Electronic Reverse Auctions: Spawning Procurement Innovation in the Context of Arab Culture

Government e-procurement initiatives have the potential to transform local institutions, but few studies have been published of strategies for implementing specific e-procurement tools, particularly involving procurement by a foreign government adapting to local culture in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA). This case describes procurement at a forward operating base (FOB) in Kuwait in support of operations in Iraq. The government procurers had to deal with a phenomenon unique to the MENA region: wasta. Wasta is a form of social capital that bestows power, influence, and connection to those who possess it, similar to guanxi in China. This study explores the value proposition and limitations of electronic reverse auctions (eRA) with the purpose of sharing best practices and lessons learned for government procurement in a MENA country. The public value framework provides valuable theoretical insights for the implementation of a new government e-procurement tool in a foreign country. In a culture dominated by wasta, the suppliers enjoyed the transparency and merit-based virtues of eRA’s that transferred successfully into the new cultural milieu: potential to increase transparency, competition, efficiency, and taxpayer savings. The practices provided herein are designed specifically to help buyers overcome structural barriers including training, organizational inertia, and a lack of eRA policy and guidance while implementing a new e-procurement tool in a foreign country

Antecedents of entrepreneurial orientation: A contingency approach

This research was created in order to offer a better understanding of the entrepreneurial orientation construct. Based on the literature review several antecedents of the entrepreneurial orientation construct were identified: risk, achievement, innovation, locus of control, self-esteem, opportunity, autonomy, proactiveness, and competitive aggressiveness. Relying on the contingency theory developed by Burns and Stalker (1961), it was decided to use the Carland\u27s trichotomy of entrepreneurs as a moderator variable between the antecedents and the entrepreneurial orientation construct. As a result, three main areas of research were identified. The first area deals with determining which dimensions are underpinning the entrepreneurial orientation construct, while the second is centered on the number of dimensions composing that construct. The third axis of research was to determine if there is a relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and performance. All things considered, 13 sets of hypothesis were created and tested for the research. The survey was sent through e-mail to entrepreneurs based in Louisiana, it was received by 1003 entrepreneurs. 103 surveys were returned for analysis resulting in a 10.2% response rate. After analyzing the results, it became clear that several different types of entrepreneurs exist and that these types are heterogeneous. The three types of entrepreneurs tested did not have the same number of antecedents or even the same kind of antecedents. Finally, only one type of entrepreneurs showed a significant, albeit negative, relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and performance

Reduction of regulatory risk: a network economic approach

Several definitions of regulatory risk are known from the literature. From the perspective of regulatory reform it is important to differentiate between the impact of a given regulatory scheme on the firm's risk exposure and the risk arising from discretionary behavior of regulatory agencies. Whereas the conse-quences of effective regulation in principle are known and accepted, excessive regulatory discretion may cause a strong need for regulatory reform. Regulatory reform focussing on the regulatory base risk and the regulatory instrument risk has to solve the problem of the optimal division of labour between regulatory discretion and statutory constraints. Therefore, in this paper the design of a disaggregated regulatory mandate is elaborated; its major elements being the restriction of regulation to monopolistic bottlenecks and a disaggregated appli-cation of sector-specific regulatory instruments. --

Can Information Availability Increase Patient Compliance? Mitigating Uncertainty Perceptions in the Provider-Patient Relationship

Patient compliance with provider directions is central to patients’ well being, and non-compliance has been identified as a leading cause of increasing healthcare costs. While numerous factors may affect patient compliance, we investigate the mediating effect of patient health information availability on the relationship between perceived uncertainty and patients’ motivation to comply with providers’ orders. To understand how to mitigate perceived uncertainty, we extend the underlying principles of principal-agent theory—hidden information and hidden action—and propose three uncertainty-mitigating factors: perceived information asymmetry, fear of opportunism, and physician quality. The proposed structural model is empirically tested using data from 184 patients. Our model is supported, and the results provide an understanding of the process by which patients engage in their care through the support of information technology. We discuss the implications for understanding and facilitating the provider-patient relationship and its effect on patients\u27 motivation to comply through the principal-agent perspective

2008-2009 Fordham Law School Faculty Bibliography

https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/fac_bib/1011/thumbnail.jp

Economic Reforms and Constitutional Transition

This paper investigates the relationship between economic reforms and constitutional transition, which has been neglected by many transition economists. It is argued that assessment of reform performance might be very misleading if it is not recognized that economic reforms are just a small part of large scale of constitutional transition. Rivalry and competition between states and between political forces within each country are the driving forces for constitutional transition. We use Russia as an example of economic reforms associated with constitutional transition and China as an example of economic reforms in the absence of constitutional transition to examine features and problems in the two patterns of transition. It is concluded that under political monopoly of the ruling party, economic transition will be hijacked by state opportunism. Dual track approach to economic transition may generate very high long-term cost of constitutional transition that might well outweigh its short-term benefit of buying out the vested interests.constitutional transition, economic reform, division of labor, debate of shock therapy vs gradualism, debate of convergence vs institutional innovation

2008-2009 Fordham Law School Faculty Bibliography

https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/fac_bib/1011/thumbnail.jp

Competition Between Auctions

Even though auctions are capturing an increasing share of commerce, they are typically treated in the theoretical economics literature as isolated. That is, an auction is typically treated as a single seller facing multiple buyers or as a single buyer facing multiple sellers. In this paper, we review the state of the art of competition between auctions. We consider three different types of competition: competition between auctions, competition between formats, and competition between auctioneers vying for auction traffic. We highlight the newest experimental, statistical and analytical methods in the analysis of competition between auctions.auctions, bidding, competition, auction formats, auction houses