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Full-Text Articles in Business

Diversity, Diversification And Profitability Among British Manufacturing Companies, 1972-1984, Robert M. Grant, Azar P. Jammine, Howard Thomas Dec 1988

Diversity, Diversification And Profitability Among British Manufacturing Companies, 1972-1984, Robert M. Grant, Azar P. Jammine, Howard Thomas

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This study investigated the causal relationships between diversity, diversification, and profitability among 304 large British manufacturing companies that differed in both product and multinational diversity. Diversity and profitability were positively related up to a point; after that point, increases in product diversity were associated with declining profitability. The results were unclear with respect to the underlying causal relationships. Product diversification did not increase profitability, and there was limited evidence that profitability promoted diversification. For multinational diversification, however, we found that profitability in the home market encouraged overseas expansion that in turn increased profitability.

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The Rate Of Return Under Re-Capitalization: A Note, Mohamed Ariff, Kian Guan Lim Oct 1988

The Rate Of Return Under Re-Capitalization: A Note, Mohamed Ariff, Kian Guan Lim

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The article discusses issues related to variations in rate of return of stocks under re-capitalization. Share returns are commonly adjusted for re-capitalization by distributing the difference between market and exercise prices over the number of shares. Re-capitalization is said to occur when the total amount of equity capital or number of shares in a firm changes. New issues usually take the form of bonus issues or new paid-up issues called rights issues, which do not change the amount of equity.

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European Manufacturers: The Dangers Of Complacency, Kasra Ferdows, Arnoud De Meyer Sep 1988

European Manufacturers: The Dangers Of Complacency, Kasra Ferdows, Arnoud De Meyer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Recent trends in the activities of a sample of European manufacturers are analysed in this paper. The data have been collected through annual surveys in the last five years, and in particular, the results of the 1987 survey (222 responses received in the first trimester of 1987) have been analysed in more depth. The priorities set for the development of varions types of capabilities in manufacturing (related to quality, delivery, flexibility, cost, etc.), and the specific programmes under implementation for improvement of manufacturing performance which are receiving highest attention are described. Through correlation analyses, statisically significant associations between specific improvement …

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German, French And British Manufacturing Strategies Compared: A Growth Towards Each Other, Arnoud De Meyer Jul 1988

German, French And British Manufacturing Strategies Compared: A Growth Towards Each Other, Arnoud De Meyer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Manufacturing has gained over the last years in attention as a tool to create competitive advantage. For four years now a survey has been carried out by a research team at Insead to build a database on the manufacturing strategies as they are defined and implemented by large European companies. In this paper some of the 1987 data are presented, and a comparison of manufacturing strategies of large companies in the three most important European countries is made. Though the most important conclusion is that there are only slight differences between the three countries, one can see some difference in …

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Flexibility And Fms: An Empirical Analysis, Mihkel Tombak, Arnoud De Meyer May 1988

Flexibility And Fms: An Empirical Analysis, Mihkel Tombak, Arnoud De Meyer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

It is shown how the concerns of the managers of firms with flexible manufacturing system projects (FMS) differ from those of manufacturing firms without FMS projects. An economic model is developed from which two hypotheses are obtained. The first hypothesis is that firms were investing in FMS to deal with the variance in their inputs. The second proposition is that firms wished to use FMS to deal with the variance in their outputs. Through an analysis of manufacturing survey data it was found that firms planning to implement FMS were statistically more concerned about vendor quality and vendor lead times …

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Attitudes And The Risk-Return Paradox: Prospect Theory Explanations, Avi Fiegenbaum, Howard Thomas Mar 1988

Attitudes And The Risk-Return Paradox: Prospect Theory Explanations, Avi Fiegenbaum, Howard Thomas

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This study attempted to explain Bowman's risk-return paradox in terms of recent research in behavioral decision theory and prospect theory. The research emphasized the role of reference, or target, return levels in analyzing risky choices. For returns below target, a large majority of individuals appear to be risk seeking; for returns above target, a large majority appear to be risk averse. Using extensive COMPUSTAT-based data on U.S. firms, we consistently found a negative risk-return association for firms having returns below target levels and a positive association for firms with returns above target. These results support the basic propositions of prospect …

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'Small Profits': Strukturmerkmale Und Entwicklungsprobleme Der Urbanen Individualwirtschaft In Der Vr China, Wolfgang Jamann, Thomas Menkhoff Jan 1988

'Small Profits': Strukturmerkmale Und Entwicklungsprobleme Der Urbanen Individualwirtschaft In Der Vr China, Wolfgang Jamann, Thomas Menkhoff

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This article intends to analyse recent structural patterns, development problems and the reasons for rehabilitation of the urban private economy in the People’s Republic of China since 1978. The authors start from the thesis that the so-called “private sector” in China is not comparable with its “out”-differentiated counterpart in Western industrial countries, but is interlaced, in a complex way, with informal, partly illegitimate activities, interpersonal relation-networks (“guanxi”) or economic transactions of state/collective factories. The article illustrates the subordinate situation of the individual labourers in terms of their political regulation by (sometimes restrictive) licence procedures, taxes and fees; resource supply problems …

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Managerial Focal Points In Manufacturing Strategy, Arnoud De Meyer Nov 1987

Managerial Focal Points In Manufacturing Strategy, Arnoud De Meyer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Through analysis of specific decisions in the management of manufacturing in 163 companies, we have identified the key dimensions along which mort of the differences among manufacturing strategies can be explained. Previous research—mostly based on clinical observations—has focused on describing the typical decision categories in manufacturing strategy. Our large sample has allowed us to move beyond that and focus on the differences among manufacturing strategies. Data were collected by mailed questionnaires as a part of a large research project ‘Manufacturing Futures’. The responses to a list of 35 specific current action programmes in manufacturing were reduced through a principal component …

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The Impact Of Cultural Patterns On Cognition And Intention In Singapore, Chin Tiong Tan, John U. Farley Mar 1987

The Impact Of Cultural Patterns On Cognition And Intention In Singapore, Chin Tiong Tan, John U. Farley

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Ethnicity of models used in advertisements and the advertised product's country of origin are manipulated experimentally to study how attitudes toward advertising and products lead to behavioral intention. A sample of Singaporean students' traditional Eastern values about family and conformity are also examined. Patterns of results for three products are consistent with theoretical predictions of cognitive processes, and attitude-intention links appear stronger than do those in similar tests in the West. Culture has mixed effect.

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The Integration Of Information Systems In Manufacturing, Arnoud De Meyer Jan 1987

The Integration Of Information Systems In Manufacturing, Arnoud De Meyer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The large majority of modern production companies have at their disposal a multitude of computer systems. The immediate challenge for these companies consists of integrating these computer systems and databases. How will one arrive at this integration? On the basis of a questionnaire administered among a group of 174 large European manufacturers, one comes to the conclusion that this integration is one of the immediate priorities for this group of companies. They do not intend to implement turnkey systems, but instead will integrate the different databases and computer systems gradually. One can see emerging islands of integration, which will be …

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Determinants Of Bilateral Trade Flows, Rajendra Kumar Srivastava, Robert T. Green Oct 1986

Determinants Of Bilateral Trade Flows, Rajendra Kumar Srivastava, Robert T. Green

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

What factors influence the level of trade flows that occur between nations? Past studies have answered this question primarily in terms of distance and economic size. The present study considers additional variables as potential determinants of trade relations between nations. Also, trade flows are analyzed by the type of products being exported and imported. The findings show that several additional variables are significant determinants of the level of bilateral trade relations between nations. In addition, it is found that models of trade flows are more appropriate for manufactured goods than they are for basic commodities.

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European Manufacturing: A Comparative Study (1985), Arnoud De Meyer Jul 1986

European Manufacturing: A Comparative Study (1985), Arnoud De Meyer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

One of the striking events of the eighties in the field of management is the increase in attention paid to the role of manufacturing and technology in the determination of a firm’s competitive position. Traditionally, corporate policy and strategic decisions were defined on the basis of a financial and marketing analysis of the company’s strengths, weaknesses and competitive environment. The contribution of the technology function and more in particular the production and operations function was often limited to implementation and a marginal adaptation of a course set by financial and marketing considerations. Some of the world’s excellent competitors have, however, …

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The Flow Of Technological Innovation In An R&D Department, Arnoud De Meyer Dec 1985

The Flow Of Technological Innovation In An R&D Department, Arnoud De Meyer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The flow of technological information, in particular the type of sources and transfer channels for technological information has been a focus of research interest since the very first studies concerning management of research and development. However, the results of these empirical studies, although encouraging and useful to managers, leave several questions unanswered, and even worse, contain some contradictions. In this paper we will try to explain some of these contradictions using the technology characteristics as a contingency factor. The model, which we will present has been tested in a twofold way: questionnaires were used to provide insight into the importance …

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Toward A Contingency Model Of Strategic Risk Taking, Inga Skromme Baird, Howard Thomas Apr 1985

Toward A Contingency Model Of Strategic Risk Taking, Inga Skromme Baird, Howard Thomas

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

A model of strategic risk taking incorporating environmental, industrial, organizational, decision maker, and problem variables is presented. The model is intended to be both a preliminary conceptualization of strategic risk taking and a stimulant for future research on risk taking in strategic management decisions. Relevant research from a number of disciplines is summarized, and the potential impacts of particular variables on the propensity to take strategic risks are examined.

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Integrating Zero-Base Budgeting With Management-By-Objectives: An Empirical Inquiry, John Joseph Williams, James D. Newton, Eric A. Morgan Jan 1985

Integrating Zero-Base Budgeting With Management-By-Objectives: An Empirical Inquiry, John Joseph Williams, James D. Newton, Eric A. Morgan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Popular arguments in the management literature advocate the implementation congruity and complementarity of zero-base budgeting (ZBB) with an established management-by-objectives (MBO) system. The present study examined management perceptions on 28 ZBB implementation variables for MBO users and non-MBO users which were gathered from 153 managers at two hierarchical levels within a single private sector organization. Results from both univariate and multivariate tests indicate that ZBB implementation was not facilitated by the existence of an MBO system for either lower level management or for upper level management. The evidence obtained here strongly suggests that the purported conventional rationale underlying ZBB coupling …

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A Technological Lifecycle Approach To The Organizational-Factors Determining Gatekeeper Activities, Arnoud De Meyer Oct 1984

A Technological Lifecycle Approach To The Organizational-Factors Determining Gatekeeper Activities, Arnoud De Meyer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The paper deals with the question whether gatekeepers arise spontaneously (non-hierarchical) or are created by administrative action (hierarchical). The author's approach to the problem relies on the use of a lifecycle model of an organisation devised by Utterback and Abernathy. They distinguish a product-innovation, a transitional and process- innovation (consolidation) phase in the development of an enterprise. The author's hypothesis is that gatekeepers can arise via either route depending on the phase in which enterprise is operating. In the earlier phases the author predicts that gatekeepers will either be absent or non-hierarchical (spontaneous) while in later phases they will be …

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A Customer-Oriented Approach For Determining Market Structures, Rajendra K. Srivastava, Mark I. Alpert, Allan D. Shocker Mar 1984

A Customer-Oriented Approach For Determining Market Structures, Rajendra K. Srivastava, Mark I. Alpert, Allan D. Shocker

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

A framework for market analysis based on customer perceptions of substitutability-in-use is presented. An empirical application in the financial/banking services market is used to illustrate that when product preferences are dependent on the use/consumption context (especially relevant when products have multiple uses), situational variables can help predictive ability, and hierarchical clusters (requiring exclusive group membership) may be misleading. Additionally, it is shown that interactions among situation, product, and person factors may be more managerially meaningful than the main effects.

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Decision And Risk Analysis In A New Product And Facilities Planning Problem, David B. Hertz, Howard Thomas Dec 1983

Decision And Risk Analysis In A New Product And Facilities Planning Problem, David B. Hertz, Howard Thomas

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This article illustrates the linkage between risk analysis and strategy by discussing the application of decision and risk analysis to a new product and facilities planning problem. The authors trace the analysis from the initial results through the policy dialogue to the final strategy recommendation.

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Mapping Strategic Management Research, Howard Thomas Jan 1983

Mapping Strategic Management Research, Howard Thomas

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

During the last two decades, in particular, there has developed a substantial body of literature in the fields of strategic management, strategic planning, corporate and business policy, and related topics. This literature owes much to the prior writings of Alfred Chandler [10] and the decades of case writing and research undertaken at Harvard Business School by many learned professors. Indeed, Harvard's tradition of leadership in this field dates from 1914 when it first introduced a course requirement for business policy into the business school program. The term strategic management is of relatively recent origin [49] and is currently the accepted …

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Vertical Linkages And Multinational Enterprises In Developing Countries, Linda Y. C. Lim, Eng Fong Pang Jul 1982

Vertical Linkages And Multinational Enterprises In Developing Countries, Linda Y. C. Lim, Eng Fong Pang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Many studies have concluded that multinational firms do not create significant technical and other vertical linkages in developing host countries. This case study of three multinational firms in the export-oriented electronics industry in Singapore shows that under certain conditions multinational firms can lead in creating local vertical linkages. It suggests that restrictive government policies to increase local purchases may not be necessary, effective or desirable in promoting local linkages by export-oriented multinational firms that respond primarily to international market conditions. The Singapore experience poinst to the importance of a healthy investment climate and rapid economic growth in encouraging multinational firms …

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Designing A Budgeting System With Planned Confusion, John Joseph Williams Jan 1981

Designing A Budgeting System With Planned Confusion, John Joseph Williams

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

The article explores the potential virtues of dual budgeting processes coexisting within a single budgeting information system for organizations experiencing changing environments. The treatment of discretionary cost activity in the traditional budgeting process is discussed and a comparison of the effectiveness of the techniques of zero-based budgeting and traditional budgeting is presented. Using both approaches simultaneously is said to hold potential for combining the best of both methods, but the cost-effectiveness of such a dual budgeting process is noted as a limiting factor.

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The Economic Status Of Malay Muslims In Singapore, Eng Fong Pang Jan 1981

The Economic Status Of Malay Muslims In Singapore, Eng Fong Pang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In 1965 Singapore separated from Malaysia to become an independent secular state in a region of Islamic nations. It had then an estimated per capita income of S$ 1,600' and a population of 1.9 million people, a sixth of them Muslim. Today, after sixteen years of rapid economic progress, it has a per capita income of S$10,0002 and a population of 2.4 million people. Of the population aged ten and over in 1980, 324,000 or one-sixth are Muslim. Ninety per cent of the Muslims in Singapore are Malays, nine per cent are Indians and Pakistanis, and one per cent belong …

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Market Structure Analysis: Hierarchical Clustering Of Products Based On Substitution-In-Use, Rajendra Kumar Srivastava, Robert P. Leone, Allan D. Shocker Jan 1981

Market Structure Analysis: Hierarchical Clustering Of Products Based On Substitution-In-Use, Rajendra Kumar Srivastava, Robert P. Leone, Allan D. Shocker

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In this paper, product usage data, employing a substitution-in-use criterion, are analyzed and shown to yield managerially useful product-market structures for financial services. These structures are identified through a form of hierarchical clustering which is different from traditional clustering routines in that it focuses on the explained or accounted for variance in the categorization of objects, thereby reducing groupings due to chance covariation.

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The Role Of Technological Change, Robert U. Ayres, Steven M. Miller Dec 1980

The Role Of Technological Change, Robert U. Ayres, Steven M. Miller

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We develop an optimal growth model that includes several important new features. First, technological change is endogenously related to the growth of 'knowledge.' Investment may be directed either towards physical capital or knowledge (or both). Knowledge becomes an effective substitute for scarce resources by increasing the technical efficiency of resource utilization both for consumption and in capital. Nevertheless, a finite quantity resource must be embodied in capital and a finite flow is required for depreciation. Thus, there is an upper limit to technical efficiency and economic growth is thus ultimately limited by the availability of renewable resources. For a simple …

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Customer-Oriented Approaches To Identifying Product-Markets, George S. Day, Allan D. Shocker, Rajendra Kumar Srivastava Oct 1979

Customer-Oriented Approaches To Identifying Product-Markets, George S. Day, Allan D. Shocker, Rajendra Kumar Srivastava

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The need to identify the boundaries of increasingly complex product-markets has spawned a number of analytical methods based on customer behavior or judgments. The various methods are compared and contrasted according to whether they are consistent with a conceptual definition of a product-market, and their ability to yield diagnostic insights.

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Efficient Employment Of Cohorts Of Labor In The U.S. Economy: An Illustration Of A Method, A. E. Boardman, Steven M. Miller, A. P. Schinnar Jul 1979

Efficient Employment Of Cohorts Of Labor In The U.S. Economy: An Illustration Of A Method, A. E. Boardman, Steven M. Miller, A. P. Schinnar

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper presents a model for the analysis of efficient labor force participation in the U.S. economy. Ridge regression estimates of the elasticities of cohorts of labor, classified by sex and occupation, are used in conjunction with wage data to illustrate the derivation of efficient allocation of labor cohorts in five economic sectors. These efficient constructs are compared with actual census data for 1960 and 1970. The results, while tentative, show a trend toward more efficient utilization of labor and greater participation by women in the work force.

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Stochastic Dominance And Information Value, Young Koan Kwon, John C. Fellingham, D. Paul Newman Jan 1979

Stochastic Dominance And Information Value, Young Koan Kwon, John C. Fellingham, D. Paul Newman

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Incentives for producing and disseminating information have been analysed in many different contexts. Kihlstrom [6], for example, develops a Bayesian framework to analyze the properties of demand functions for information about product quality. From an entirely different perspective, Spence [8, 91 demonstrates the private value of “signalling” information. Similarly, Wilson [lo] considers the value to the firm of producing technological information and the effect of such production on equilibrium theory.

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Change And Continuity In Singapore's Industrial Relations System, Eng Fong Pang, Thelma Kay Oct 1974

Change And Continuity In Singapore's Industrial Relations System, Eng Fong Pang, Thelma Kay

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The paper analyses the impact of the two major pieces of legislation enacted by the Singapore Parliament in 1968. It also examines their impact on the industrial relations system and the reaction of the unions and the employees to them. The paper further attempts to identify the forces that are likely to change the system in the near future.

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A Note On Adjusting, David B. Montgomery, D.G. Morrison Sep 1973

A Note On Adjusting, David B. Montgomery, D.G. Morrison

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Whenever a regression analysis is run, one of the key statistics which is reported is the coefficient of determination or, as it is more commonly kn R2. This quantity represents the proportion of the variance of the dependent variable that is associated with ("explained by") the set of independent vari- ables. However, this statistic is a biased estimate of the true coefficient of determination for the underlying population. Moreover, the bias in unadjusted R2 can be sizeable and may lead to serious misinterpretation of research results. The purpose of this note is to examine the magnitude of the bias in …

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The Ethical Investor By John G. Simon, Charles W. Powers And Jon P. Gunnemann, Howard Hunter Jan 1972

The Ethical Investor By John G. Simon, Charles W. Powers And Jon P. Gunnemann, Howard Hunter

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.

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