bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An Experiment in Approval Voting
Authors: Fishburn Peter C. , Little John D. C. 
Published: November 2008

The first major experimental comparison of approval voting with regular plurality voting occurred in the 1985 annual election of The Institute of Management Sciences (TIMS). In approval voting a person votes for (approves of) as many candidates as desired, the winner being the candidate with the most votes. By permitting more votes than the number of positions to be filled, approval voting collects more information from the voter than does plurality voting. This can make a difference, for example, when three candidates compete for a single office. In such situations two candidates with wide but similar appeal sometimes split a majority constituency so that, under plurality voting, a minority candidate is elected. By contrast, approval voting is likely to identify the candidate who is most broadly acceptable to the electorate as a whole. In the TIMS experiment society members received an experimental approval ballot along with their official plurality ballot. Two contests involved three candidates running for a single office and a third, five candidates for two positions. Surprisingly, in two of the three contests, approval voting would have produced different winners and neither of the changes was of the type usually emphasized in the approval voting literature. The experiment demonstrated the practicality of approval voting and showed that it can elect a set of candidates different from that which plurality voting would. Direct comparison of ballots makes it possible to determine why the experimental switches occurred. It is shown that in each reversal the approval winner had broader support in the electorate than the plurality winner. The experiment also provided empirical data on how voters distribute approvals across candidates and indicated that, in this case, their behavior was roughly, but not exactly, consistent with theoretical analyses of voting efficacy.
Lead User Analyses for the Development of New Industrial Products
Authors: Urban Glen L. , von Hippel Eric 
Published: November 2008

Recently, a “lead user” concept has been proposed for new product development in fields subject to rapid change (von Hippel [von Hippel, E. 1986. Lead users: A source of novel product concepts. Management Sci. 32 791–805.]). In this paper we integrate market research within this lead user methodology and report a test of it in the rapidly evolving field of computer-aided systems for the design of printed circuit boards (PC-CAD). In the test, lead users were successfully identified and proved to have unique and useful data regarding both new product needs and solutions responsive to those needs. New product concepts generated on the basis of lead user data were found to be strongly preferred by a representative sample of PC-CAD users. We discuss strengths and weaknesses of this first empirical test of the lead user methodology, and suggest directions for future research.
An Additive Group Utility for a Fund Manager
Authors: Bordley Robert F. 
Published: November 2008

The additive utility formula developed by Harsanyi specifies how a rational ethical individual acting on behalf of other people ought to behave. Unfortunately the formula is not invariant to arbitrary utility transformations and hence requires interpersonal comparisons of utility. Many economists have also attacked the formula on ethical grounds. This paper transplants the Harsanyi paradigm to a new context: that of fund management. We add three further axioms to the Harsanyi argument and deduce the weighted group utility formula with each individual's weight equal to the inverse of the marginal utility of his investment in the fund. These weights make our formula invariant to arbitrary utility transformations which eliminates the problem of interpersonal comparisons of utility. We also explore a number of other properties of this group utility function.
The Siting of Emergency Service Facilities with Workload Capacities and Backup Service
Authors: Pirkul Hasan , Schilling David A. 
Published: November 2008

By the very nature of the demand that they serve, emergency service systems require that timely service be readily available to those who need it. Yet, the distinct possibility exists that the closest facility will be occupied with another call for service, and when this primary responding unit is busy, a secondary or backup facility must be assigned. The need for backup service is most prevalent in heavily used systems, which are also prone to facility workloads that can be excessive if uncontrolled. The effective design of these systems should address the siting of both the primary responding facility and a designated backup unit, as well as reasonable workload limits on these facilities. In this paper, a model formulation for emergency service systems is presented where facility workload is controlled and backup service for some or all demand points is provided. The model is sufficiently general to allow it to be adapted to several problem settings and decision criteria. An effective solution procedure was developed using a Lagrangean relaxation of the original model formulation. Results of extensive computational experiments testing this solution procedure are discussed. Finally, a large-scale example using real world data was solved and a summary of results is presented to demonstrate the applicability of the model and the solution procedure.
On a Possible Benefit to Bid Takers from Using Multi-Stage Auctions
Authors: Engelbrecht-Wiggans Richard 
Published: November 2008

Each year, multi-stage auctions of one form or another sell or let billions of dollars worth of goods and contracts. Yet despite the significance of such auctions, the existing theory of auctions and competitive bidding fails to explain why a bid taker might prefer a multi-stage auction to a, possibly simpler, single-stage mechanism. In fact, the existing theory tends to overlook multi-stage mechanisms altogether. This paper takes a first step in correcting that omission. We start with several illustrations of what we will define to be multi-stage auctions. All the illustrated auctions allow bidders to acquire information—or, more generally, to increase the amount of resources committed to bidding—in stages. We conjecture that allowing such a sequential commitment of resources could result in a more efficient auction than if bidders had no chance to adjust their commitments. An analytic example illustrates and documents the benefits to the bid taker from using a multi-stage auction. In the example, bidders acquire costly information in stages; a bidder may stop acquiring additional information as soon as further participation in the auction would no longer increase his expected net profit. The resulting auction generates significantly more expected revenue for the bid taker than if the bidders all had to acquire the same amount of information.
M/G/c Queueing Systems with Multiple Customer Classes: Characterization and Control of Achievable Performance Under Nonpreemptive Priority Rules
Authors: Federgruen A. , Groenevelt H. 
Published: November 2008

This paper considers an M/G/c queueing system serving a finite number (J) of distinct customer classes. Performance of the system, as measured by the vector of steady-state expected waiting times of the customer classes (the performance vector), may be controlled by adopting an appropriate priority discipline. We show that the performance space, the set of performance vectors which are achievable under some nonpreemptive work conserving priority rule, is a polyhedron described by 2J − 1 inequalities. The special (polymatroidal) structure of this polyhedron, nevertheless, allows for efficient (O(J2 log J)) procedures to minimize any convex (separable) function of the performance vector. Linear objectives are shown to be minimized by absolute priority rules, thus generalizing a well-known result for M/G/1 systems. We also show that each point in the performance space may be achieved by a unique, generalized dynamic priority rule, specified by J − 1 parameters, which may be determined by the recursive solution of J − 1 single variable quadratic equations. This class of rules contains the absolute priority rules and the (pure) dynamic rules as special cases. Our results are accurate up to one, extremely accurate, approximation and completely exact for M/G/1 and M/M/c systems as well as in heavy traffic.
Replenishment Delays for Expensive Slow-Moving Items
Authors: Schultz Carl R. 
Published: November 2008

Traditional single-item inventory control policies operating under continuous review call for the immediate placement of a replenishment order each time a demand causes the inventory position to drop to or below the order point. In an environment where lead times are small relative to the average time between demands, and holding costs are large relative to other inventory costs, it may be more economical to delay ordering to achieve holding cost savings with little additional risk or cost of shortages. This paper introduces the concept of delayed replenishment orders for expensive items subject to intermittent, unit-sized demands. The inventory system modeled is one with complete backlogging, constant lead times, arbitrary inter-demand distributions, linear carrying costs, and emergency handling of shortages at a premium cost. Results are given for the optimal delay for inter-demand distributions with increasing failure rates. Specific expressions for the optimal delay are given for several commonly used inter-demand distributions.
Capacitated Lot Sizing with Setup Times
Authors: Trigeiro William W. , Thomas L. Joseph , McClain John O. 
Published: November 2008

This research focuses on the effect of setup time on lot sizing. The setting is the Capacitated Lot Sizing Problem (the single-machine lot sizing problem) with nonstationary costs, demands, and setup times. A Lagrangian relaxation of the capacity constraints of CLSP allows it to be decomposed into a set of uncapacitated single product lot sizing problems. The Lagrangian dual costs are updated by subgradient optimization, and the single-item problems are solved by dynamic programming. A heuristic smoothing procedure constructs feasible solutions (production plans) which do not require overtime. The algorithm solves problems with setup time or setup cost. Problems with extremely tightly binding capacity constraints were much more difficult to solve than anticipated. Solutions without overtime could not always be found for them. The most significant results are that (1) the tightness of the capacity constraint is a good indicator of problem difficulty for problems with setup time; and (2) the algorithm solves larger problems better than smaller problems, although they are more time consuming to solve. This indicates that larger problems may be easier despite the greater computational effort they require.
Foundations of Decision Analysis: Along the Way
Authors: Fishburn Peter C. 
Published: November 2008

This paper offers a personal perspective on the development of decision theory and related subjects during the past half century. It first reviews six milestones in the foundations of decision analysis that are associated with Frank P. Ramsey, John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern, Leonard J. Savage, Maurice Allais and Ward Edwards, West Churchman and Russell Ackoff, and Kenneth Arrow. It then gives a personal account of further developments over the past 30 years in linear utility theory, subjective probability and ambiguity, nonlinear preference and utility, stochastic dominance and inequality analysis, multiattribute utility theory, and the theory of social choice. The paper could be viewed as a supplement to my extensive review of utility theory in Management Science some 20 years ago. However, it makes no claim of completeness since its main aim is to recall important debts and describe what it has been like to be a part of the development of decision analysis in the past few decades.
One Warehouse Multiple Retailer Systems with Vehicle Routing Costs
Authors: Anily S. , Federgruen A. 
Published: November 2008

We consider distribution systems with a depot and many geographically dispersed retailers each of which faces external demands occurring at constant, deterministic but retailer specific rates. All stock enters the system through the depot from where it is distributed to the retailers by a fleet of capacitated vehicles combining deliveries into efficient routes. Inventories are kept at the retailers but not at the depot. We wish to determine feasible replenishment strategies (i.e., inventory rules and routing patterns) minimising (infinite horizon) long-run average transportation and inventory costs. We restrict ourselves to a class of strategies in which a collection of regions (sets of retailers) is specified which cover all outlets: if an outlet belongs to several regions, a specific fraction of its sales/operations is assigned to each of these regions. Each time one of the retailers in a given region receives a delivery, this delivery is made by a vehicle who visits all other outlets in the region as well (in an efficient route). We describe a class of low complexity heuristics and show under mild probabilistic assumptions that the generated solutions are asymptotically optimal (within the above class of strategies). We also show that lower and upper bounds on the system-wide costs may be computed and that these bounds are asymptotically tight under the same assumptions. A numerical study exhibits the performance of these heuristics and bounds for problems of moderate size.
Strategy, Complexity, and Economic Rent
Authors: Schoemaker Paul J. H. 
Published: November 2008

This paper discusses important friction forces that future theories of strategy must incorporate. Some of these are technological and environmental; but the most important ones—it is argued—are psychological. The view is developed that strategy, at its core, concerns the development and testing of heuristics for high stake decisions in environments too unstable and complex to be optimized. The paper especially highlights the behavioral dimension, in the belief that strategies should incorporate both the rational and suboptimal aspects of human behavior. The rational approach is in many ways the easier, as there may be only one way to be right. Yet, the great variety in which people and companies can err gives strategy its creative and real-world challenge. The tension between the rational and behavioral components is what the field of strategy should seek to exploit.
Management, Strategy, and Industry Structure As Influences on the Success of New Firms: A Structural Model
Authors: Keeley Robert H. , Roure Juan B. 
Published: November 2008

This study develops and tests a model examining the interrelationships and relative importance of management characteristics, business strategy and industry structure as influences on the performance of new, technology based companies. For a sample of 36 companies the founding managers had a sizeable influence on the quality of the industry/strategy positions, though exogenous forces were even more important; and regardless of source, industry/strategy positions exerted important influence on performance. Management characteristics influenced success through implementation, in addition to their influence on industry/strategy. The study demonstrates the effect of the founding managers on the eventual performance of a new venture. It suggests that formulation of the initial concept and execution of that concept call upon different characteristics, and therefore may be separable. That is, one group might initially devise the plan and another carry it out.
Tax-Adjusted Discount Rates
Authors: Sick Gordon A. 
Published: November 2008

This paper develops models for discount rates that are adjusted for the interest tax shields of an infra-marginal firm in a general tax equilibrium where there is cross-sectional variation in corporate tax rates. Under the assumption that the firm optimally maintains a predetermined debt ratio, a tax-adjusted riskless discount rate model is given for valuing certainty-equivalents and a tax-and-risk-adjusted discount rate model is given for valuing expected cash flows. For the latter case, the asset, equity, debt and tax-shield betas are derived and a weighted average cost of capital interpretation is given. The tax-adjusted CAPM/APT security market lines for expected returns in stock and bond markets both have the same slope but different intercepts. A formula is also provided for the present value of the interest tax shield when the firm optimally maintains a predetermined debt level. The analysis here also differs from the existing literature in the following respects: It allows for cross-sectional variation in corporate tax rates and personal tax rates. It shows that the market values of risky and riskless interest tax shields differ only to the extent that tax laws provide for nonlinear taxation of gains and losses. It also shows that interest tax shields should be discounted at a tax-adjusted discount rate that reflects the fact that they accrue to equity investors, rather than debt investors. Continuous-time simplifications of the formulas in this paper and the previous literature are also given.
Properties of Standardized Time Series Weighted Area Variance Estimators
Authors: Goldsman David , Meketon Marc , Schruben Lee 
Published: November 2008

We wish to estimate the variance of the sample mean from a continuous-time stationary stochastic process. This article expands on the results of a technical note (Goldsman and Schruben 1990) by using the theory of standardized time series to investigate weighted generalizations of Schruben's area variance estimator. We find a simple expression for the bias of the weighted area variance estimator, and we give weights which yield variance estimators with lower asymptotic bias than certain other popular estimators. We use the weighted area variance estimators to derive asymptotically valid confidence interval estimators (CIEs) for the mean of a stationary stochastic process. Although the weighted area CIEs have the same asymptotic expected value and variance of the length as Schruben's area CIE, we show that the new CIEs sometimes yield coverages which are closer to the nominal value.
A Model of New Product Development: An Empirical Test
Authors: Zirger Billie Jo , Maidique Modesto A. 
Published: November 2008

This paper reports on the culmination of a four year study of high technology product innovation. During the course of this research, we examined over 330 new products in the electronics industry in order to better understand the factors that differentiated successful from unsuccessful product development efforts. This paper presents the conclusions from the final phase of the research. In this study we empirically test a model of product development that incorporates our findings from the earlier exploratory survey and case study phases of our research. The model identifies the critical organizational subunits, development activities and communication channels that influence product outcome, as well as, external factors such as characteristics of the product and the competitive environment. Our findings suggest the following key factors affect product outcome: (1) the quality of the R&D organization, (2) the technical performance of the product, (3) the product's value to the customer, (4) the synergy of the new product with the firm's existing competences, and (5) management support during the product development and introduction processes. Also important but less significant were the (6) competence of the marketing and manufacturing organizations and market factors, such as the (7) competitiveness and the (8) size and rate of growth of the target market.
Solving Multi-Item Lot-Sizing Problems Using Strong Cutting Planes
Authors: Pochet Yves , Wolsey Laurence A. 
Published: November 2008

We consider two classes of multi-item lot-sizing problems. The first is a class of single stage problems involving joint machine capacity constraints and/or start up costs, and the second is a class of multistage problems with general product structure. The problems are solved as mixed integer programs based on (i) an appropriate choice of the initial problem formulation and (ii) the addition of cuts which are generated automatically by a mathematical programming system (MPSARX). Our results extend and complement those of Karmarkar and Schrage (1985), Afentakis and Gavish (1986), Eppen and Martin (1987) and Van Roy and Wolsey (1987). A major advantage of this approach is its robustness or flexibility. By using just a matrix generator and a mathematical programming system with automatic cut generation routines we can formulate and solve model variants without incurring the costs of adapting an algorithm.
Business Risk and Return: A Test of Simultaneous Relationships
Authors: Oviatt Benjamin M. , Bauerschmidt Alan D. 
Published: November 2008

Bowman (1980) found an unexpected and paradoxical negative relationship between risk and return in many firms, and, for about a decade, various researchers have attempted to explain the paradox. This article summarizes some of those explanations, and shows that industry conditions and business strategies are likely to influence both risk and return. The relationships are depicted in a simultaneous model where business return, risk, and debt are endogenously determined. The model is tested with 132 nondiversified firms in 8 disparate industries. OLS estimates of the parameters of the model show the risk-return relationship to be significantly negative, as many past researchers have found. However, 3SLS estimates of the parameters of the simultaneous model reveal no significant relationship between risk and return. The tentative conclusion is that many of the studies in the line of research concerned with Bowman's (1980) paradox may have used an improperly specified model, and that when a more realistic simultaneous model is used, return and risk are shown to be influenced by various industry conditions and business strategies, but not by each other.
The Transaction Costs Theory of Joint Ventures: An Empirical Study of Japanese Subsidiaries in the United States
Authors: Hennart Jean-François 
Published: November 2008

This paper offers the first large sample empirical study of the factors which influence the choice of Japanese firms between full or partial ownership of their U.S. manufacturing subsidiaries. It studies for the first time the ownership policies of investors of a single home country in a single host country, thus keeping variations within home and host countries constant. One methodological improvement over previous studies is the use as independent variables of the relevant characteristics of the investing firms. These had been proxied in previous studies by data on U.S. industries entered. The results suggest that the degree of ownership taken by Japanese manufacturing investors in their American subsidiaries is driven by the same general transaction costs variables that determine the choices made by their U.S. counterparts: Japanese parents joint venture when they need to combine with other firms intermediate inputs which are subject to high market transaction costs. An intriguing result, however, is the lack of significance of two variables which, in the U.S. case, strongly push towards full control of foreign subsidiaries. In this study neither the Japanese parent's R&D nor its advertising intensities had any significant impact on their ownership policies.