New Models of Contracting in the Public Sector: A Review of Alliance Contracting,Prime Contracting and Outcome‐based Contracting Literature

The coordination of public services is an enduring challenge and an important policy priority. One way to achieve collaboration across organizational boundaries, which is being considered in public services such as the English National Health Service (NHS), is through the adoption of alliance contracting, prime provider contracting and outcome‐based contracting. This article reviews the cross‐sectoral literature concerning the characteristics of these new contractual models, how they function, their impact, and their relation to public sector governance objectives. These new contractual forms are characterized as models which, in line with the New Public Management (NPM)/post‐NPM agenda, seek to incentivize providers through the transfer of risk from the commissioners to the providers of services. Key findings are that the models are likely to incur high transaction costs relating to the negotiation and specification of outcomes and rely heavily on the relational aspects of contracting. There is also found to be a lack of convincing cross‐sectoral evidence of the impact of the models, particularly in relation to improving coordination across organizations. The article questions the reconciliation of the use of these new contractual models in settings such as the English NHS with the requirements of public sector governance for transparency and accountability. The models serve to highlight the problems inherent in the NPM/post‐NPM agenda of the transfer of risk away from commissioners of services in terms of transparency and accountability.     

证券业的新变革——网络券商的兴起

国际网络的快速发展，改变着人类的生活方式，亦改变着企业的经营模式。善用此一高新技术以增强竞争力，是现代企业经营必须强化的课题。对证券业这种知识型的产业而言，客户重视服务、效率、准确、安全，并能以更节约方式达到理财的目的，网络上的投资理财更是证券业者必须提供的服务。尤其加入世界贸易组织的进程不远，证券业者必须思考面对国外传统大型投资银行的竞争，把握网际网络这一新科技的特性，在这虚拟的新战场树立中国投资银行经营之典范。     

论盛世才与苏联同盟关系基础的破裂

中华民国时期新疆地方政权与苏联政府保持了长期密切的、不正常的特殊关系 ,而对这一关系一直以来就缺乏研究。本文试图就盛世才与苏联同盟基础的破裂作一初探。笔者认为 194 0年 11月《锡矿协定》的签订标志着盛苏同盟基础的破裂 ,盛苏同盟基础的破裂是该基础固有矛盾决定了的 ,是苏联对新疆控制及其在新疆权益要求直接威胁盛世才在新疆实际统治地位的必然结果     

试析坎宁推行“反干涉”外交政策的国际动因

乔治·坎宁是英国19世纪20年代著名的政治家、外交家、托利党革新派。坎宁在1822—1827年任外交大臣期间,打着“反干涉”的旗号,支持拉丁美洲独立运动及希腊革命,反对神圣同盟,扭转了英国近代外交的路线,恢复了英国在欧洲外交的主导地位。以当时英国的国内情况和国际形势为背景,通过分析坎宁推行“反干涉”外交政策的国际动因及其成效,探究“反干涉”外交政策对英国近代外交的影响。     

Too much of a good thing? Alliance portfolio size and alliance expansion

Drawing from the organizational learning, transactions costs and resource based theories, we argue that the larger the Alliance Portfolio Size (APS) of the partners, the lower the likelihood that the alliance will be expanded. We also argue for an interactive effect by proposing that high levels of experience will neutralize some (but not all) of the detrimental impact of a large APS on the likelihood of alliance expansion. We deploy the case-control methodology to select a sample of 182 alliances from the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries spanning the period 1980–2004. Results from logistic regression analyses support our predictions.     

Young Malinowski

Roy Ellen, Ernest Gellner, Grazyna Kubica, Janusz Mucha (eds). Malinowski between two worlds: the Polish roots of an anthropological tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1988. xxv, 261pp., illustrations, appendices, bibliography, index. $85.00 (hardback) ISBN 0 521 34566 9.

Robert J. Thornton and Peter Skalnik (eds). The early writings of Bronislaw Malinowski (trans. Ludwik Krzyzanowski). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1993. xv, 324pp., notes, bibliography, index. $120.00 (hardback) ISBN 0521 38300 5.

Daniel Gerould (ed. and trans.). The Witkiewicz reader. Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press. 1992. xiii, 359pp. illustrations, appendix, biographical notes, select bibliography. US$59.95 (hardback) ISBN 0 8101 0980 8; US$22.50 (paper) ISBN 0 8101 0994 8.     

The Evolution of Male-Male Sexual Behavior in Humans

Abstract

This paper examines male-male sexual behavior from an evolutionary perspective. I begin with a discussion of the major difficulties associated with the scientific study of homosexuality and a clarification of some concepts in human sexuality and evolutionary psychology. Following is a presentation of several established evolutionary theories of homosexuality and a critique of their major assumptions. Based on common patterns of male-male sexual behavior in humans identified by anthropologists, I argue that the evolutionary origin of male-male sexual behavior is based on the same dominance-submission mechanisms that gave rise to male-female sexual behavior. Further, I argue that male-male sexual behavior evolved more fully in human males than in other primate males because male-male alliances played a greater role in human male reproductive success. Specifically, male-male sexual behavior is speculated to be an exaptation of the sociosexual behavior used by primates to establish, regulate, and maintain relationships. It is posited that same-sex sexual behavior in human males reinforced alliances that contributed directly to male survival and indirectly to male reproduction. This alliance theory of the evolution of male-male sexual behavior is compatible with broader current theory on human evolution. The same neurological mechanism theorized to be involved in male-female sexual attraction and behavior is purported to mediate male-male sexual attraction and behavior. Finally, I argue that exclusive same-sex attraction in human males is due to an interaction between genetic, cultural, developmental and psychological factors. doi:10.1300/J056v18n04_02     

Alliance governance choices: Disentangling the effects of uncertainty and alliance experience

This article analyses the interaction between alliance experience and behavioural uncertainty to improve our understanding of alliance governance. We investigate the extent to which the effect of alliance experience on governance choices is explained by a reduction in “mundane” transaction costs or by a reduction in “opportunistic” transaction costs. Based on more than 12,000 firm experiences with equity and non-equity alliances, we demonstrate a reduction in mundane transaction costs over time by firms reusing the same governance structure in successive alliances. We also find that in high behavioural uncertainty alliances, firms rely on their experience as a substitute for equity governance to reduce opportunistic transaction costs.     

Resource utilization as an internal driver of alliance portfolio evolution: The Qatar Airways case (1993–2010)

This article aims to understand the role played by resource utilization levels as a driver of alliance portfolio evolution over time. Based on our theoretical framework and on a case study of Qatar Airways (199.3–2010), we develop insights into the micro-dynamics of resource structuring in firms that possess an alliance portfolio. Our research shows that firms can create either their own or network resources with different deployment modes according to their resource utilization levels to remain profitable. We also emphasize that optimized resource utilization is a key driver of resource-structuring efforts in firms. Finally, we show that based on the focal firm's life cycle phase, the level of resource utilization changes and leads to various resource-structuring mechanisms that can be observed at the alliance portfolio level.     

日美同盟与东亚区域合作

日美同盟是冷战时代的产物。随着冷战的结束,经济全球化的深入发展,政治多极化趋势的增强,日美同盟在国际社会的角色转型、性质定位正逐步发生变化。日美同盟作为冷战的衍生物,在国际社会尤其在东亚地区的作用并没有削弱,相反却日益强化,这对于当前方兴未艾的东亚区域合作具有双重性的影响。虽然日美同盟对东亚区域合作在某种程度上具有“平衡器”的杠杆作用,但从整个东亚区域合作的整体布局来看,日美同盟的消极作用日益明显,严重阻碍东亚区域合作的发展进程。因此,要推动东亚区域合作,必须正确处理好与日美同盟的关系,积极引导日美同盟发挥建设性作用,规避其消极的阻碍作用。