Electronic Multidimensional Auctions and the Role of Information Feedback

Traditionally, companies aiming to achieve competition among suppliers have used sealed bidding procedures in their sourcing processes. The advances in information technology and in particular the Internet now allow these companies to use different and more complex auction mechanisms. In particular multidimensional auctions are a natural extension of the standard sealed-bid auctions, but these auctions raise a whole host of issues that have been little investigated. In this article we focus on one of these issues, namely the role of information feedback given during the auction process. We describe various feedback policies and analyze the expected impact on the performance of the auction mechanism using the criteria of speed of convergence, allocative efficiency and Pareto optimality. This can help both researchers and practitioners in a more detailed and thorough analysis of electronic auctions

On and off the beaten path: How individuals broker knowledge through formal and informal networks

Although informal networks are often emphasized as facilitating knowledge transfer, we use network data obtained from a multi-unit high-tech firm to show that the formal network also significantly contributes to inter-unit knowledge transfer. Individuals centrally placed in a network are, in addition, more involved in knowledge transfer, especially, the evidence suggests, in the case of the formal network. Focusing on the brokerage roles that individual fulfill, we find that knowledge transfer between units is more likely to occur through externally oriented brokers than internally oriented brokers in the formal network, but not in the informal network. Overall, the results show that there is more than one path to transfer knowledge

Information technology and the internationalization of the firm

A key concern for all multinationals is where to find a suitable location for their business activities, bearing in mind that they must find the right balance between global integration and local responsiveness. This article contributes to the internationalization debate by asking: in what sense will information technology enable globalization? We focus on the sourcing process, an area where globalization is often claimed to be the case. Re-examination of empirical evidence shows that global sourcing is not as generally predominant as is claimed. Consequently inhibitors to global integration exist and we classify these inhibitors into three categories: geographical, relational and environmental inhibitors. We then analyze the role information technology plays in reducing these inhibitors and formulate propositions that are then illustrated in two case studies. Information technology is proposed to reduce the geographical and relational inhibitors, but it will have no effect on environmental inhibitors. However, the latter category of inhibitors will become more prominent in the future. Information technology thus shifts the balance towards global integration, but simultaneously creates new problems in managing internationalization