Does Security Impact E‐procurement Performance? Testing a Model of Direct and Moderated Effects

Despite the widespread adoption of e‐procurement and the critical role of information security in these situations, academic research examining the relationship between information security and e‐procurement performance has been surprisingly minimal. This study represents an interdisciplinary approach to present and test a theoretical model that links security in e‐procurement processes to e‐procurement performance. E‐procurement performance is measured as a combination of cost savings, order quality, and satisfaction of fulfillment as perceived by buyers. The model also posits that two aspects of the procurement process will enhance the value of security in e‐procurement, namely, process complexity and process interdependence. We empirically examine these relationships using data collected from procurement managers. Our results have important implications for managing the e‐procurement process.     

On measuring vulnerability to poverty

There is a growing interest on dynamic and broader concepts of deprivation such as vulnerability, which takes in to account the destitution of individuals from future shocks. We use the framework of decision making under uncertainty to arrive at a new measure of vulnerability to poverty. We highlight the importance of current standard of living to better capture the notion of vulnerability. In conceptualizing the new class of measures of vulnerability, we thus move beyond the standard expected poverty measures that is commonly found in the literature. We also axiomatically characterize the new class of measure and discuss some of its properties.     

On the tournament equilibrium set

An example is provided showing that Schwartz's tournament equilibrium set is not identical to the minimal covering set of Dutta.     

Social welfare and equality

The main purpose of the paper is to provide a unified framework within which normatively significant equality indices can be derived from social welfare orderings. The paper contains a functional representation of the class of social evaluation functions generating relative equality indices.A preliminary version of this paper was written while the second author was visiting the ISI. Financial support from the CAICYT project No. DI-87075, is greatefully acknowledged. We are grateful to W. Bossert and C. Blackorby for comments and useful discussion. The final version of the paper has greatly benefited from the suggestion of an anonymous referee.     

Entrepreneurial Firms and Downstream Alliance Partnerships: Impact of Portfolio Depth and Scope on Technology Innovation and Commercialization Success

To achieve technology innovation and commercialization (TIC) success under complex, protracted, and uncertain product development cycles, entrepreneurial firms engage in downstream alliance partnerships with mainstream industry players. In this study, we examine two specific characteristics of the entrepreneurial firm's downstream alliance portfolio (depth and scope) and their impact on TIC success. Employing a sample of 728 biotech firms and their partnerships with pharmaceutical companies, we find that while portfolio depth and scope separately have positive impact on success, the relationship between portfolio scope and success is additionally moderated by portfolio depth. Further, insights from post hoc interviews also suggest that though it is challenging for entrepreneurial firms to incorporate both depth and scope in alliance partnerships, those that optimally combine both can achieve higher TIC success.     

Nonparametric estimation of 100(1 − p)% expected shortfall: p → 0 as sample size is increased

Expected shortfall (ES) is a well-known measure of extreme loss associated with a risky asset or portfolio. For any 0 < p < 1, the 100(1 ? p) percent ES is defined as the mean of the conditional loss distribution, given the event that the loss exceeds (1 ? p)th quantile of the marginal loss distribution. Estimation of ES based on asset return data is an important problem in finance. Several nonparametric estimators of the expected shortfall are available in the literature. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we compare the accuracy of these estimators under the condition that p → 0 as n → ∞ for several asset return time series models, where n is the sample size. Not much seems to be known regarding the properties of the ES estimators under this condition. For p close to zero, the ES measures an extreme loss in the right tail of the loss distribution of the asset or portfolio. Our simulations and real-data analysis provide insight into the effect of varying p with n on the performance of nonparametric ES estimators.     

Crossover design in clinical trials for binary response

In this paper, we consider a binary response model for the analysis of the two-treatment, two-period and four-sequence crossover design. We have introduced intra-patient drug dependency parameter in the model and provide two tests for the hypothesis of equality of treatment effects. We employ Monte Carlo simulation to compare our tests and a test that works under parallel design on the basis of type I error rate and power. We find that our procedures are dominant over the competitor with respect to power. Finally, we use a data set to illustrate the applicability of our procedure.     

Differential in Pattern and Risk Factors of Marital Dissolution Among Better Developed and the Poorly Developed States in India

The objective of this study is to determine the differentials in the prevalence and risk factors of marital dissolution in poorly developed (i.e., empowered action group [EAG]) and better developed (i.e., non-empowered action group [non-EAG]) states in India. Data from the India Human Development Surveys (IHDS) Round 2, conducted in 2011 and 2012 in India, are used for the study. Multiple logistic regression analysis has been carried out. Higher education is related to elevated risks of marital dissolution in EAG states, whereas an inverse relationship is observed in non-EAG states. For EAG and non-EAG states, staying with one’s parents and staying alone without a parent after marriage, working, and residing in urban areas significantly increase the risk of marital disruption for women. Lower marital dissolution risk is observed among women who have at least 1 child in both EAG and non-EAG states.