Use of an ISO 14000 Option in Implementing EPA's Rule on Risk Management Programs for Chemical Accidental Release Prevention

EPA's rule of Risk Management Programs for Chemical Accidental Release Prevention applies to facilities that manufacture, process, use, store, or otherwise handle regulated substances at or above specified threshold quantities. EPA estimates that approximately 66,000 facilities nationwide will be regulated under the rule. This paper examines the use of a structured ISO 14000 mechanism as option-regulated facilities could elect for implementation of the rule. Under the ISO 14000 option, facilities would commit to additional obligations regarding information disclosure, discussions with potentially affected publics, and timely correction of deficiencies noted in annual ISO 14000 audits of their compliance with the Risk Management Program they submit to the EPA under the rule. In return, facilities would be granted significant relief in regard to both EPA audit frequency and the penalties that might be applied for any items of noncompliance with the rule noted during the course of implementing agency reviews of the facility. The paper concludes with a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of this option to potentially affected stakeholders.     

Compliance Strategies and Regulatory Effectiveness of Performance-Based Regulation of Chemical Accident Risks

This paper investigates the role that performance-based regulations can play in linking a firm's environmental, health, and safety concerns with their corporate strategy. The specific focus is on the performance standards required by the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) which require firms that store or use certain chemicals to develop a Risk Management Plan (RMP) for reducing the likelihood and impact of accidents at their plants. Data from a series of case studies and interviews of executives in chemical firms reveal that proactive companies integrated many of the requirements of the CAAA into their management systems prior to the regulatory requirements. Most of these firms tend to be large ones. Small firms often lack the resources to implement these regulations and hence have tended to have a more difficult time with compliance.     

The Role of the Community in the Implementation of the EPA's Rule on Risk Management Programs for Chemical Accidental Release Prevention

Regulations under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) include requirements for preventing accidental chemical releases. Section 112(r) of the CAAA, the Accidental Release Provisions, requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and implement regulations for preventing accidental releases to the air of regulated substances and to minimize the consequences of releases that do occur. The regulations require regulated facilities to have in place the structural elements of a sound process safety program, and to practice, document, and communicate the elements of their program. The rule requires also that registered facilities calculate and make available worst case accidental chemical release information. The rule does not set a level of risk that a facility must achieve after it takes the required compliance steps, the level of risk a community must accept, the limit of consequences the community might suffer from a worst case chemical release, nor the specific actions a community must take in its response plan. These are issues that local communities and local officials must decide. Because the regulation involves the community in many unsettled risk issues the Wharton School initiated a project within the City Philadelphia to evaluate the proposition that productive dialogue on the implementation of the Rule and resolution of unsettled risk issues can take place in advance of a crisis occasioned by a major accidental release. This paper describes the steps taken by Wharton to bring together various stakeholders in the community to explore the implementation of the rule and the reaction of those stakeholders to be involved in such a process. It outlines some principal choices communities will have to make in order to implement 112(r) and explains some of the dilemmas associated with these choices. It describes the stakeholder-based implementation effort being undertaken in Philadelphia in the hope that others may benefit from what has been learned there.     

The Role of Hazardousness and Regulatory Practice in the Accidental Release of Chemicals at U.S. Industrial Facilities

This article presents the results of an analysis of the accident history data reported under section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act Amendments. These data provide a fairly complete record of the consequences of reportable accidental releases occurring during the time frame 1995-1999 in the U.S. chemical industry and covering 77 toxic and 63 flammable substances subject to the provisions of section 112(r). As such, these results are of fundamental interest to the affected communities, regulators, and insurers, as well as to owners and managers in the chemical industry. The results show the statistical associations between accident frequency and severity and a number of characteristics of reporting facilities, including their size, the hazardousness of the processes and chemicals inventoried, and the regulatory programs (in addition to section 112(r)) to which these facilities are subject. The results are interpreted in light of economic drivers of protective activity and regulatory priorities for monitoring and enforcement.     

组织学习导向、知识转移和吸收能力对国际企业绩效的影响研究

利用组织学习理论,对国际企业在动态的海外市场如何维持竞争优势、提高绩效进行了探讨.实证分析结果发现,学习导向和吸收能力对国际企业的绩效产生显著的正向影响,而知识转移对绩效的影响是通过与吸收能力的交互作用实现的.     

基于不完全契约的高新技术风险企业控制权结构选择及其影响因素研究

文章从风险企业家与风险投资家风险偏好、风险投资家干预行动、控制权私有收益以及分阶段融资等方面对Gebhardt-Schmidt(2006)与Jean-Etienne(2008)模型进行综合与扩展,比较分析了相机控制与联合控制两类控制权配置结构的适用范围与影响因素。理论研究得出,风险投资家的监控干预成本、风险企业家的融资额与控制权私人非货币收益、风险投资家在重新谈判中的讨价还价能力与持有的企业赎回权、项目失败时风险企业的清算价值以及风险投资家风险规避系数,与联合控制的选择概率正相关、与相机控制的选择概率负相关;风险投资家战略目标的实现度与联合控制的选择概率负相关、与相机控制的选择概率正相关。     

The Impact of Service Quality and Service Characteristics on Customer Retention: Small Businesses and their Banks in the UK1

The recent developments in relationship marketing have increasingly focused attention on the beneficial effects of customer retention. The notion of building relationships and delivering quality service in order to encourage loyalty is perhaps of particular importance in the service sector where it is often argued that customer attraction costs are significantly higher than retention costs. Central to the idea of investment in the development of service quality and customer relationships is the belief that such investments will enhance loyalty, retention and profitability. Empirical evidence on the extent to which such links exist is still partial. This paper explores the relationship between service qualitylcustomer relationships and customer loyalty and retention using evidence from the UK banking sector and its small business customers.     

Different Roles and Viewpoints of Scientific Experts in Advising on Environmental Health Risks

Environmental health risks are often complex, largescale, and uncertain. The uncertainties inherent in these problems permit differences among experts in the appraisal of risks. This raises the question of whether different expert roles exist and, if so, how this affects the policy advice that is given. Here, we present a pilot study of the different roles and viewpoints that can be discerned among scientific experts in the Netherlands. Q methodology was used to empirically explore existing theoretical treatises on different expert roles. In total, 26 electromag­netic field (EMF) experts and 21 particulate matter (PM) experts participated. The responses were analyzed separately for EMF and PM respondents using Q factor analysis. In both the EMF and PM domain, three different expert roles were identified. This suggests that particular expert roles depend on the specific environmental health risk. The results indicate that different expert roles exist among scientists who provide policy advice on environmental health risks. This empirical study adds new data and insights to the literature on expert roles. The results of this study are relevant for the selection and composition of expert committees and the interpretation of expert advice.     

The Effect of Implicit and Explicit Rules on Customer Greeting and Productivity in a Retail Organization

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of presenting organizational information through implicit and explicit rules on sales-related target behaviors in a retail setting. Results indicated that when organizational information was presented in a specific form, productivity was increased and maintained longer than when presented in other forms. The data provided by secret shoppers generally resembled the findings of the data collected in the experiment.     

不同成长阶段下中小企业融资方式选择研究

本文通过实证研究检验了在经济转轨时期我国中小企业的融资行为符合西方成熟国家的金融成长周期理论,即中小企业的融资结构随着中小企业生命成长阶段的不同,其呈现周期变化趋势.同时,发现中小企业权益融资与债务融资的渠道多种多样,不同的发展阶段也必定有不同的来源.最后通过回归分析,对我国中小企业融资方式的选择进行了实证研究.     

一类高新技术企业专利权价值的实物期权评估方法——基于跳扩散过程和随机波动率的美式期权的建模与模拟

由于经典的Black-Scholes期权定价模型的假设忽略了突发事件对资产价格的影响和"波动率微笑"对期权价值的影响而与实际情形往往存在偏差,因此学者们对Black-Scholes模型的改进则主要分别集中在带跳扩散过程的期权定价模型与具随机波动率的期权定价模型等两个方面,然而却少见将这两种模型结合起来的研究。本文首先在带跳扩散过程的期权定价模型与具随机波动率的期权定价模型的研究工作的基础上,建立了一种同时带跳扩散过程和具随机波动率的美式期权定价模型,并通过伊藤引理推导出了资产价格、随机波动率和期权满足的偏微分方程;然后,利用特征函数法和傅里叶变换导出了资产价格的随机分布,进而通过马尔科夫链方法给出了基于跳扩散过程和随机波动率的美式期权的数值解;最后,运用已建立的带跳扩散过程和随机波动率的美式期权定价模型对高新技术企业项目投资的专利权价值进行实物期权定价评估的案例研究,并对跳扩散强度参数和随机波动率参数进行敏感性分析,研究结果表明:将项目收益跳扩散过程和市场环境随机波动率加入到专利权实物期权定价模型中,可以有效避免专利权的期权价值被高估。     

中小企业新产品开发关键成功因素的识别及其实证研究

创新对于公司绩效的重要性引致了许多关于识别新产品开发成功因素的研究。然而,这些研究的大部分都是针对发达经济或是大型企业的;对于中小企业在新兴市场中如何开发新产品研究则相对较少。这篇论文试图分析中国中小企业新产品开发的成功因素以弥补这一研究的空缺。不同于传统的分析方法将新产品开发的每一阶段的成功因素都认为是同质的,我们对于新产品开发过程的每个阶段的成功因素从管理的角度来进行审视。我们发现我国中小企业在创意设想阶段并不将经济回报作为首要标准。虽然各成功因素的相对重要性在不同阶段会有所不同,技术、营销、商业性、管理等因素在所有阶段都是重要的。这个结果对于中小企业在新产品开发的各个阶段如何开发和管理新产品有一定的启示作用。     

An Exploratory Study of Procurement Strategies for Multi‐Item RFQs in B2B Markets: Antecedents and Impact on Performance

This research explores procurement strategies for multi‐item requests for quotation (RFQs) in business‐to‐business (B2B) markets using responses from 825 purchasing professionals. The study first establishes procurement strategies that differ based on their level of strategic emphasis, i.e., the importance that is placed on the pursuit of four strategic objectives. Underlying objectives, which are obtained via factor analysis, include the focus on price, security of supply, internal procurement efficiencies, and bundle building. Next, cluster analysis is used to derive prototypical strategic approaches. The three cluster groups that emerge possess the same relative ranking of the four objectives, but differ based on the intensity with which these objectives are pursued. The clusters are labelled as the three strategic groups of strategists, opportunists, and responders. The research then explores, using an industrial buyer behavior lens, the impact of environmental antecedents in determining a particular strategy. Environmental variables include purchase importance, market uncertainty, supply base availability, buyer bargaining power, item experience, and supply base experience. Finally, the study tests the impact of procurement strategy on the buyer's perceived performance, suggesting that strategists, placing more emphasis on the pursuit of strategic sourcing objectives, achieve better performance than opportunists and responders.     

风险环境下企业信息系统项目控制对绩效的影响机制研究:基于项目经理和用户代表的双重视角

虽然当前项目管理水平不断提高,但是企业信息系统项目实施的成功率仍然不容乐观。项目干系人缺乏准确的相互认知和角色定位,以及风险与控制的关系无法有效处理是导致项目绩效偏低的重要原因。为了从不同视角探索风险和控制对企业信息系统项目绩效的共同作用,通过对65位项目经理和63位用户代表所经历的128个项目的调查,利用结构方程模型进行实证分析,并采用层次回归分析技术进行检验。实证结果表明,正式控制和非正式控制对信息系统项目绩效都具有积极的影响,但是项目经理认为正式控制具有更加重要的作用,而用户代表认为非正式控制的作用更为显著。此外,项目经理和用户代表均认为组织风险和技术风险会减弱正式和非正式控制对绩效的有效作用。因此在控制方式的选择和组合上不仅要基于项目自身的特点,而且要基于干系人的角色。同时,信息系统项目绩效并非单纯由成功或失败因素所决定,而是取决于两类因素的均衡程度。研究结论为信息系统项目的风险控制提供了全新的理论依据和决策支持。