Distributional implications of changes in U.S. petroleum taxation

This article develops a methodology based on input-output relations for the evaluation of excise tax incidence. Since many excise taxes are levied on products that are used not only in final consumption but also as intermediate inputs in the production of other commodities, estimation of the tax burden by the conventional methodology of using direct final consumption may yield inadequate and perhaps misleading results. The input-output methodology developed in this article is applied to the case of the U.S. taxation of petroleum products and the empirical results are compared with similar ones obtained by the U.S. Congressional Budget Office.     

Statistical analysis for Kumaraswamy’s distribution based on record data

In this paper we review some results that have been derived on record values for some well known probability density functions and based on m records from Kumaraswamy’s distribution we obtain estimators for the two parameters and the future sth record value. These estimates are derived using the maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches. In the Bayesian approach, the two parameters are assumed to be random variables and estimators for the parameters and for the future sth record value are obtained, when we have observed m past record values, using the well known squared error loss (SEL) function and a linear exponential (LINEX) loss function. The findings are illustrated with actual and computer generated data.     

Irregular Migration and Informal Economy in Southern and Central‐Eastern Europe: Breaking the Vicious Cycle?

The flexible and cheap labour that European “post‐industrial” economies are in need of is often facilitated by undeclared labour. The undocumented migrant, from his/her part, relatively easily finds work that suits his ‐‐ at least initial ‐‐ plans. What lies behind this nexus between irregular migration and informal economy? To what extent can this nexus be attributed to the structural features of the so‐called “secondary”, as opposed to “primary”, labour market? And how does migration policy correlate with this economic context and lead to the entrapment of migrants in irregularity? Finally, can this vicious cycle of interests and life‐strategies be broken and what does the experience of the migrants indicate in this respect? This paper addresses these questions via an exploration of the grounds upon which irregular migration and the shadow economy complement each other in southern Europe (SE) and central and Eastern Europe (CEE) (two regions at different points in the migration cycle). In doing so, the dynamic character of the nexus between informal economy and irregular migration will come to the fore, and the abstract identity of the “average” undocumented migrant will be deconstructed.     

Looking into the ‘black box’ – unlocking the effect of integration on acquisition performance

Extending research on the performance of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As), this paper seeks to explain how the post-acquisition integration phase affects acquisition performance. Despite extensive research efforts, there remains a scant understanding of how acquisition implementation, particularly in the post-acquisition integration phase, impacts the performance of M&As. Based on an extensive study of eight acquisitions, in this paper, a grounded model detailing the mechanisms by which the post-acquisition integration phase affects acquisition performance is developed. The model posits that integration-related factors do not bear directly upon acquisition performance. Instead, their effect is mediated by functional organizations in both firms. When focusing into these functional mediating dynamics, we observe that integration-related processual, behavioral and cultural factors affect the identified functional mediators in different ways. Going forward, we echo calls for integrated perspectives to the study of M&A and M&A performance in particular.     

Big Data and Predictive Analytics and Manufacturing Performance: Integrating Institutional Theory,Resource‐Based View and Big Data Culture

The importance of big data and predictive analytics has been at the forefront of research for operations and manufacturing management. The literature has reported the influence of big data and predictive analytics for improved supply chain and operational performance, but there has been a paucity of literature regarding the role of external institutional pressures on the resources of the organization to build big data capability. To address this gap, this paper draws on the resource‐based view of the firm, institutional theory and organizational culture to develop and test a model that describes the importance of resources for building capabilities, skills and big data culture and subsequently improving cost and operational performance. We test our research hypotheses using 195 surveys, gathered using a pre‐tested questionnaire. Our contribution lies in providing insights regarding the role of external pressures on the selection of resources under the moderating effect of big data culture and their utilization for capability building, and how this capability affects cost and operational performance.     

Strongly chordal and chordal bipartite graphs are sandwich monotone

A graph class is sandwich monotone if, for every pair of its graphs G ₁=(V,E ₁) and G ₂=(V,E ₂) with E ₁⊂E ₂, there is an ordering e ₁,…,e _k of the edges in E ₂∖E ₁ such that G=(V,E ₁∪{e ₁,…,e _i }) belongs to the class for every i between 1 and k. In this paper we show that strongly chordal graphs and chordal bipartite graphs are sandwich monotone, answering an open question by Bakonyi and Bono (Czechoslov. Math. J. 46:577–583, 1997). So far, very few classes have been proved to be sandwich monotone, and the most famous of these are chordal graphs. Sandwich monotonicity of a graph class implies that minimal completions of arbitrary graphs into that class can be recognized and computed in polynomial time. For minimal completions into strongly chordal or chordal bipartite graphs no polynomial-time algorithm has been known. With our results such algorithms follow for both classes. In addition, from our results it follows that all strongly chordal graphs and all chordal bipartite graphs with edge constraints can be listed efficiently.     

Frugal innovation for supply chain sustainability in SMEs: multi-method research design

Abstract

In this study, we attempt to establish the missing links between supply chain sustainability and frugal innovation. Our study motivations stem from two facets of the emerging markets: first, the institutional barriers and, second, the resource constraints. We argue that there is a synergy in the concepts of frugal innovation and sustainability in supply chains and there is a need to further explore this synergy. Furthermore, we claim that even in the wake of many success stories in the frugal innovative supply chain management practices from emerging markets such as India, there are very few, if any, attempts made to understand the implications of a sustainability oriented frugal innovations in the particular context. To address this gap, we develop a model to establish the linkage between sustainable supply chains and frugal innovations. Our proposed conceptual framework depicts the hierarchy and interlinks of the identified enablers in developing sustainability oriented frugal innovative capabilities in supply chains. Furthermore, we have empirically validated our theoretical framework using survey data. We observed that most of the interpretive links are supported. These findings extend the understanding of frugal innovation for supply chain sustainability using multi-method research design, while also providing theoretically guidance to managers in the development of frugal innovation capability to achieve sustainability in supply chain in resource constrained environment.     

Economic crisis and migrants' employment: a view from Greece in comparative perspective

This paper explains and evaluates the effects of the developing crisis on the mobility of third-country nationals in Greece and other South European political economies. In doing so it explores the mobility of these migrants within the context of the informal economic activity in which many such migrants have been involved. The paper exposes the distance separating the law and the actual enforcement of fundamental employment- and mobility-related rights of irregular migrants in Greece and other southern European countries. It identifies the significance of the familistic welfare regime of the European South in framing migrants' characteristics and their consequent mobility in the region. The article argues that the familistic welfare regime of the host country is inextricably linked to migrants' employment trajectories and fundamentally affects the strategies that migrants have developed in order to protect themselves in lieu of effective rights regulation.     

The financial crisis,acquisition premiums and the moderating effect of CEO power

The recent financial crisis brought upon a period of increased information uncertainty for firms and market agents and in the context of mergers and acquisitions, increased information asymmetry between bidders and targets. This led to an overall increase in average acquisition premiums. However, the final realized premium can be moderated through CEO characteristics in dealing with such issues as uncertainty and asymmetry. Bidder CEOs can reduce these premiums through their expertise, networks and control: powerful CEOs will tend to pay smaller premiums than weaker CEOs because they are better equipped to deal with the increased information uncertainty and asymmetry, either through risk-averse behavior or better assessment of target quality. Our results based on a six-year sample of S&P500 firms engaged in M&A activity, and centered on the onset of the recent financial crisis, largely support our predictions. While earlier research suggested that CEO power could lead to higher premiums, our study points to the opposite conclusion: during times of financial crisis, CEO power effectively constrains premiums. This extends our understanding of why bidder CEOs overpay beyond the role of bidder anchoring bias, hubris, and target resistance by considering the role of macro-environmental conditions and power.