The programmable society and the individual as a unit of data

The authors commence this paper with discussion of an extract from H.G. Wells' novel of 1920. They use this extract to remind the reader that social innovation is not a new problem and that imaginative writers may be a source of guidance on such matters. Specifically they deal with the social options created by ‘computer-driven’ information systems. They argue that this aspect of the problem of science and people is one which has a great and seriously under-estimated potential to influence the quality of life in a future society.     

An analysis of vendor innovation capability in the contract electronics manufacturing industry

Limited academic research has been given to analysing the innovation capabilities of vendors in outsourcing contracts. This paper seeks to address this gap in the literature by enhancing our understanding of how the innovation capability of vendors is deployed to win, run and renew outsourcing contracts with their customers. Employing the resource-based view as a theoretical basis and undertaking in-depth case study analysis of three vendors in the electronic manufacturing services industry, the research shows that to achieve the outsourcing objectives of winning, running and renewing the contract, vendors can use different configurations of the competitive priorities of cost, quality, delivery and flexibility. The research aggregates the capabilities that influence the innovative capability of a vendor into the innovation-related capabilities (IRCs) of design, new product introduction and manufacturing. Three strategies are identified for vendors on how to deploy these IRCs, and a number of propositions are developed to indicate the suitability of the three deployment strategies for different operational contexts.     

A Portfolio Approach to Procurement Contracts

The purpose of this paper is to develop a general framework for supply contracts in which portfolios of contracts can be analyzed and optimized. We focus on a multi‐period environment with convex contract, spot market, and inventory holding costs. We specialize the model to the case of a portfolio consisting of option contracts. We characterize the optimal replenishment policy and show that it has a simple structure. Namely, the use of every different option contract and the spot market is dictated by a modified base‐stock policy. In addition, we derive conditions to determine when an option is relatively attractive compared to other options or the spot market. Finally, we present our computational study, where we report the sensitivity of the results to the parameters of the model. Our experiments indicate that portfolio contracts not only increase the manufacturer's expected profit, but can also reduce its financial risk.     

Size,Skill and Sorting

Abstract. The rise in inequality between the 1970s and the 1990s and the persistent gap in pay between large and small employers are two of the most robust findings in the study of labor markets. Mainstream economists focus on differences in observable and unobservable skills to explain both the overall rising inequality and the size–wage gap. In this paper we model how increasing returns to skill can affect the size–wage gap both with constant sorting and with size‐biased, skill‐biased technological change (e.g. if large firms always had access to computers, but small firms gained access to computers with the rise of affordable personal computers). We analyze the Current Population Surveys from 1979 to 1993 to determine whether large and small employers are converging in terms of mean wages (the employer size–wage effect), wage structures by occupation and education, characteristics of employees, and wage structures by region. We find mixed evidence of convergence and no consistent support for any single version of human capital theory.     

The private sector as a sociological laboratory

This article discusses the experiences and obstacles the author encountered while conducting research on dislocated workers from a privately owned inner city printing company that closed in 1993. While these experiences are meant to guide others, the primary issue addressed is the schism between social science academicians, particularly sociologists and members of the business community, and its impact on the relationship between economics and sociology. The possible causes and consequences of the problems sociologists face when using the private sector as a research laboratory, and its effect on the sub-field of economic sociology, are also explored. Recommendations for breaking down these barriers are considered. David A. Reingold received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago, and wrote his dissertation on plant closings, worker dislocation, and low-wage labor markets. He has published articles on the employment problem of the urban poor, as well as the effect of inner-city public housing on community participation and work behavior. His work appeared in Urban Studies, Economic Development Quarterly and the journal of Urban Affairs. Currently, he is working on a study of welfare reform’s impact on human service providers.     

Rationalizable solutions to pure population problems

In pure population problems, a single resource is to be distributed equally among the agents in a society, and the social planner chooses population size(s) and per-capita consumption(s) for each resource constraint and set of feasible population sizes within the domain of the solution. This paper shows that a weak condition regarding the possible choice of a zero population is necessary and sufficient for the rationalizability of a solution by a welfarist social ordering. In addition, solutions that are rationalized by critical-level generalized utilitarianism are characterized by means of a homogeneity property. Received: 1 December 1997/Accepted: 26 February 1998     

A Test of Symbolic Interactionist Predictions About Emotions in Imagined Situations

From the perspective of symbolic interactionism, inner experiences—including emotions—are shaped culturally as individuals formulate events in words, and individual experiences are shaped socially as others contribute to the verbal formulation of one's experiences. Understanding cultural shaping and social negotiation of emotions requires understanding how emotion attributions arise from linguistic framings of events, and Affect Control Theory (ACT) offers a model of emotions that addresses this issue. We report tests of ACT predictions of emotions in 128 events against self-reported emotions of respondents imagining themselves in such situations. ACT predictions are found to correlate with self-reported emotions. Thus, empirical results validate ACT's postulate that emotions emerge from the personal impression that is generated in an event, along with the difference between that impression and the person's identity. In the conclusion, we discuss how the ACT formulation can enlighten interpretations of social negotiations regarding emotions.     

Relationships between Sales Management Control, Territory Design, Salesforce Performance and Sales Organization Effectiveness

This research evaluates determinants of sales organization effectiveness in a sample of British companies, and contributes to an important new research stream by following recent empirical studies in the USA and Australia. We discuss a model of sales organization effectiveness determined by salesforce outcome performance and behavioural performance, as well as by the use of a behaviour-based control approach. Sales territory design is also considered as a particularly important managerial variable, which has received little analytical attention in the traditional literature, but which appears to be an important influence on the effectiveness of the sales operation. Our exploratory path analytical model suggests that sales territory design has a large effect on sales organization effectiveness both directly, and indirectly through its relationship with salesforce behavioural performance. These findings are somewhat different to those in similar studies in other countries, and suggest some important implications for managers as well as for researchers in this field.     

On explanation Aristotelean and Hempelean

Given the great historical distance between scientific explanation as Aristotle and Hempel saw it, some important similarities and differences between the two approaches are examined and appraised, especially the inclination to take deduction itself as the very model of scientific knowledge: an inclination we have good reasons to reject.