The Great East Japan Earthquake and Corporate Risk Management

特集　東日本大震

On Franco-Japanese Symposium on SME succession

Kansai University held Franco-Japanese Symposium on SME succession at Senriyama Campus on November 11 in 2011. Dysfunction of SME succession has become a serious social problem in both France and Japan. On this occasion three specialists were invited from France where SME succession issue has been established as one of the research fields in management science. Various precious suggestions were pronounced during this fist international symposium on this issue in Japan

地域社会とリスクマネジメント

関西大学経済政治研究所 2010年4月～2014年3月「子どもの安全とリスク・コミュニケーション・研究斑　地域社会とリスクマネジメント　子どもの安全についてクロスロードのようなゲームを作る2014年2月28日　公開シンポジウム : 現代リスクマネジメントの諸

New Service Development and Diversification Strategy : Particularities of Insurance Marketing and Bancassurance/Assurbanque in France

New services are often the result of an innovation introduced by a diversification strategy. In this study, key factors for the success of the diversification strategy are identified through case studies of diversification between the insurance services industry and the banking services industry in France. Preceding the case studies, this study points out the particularities of insurance marketing and the French insurance market. Insurance marketing has a duality involving a subscription stage and one of claims servicing. The French insurance market is particular, given its variety of distribution channels. Case studies of Credit Agricole and AGF identify the key factors (appeal, brand, concept, consistency, credibility, differentiation, and education) of new service management based on the diversification strategy. In conclusion, this study clarifies the significance of service innovation, which lies in the promotion of value for customers in the market as a whole

Business Risk Managers in France : Based on Gras Savoye\u27s survey of risk managers in major corporations in France (1993)

Risk Management theory was introduced to France from the United States in the early seventies. Since then, scholars in France have developed it into their own original theory. The study of Risk Management in France seems to be independent of the American theory, which tends to stick to the dichotomy between pure risks and speculative risks, and focus on a sort of insurance management of the former one. Contrary to developments within the academic field, the practice of Risk Management techniques in French corporations was not unveiled to the public. Thus, in 1984, AEAI did a survey of risk managers in European countries under the direction of Jacques Charbonnier. Ten years have passed since this survey and Risk Management in France is facing a new phase with regard to both its acadimic study and its practice in the real business world. In 1993, two French associations of Risk Management, Groupement des Assurés du Commerce et de I\u27Industrie (GACI) and Association des Chargés d\u27Assurances des Entreprises Françaises (ACADEF) merged into Association pour le Management des Risques et Assurances del\u27Entreprise (AMRAE). Last year, two researchers, Adrien Benard and Anne- Lise Fontan, who belonged to France\u27s largest insurance broker, Gras Savoye, published "La Gestion des Risques dans l\u27Entreprise", which included results of the survey towards risk managers in major corporations in France. The following study illusrates, (1) how Risk Management theory within the academic field reflects to the real activities of risk managers ; (2) how risk managers relate to top management decision making ; (3) the functions and the levels of risk managers in business organisations in France, based on the Gras Savoye\u27s survey of French Risk Managers. The following may be concluded. From the late eighties, risk managers in France became more conscious of risks such as the environmental problems and product liability, which have led to negative corporate images, as well as M & A and a rise in the cost of social welfare expenses. Prior to that, they were just concerned with risks which were manageable within the middle and operational levels of organisations. However, now that risk managers\u27 interests and scope have shifted to much broader risks at the level of general management, it is necessary to establish a system, where they will be able to relate their Risk Management policy to the decisions and the strategies at top management level, as it has been pointed by researchers in France

A Basic Study on Enduring Involvement and Perceived Risk : The Case of Personal Computers

This paper addresses the construct of enduring involvement and of perceived risk considered as individual variables influencing consumer behavior. This study is a step towards the validation of the PIA (Personal relevance, Interest, Attraction) scale proposed by Strazzieri, which is designed to measure enduring involvement independently of perceived risk. Based on the survey of 217 students of informatics about personal computers, firstly we evaluated (1) the unidimensionality of the PIA scale and (2) the predictive validity of the PIA scale in terms of consequences of enduring involvement, and then we measured (3) enduring involvement, (4) consequences of enduring involvement, (5) perceived risk, (6) risk reduction, and (7) brand categorization so as to analyze their correlation. The main results indicate that the level of enduring involvement and of perceived risk are uncorrelated and that some ways of risk reduction are related to the level of enduring involvement

Bancassurance Strategy in Non-Life Markets : A Study of Banks entering Non-Life Markets in France

In Europe, bancassurance, sales of insurance products through bank branch networks as a channel of distribution, have been increasing since the 1980s. Presently in France, more than fifty percent of life insurance products are sold at the bank branch networks by the bank-owned insurance subsidiaries. From the beginning of the 1990s, French banks began to enter the non-life market. However, they still don\u27t show the same degree of competitiveness as they show with sales of life insurance products. The banking system differs a lot from a non-life insurance business. It is necessary for banks to set up a customer-oriented service including the treatment of accident and claim adjustments. Otherwise their strategy to enter non-life market would be unsuccessful. This is what we have deduced from an observation of the bancassurance in non-life markets in France

Effects of valerian extract on the sleep-wake cycle in sleep-disturbed rats.

The present study was performed to investigate the effects of valerian extract on the sleep-wake cycle using sleep-disturbed model rats. A significant shortening in sleep latency was observed with valerian extract at doses of 1000 and 3000 mg/kg. On the other hand, valerian extract had no significant effects on total times of wakefulness, non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep, or REM sleep, even at a dose of 3000 mg/kg. Valerian extract at doses of 1000 and 3000 mg/kg showed a significant increase in the delta activity during non-REM sleep. In conclusion, valerian extract may be useful as an herbal medicine having not only sleep-inducing effects but also sleep quality-enhancement effects.</p