Outsourcing and financial performance: A negative curvilinear effect

This study asks how a firm's degree of outsourcing across all activities influences financial performance. We argue there is an optimal degree of outsourcing, where firms outsource some activities yet integrate others, and that deviations lower performance in a negatively curvilinear fashion. We find empirical support, using 1995 and 1998 data on a sample of manufacturing businesses in the Netherlands, and show that the steepness of the curve increases under conditions of high uncertainty. We show the magnitude of the uncertainty effect on performance outcomes through a post hoc scenario analysis. Thus we provide a specific, theoretically and empirically grounded prediction of how outsourcing affects performance with implications for theory and practice

Dynamic Peer-to-Peer Competition

The dynamic behavior of a multiagent system in which the agent size $s_{i}$ is variable it is studied along a Lotka-Volterra approach. The agent size has hereby for meaning the fraction of a given market that an agent is able to capture (market share). A Lotka-Volterra system of equations for prey-predator problems is considered, the competition factor being related to the difference in size between the agents in a one-on-one competition. This mechanism introduces a natural self-organized dynamic competition among agents. In the competition factor, a parameter $\sigma$ is introduced for scaling the intensity of agent size similarity, which varies in each iteration cycle. The fixed points of this system are analytically found and their stability analyzed for small systems (with $n=5$ agents). We have found that different scenarios are possible, from chaotic to non-chaotic motion with cluster formation as function of the $\sigma$ parameter and depending on the initial conditions imposed to the system. The present contribution aim is to show how a realistic though minimalist nonlinear dynamics model can be used to describe market competition (companies, brokers, decision makers) among other opinion maker communities.Comment: 17 pages, 50 references, 6 figures, 1 tabl

Pre-notification letter type and response rate to a postal survey among women who have recently given birth

Background: Surveys are commonly used in health research to assess patient satisfaction with hospital care. Achieving an adequate response rate, in the face of declining trends over time, threatens the quality and reliability of survey results. This paper reports on a postal satisfaction survey conducted with women who had recently given birth, and explores the effect of two strategies on response rates. Methods: A sample of 2048 Australian women who had recently given birth were invited to participate in a postal survey about their recent experiences with maternity care. The study design included two different strategies intended to increase response rates: a randomised controlled trial testing two types of pre-notification letter (with or without the option of opting out of the survey), and a request for consent to link survey data with existing routinely collected health data (omitting the latter data items from the survey reduced survey length and participant burden). Results: The survey had an overall response rate of 46%. Women receiving the pre-notification letter with the option of opting out of the survey were more likely to actively decline to participate than women receiving the letter without this option, although the overall numbers of women were small (27 versus 12). Letter type was not significantly associated with the return of a completed survey. Among women who completed the survey, 97% gave consent to link their survey data with existing health data. Conclusions: Seeking consent for record linkage was highly acceptable to women who completed the survey, and represents an important strategy to add to the arsenal for designing and implementing effective surveys. In addition to aspects of survey design, future research should explore how to more effectively influence personal constructs that contribute to the decision to participate in surveys.NHMR

The fuel moisture index based on understorey Hygrochron iButton humidity and temperature measurements reliably predicts fine fuel moisture content in Tasmanian Eucalyptus forests

Fine fuel moisture content (FFMC) is a key determinant of wildfire occurrence, behaviour, and pyrogeographic patterns. Accurate determination of FFMC is laborious, hence managers and ecologists have devised a range of empirical and mechanistic measures for FFMC. These FFMC measures, however, have received limited field validation against field-based gravimetric fuel moisture measurements. Using statistical modelling, we evaluate the use of the relationship between gravimetric FFMC and the Fuel Moisture Index (FMI), based on Hygrochron iButton humidity and temperature dataloggers. We do this in Tasmanian wet and dry Eucalyptus forests subjected to strongly contrasting disturbance histories and, hence, percentage of canopy cover. We show that 24 h average FMI based on data from Hygrochron iButtons 0.75 m above the forest floor provides reliable estimates of gravimetric litter fuel moisture (c. 1 h fuels) that are strongly correlated with near surface gravimetric fuel moisture sticks (c. 10 h fuels). We conclude FMI based on Hygrochron iButton data provides ecologists with an economic and effective method to retrospectively measure landscape patterns in fuel moisture in Tasmanian forests

The theory of international business: the role of economic models

This paper reviews the scope for economic modelling in international business studies. It argues for multi-level theory based on classic internalisation theory. It present a systems approach that encompasses both firm-level and industry-level analysis

Affection not affliction: The role of emotions in information systems and organizational change

Most IS research in both the technical/rational and socio-technical traditions ignores or marginalizes the emotionally charged behaviours through which individuals engage in, and cope with the consequences of, IS practice and associated organizational change. Even within the small body of work that engages with emotions through particular conceptual efforts, affections are often conceived as a phenomenon to be eradicated – an affliction requiring a cure. In this paper, I argue that emotions are always implicated in our lived experiences, crucially influencing how we come to our beliefs about what is good or bad, right or wrong. I draw from the theoretical work of Michel Foucault to argue for elaborating current notions of IS innovation as a moral and political struggle in which individuals’ beliefs and feelings are constantly tested. Finally, I demonstrate these ideas by reference to a case study that had considerable emotional impact, and highlight the implications for future work

Student attitudes and approaches to learning Chemistry: What influences academic success?

It is not unusual for a first year Chemistry course to serve a range of purposes for a range of students with differing backgrounds & capabilities (have they taken Chemistry at Year 12 and how well did they perform?) and trajectories (does their program of study require Chemistry at first year or are they electing to take Chemistry at first year?). Ideally, every student taking a first year Chemistry course should (in principle) be able to achieve a satisfactory outcome regardless of their background or trajectory if the course is both well designed and well taught. The generic aim of good teaching is to engage students and encourage them to adopt a deep approach to their learning (Biggs 1999). Whether a student employs a deep approach is however dependent upon the dynamic relationship between student factors (perceptions, attitudes, preferred approach to learning etc.) and the teaching context (content being taught, teaching and assessment methods etc.); both student and teacher are responsible for the learning outcomes (Biggs 1993a; Biggs 1993b). At the commencement of their university studies, attitude towards a discipline lies initially in the hands of the commencing student and is shaped by their prior experiences in that discipline. The aim of this study is to determine whether the attitudes and approaches of first year students to learning Chemistry are reflected in their academic success. In order to investigate this, first year Chemistry students completed a survey instrument that contained items about their attitude to Chemistry (using the Attitude to the Subject of Chemistry Inventory (ASCIv2; Xu & Lewis, 2011)), their approaches to learning (using the Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F; Biggs, Kember & Leung, 2001)), together with a number of Likert type questions pertaining to their attitude and confidence levels. The responses to the individual items were scored according to established methods (ASCIv2: Xu, Southam & Lewis, 2012; R-SPQ-2F instrument: Hamm & Robertson, 2010) and matched to students’ individual performance on summative assessment tasks. These results will be evaluated to determine whether student attitudes and approaches to learning are influenced by their array of backgrounds and future trajectories. Correlation with academic performance will also be considered

Impact of student approaches to learning on both their experience and their performance in problem solving workshop classes: a pilot study

The generic aim of good teaching is to engage students and encourage them to adopt a deep approach to their learning (Biggs 1999). Whether a student employs a deep approach is however dependent upon the dynamic relationship between student factors (perceptions, attitudes, preferred approach to learning etc.) and the teaching context (content being taught, teaching and assessment methods etc.); both student and teacher are responsible for the learning outcomes (Biggs 1993a; Biggs 1993b). The learning focussed activities that students undertake form a critical element of this dynamic partnership and it has been argued that the mean measure of student approaches in a class (as measured using the R-SPQ-2F instrument) gives an indication of the quality of teaching in that class (Biggs, Kember & Leung 2001). The aim of this pilot study was to determine whether a particular teaching strategy (a block of traditional lectures followed by a block of problem solving workshops with a summative assessment task distributed at the conclusion of the series of workshops) encouraged a deep approach to student learning and correlated with performance on the summative task. In order to investigate this, students completed the R-SPQ-2F instrument and a number of Likert type questions pertaining to attitude and confidence after the block of lectures had been delivered but before the block of workshop sessions commenced. After the workshops, students completed a second set of Likert type questions relating to their attitude, confidence and engagement with the content encountered in the problem solving workshops. The outcomes from the R-SPQ-2F instrument were scored according to established methods (Biggs, Kember & Leung 2001; Hamm & Robertson, 2010) and matched to Likert responses (pre- and post-workshop) and performance on the summative assessment task (post-workshop). These results will be evaluated to determine whether this teaching strategy did encourage deep learning and whether the learning approaches of students correlated with their academic performance

Research on the strategy of multinational enterprises: Key approaches and new avenues

Over decades, research on multinational enterprises’ (MNEs) strategies has been anchored in internalization theory. Strongly grounded in transaction cost economics to explain foreign market entry, it hardly explains how MNEs can build and sustain a competitive advantage. Thus, this paper aims at understanding how the nature of strategic thinking has influenced the research in the field of MNEs’ strategy. A content analysis of 1116 papers was conducted. The intellectual structure and dynamics of research to date are provided, without losing sight of the key foundations of strategy and strategic management. The links between human capital and knowledge are the factors on which to underpin the explanation of the MNEs’ strategies and support the coevolving theory. This theory is a promising avenue of research under the umbrella of RBV and KBV approaches. The context-dependency of strategy implies that different contexts require different approaches. Accordingly, we provide insights for future research by combining main schools of strategy though