A robust fuzzy possibilistic AHP approach for partner selection in international strategic alliance

The international strategic alliance is an inevitable solution for making competitive advantage and reducing the risk in today’s business environment. Partner selection is an important part in success of partnerships, and meanwhile it is a complicated decision because of various dimensions of the problem and inherent conflicts of stockholders. The purpose of this paper is to provide a practical approach to the problem of partner selection in international strategic alliances, which fulfills the gap between theories of inter-organizational relationships and quantitative models. Thus, a novel Robust Fuzzy Possibilistic AHP approach is proposed for combining the benefits of two complementary theories of inter-organizational relationships named, (1) Resource-based view, and (2) Transaction-cost theory and considering Fit theory as the perquisite of alliance success. The Robust Fuzzy Possibilistic AHP approach is a noveldevelopment of Interval-AHP technique employing robust formulation; aimed at handling the ambiguity of the problem and let the use of intervals as pairwise judgments. The proposed approach was compared with existing approaches, and the results show that it provides the best quality solutions in terms of minimum error degree. Moreover, the framework implemented in a case study and its applicability were discussed

Agri-food chain relationships in Europe – empirical evidence and implications for sector competitiveness

The roles of business relationships in selected European agri-food chains are analysed. Using survey data from 1,442 farmers, food processors and retailers in two commodity sectors (meat and cereals) and across six different EU countries, we test the empirical relevance of several theory-based determinants influencing the choice of relationship type and the sustainability of inter-enterprise relationships. This is undertaken for the overall dataset and separately for different chain stages (farmer-processor versus the processor-retailer relationships), commodities and individual countries. Overall, we find that sector and enterprise-specific determinants seem to influence the choice of a certain relationship type while chain-internal, dyadic factors affect the sustainability of relationships. A logistic regression analysis reveals that the preference for a relationship type, while being highly chain-specific, depends on the long-term orientation and the strive for independence of an enterprise and the product-quality requirements within a corresponding market. As for the sustainability of the analysed relationships, structural equation modelling results suggest that its most important determinant is effective communication, with its two components, adequate communication frequency and high information quality, being equally important. The existence of personal bonds and an equal power distribution between buyers and suppliers are the second most important determinants, followed by the negative impact of key staff leaving. The analysis also reveals that the relative importance of these determinants differs significantly across the two considered chain stages and between the countries investigated. Agribusiness managers, seeking to improve their supplier or buyer relationships, need to consider the crucial role of effective communication and the positive contribution that the existence of personal bonds can make to the development and maintenance of sustainable interactions.business relationships, agri-food chains, competitiveness, Agribusiness,

Opportunities for information sharing: case studies

Personal information provided to government and non-government service providers is highly sensitive. Appropriate collection, management and storage of personal information are critical elements to citizen trust in the public sector. However, misconceptions about the frameworks governing sharing personal information can impact on the coordination of services, case management and policy development.   The NSW Department of Premier & Cabinet engaged the Social Policy Research Centre to develop three case studies that identified the challenges to sharing information appropriately, and the opportunities for better personal information sharing between government agencies and non-government organisations. Improved sharing of personal information in these areas can support more effective policy development, leading to improved service delivery performance and coordination.   The Social Policy Research Centre identified the legislative and policy framework for each case study, conducted qualitative research on the interpretation of this framework, and developed three case study reports

Investigating the influence of cultural background on daylight perception

Millions of people migrate every year, aiming to settle either permanently or temporarily in new places. People from countries with different intensities of daylight might have various perceptions and expectations towards the climatic and indoor conditions. It might result from a previously accustomed lighting environment and other associated factors, namely individual cultural background. It is important because study outcomes may be utilised by architects and lighting professionals on how to design buildings and interior spaces depending on occupants’ perceptions and expectations to increase occupants’ satisfaction. This knowledge also can be used to save energy because the efficient use of daylight can reduce the energy consumption of both HVAC and illumination systems. To date, few studies have explored the relationship between cultural background and daylight perception; however, they mostly focused on glare sensitivity rather than daylight intensity. Cross-cultural studies aiming to investigate lighting preferences in interior environments are also rare. What is not yet known is the importance of cultural background and its impact on daylight perception, expectation, and satisfaction. Therefore, the development of a methodology for assessing daylight perception and its application in the context of cultural background are the main objectives of this research project, in order to investigate the impact of cultural background on daylight perception. In this thesis, three subjective evaluation methods were used to assess participants' daylight perceptions: subjective ratings, seat preference, and daylight boundary line drawings, and the perceived daylight availability obtained through these methods were compared to measured daylight availability. It was demonstrated that perceived daylight availability obtained through seat preference and subjective statement methods corresponds to some extent with actual daylight availability (p<0.01 and p =0.002, respectively). The findings obtained from both students’ seat selections and occupancy data from motion sensors in the library also highlighted the importance of daylight availability in the seat selection of students in the libraries. However, the lit area drawn by participants representing the perceived daylight conditions as part of the daylight boundary line method varied extensively from person to person regardless of actual daylight measurements. In other respects, a systematic review was conducted to create a conceptual framework of cultural background in the lit environment, and factors thought to be influencing daylight perception in the cultural context had been defined in four ways. These were ethnicity and/or physiological properties of individual eyes, the residential area, the previous luminance environment and sociocultural background. Finally, the developed methodology based on the previous findings was applied to understand if individuals perceive daylight conditions differently due to their cultural backgrounds. Although some findings proved that culture might be an important factor in daylight perception, the study results did not provide strong evidence of a cultural background influence on daylight perception. However, the number of participants in this study (N=193) was limited, and this unique topic requires additional research with larger sample size

District plan implementation under the RMA: Confessions of a resource consent

This report focuses on results from Phase 2 of PUCM - the quality of plan implementation in six district councils selected for their range of plan quality and capacity to plan. Only those results considered to be important for assisting the six councils (and others) to improve implementation of their plans are included in this report. The findings and recommendations, both specific and general, ought to be instructive for other councils, thereby helping to improve their plans and implementation processes. Since hapu/iwi interests formed a key component of the research, the outcomes will help enhance their case for better consideration of their interests when dealing with local government. As well, many of the findings and recommendations relate to matters of governance and capacity building that require Government action, which until done will make it difficult for councils to achieve quality plans and implementation processes

Resource management, plan quality and governance: A report to Government

This Report contains the main findings from FRST-funded research into planning under the Resource Management Act. It includes five sets of interrelated recommendations. These recommendations identify many actions that are essential if Government is serious about achieving its goal of environmental sustainability. Implementation of the recommendations will require a significant increase in expenditure at all levels of the planning hierarchy, but especially central government

Fisheries and Coastal Resources Co-management in Asia: Selected Results from a Regional Research Project

Coastal fisheries, Fishery management, Resource management

The whole of university experience: retention, attrition, learning and personal support interventions during undergraduate business studies

The Whole of University Experience (WoUE) project examined factors underpinning attrition in the first, second and third year of a business degree at six Australian universities – Griffith University, Monash University, Murdoch University, University of South Australia, University of Southern Queensland, and University of the Sunshine Coast. A questionnaire completed in 2008, 2009, and 2010 by a total of 7,486 students enabled gathering of data relating to demographics; students’ experience of university; their use and perceptions of the usefulness of student support interventions; open-ended comments about the best and worst aspects of the university experience; and aspects in need of improvement. In each year a small number of students were also interviewed for the purpose of fleshing out the survey data and exploring the interactions between various factors associated with attrition. Overall, the data strongly indicates that factors related to attrition are generally university-specific and reflect both student characteristics and their responses to the specific institutional culture and environment. The only attrition triggers which span most universities and most years of study are ‘lack of a clear reason for being at university’ and ‘the feeling of having insufficient ability to succeed at university’. Correlation analysis relating 70 statements probing students’ experience of university to the strength of their intention to leave before completing a degree revealed notable differentiation in attrition triggers on the basis of year of study. Follow-up analysis in one university indicated further differentiation in the triggers for attrition, semester by semester. It seems that many different factors underpin attrition decisions in any one institution and for any one individual, for whom attrition appears to be the result of the aggregation of diverse factors generally followed by ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back’. When responses are grouped by demographic variables some difference in the factors associated with domestic and international student attrition is apparent, but no difference in the factors associated with their sense of satisfaction or belonging is obvious. In the responses of international and domestic students to issues of teaching quality, differences primarily related to expectations regarding teaching staff approachability, availability and helpfulness. For students enrolled part-time or full-time different factors underpin attrition, and attrition triggers also differ on the basis of time spent on campus and average grades. Preliminary analysis suggests that having to take a loan or engage in full-time work to fund studies is a greater attrition risk factor in most universities than is the receipt of Centrelink benefits (which may be seen as a proxy indicator for low socio-economic status). Analysis of responses to questions about the use and usefulness of student support interventions indicates that, in general, when students use personal support interventions these are mostly seen as very useful. However, data also indicate that many, and often the majority of, students have either not used or are not aware of the support services available. Practically, the project has delivered, and will continue to deliver, significant value to the higher education sector. On the basis of evidence from the project, partner universities have begun addressing high-value student retention issues and it is expected that this evidence will continue to influence institutional decision-making for several years beyond the life of the project. Dissemination activities external to partner universities, including publication of five journal articles and numerous workshops or presentations, have assisted staff in other universities to reflect upon issues critical to student retention in both first year and beyond. Further publication outcomes are expected. Critically, as indicated in the independent project evaluation, “the project has directed much needed attention to factors associated with attrition in later years of the student experience (second and third years) … facilitated discussion around frameworks for evidence-based institutional responses that constitute effective interventions … [and] reinforced the need for institutions to collect their own data on the student experience to inform individual institutional responses and interventions”