Decisive role of fluctuations in the resource dependency networks

Individual components of many real-world complex networks produce and exchange resources among themselves. However, because the resource production in such networks is almost always stochastic, fluctuations in the production are unavoidable. In this paper, we study the effect of fluctuations on the resource dependencies in complex networks. To this end, we consider a modification of a threshold model of resource dependencies in networks that was recently proposed, where each vertex can either be in a fit or a degraded state. We study how the "network fitness" is affected as the fluctuation size is varied. We show that, the relative value of the average production with respect to the threshold, decides whether the fluctuations are beneficial or detrimental to the network fitness. We further show that the networks with a homogeneous degree distribution, such as the Erdos-Renyi network, perform better in terms of fitness and also produce lower wastage than the Scale-Free network. Our work shows that, in the study of resource dependencies in networks, the role of the fluctuations is as decisive as the average production.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure

Scenarios for the Internet Migration of the Television Industry

All the conditions for the television industry’s migration to the Internet are now in place. While this migration will be gradual, it will have a deep-seated impact on the industry:•the exclusive rights model will no longer be the standard;•some consumers will abandon traditional managed networks;•a globalization trend will be sparked, to the benefit of the major rights holders. Unlike the music and print media industries, the TV industry is gaining a strong position on the Web. As a result, television is poised to play a central role in video services. This offensive strategy will likely pay off down the line, but does not entirely eliminate the possibility of destroying value. There are structural reasons for this, including a fiercely competitive online advertising market and a lack of control over program circulation. Far from being simply transitory, the 2009-2010 economic downturn marks the beginning of a decade of restructuring for the TV industry. This new period will begin with an overall decline in the sector’s resources before increasingly varied consumption patterns spur a new period of growth. The decade running from 2010 to 2020 will also be a period that focuses on cost control, with the industrialization of TV production that will depart once and for all from its historical model, i.e., film. This migration to the Web poses a threat to the European industry in particular. A reassessment of the television industry’s regulatory strategy appears both necessary and urgent, and will involve the creation of integrated pan-European conglomerates.Television, video, networks, on-demand, connected devices, advertising, pay-TV.

Corporate Governance and Employees in Germany: Changing Linkages, Complementarities, and Tensions

This article examines institutional linkages between corporate governance and labour management in Germany. German corporate governance was characterised by the importance of banks, ownership concentration, long-term investment, and stable corporate networks. This system displayed important complementarities with stable long-term employment, investment in worker training, flexible quality production, low variability and dispersion in pay, and cooperative industrial relations during the post-war period. Since the mid-1990s, corporate governance has changed dramatically - a decline in the role of banks, the unwinding of corporate networks, the rise of foreign and institutional investors, en emerging market for corporate control, and changing careers and compensation of top managers. The paper investigates the resulting introduction of shareholder-value management practices and their impact on employees in large German companies. The findings show that these changes are related to the shrinking of stable core employment and the growth of variable pay. However, such tensions with shareholder value management have not undermined employee codetermination and collective bargaining institutions. Both play an important mediating role between capital market pressures and employment outcomes. The implications for the German "model" of corporate governance are discussed.

Firm-level upgrading in low-and-medium-technology industries in emerging markets: the role of learning in networks

This thesis investigates how involvement in networks contributes to firm-level upgrading in emerging markets. In the 1990s, the international de-localisation of production and global integration has brought about a process of upgrading for firms in the transition and latecomer industrialising countries that allowed them to approach the technological frontier and enhance their competitive position. Hence, the firm-level upgrading became a process of improving technological and organisational deficiencies in the firms’ knowledge base, particularly through knowledge transfer and learning in networks they have involved in, enabling them to adjust to the new environment by doing things differently and/or better as well as doing different things. The literature on upgrading stresses the effects of value chains and production networks on industrial upgrading, while the role of various learning mechanisms is largely unexplored. Employing an evolutionary perspective, this thesis contributes to existing analyses by considering the role of knowledge networks and by using ‘learning in networks’ as a bridging concept, by which the interaction between inter- and intraorganisational knowledge transfer is demonstrated to have significant bearing on hastening the process of catching-up in emerging markets. Specifically, this thesis examines what characteristics of the networks of Polish food-processing and clothing firms affect learning mechanisms in an inter-organisational context and how these mechanisms combined with internal factors supporting internalisation of externally acquired knowledge (including firm strategy orientation) contribute to various types of firm-level upgrading during the period 1989-2001. Methodologically, this thesis proposes a dynamic model of firm-level upgrading with a novel unit of analysis: the relationships of the firm. So, rather than using firm case studies, it provides statistical evidence typically lacking in the upgrading research, while not sacrificing the in-depth nature of case studies, as each relationship of the firms studied has been investigated through face-to-face interviews that are translated into a dataset of relationships analysed using multinomial logistic regressions. First, the network-related characteristics of external learning mechanisms were identified and then used as a reference point in the upgrading analysis. The results for product upgrading largely confirm the previous findings in the literature. However, the upgrading of production processes is a function of learning from advances in science and technology through knowledge networks. Strikingly, learning-by-interacting in production networks actually appears to impede managerial (rather than functional) upgrading, a previously unexplored upgrading type, which is also shown to be a prerequisite for functional upgrading. While learning-by-training and research within the firm is a potent condition for external learning mechanisms to contribute to all of the upgrading types, for successful functional upgrading, it is a must. These findings show the importance of the use of an integrative approach to learning in research on upgrading

The Consumer Production Journey: Marketing to Consumers as Co-Producers in the Sharing Economy

New digital technologies not only support consumers in better fulfilling their own consumption needs, but also enable them to create greater value for other consumers. These new consumer co- production activities, collectively referred to as the sharing economy, require firms to rethink their role in the marketing value creation process. In particular, firms need to find new ways to create value for consumers who are also becoming producers. To address this challenge, we propose a two-layered conceptual framework of consumer co-production networks and the individual consumer production journeys therein. These concepts expand the traditional production model and consumer journey, respectively, explicitly taking into account consumer co-production activities in the value creation process. Within this framework, we draw on institutional design theory and household production theory to analyze how marketing functions can support consumers’ co-production activities. We conclude with a discussion of managerial and consumer welfare implications, and of new opportunities for further research

Analysis of Resilience Priorities for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Deli Serdang District

The COVID-19 virus pandemic during 2020 has become the material for research & investigation in building a priority model for the resilience of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The purpose of this study is to provide empirical evidence on the resilience of MSMEs in coastal, urban and Plateau agricultural areas in Deli Serdang Regency, North Sumatra Province (PSU). Data collection techniques in this study are secondary data collection (the income and production aspects of one-quarter of MSME during the COVID-19 pandemic which is calculated by averages and regional positions), observation and interviews. The analysis technique used is the Analysis Hierarchy Process. The results show the trend of MSME resilience in the aspects of income and production, researchers who get production value always experience a general decline, so that prioritization in decision making in MSME resilience becomes a solution for decision-makers, product packaging, distribution networks and the need for agricultural and food products are priorities major for the community. Dissemination and guidance on awareness using a marketing model through social media for MSME actors has an impact on changing thinking and income, and the role of all decision-makers in obtaining information as an effective workflow and policy to build sustainable small and medium industries amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Keywords: agribusiness, analysis hierarchy process, north sumatera, resilience of small and medium enterpris

An Impact Assessment Model for Web-Based Time Banks – A Thought-Experiment in the Operationalization of Social Capital

The following paper is meant to be practical, in that it offers an impact assessment model for web-based time banks that was produced as a consultancy project deliverable; and academic, in that it offers a thought-experiment about the measurement of social capital and its association with sustainable development. As the development field continues to transition towards sustainable models that include social variables, innovative impact assessment tools are needed to fully understand the role of these variables for planning and investment. Web-based time banks – online networks that members exchange services by using an alternative currency in the form of time – offer an opportunity to look at the operationalization of social variables in a unique way, particularly social capital and its relationship to economic development. The impact assessment model seeks to answer: how do time banks as a development intervention augment the social capital of communities? The model was designed based on three dimensions of social capital, psychological, social and economic, and Edgar Cahn’s theory of co-production. The model contributes to the economic valuation of time bank participation through the metrics: Market Value Savings and Economic Risk of Participation

Coordination and Impact of Agrifood Value Chains on Farm Performance: Evidence from Smallholder Rice Farmers in Northern Ghana

The study examines the role of coordination mechanisms on the production and market performance among smallholder farmers in Ghana. First, it examines the impact of vertical coordination mechanisms-written contracts, verbal contracts and spot market transactions – on farm performance, using multinomial BFG model to account for selectivity bias. Second, the study employs an endogenous switching regression model to examine the impact of farmer groups and collective marketing on farm net revenues of smallholder rice farmers. Third, the study examines the impact of farmer groups on farm yields and technical efficiency of farmers. Finally, it explores the role of inclusive value chains and social networks on smallholder market performance, using a treatment effects model to account for selection bias. The results reveal that vertical coordination mechanisms increase farm performance, with the highest gains stemming from written contract use. Also, farmers who are members of farmer groups and participated in collective marketing obtained higher output prices, and also incurred lower input costs. Participants in farmer groups and collective marketing earned significantly higher farm net revenues than non-participants. Farmer groups also improve farm yields and technical efficiency. The study reveals that inclusive value chain participation increases paddy prices, quantity traded and net returns. Similarly, horizontal social networks members benefit from improved market performance. Also, inclusive value chain participation decisions and market performance are significantly influenced by social networks, distance to markets, mobile phone ownership and access to credit. These findings call for development policy measures to promote contractual engagement in smallholder output transactions, formation and development of farmer groups and encouraging collective marketing, as well as strengthen social networks for improved value chain competiveness and efficiency

A network-based view of regional growth

The need to better understand the mechanisms underlying regional growth patterns is widely recognised. This paper argues that regional growth is partly a function of the value created through inter-organisational flows of knowledge within and across regions. It is proposed that investment in calculative networks by organisations to access knowledge is a form of capital, termed network capital, which should be incorporated into regional growth models. The paper seeks to develop a framework to capture the value of network capital within these models based on the spatial configuration and the nature of the knowledge flowing through networks