regimes and the economic circumstances of the country, as well as by the unequal importance of economic agents in the taking of decisions: powerful energy companies, weak governments, and a complete lack of consumer input. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work analyzes the relation between governance forms and supply chain performance as mediated by transaction cost determinants. Based on the Transaction Cost Theory, the governance forms of the pharmaceutical supply chain of the city of Bogota (Colombia) are analyzed through their capability to minimize transaction costs at each link of the supply chain. The object of study was a sample of those companies dealing with the national Compulsory Health Plan, ranging from molecule suppliers to health service providers. This assessment was carried out by means of an innovative mathematical technique named Stochastic Multi-criteria Acceptability Analysis – Matching. The results show a significant number of anomalies in the selection of the governance forms by the companies, as they have made organizational decisions that do not facilitate the reduction of their transaction costs. Finally, and based upon the analysis, the reasons that explain the situation are detailed. • The work analyzes the relation between governance forms and supply chain performance, as mediated by transaction cost. • The drug supply chain in Bogotá is studied using a novel technique, SMAA. M, in order to minimize their relationship costs. • The results show that in many cases the decisions have not been made following economic criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper defends the viability of de-idealization strategies in economic modeling against recent criticism. De-idealization occurs when an idealized assumption of a theoretical model is replaced with a more realistic one. Recently, some scholars have raised objections against the possibility or fruitfulness of de-idealizing economic models, suggesting that economists do not employ this kind of strategy. We present a detailed case study from the theory of industrial organization, discussing three different models, two of which can be construed as de-idealized versions of the first (the so-called Bertrand model of oligopoly). We conclude that recent pessimism about de-idealization in economics is largely unfounded, and that de-idealization strategies are not only possible but also widely employed in economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some sympathetic critics have recently found trouble with the latest iteration of the global production networks theory (GPN 2.0) developed in economic geography. I term these immanent critiques "GPN trouble" and address them in this Exchanges paper in relation to GPN 2.0's conceptualization of value and risk and its perceived "missing" elements of the state, labour, and so on. Reiterating briefly its core tenet, I first demonstrate GPN 2.0's modest role as a meso theory of industrial organization and economic development in an interconnected world economy. I argue that empirical analysis based on GPN 2.0 must open up the "black box" of production networks in order to evaluate the causal links between network dynamics and uneven development outcomes. Second, I show how understanding these causal links can provide better answers to the crucial question of "in what sense a GPN problem?" Addressing both issues appropriately will likely reduce the sort of "GPN trouble" one might encounter in future research on global economic restructuring during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines a new transmission mechanism of the real exchange rate in a developing economy. Working from J. Ros' theoretical model based on monopolistic competition, this research finds that a depreciation of the exchange rate modifies industrial organization. A short-term analysis shows that a depreciation concentrates market shares in favor of domestic firms. This mechanism raises output and employment through an increase in the output-capital ratio. A long-term analysis shows that depreciation acts as a sunk cost that concentrates firms by displacing smaller or less competitive firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The organizational climate is relevant in organizations, although the study of sociodemographic differences in perception is limited. This research was carried out with the objective of identifying such differences in a sample of workers from industrial companies (N = 480). The method included Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis one-way anova, and Spearman's correlation. As a result, significant differences (p = .05) were obtained of gender in satisfaction, consideration and leadership of managers; of the labor area in autonomy, social relations, union, benefits, motivation, consideration and leadership of managers; of the school grade in all of these and in satisfaction; marital status in union and leadership of managers. Job seniority was related to satisfaction, consideration and leadership of managers (r = -.10 to r = -. 12), and age to none. These differences and the importance of identifying them to manage the organizational climate and carry out more effective interventions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The merger paradox is a classic, counter-intuitive result from the literature of Industrial Organization saying that merging firms typically experience a decline in their overall profit compared to their total pre-merger profit. This phenomenon is more striking in small oligopolistic markets, where mergers increase market concentration and may hence trigger a substantial increase in prices. In this paper, we investigate the severity of the merger paradox in Cournot oligopoly markets. Namely, we study the worst-case magnitude of this profit loss in quantity-setting market games. We consider convex, asymmetric production costs for the firms, and we show that the profit loss can be substantial even in small markets. That is, two merging firms can lose half of their pre-merger profit, but no more than half in markets with concave demand functions. On the positive side, we show that in markets with affine demand two firms can never lose more than 1/9 of their profit when merging, and this bound is tight. We also study the asymptotic loss in larger markets, where it is easy to show that the profit loss can be arbitrarily large when multiple firms merge; we give bounds that characterize the profit loss from a merger as a function of the market size and the number of merging firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Size distribution is generally accepted as an important characteristic of business structure, one which impacts on competitiveness, with firm size often regarded as the key determinant of entrepreneurial innovativeness. This article describes the size distribution of enterprises taken from a statistical set of Slovak business entities with a special focus on the relation between size and ownership of the businesses. A change in the probability firm size distribution is an undisputable indicator of a change in the business structure. This article seeks to create an eventual starting point for better policymaking in Slovakia, a country which bases its competitiveness primarily on large and medium-sized foreign investments. The authors' main objective is to determine the size distribution type of the firms. The Anderson-Darling and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests were used to determine if the dataset has been taken from a population with a specific distribution. Among the main results with regard to Slovak business structure, a statistically significant dependence was shown between the ownership type and the size type of SMEs. The authors confirmed the Pareto, Power and Generalized Gamma distributions as appropriate probability distributions of firm sizes. The probability distribution of SMEs in general as well as according to individual ownership type shows a Lévy distribution. The authors used the environment of the R programming language along with the software EasyFit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper we consider a differentiated-good Stackelberg model, when the follower firm engages in an R&D process that gives an endogenous cost-reducing innovation. We assume that there can exist a technology transfer between innovator and non-innovator firm. The aim of this paper is three-fold: to do a comparison of the fixed-fee and royalty licensing cases, of the two-part tariff and royalty licensing cases, respectively of the two-part tariff and fixed-fee licensing cases, in order to state in which case is indicated for the innovator firm to license its technology. This comparison allows us to identify which licensing scheme is more profitable for the innovator (follower firm). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This project lies at the frontier between environmental economics and industrial organization. We use a duopoly setting of a three-stage game; in the first stage, the government chooses an emission tax and aims for maximizing welfare; in the second stage, firms use R&D to reduce their emissions; in the last stage, firms compete a la Cournot with differentiated products. We focus on two policy regimes and three scenarios, namely regimes of competition and merger and scenarios of commitment, non-commitment, and exogenous tax. The study focuses on two major questions: (1) what is the effect of merger on R&D, and the effect of commitment on R&D? (2) what is the effect of merger and commitment on the economy? Results are obtained through numerical simulations of the model. We find that: (i) Merger has a positive effect on R&D under non-commitment and the exogenous tax scenarios. (ii) Under commitment, if goods are imperfect substitutes or homogenous, merger has a negative effect on R&D; if goods are complements or independent, merger has a positive effect on R&D. (iii) For any types of goods under any regime, commitment has a negative effect on R&D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article aims to identify the advantages of regional clusters to encourage the competitiveness of companies. Methodologically, a qualitative approach is approached through a bibliometric exercise, which allowed the: collection, review and analysis of documents published between 2002 and 2019, in the Scopus and ISI Web of Science databases. From a sample of 170 documents, the content analysis was carried out to identify the main analytical axes, which respond to the proposed purpose. Among the results, the following stand out: advances in the conceptualization of clusters; the identification of the cluster as a type of agglomeration that facilitates the dissemination of knowledge and technology transfer between companies; and the capacity of the cluster as an articulator of regional institutions. The results allow to conclude the relevance of the configuration of the clusters for the regional productive development, and the strengthening of the competitive advantages of the organizations that comprise it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, Shaikh's 1949–2011 classical Phillips curve (CPC) is replicated and extended to 2016. This updated CPC does not follow the pattern anticipated by Shaikh for the years 2012 to 2016. This paper hypothesizes that this divergence is a result of an increasingly "rentier" economy based on surplus extraction through unequal exchange (UE). Andrea Ricci's methodology is then applied to the 2014 US advertising and market research (A&MR) sector as a sample test of this hypothesis. This analysis shows that UE accounts for $64 billion, or almost a half (45.3 percent), of total US A&MR value added ($141.3 billion) in 2014. A modification of Ricci's methodology for a firm-level UE estimation finds that in 2014 Facebook alone was able to extract a within-industry, within-country, between-firm absolute rent of $3.8 billion. The paper concludes that Shaikh's analysis needs to be extended with non-classical political economy UE, or "rentier economy," analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Decisions on organizational boundaries are critical aspects of manufacturing firms' business strategies. This article brings together concepts and findings from industrial ecology and business strategy in order to understand how manufacturing firms engage in initiatives to facilitate recycling of process wastes. Based on a distinction between waste recovery and use of the recovered resources, the article introduces a typology of four different strategies: Closed, Outsourcing, Diversification, and Open. Each strategy has a unique set of organizational boundaries and is associated with different motives and benefits for the manufacturing firm. The typology of strategies provides a conceptual contribution to assist industrial managers in strategic decision‐making, and to support further studies on organizational boundaries in industrial ecology research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial robots are a strategic future technology and an important part of the development of artificial intelligence, and they are a necessary means for the intelligent transformation of manufacturing industry. Based on global industrial robot trade data from 1998 to 2017, this paper applies the dynamic complex network analysis method to reveal the spatial and temporal variation characteristics and trade status evolution of the global industrial robot trade network. The results show that the global industrial robot network density has steadily increased, and the industrial robot trade has been characterized by ‘diversification’. The number of major industrial robot exporters in the world is increasing, and the import market is increasingly diversified. The export market structure is relatively tight, the centrality of the global industrial robot trade network shows a downward trend, and the dissimilarity of the ‘core-edge’ clusters decreases year by year. The trade status of ‘catch-up’ countries represented by China has rapidly increased. However, Japan, Germany, and Italy are still in the central position of the industrial robot trade. Moreover, trade of the ‘catch-up’ countries’ is dominated by imports, and exports of industrial robot products are insufficient. Finally, policy suggestions are provided according to the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Commercial or industry funding is associated with outcomes that favour the study funder in published studies, across various areas of research. However, it is currently unclear whether there are differences between trials with and without industry involvement at the stage of trial registration. Objective: To determine whether industry involvement (industry sponsorship, funding, or collaboration) is associated with trial characteristics at the time of trial registration. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of all interventional studies registered on the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry in 2017 and classified them by industry involvement. We analysed whether there were differences in study characteristics (including type of control, sample size, study phase, randomisation, registration timing, and purpose of study) by industry involvement. Results: Industry involvement was reported by 21% of the 1,433 included trials. Only 40% of trials with industry involvement used an active control compared to 58% of non-industry trials (OR = 0.49, 95%CI = 0.38 to 0.63, p < .001), and industry trials reported smaller sample sizes (Median(IQR)industry = 45(24–100), Median(IQR)non-industry = 70(35–160), Mean Difference = -153, 95% CI = -233 to -75, p < .001). Industry trials were more likely to be earlier phase trials (Χ2(df) = 71.46(4), p < .001). There was no difference in use of randomisation between industry (70%) and non-industry trials (73%) (OR = 0.88, 95%CI = 0.67–1.20, p = .38). Eighty-three percent of industry trials compared to 70% of non-industry trials were prospectively registered (OR = 2.02, 95%CI = 1.47–2.82, p < .001). Industry trials were more likely to assess treatment (85%), rather than prevention, education or diagnosis compared to non-industry trials (64%) (OR = 3.02, 95%CI = 2.17–4.32, p < .001). Conclusion: The current study gives insight into differences in trial characteristics by industry involvement at registration stage. There was a reduced use of active controls in trials with industry involvement which has previously been proposed as a mechanism behind more favourable results. Non-industry funders and sponsors are crucial to ensure research addresses not only treatments, but also prevention, diagnosis and education questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Social isolation is a particular problem among older people and social participation may reduce future isolation. However, it is unclear which types of activities and which level of participation are effective. This study examines the relationship between social participation and isolation among Japanese older people by employing a 3-year longitudinal study. Methods: A mail survey was sent to 3,518 community-dwelling older people in an urban area in 2014 (baseline: BL). We then conducted follow-up mail survey on respondents who were non-isolated at BL in 2017 (follow-up: FL), with isolation being defined as being in contact with others less than once a week. An analysis was carried out on 1,070 subjects (398 men and 672 women). Social participation is defined by participation in group activities (community, senior club, hobbies, sports, volunteering, politics, industry, and religion). A logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the association between the types of social participation and the number of organization types at BL, and isolation at FL. Results: At FL, 75 men (18.8%) and 59 women (8.8%) were considered to be isolated. Among the men, participation in a hobby group and sports group both significantly reduced the degree of isolation. Moreover, participation in two organizations and three or more organizations significantly lowered the risk of isolation when compared to non-participants. Among women, there were no significant associations among particular types of social activities and isolation. On the other hand, participation in one organization and three or more organizations significantly reduced their isolation when compared to non-participants. There was a significant linear trend between the number of types of organizations and isolation, regardless of gender. Conclusions: Participation in social activities reduces future isolation in older people. Encouraging participation in social activities could help reduce negative health outcomes associated with social isolation later in life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soon after the first signs of recovery from the world economic depression of 2008 were recognized, technologically advanced economies have faced a new revolution. The "Industrie 4.0" initiative declared by Germany in 2011 was soon followed by the „Advanced Manufactured Partnership” program of the U.S., as well as by the "Made in China 2025" initiative for the advancement of the productive sector launched by the People's Republic of China and the "Industria 2016" vision of Italy. The "Society 5.0" strategy of Japan announced in 2018 symbolizes both the destructing and the constructive power of the fourth industrial revolution which will result in a complete restructuring of all fields of economy and society. The evolution of Industry 4.0 is parallel to the conscious efforts of many European governments to develop their own start-up ecosystems. These start-ups face significant challenges, but at the same time, they are the means to support changes. Technology-oriented start-up companies (also referred as early stage start-ups in Hungary) are not only expected to prove their own reason for existence, but should also support the complex changes of the corporate sector. This paper is based on a survey among early stage start-up companies, having received angel investment from technology incubators. The survey has focused on how these start-ups see of the significance of Industry 4.0, what differences are evident compared to traditional companies, and what management competencies are thought to be required to realize their growth strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine individual-level trading data from several markets in the PredictIt exchange to determine what strategies correlate with financial success. PredictIt provides many markets with futures contracts linked to political issues, ranging from ongoing policy outcomes to political elections. High fees along with restrictions blocking automatic trading and constraining a one-to-one match between people and accounts, combine to severely limit the upside to investment returns over the fixed costs: this ensures that traders are all retail investors. We have the individual-level data from two markets: Democratic and Republican Iowa Caucuses in 2016. This data includes all orders and trades from every trader across the markets. We are able to fully reconstruct market activity and study trader behavior both within and between markets. We show that understanding how markets and trades works is more important to financial success than proxies for (1) confidence or funding (2) information or objectivity in trading. The work should be a call-to-action in favor of simplifying markets and trading for any exchange with retail investors, and for more research into effects of differential trading efficiency in all financial markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, a range of organisations, including car and consumer electronics manufacturers, have applied so-called patent pledges. A patent pledge is a publicly announced intervention by patent-owning entities ('pledgers') to out-license active patents to the restricted or unrestricted public free from or bound to certain conditions for a reasonable or no monetary compensation. Despite growing research to better understand this phenomenon, the underlying terminology remains contradictory. We apply an inductive research approach using qualitative coding to analyse 60 patent pledges made by 80 organisations. Based on this analysis, we propose a three-dimensional taxonomy that distinguishes eight types of patent pledges. Extending this taxonomy using case examples, we then propose a generalised patent licensing taxonomy. This second taxonomy can be used to distinguish patent licensing strategies, including other frequently used approaches, such as patent pools and cross-licenses. Finally, we use the patent pledge taxonomy to illustrate how patent owners change their licensing strategies over time and how it can support strategic decision processes within an organisation. We contribute to the field of patent management by building an ontology of patent pledges through proposing a definition and eight types. The patent licensing taxonomy enables organisations to devise and choose licensing strategies, and to illustrate licensing approaches of competitors, for instance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent innovations in e-commerce have led to the emergence of online retailing platforms, where millions of products are sold. Most of these products are sold by third-party sellers who pay a fee for the e-retailer (called the platform owner). We investigate how the e-retailer manages the various products in the presence of consumer heterogeneity and diseconomies of scope. Our analytical results indicate that the e-retailer prefers the platform-selling mode when consumers have stronger heterogeneity or when the value of a product is high; moreover, the consumer heterogeneity benefits the e-retailer and hurts the supplier. We also analyze the effect of the relationship of among categories on the e-retailer’s choice. We show that the relationship among categories can invert the existing format. In addition, we find that the e-retailer may be better off and raise the number of products under strong diseconomies of scope when the categories are complements, and the opposite is true when the categories are substitutable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demand for training life scientists in bioinformatics skills led to the development of a train-the-trainer collaboration between the European Molecular Biology Laboratory–European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and 2 Australian organisations, Bioplatforms Australia and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in 2012. The goal of the collaboration was to establish a group of trained instructors who could develop and deliver short bioinformatics courses nationally. A train-the-trainer course introduces instructors to aspects of andragogy and evidence-based learning principles to help them better design, develop, and deliver high-quality training. Since then, both the number of trainers in the network and the course portfolio have grown. Best practises have been developed and shared between the Australian cohort and EMBL-EBI to address common challenges in bioinformatics training. The Australian trainer cohort undertook a train-the-trainer instructor course, again with EMBL-EBI, and subsequently successfully delivered train-the-trainer courses to interested bioinformatics trainers within Australia. We conclude that a train-the-trainer approach can help build national capacity and maintain a critical mass of trained instructors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research quantifies the bias caused in hospital productivity measurements when cost heterogeneity is not considered. A multi-output stochastic cost frontier under a normalised translog specification is used to approximate the structure of technology of a sample of public general hospitals in Spain during the period 2002–2009. To control for observable heterogeneity in costs, a set of variables related to hospital characteristics are included in the cost frontier specification (i.e., hospital complexity, degree of specialisation, availability of outpatient clinics, variety of high-technology equipment available, teaching activity and quality of care), whereas unobservable heterogeneity is accounted for by means of individual dummy variables. A measure of hospitals’ cost efficiency is first obtained, and the analysis is then completed by measuring and decomposing the total factor productivity index (TFP-I) change. Findings reveal that controlling for heterogeneity decreases total productivity from an annual average rate of 0.028% to 1.330%, mainly driven by the negative contribution of the cost efficiency change component. Hence, a bias of 1.303 percentage points in the overall TFP-I is found as consequence of not controlling for heterogeneity. In addition to this, if heterogeneity factors are not accounted for, the mean cost efficiency index during the period analysed is 0.730, figure that increases up to 0.974 if heterogeneity is considered. Hence, the omission of heterogeneity leads to a bias of 24.4 percentage points in the mean cost efficiency. Therefore, not adjusting for heterogeneity in costs gives rise to distorted measurements of hospital productivity, as well as distortions in the contribution of each of its components, which may lead to the adoption of inadequate policies and decisions on resource allocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, with the rapid development of China's air transport industry and the change in market consumption structure, service quality has become one of the important factors affecting airline revenue. How to formulate a reasonable pricing strategy and maintain competitiveness in the fierce market competition has become an urgent problem for airlines. First, the impact factor of service quality level in the traditional pricing model is introduced and a static price competition model for multi-oligopoly airlines based on service quality is established in this paper. And then, a dynamic pricing model based on service quality of the multi-oligopoly airlines is established. The model incorporates the weight factor of service quality impact, which is used to indicate the weight of the service quality level in the process of airline dynamic pricing. The research results show that the service quality level of airlines has an indispensable influence on its development. Airlines should improve service quality as soon as possible to enhance market competitiveness and achieve sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops two-stage inverse data envelopment analysis models with undesirable outputs to formulate resource plans for 16 Chinese listed commercial banks whose outputs are increased and overall efficiency is kept unchanged in the short term. We use these models to meet three different output targets, namely, increasing both the desirable and undesirable outputs by the same percentage, increasing these outputs by different percentages, and increasing only the desirable outputs while keeping the undesirable outputs unchanged. We find that operation cost and interest expense are more flexible than labor in the adjustment process and that deposits have no obvious law of change. The findings of this work provide some suggestions for bank managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to demonstrate the impact of coal enterprises’ vertical integration on the performance of innovation corporate social responsibility (ICSR) and to elaborate its specific transmission path through financing structure and market power. This paper takes the data of A-share listed coal company from 2008 to 2017 as samples, uses input-output table method to measure the degree of vertical integration, and explores the relationship between the four factors through multiple linear regression and Bootstrap method. We found that: (1) the vertical integration of coal enterprises has positive incentives for the promotion of ICSR. (2) Financing structure and market power play a chain intermediary role in this process of incentive. (3) In areas with high marketization process, vertical integration has more significant incentive effect on ICSR. The paper extends the research on the relationship between vertical integration and innovation, which provides a reference for the improvement of China’s supply-side reform and corporate social responsibility (CSR) fulfillment policy. It is helpful to promote the sustainable development of the coal industry, stimulate the innovation vitality of enterprises, and improve the fulfillment of CSR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ubiquitous process of digitization changes economic competition on markets in several ways and leads to the emergence of new business models. The increasing roles of digital platforms as well as data-driven markets represent two relevant examples. These developments challenge competition policy, which must consider the special economic characteristics of digital goods and markets. In Germany, national competition law was amended in 2017 in order to accommodate for digitization-driven changes in the economy and plans for further changes are already discussed. We review this institutional change from an economics perspective and argue that most of the reform's elements point into the right direction. However, some upcoming challenges may have been overlooked so far. Furthermore, we discuss whether European competition policy should follow the paragon of the German reform and amend its institutional framework accordingly. We find scope for reform particularly regarding data-driven markets, whereas platform economics appear to be already well-established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crowdfunding is gradually becoming a modern marketing pattern. By noting that the success of crowdfunding depends on network externalities, our research aims to utilize these network externalities to provide an applicable referral mechanism in a crowdfunding-based marketing pattern. In the context of network externalities, measuring the value of leading customers is chosen as the key to coping with the research problem, as the leading customers are considered to be critical in forming a referral network. Accordingly, two sequential-move game models (i.e., the basic model and the extended model) were established to measure the value of leading customers, and a matrix transformation process was adopted to solve the model by transforming a complicated multisequence game into a simple simultaneous-move game. Based on the defined value of leading customers, a network-based referral mechanism was proposed that explores exactly how many awards should be allocated along the customer sequence to encourage the leading customers to provide a successful recommendation, and this demonstrates two general rules of awarding the referrals in our model setting. Moreover, the proposed solution approach helps to deepen the understanding of the effect of the leading position, which is meaningful for designing a greater number of referral approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life-courses describe people’s activities from the cradle to the grave. Because life-courses are typically complex, models are used to simplify their description. The most commonly used model is tripartite, representing lives in subsequent periods of education, work, and retirement. However, researchers criticize this model as limited in the activities considered, overly simplistic in the activity sequence, and blind to variation between life-courses. This article explores working age life-courses, which typically show high diversity. Multichannel sequence and cluster analyses are conducted on people’s activities from age 15 to 65. Data stem from the life-history interviews of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, capturing cohorts born before 1945. Findings show that three out of four working age life-courses are in line with the tripartite model. This share is particularly high among men, the cohort born 1935 to 1944, and in Northern and Eastern Europe. In contrast, a considerable share of women spent their working age on homemaking, especially women born before 1935, and those living in Southern Europe. Finally, a smaller number of men spent their working age on paid work, followed by a period of illness or of non-employment. The working age life-course patterns identified are used to develop alternative life-course models. However, for a parsimonious solution, the use of two models suffices. A combination of the tripartite model and the model equating middle age to homemaking captures the lives of more than nine out of ten older Europeans. The prevalence of working age life-course patterns in a population is country-specific, and the country differences align with the welfare regimes. This perspective makes working age life-courses characteristics of a society that can be used to map social inequalities at the macro-level and capture social change over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the impact of managerial traits, i.e. optimism, confidence and risk aversion, on capital structure using a principle-agent framework. We discover that optimistic manager perceives equity as more undervalued than debt, while, confident manager perceives debt as more undervalued than equity. We also find that there exists the level of risk aversion eliminating the impact of optimism and confidence on the leverage. Furthermore, in contrast to rational manager, the optimistic/confident manger has higher level of effort. And then, the increasing in risk aversion reduces the level of effort. Our results are in line with some empirical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finance research shows capital structure has an important effect on the product-market competitiveness of firms. Our paper documents an asymmetric effect of capital structure on firms’ competitiveness in a sample of Chinese firms. Firms whose capital structure is characterized by a low leverage but rapid leverage growth has a dominant position in their product market. The industry average leverage ratio is also a critical factor influencing firms’ competitiveness. High debt levels hinder firms’ competitiveness. The influence of capital structure on firms’ product-market competitiveness varies based on the extent of industry concentration. In highly concentrated industries, high leverage level and slow leverage growth suppress firms’ competitiveness to a larger extent compared with industries with low concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Group buying (GB) is a popular business model in e-commerce. With the rise of online social media, the positive network effect of buying with others is more important than price discount for consumers to choose GB. However, the negative network effect of GB is also significant for some consumers. In this paper, we classify consumers into two segments considering both positive and negative network effects, and three possible sales strategies as well as their optimal decisions on price are presented. We find that GB strategy dominates individual buying (IB) strategy when the positive network effect is sufficiently high or the proportion of consumers with low valuation is relatively large. We also find that MIX strategy offering both IB and GB is always better than IB, while the relationship between MIX and GB is depending on actual market situations. Some other managerial insights are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the deepening of the research on supply chain management, scholars have increasingly begun to investigate the impact of fairness on a supply chain, and many conclusions suggest that a simple wholesale price can coordinate a supply chain under specific conditions. However, the corresponding analysis and other optimization mechanisms that affect the situation in which the channel cannot be coordinated are either omitted or given little attention. In this paper, we constructed a dyadic supply chain with a single manufacturer and a single retailer; the manufacturer acts as a selfish leader, and the retailer acts as a follower with fairness concerns and sales efforts. For this setting, we derived the equilibrium strategy solution for a wholesale price contract and cost sharing of effort (CS-E) contract offered by the manufacturer, and the results indicated that both contracts achieved channel coordination with different requirements. Further, the profit of the manufacturer and the sales effort of the retailer under CS-E contracts were never less than those for the wholesale price contract, and there was an interval during which the retailer's profit and utility and supply chain efficiency were better than those under the wholesale price contract. In addition, we described situations in which a CS-E contract is unnecessary. These results should be a useful reference for managerial decisions and organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational processes vary. Practitioners have developed simple frameworks to differentiate them. Surprisingly, the academic literature on process management does not–it typically strives for one method to manage all processes. We draw on organizational information-processing theory to systematically develop a new, theoretically motivated classification model for organizational processes. We validate this model using survey data from 141 process practitioners of a global corporation. We derive three distinct types of processes and demonstrate that an understanding of process variety based on process dimensions can differentiate processes better than existing frameworks used in practice. Our findings can enable process managers to make informed decisions and serve as a basis for contingent process management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We replicate and extend the adversarial expert based learning approach of Györfi et al to the situation of zero-cost portfolio selection implemented with a quadratic approximation derived from the mutual fund separation theorems. The algorithm is applied to daily sampled sequential Open-High-Low-Close data and sequential intraday 5-minute bar-data from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). Statistical tests of the algorithms are considered. The algorithms are directly compared to standard NYSE test cases from prior literature. The learning algorithm is used to select parameters for experts generated by pattern matching past dynamics using a simple nearest-neighbour search algorithm. It is shown that there is a speed advantage associated with using an analytic solution of the mutual fund separation theorems. We argue that the strategies are on the boundary of profitability when considered in the context of their application to intraday quantitative trading but demonstrate that patterns in financial time-series on the JSE could be systematically exploited in collective and that they are persistent in the data investigated. We do not suggest that the strategies can be profitably implemented but argue that these types of patterns may exists for either structural of implementation cost reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most clinical trials exclude pregnant women in order to avoid the possibility of adverse embryonic and/or fetal effects. Currently, there are no evidence-based guidelines regarding appropriate methods for identifying early pregnancy among research subjects. This lack of guidance results in wide variation in pregnancy testing plans, leading to the potential for inadequate protection against embryonic or fetal exposure in some cases and unnecessary burdens on research participants in others, as well as inefficiencies caused by disagreements among sponsors, investigators, and regulators. To address this issue, the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative convened content experts and stakeholders to develop recommendations for pregnancy testing in clinical research based on currently available evidence. Recommendations included: 1) the study protocol should clearly state the rationale for pregnancy testing and the plan for handling positive and indeterminate tests; 2) protocols should include an assessment of the pregnancy testing plan advantages (reduced risk of embryo/fetal exposure) versus the burdens (participant burden, study team workload, costs); 3) protocols should assess the participant burdens regarding the likelihood of false negative and false positive results; 4) participant administered home pregnancy testing should be avoided in clinical trials; and 5) the consent process should describe the extent of knowledge about the study intervention’s potential risk to the embryo/fetus and the limitations and consequences of pregnancy testing. CTTI has also developed an online tool to help implement these recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With rapid economic growth since the 21st century, cities in China have experienced considerable economic and social reconstruction. Driven by rapid industrialization, urban spatial structures are undergoing evolution and change. Therefore, this paper analyzes the processes and mechanisms associated with the evolution of the commercial spatial structure in Guangzhou after the financial crisis in 2008 based on both theoretical and empirical analyses. We use a Dirichlet multinomial regression (DMR) model to extract latent semantic information and determine urban functional areas from global positioning system (GPS) and point-of-interest (POI) data collected in Guangzhou in 2009 and 2013. In addition, we use movement patterns and POI data to identify the evolution of Guangzhou's commercial zones from 2009 to 2013. The results show that the urban commercial structure in Guangzhou gradually changed from a single-center model to a multi-center model with dispersed clusters and that the distribution of the entire spatial structure changed. Meanwhile, Guangzhou’s commercial structure not only varied over time but also exhibited specific geographical features. This paper demonstrates that the proposed method can clearly identify the boundary of the commercial area in Guangzhou and provides a valid spatial-temporal model of change in the city. Moreover, this study not only expounds the future development trends of the urban spatial structure in Guangzhou from a microcosmic perspective but also provides a scientific basis for clarifying the spatial locations and development advantages of urban functions within the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anecdotes abound regarding the decline of basic research in industrial and governmental settings, but very little empirical evidence exists about the phenomenon. This article provides a systematic and historical analysis of the contribution of various institutional sectors to knowledge production at the world and country levels across the past four decades. It highlights a dramatic decline in the diffusion of basic research by industrial and governmental sectors across all countries—with a corresponding increase in the share from universities—as well as an increase of partnerships between universities and other sectors. Results also shows an increase in the relative share of industries in applied research, as measured through patents. Such divergence in university and industry research activities may hinder industries’ ability to translate basic knowledge into technological innovation, and could lead to a growing misalignment between doctoral training and future job expectations. Industries and universities must rethink strategies for partnerships and publishing to maximize scientific progress and to ensure the greatest gains for society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food Security is a long-standing concern worldwide. The expansion of global food markets brings benefits but also risks, such as shock transmission within the global network of trade relations. We focus on this last issue, from an empirical point of view, by analysing the diffusion of trade shocks—defined as relevant drops in exported quantities—during the period 1986—2011, for four major staples (wheat, maize, rice, and soy-beans) both at country level and at global scale. We find that: (i) income per capita of importing countries is relevant in shock propagation; (ii) developing countries tend to absorb most of the negative export variation (i.e., the trade shock), and (iii) global food prices and real (tonnes) flows of commodities are only weakly correlated, meaning that a quantity-based investigation provides additional information with respect to a price-based analysis. This work offers a novel framework, complementary to the price-based literature, for the measurement of the propagation of international food shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considerable research has been done on the complex stock market, however, there is very little systematic work on the impact of crisis on global stock markets. For filling in these gaps, we propose a complex network method, which analyzes the effects of the 2008 global financial crisis on global main stock index from 2005 to 2010. Firstly, we construct three weighted networks. The physics-derived technique of minimum spanning tree is utilized to investigate the networks of three stages. Regional clustering is found in each network. Secondly, we construct three average threshold networks and find the small-world property in the network before and during the crisis. Finally, the dynamical change of the network community structure is deeply analyzed with different threshold. The result indicates that for large thresholds, the network before and after the crisis has a significant community structure. Though this analysis, it would be helpful to investors for making decisions regarding their portfolios or to regulators for monitoring the key nodes to ensure the overall stability of the global stock market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PCA has been widely used in many fields to detect dominant principle components, but it ignores the information embedded in the remaining components. As a supplement to PCA, we propose the General Component Analysis (GCA). The inverse participation ratios (IPRs) are used to identify the global components (GCs) and localized components (LCs). The mean values of the IPRs derived from the shuffled data are taken as the natural threshold, which is exquisite and novel. In this paper, the Chinese corporate bond market is analyzed as an example. We propose a novel network method to divide time periods based on micro data, which performs better in capturing the time points when the market state switches. As a result, two periods have been obtained. There are two GCs in both periods, which are influenced by terms to maturity and ratings. Besides, there are 382 LCs in Period 1 and 166 LCs in Period 2. In the LC portfolios there are two interesting bond collections which are helpful to understand the thoughts of the investors. One is the supper AAA bond collection which is believed to have implicit governmental guarantees by the investors, and the other is the overcapacity industrial bond collection which is influenced by the supply-side reform led by the Chinese government. GCA is expected to be applied to other complex systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, ride-hailing services have been established as a part of the urban transportation. Their arrival has remade the profit structure and resulted in the unbalance of interest in taxi market. Here, we establish the service models of taxis, carpooling, and car-hailing under “Internet +” from the perspective of profit margins, to perform a comparative analysis among the different services. Results: First, Profit margins are generally higher for short trips than for long trips, though empty cruise fee to a certain degree make up for the driver’s decreased profit margins. Second, the profit margin for carpooling is roughly 1.85 times that of ride-hailing, and 1.75 times that of taxis. This shows that the sharing economy has a certain advantage. Third, Profit margins are higher and fluctuations are lower on non-work days than on work days. At last, Profit margins are roughly 1.3 times higher on non-congested roads than on congested roads. The reduced profitability on congested roads makes it even harder to catch a ride during rush hours and on congested roads. We suggest that the relevant departments make appropriate efforts to make it more attractive for drivers to take on passengers during rush hours and on congested roads, and promote the sharing in the taxi market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]