Monitoring policy and organizational forms in franchised chains

ABSTRACT: Franchising is nowadays a prominent way to organize the distribution sector. While previous literature suggests that monitoring issues are a critical determinant of organizational choices, it is rather silent on the optimal monitoring strategy once the organization of the chain is set. In this article we analyze the monitoring policy of chains with both franchised and companyowned units. We develop a model in which a chain monitors its outlets under asymmetric information on local demands and managers' efforts. We show that partial monitoring (i.e. when the franchisor monitors only a subset of its outlets) represents an optimal monitoring policy. Second, we identify the units that should be monitored. Finally, we discuss the impact of information technologies and outlet location on monitoring policy and how it may affect the proportion of franchised and company-owned units within the mixed chains

MAIUS-1 - Vehicle, Subsystems Design and Mission Operations

In November 2015, the DLR Mobile Rocket Base will launch the MAIUS-1 rocket vehicle at Esrange, Northern Sweden. The MAIUS-A experiment is a pathfinder atom optics experiment. The scientific objective of the mission is the first creation of a Bose-Einstein Condensate in space and performing atom interferometry on a sounding rocket. MAIUS-1 comprises a two-stage unguided solid propellant VSB-30 rocket motor system. The vehicle consists of a Brazilian S31 motor as 1st stage, a S30 motor as 2nd stage, a conical motor adapter, a despin module, a payload adapter, the MAIUS-A experiment consisting of five experiment modules, an attitude control system module, a newly developed conical service system, and a two-staged recovery system including a nosecone. In contrast to usual payloads on VSB-30 rockets, the payload has a diameter of 500 mm due to constraints of the scientific experiment. Because of this change in design, a blunted nosecone is necessary to guarantee the required static stability during the ascent phase of the flight. This paper will give an overview on the subsystems which have been built at DLR MORABA, especially the newly developed service system. Further, it will contain a description of the MAIUS-1 vehicle, the mission and the unique requirements on operations and attitude control, which is additionally required to achieve a required attitude with respect to the nadir vector. Additionally to a usual microgravity environment, the MAIUS-1 payload requires attitude control to achieve a required attitude with respect to the nadir vector

VLM-1 - Vehicle Design and Analysis (XTRAS-TN-VLM-20150302)

This report is a summary of the activities performed by the X-TRAS (Expertise Raumtransportsysteme) group within the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in 2014, based on the data and design created by the VLM-1 development team of DLR and the Brazilian Aerospace Technology and Science Department (DCTA/IAE). The analyses were conducted with the present configuration of the VLM-1 Carrier, which is close to the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) of the Vehicle. VLM-1 is a three-staged solid propellant rocket, capable of scientific suborbital and microsatellite launches. The first two stages feature identical S50 solid rocket motors with thrust vector control and a fixed-nozzle, spin stabilized S44 solid rocket motor in third stage on top. Its maiden flight will take place at Alcantara launch site (Centro de Lançamento de Alcântara) in Brazil. VLM-1 unites flightproven, robust sounding rocket heritage technology and hardware, newly developed motors and structures, and advanced control systems in order to provide efficient launch services. Investigations in this report include, but are not limited to: aerodynamics, trajectory and performance, load analysis, control systems and flight stability, guidance and navigation, mechanical design, separation processes, trust vector control, solid rocket motors, electrical and RF systems, ground infrastructure, fairing separation, launcher testing and qualification, costs, mission cases, and future upgrades; The VLM-1 launcher’s capabilities and system design are described and analyzed in this case study