Universal versus contextual effects on TQM: a triangulation study using neural networks

The objective of this study is to extend previous research on total quality management (TQM)-context-performance relationships and ‘fit’ using multiple methods. We combine artificial neural networks (ANNs) with structural equation modelling (SEM) to analyse several hypotheses and propositions. This is the first study in this area of research that utilises ANNs and a triangulation technique in the presence of several contextual factors. The SEM analyses suggest that company size and industry type may have contingency effects on some of the TQM practices and/or TQM-performance relationships. However, the ANN models have shown that these two contingency factors do not moderate TQM outcomes, implying that all organisations can benefit from TQM regardless of size and type. As well, these models show that formal TQM implementation and/or ISO certifications do not add any predictive power to the ANN models except in one case: TQM implementation and/or ISO certification added to organisational effectiveness and customer results to predict financial and market (F&M) results. The results further indicate that even though implementing TQM alone has a bigger impact on F&M results than obtaining ISO certification alone, combining the two will have an even greater impact on these results. Joint implementation leads to greater improvements in organisational effectiveness, which, in turn, has a positive effect on customer results and consequently F&M results. This is a unique finding within the context of moderator effects on TQM-performance relationships.     

社交网络、投资者关注与股价同步性

随着以微博、微信为代表的社交网络信息平台在中国的崛起,形成了新媒体时代下信息资讯生成与扩散的完整传播链条,深刻地影响着金融市场参与主体的学习认知习惯、投资决策理念、交易行为模式,最终影响不同金融资产的价格波动规律． 本文在新媒体时代情景下,以社交网络信息披露与传播平台为切入点,基于信息关注度、信赖度、更新频率等三层维度,构建社交网络微博信息质量指标体系,研究社交网络信息质量与股价同步性的内在关联关系． 研究表明: 微博信息质量与股价同步性有着显著的高度负向线性关联性,并且呈现出非线性 U 型关系． 即随着社交网络信息质量水平的提升,股价同步性逐渐降低到达最小值,而后又逐渐提高． 研究结论为证明上市公司社交网络微博平台对股价同步性有较强影响力,提供了中国金融市场的证据．     

Operational Risk in Financial Services: A Review and New Research Opportunities

We present a framework to describe and analyze operational risk in financial services from an operations management perspective, focusing in particular on process design, process management, and human behavior aspects. The financial services industry differs from other service industries in ways that affect the nature of the operational risks it is subject to. In recent decades, many books and papers have focused on operational risk in financial services; however, this literature has focused mainly on the conceptual and statistical aspects of operational risk management and not on its operational aspects. Operational risk in financial services has not received much attention from the operations management community. The framework presented here is based on the premise that operational risk in financial services can reap significant benefits from research done in the theory and practice of operations management in manufacturing industries as well as in other services industries. The objective of this study is to propose particular challenges and questions raised in the practice of operational risk management that may stimulate future research in this particular area of operations management.     

How Sourcing of Interdependent Components Affects Quality in Automotive Supply Chains

In the automotive industry, many firms source key components from different suppliers, even though the components may function interdependently. In this study, we investigate how component level interdependence impacts quality performance and analyze how various operational factors moderate this relation. We synthesize information from several case studies to model the quality challenges faced by an automotive firm. For several sub‐assemblies that go into its products, the firm sourced key components from two different suppliers. The sub‐assemblies would fail whenever a component fails, but due to interdependent operations, failure of one component could cause the failure of the other. The firm found it challenging to improve the suppliers' quality performance as it was difficult to trace the failures to specific components. Our analysis reveals that – (i) the impact of interdependence is governed by the supply chain structure: reducing the interdependence between components improves quality when suppliers provide the components, but reducing interdependence worsens quality when the firm manufactures the entire sub‐assembly; and (ii) the relation between interdependence and quality performance is moderated by factors such as penalties, production costs, and interdependence costs. Additionally, we find that quality performance is lower when the firm outsources the components than when the firm manufactures the entire sub‐assembly. We identify coordinating mechanisms that leverage incentives and penalties to bridge the quality performance gap.     

复杂系统质量生存决策的模型研究

在复杂经济系统的生存决策模型的基础上加入期望约束,提出并建立了一个基于资源、惯性和期望约束的质量生存决策的三维基本模型.由于决策系统的质量生存性由质量生存核维持,但在一般情况下得不到质量生存核的解析解,因此对其大小、形状、位置进行了理论分析,并根据理论分析结果,按照不同质量生存特性将三维决策空间进行了定性区域划分,最后用一个仿真实例进行了简单验证.     

基于顾客权益的价值导向型顾客关系管理——理论框架与实证分析

虽然目前有关顾客关系管理的探索正如火如荼,但相关理论与实践却并不乐观.在揭示现有理论与实践误区的基础上,开发出基于顾客权益的价值导向型顾客关系管理理论框架.然后,运用来自中国的实际数据,构建了结构方程模型,验证了顾客价值的关键维度及其对顾客权益的影响机制和影响程度,揭示出关系质量的中介效应.     

Teachers,Schools, and Academic Achievement

This paper disentangles the impact of schools and teachers in influencing achievement with special attention given to the potential problems of omitted or mismeasured variables and of student and school selection. Unique matched panel data from the UTD Texas Schools Project permit the identification of teacher quality based on student performance along with the impact of specific, measured components of teachers and schools. Semiparametric lower bound estimates of the variance in teacher quality based entirely on within‐school heterogeneity indicate that teachers have powerful effects on reading and mathematics achievement, though little of the variation in teacher quality is explained by observable characteristics such as education or experience. The results suggest that the effects of a costly ten student reduction in class size are smaller than the benefit of moving one standard deviation up the teacher quality distribution, highlighting the importance of teacher effectiveness in the determination of school quality.     

Evolution of Quality: First Fifty Issues of Production and Operations Management

Many contributions have been made to the field of quality since the inaugural issue of Production and Operations Management in 1992. The first issue called for more research and teaching on TQM, which resulted in two special issues dedicated to TQM. Many other articles related to quality have also been published in the first fifty issues of the journal on topics ranging from technical methods to the Baldrige Award and ISO 9000. As we review these articles, we assess their contribution and the progression of the field of quality. Although past research has advanced our understanding of quality, there still exists many research opportunities in developing more theory, using additional research methodologies, and studying emerging topics in this field.     

Evaluating the Evaluators: Should Investors Trust Corporate Governance Metrics Ratings?

Companies are under increasing pressure to have their corporate governance rated by an independent corporate governance metrics firm, such as Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) or Governance Metrics International (GMI). These rating firms claim to be able to determine how effective and responsive a company’s board is. Institutional investors have begun using these board governance ratings when deciding which firms to include in their stock portfolios. This paper considers whether investors, many of whom claim to be socially responsible, should be relying upon board governance metrics. We find that these metrics are not good indicators of either the quality of a firm’s earnings or of its ethics.     

引入信息成本的信息结构与股权融资成本

本文放松了Easley和O’Hara信息成本为0的假设,在他们的信息结构模型的理论框架下,构建了一个引入信息成本因素的信息结构模型。从信息结构的四个方面：信息成本、信息风险、信息披露的质量和先验信息质量研究了信息结构与股权融资成本之间的关系,得出了四个推论,从而拓展了信息结构模型。在进一步的实证研究中,选取市场微观结构理论中的逆向选择成本、知情交易概率-PIN分别作为信息成本和信息风险的衡量指标,研究发现：信息成本与股权融资成本之间呈倒‘U’型曲线关系;信息风险越高的股票股权融资成本越高;信息披露质量越高的公司,股权融资成本越低;先验信息质量越高,股权融资成本越低;从而对推论进行了有效验证。本文与Easley和O’Hara最大不同在于引入了信息成本因素,并且用实证方法对推论进行了验证,具有一定的开创性。