Structural constraints and excess capacity: an international comparison of manufacturing firms

Excess capacity results in real and opportunity costs as well as lower factor productivity. Conventionally, variation in capacity utilisation rates has been explained with reference to the business cycles and market imperfections. In this article, we show that these two factors do not always fully explain the causes of idle capacity. Our findings suggest that manufacturing firms in low‐income countries tend to have lower capacity utilisation (CU) rates than those in middle‐ and upper‐middle‐income groups. To explain this peculiarity, it is proposed in this article that the level of excess capacity partly depends on supply‐side conditions and institutional variables. The findings provide strong support for this view and suggest that there are gains to be made in the manufacturing industries of the lower‐income countries through improvements in the structural conditions.     

天津近代建筑师事务所发展研究

天津近代建筑的繁荣发展使天津成为当时建筑师聚集最多的城市，这些中外建筑师事务所创作出来的优秀作品，在很长一段时间内都影响着中国建筑的发展，是后辈学习之榜样。文章以这一时期作为时代背景，论述了1840年至1952年在津的中外建筑师事务所发展状况。结果表明，天津建筑事务所的发展过程，是由最初的外国建筑事务所所垄断的建筑行业，到逐渐有中国本土建筑师留学归来加入该建筑行业，再到组建中国本土建筑事务所并逐渐取代外国建筑事务所成为市场主流的过程。     

民营企业的政治关系与企业价值

在民营上市公司中,董事会成员中具有政治背景的情况越来越普遍.以2002年～2005年期间在沪深证券交易所上市的民营上市公司为研究样本,通过手工收集民营上市公司控制人和董事会成员的背景资料,刻画了民营上市公司的政治关系.研究发现,无论是采用Tobin's Q还是买入并持有超额回报来衡量企业价值,民营企业的政治关系对企业价值都有显著的正面影响,有政治关系的民营企业价值更高,投资者长期持有该企业股票得到的收益也更高,政治关系越强企业价值也越高,企业通过建立政治关系最终取得了相应的收益.     

流通企业影响力的制度分析

与生产企业相比,流通企业的发展较少受技术水平的影响,而主要取决于资本和劳动力投入。而我国长期以来对中外资企业、公有制和私有制企业实行区别对待的政策,致使各种所有制企业处于不公平的竞争环境中,由此严重地影响了我国流通企业的竞争力和影响力。尽快建立公平的外部竞争环境,是提升我国流通企业影响力的必要条件,也是完善市场经济体制的必然要求。     

双重审计下的会计事务所关联性与审计费用：中国A、B股市场的证据

审计的独立性直接关系到审计的质量。本文主要分析同时对一家上市公司审计的两家会计师事务所之间存在的关联性,我们预期这种关联性会对审计独立性造成损害。研究结果发现:有关联性的两家事务所会比没有关联性的两家事务所索取较低的审计费用,对此解释为有关联性的事务所能降低总体审计成本,但是却损害了独立性。本文的结果是基于对同时发行A、B股的上市公司的观测得出的。     

Monopolistic competition,as you like it

We explore monopolistic competition with asymmetric preferences over a variety of goods provided by heterogeneous firms, and compute equilibria (approximating Cournot and Bertrand equilibria when market shares are negligible) through average Morishima elasticities of substitution. Further results concerning pricing and entry emerge under homotheticity and when demands depend on a common aggregator, as with Generalized Additively Separable preferences. Under additivity we can determine which goods are going to be provided under free entry, as well as the selection effects associated with changes in market size, consumers' income, aggregate productivity, and preference parameters.     

Communication between Managers and Staff in the NHS: Trends and Prospects

The importance of the role of communication in the success of individual performance in social and business life is now widely recognized. Within organizations, effective internal communication between managers and staff is vital to organizational success. This is particularly so during periods of change, when staff uncertainty increases and there is an increased need for greater amounts of information and more frequent communication. Staff in the NHS have recently experienced some quite dramatic changes in their working practices. This paper therefore examines the current state of communication within the NHS and the implications which this poses for the overall functioning of the organization. In particular, the relationship between communication and the motivation of staff is described. The nature of communication audits, the main research approach used to assesses communication effectiveness, is then delineated, and areas of the NHS chosen for analysis by this means are proposed. The results of a series of audits are summarized. Problems in information flow, use of information sources and channels, the timeliness of information exchanged, the extent to which people send information to each other and the quality of working relationships are identified. The implications of these findings for the NHS and general views of management are considered.     

股权结构、超额关联购销与公司价值

针对股权结构、超额关联购销与公司价值之间的关系进行研究。选取了2004～2006年间我国942家上市公司为样本，共2?590笔关联购销记录，考察了股权结构与超额关联购销以及超额关联购销与公司价值的关系。通过相关性分析发现：股权集中度与超额关联购销显著正相关，而超额关联购销与公司价值也是显著相关的，进一步的回归分析表明，超额关联购买与公司价值有着正的线性关系，而超额关联销售与公司价值存在倒U型的曲线关系。     

竞争驱动战略转型的人力资本视线研究——以天津中小制造业企业为例

转型升级阵痛中的中国制造业企业，唯有基于人力资本"视线"实施差异化战略、推进激进式创新，才能变革成功，进而在激烈市场竞争中存活下来并形成核心竞争力。以天津市各大工业园区154家中小制造业企业的问卷调查数据为样本，采用结构方程模型对制造业企业创新逆驱战略转型的人力资本"视线"进行统计检验。结果显示，战略层面的"视线"有一个：外部环境竞争性、差异化战略、激进式创新与企业绩效。资源层面"视线"有两个：差异化战略、HRM系统、人力资本、渐进式创新、激进式创新与企业绩效；差异化战略、HRM系统、知识共享与企业绩效。这三条"视线"为中国制造业企业指明了战略转型、创新变革的具体方向。     

中小企业IT应用及其绩效的实证分析

IT应用是解决当前中小企业管理问题的有效措施,但对此方面的研究仍然很少。本文运用创新扩散理论(DOI)对中小企业的IT应用及其绩效进行了理论分析,并对理论分析的结果运用SAS进行了实证研究。研究的结果表明,IT采用动因对IT应用准备、IT应用特性对IT项目实施、IT应用准备对IT项目实施、IT项目实施对IT应用绩效有显著的正影响作用;与有关文献的观点相异,IT采用动因对IT应用绩效有显著的负影响作用;而IT采用动因对IT项目实施,IT应用特性对IT应用绩效则无显著的影响作用。