201,584 research outputs found
Barriers to IT Exit
All organizational information systems will at some point in time be decommissioned. Yet, current IS research is predominantly focused on the adoption and implementation of an information system. It pays scarce attention to the final phase of a working IT system and the substantial theoretical implications of its decommissioning. This research in progress draws on the broader notion of âexitâ and âbarriers to exitâ to position the decommissioning of working IT systems in a wider theoretical framework. It seeks to develop a sound conceptualization of IT exit and its barriers by analyzing the exit literature from related business disciplines. The conceptualization identifies IT exit as multi-phased longitudinal process with extensible transition points. This refined understanding will provide the basis for an impending empirical investigation that identifies specific IT-specific barriers to exit and their impact on individual phases in the IT exit journey. The steps of this forthcoming investigation are outlined
Thirty Years After Michael E. Porter: What Do We Know About Business Exit?
Although a business exit is an important corporate change initiative, the buyerâs side seems to be more appealing to management researchers than the sellerâs because acquisitions imply growth, i.e., success. Yet from an optimistic viewpoint, business exit can effectively create value for the selling company. In this paper we attempt to bring the relevance of the sellerâs side back into our consciousness by asking: What do we know about business exit? We start our exploration with Porter (1976), focusing on literature that investigates the antecedents of, barriers to, and outcomes of business exit. We also include studies from related fields such as finance and economics.1 Through this research we determine three clusters of findings: factors promoting business exit, exit barriers, and exit outcomes. Overall, it is the intention of this paper to highlight the importance of business exit for research and practice. Knowing what we know about business exits and their high financial value we should bear in mind that exit need not mean failure but a new beginning for a corporation
Poster: Dropping organic certification - effects on organic farming in Norway
Numerous studies have examined organic farmersâ characteristics, motives, attitudes and barriers related to the conversion from conventional to organic farming. Recent studies have also discussed the perceived problems and reasons stated by organic farmers for opting out of certified production. In Norway, farmersâ reasons for opting out of certified organic farming have so far just been explored on a regional level or limited to one production; most such analyses have not been published internationally. E.g., it has not been explored if the farmers in question return to conventional practices or exit farming altogether
Keynes and the cotton industry: a reappraisal
The paper reinterprets Keynesâs analysis of the crisis in the Lancashire cotton industry in the 1920s. It presents empirical evidence showing that syndicates of local shareholders, but not the banks, were an important brake on firms exiting, at a time when exit barriers were otherwise unproblematic in this competitive industry. Moreover, syndicates milked firms of any profits through dividends, thereby limiting reinvestment and re-equipment possibilities. The case shows that where laissez-faire fails in response to a crisis, the associated response may need to assess both ownership structure and its relationship to competitive industry structure
Not All Trade Restrictions are Created Equally
There has been great focus in the recent trade theory literature on the introduction of firm heterogeneity into trade models. This introduction has highlighted the importance of the entry/exit decision of firms in response to changes in trade barriers. However, it is typical in many of these models to use iceberg transport costs as a general form of trade barriers that can be interchangeable with ad valorem tariffs. I show that this is not always an appropriate conclusion. Specifically, I illustrate that profit for an exporter is more elastic in response to tariffs than iceberg transport costs, which has implications for total product variety. One such implication is the possibility for there to be an anti-variety effect associated with lower transport costs while there also being a pro-variety effect associated with lower tariffs.Intra-industry Trade; Trade policy; Firm heterogeneity; Monopolistic competition
Keynes and the cotton industry: a reappraisal
The paper reinterprets Keynesâs analysis of the crisis in the Lancashire cotton industry in the 1920s. It presents empirical evidence showing that syndicates of local shareholders, but not the banks, were an important brake on firms exiting, at a time when exit barriers were otherwise unproblematic in this competitive industry. Moreover, syndicates milked firms of any profits through dividends, thereby limiting reinvestment and re-equipment possibilities. The case shows that where laissez-faire fails in response to a crisis, the associated response may need to assess both ownership structure and its relationship to competitive industry structure.
The Rise and Fall of the dot com Entrepreneurs
This paper looks at the dot com phenomenon drawing mainly on examples from the USA where the boom started and was most pronounced, but also from the UK which had a number of high profile dot coms. It starts by asking the question, âWho were the dot coms?â. it then goes on to consider the factors which led to the emergence of the dot coms such as the emergence of the commercial Internet, the lowering of entry barriers which followed from this and the funding available for new businesses through venture capital. The article also looks at the reasons why it was believed that the dot coms represented a threat to established businesses. The article then looks at the booming IPO market for dot coms and the opportunities this provided for exit by venture capital investors. The crash of 2000 is considered, lessons are drawn for entrepreneurs and investors and finally the article will look at future prospects for the dot com sector
Influence of Pre-bottleneck Diversion Devices on Pedestrian Flow
The existence of bottlenecks often leads to the stagnation of pedestrian
gatherings, which seriously affects the efficiency of traffic and reduces the
flow of pedestrians. Some studies have shown that setting devices in front of
bottlenecks can promote pedestrian evacuation under certain conditions. In this
paper, the effect of setting diversion devices in front of the exit on
pedestrian flow is studied. From our observation, these diversion devices can
form a buffer zone before the exit and affect pedestrian behaviors. The
evacuation times are found to decrease as the devices became farther away from
the exit. In our experiments, it is found that the effect of shunt piles on
evacuation is better than in the case of safety barriers and without device
conditions. Under the condition of setting up safety barriers approximately 1m
and 3m in front of the exit, the evacuation times are extended by 0.88% and
2.67%. For shunt piles, the evacuation times are 11.53% and 14.96% shorter than
that of those without a device regarding the different distances to exit (1m
and 3m, respectively). In addition, setting up shunt piles reduces the time
interval between two consecutive pedestrians. To sum up, in our experimental
settings, the diversion devices can effectively improve the average speed ahead
of the exit and promote evacuation to become more orderly, which reduces the
congestion in the later period of evacuation. In other words, this study
demonstrates that a reasonable layout of facilities can not only meet the daily
functional requirements but also improve the efficient use of space in
emergencies, reducing the probability of crowd conventions and jams
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A cautionary tale about the inhibitory effects of gated culverts on fish passage restoration efforts
Connectivity between river-floodplain habitats has been heavily constrained in many large tropical river systems by the construction of regulators, levees and other physical barriers. Fishways are being constructed to ameliorate the effects of these barriers; but it is important that all aspects of fishway design cater for local target species. We investigated the lateral movement patterns of Lower Mekong Basin fish in Laos, through a fishway that incorporated a series of cones, resting pools, and a culvert with a vertical lift gate. Fish needed to negotiate all of these structures to move from the Mekong to an adjacent wetland. We tested the hypothesis that gated culverts may hamper the effectiveness of fishways, by comparing the abundance and species richness of fish at three locations along the path of the fishway and culvert: (1) the fishway entrance; (2) the fishway exit; and (3) the culvert exit (i.e. immediately upstream of the culvert). There were no marked differences in the total abundance and species richness of fish between the fishway entrance and culvert exit while the river remained at levels where the culvert was only partially inundated. Nevertheless, the abundance and species richness of fish were markedly lower at the culvert exit than at the fishway entrance and exit once the headwater levels rose to where the culvert was completely inundated. These findings indicate that fish were able to ascend the fishway but not the culvert once it became completely submerged, and thus support the hypothesis that gated culverts can hamper the effectiveness of fishways in facilitating the lateral movement of fish in large tropical systems. Fish passage at such installations can be enhanced through optimised operating regimes. Ensuring that headwater levels remain below the culvert ceiling is likely to be the best way to maximise fishway effectiveness
COMPETITIVE EFFECTS OF IT INNOVATION ON BANK STRATEGY, 1985-1995
Through case study research this paper illustrates opportunities presented by IT-based technological change in British retail bank markets (1985-1995). For the managers of the Royal Bank of Scotland IT appeared to lower entry barriers, exit barriers and deliver high sustainability of competitive advantage. The strategic intent behind diversification patterns of the Royal Bank of Scotland suggested competitive considerations were at a premium because unsolicited take-over bids in the early 1980s put pressure on managers to create growth opportunities. Direct Line Insurance was a subsidiary from the Royal Bank of Scotland. Direct Line was also the first retail finance institution to establish a clear competitive advantage based on information technology. The success of Direct Line enabled an increase in the market share of British retail financial services of The Royal Bank of Scotland. Direct Line is a case of planned success that questions the extent to which banksâ competencies must change to master alternative delivery channels. The success of Direct Line also suggested more effective execution than other activities explored by managers of the Royal Bank of Scotland.Financial institutions; technological change; corporate strategy
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