Guided Competition in Singapore's Telecommunications Industry

This paper focuses on the role of competition, defined broadlyto encompass both firm-level and internation competition, inthe development of telecommunications infrastructure. The contextof the paper is Singapore's telecommunications industry. Thispaper attributes some of the development of Singapore's telecommunicationsservices and infrastructure to actual and potential competitionat the market and internation levels. It argues that it is possibleto introduce some competitive pressures into a market with fewcompetitors, to ensure close-to-competitive-market outcomes.It also demonstrates the impact of internation competition onwithin-country telecommunications policies and infrastructure.Finally, the paper discusses how another dimension of internationcompetition—the transmission of cultural and social valuesand practices—impacts telecommunications policies.     

Accounting and Pricing for the Telecommunications Industry: An Operational Approach

This paper tackles the problem of the creation and use of informationby a firm managing telecommunications networks with particularreference to costs and their connection to price and investmentstrategies. This problem is generally addressed by means ofproduction and cost analysis models that are basically identicalto those used in manufacturing industry and which, therefore,are structurally incapable of identifying many of the characteristicsspecific to the production of network services. I describe arepresentational model of network service production activitieswhich, by incorporating crucial features of the telecommunicationssector from the start, is a good tool to organize and keep anaccounting record of these activities. Moreover, the paper showsthe implications of the model concerning the pricing of finaland intermediate services and stresses the theoretical limitsof the main price determination models in the literature. Theimplications of the analysis performed pave the way for a newapproach to the study of telecommunications scenarios.     

Asset Specificity and Organizational Arrangements: the Case of the New Telecommunications Services Market

This paper uses new institutional economics to support strategicanalysis in industries, where the production of goods and servicesrequires the pooling of the assets of several firms. The typeof assets owned by these firms has an impact on their bargainingpower; this consequently influences the firms‘ abilityto be involved in specific organizational arrangements. Withthe objective of conceiving optimal strategies for firms involvedin these agreements, our study seeks to bring to light the relationshipsbetween the nature of organizational arrangements, the roleof the firms in these arrangements and their competitive positionin the industry in which the cooperation is formed. This analysisuncovers three principal forms of organizational arrangements:core firm with a network of subcontractors, homogeneous allianceand complementary alliance. With the support of various statisticalmethods, this framework is applied to the telecommunicationsindustry.     

The Role of Acquisitions in Reshaping Business Capabilities in the International Telecommunications Industry

This paper focuses on the relationships between observed processesof post-acquisition activities within four cross-border horizontalacquisitions that occurred in the telecommunications equipmentmanufacturing sector between 1988 and 1992. We discuss the desirabilityof such acquisitions from a corporate and social welfare standpoint.We report a detailed survey of the context, post-acquisitionactivities and outcomes of the four acquisitions. The acquisitioncontext includes industry characteristics, target characteristics,target strengths and acquisition motives. Post-acquisition activitiesinclude several dimensions of business restructuring, resourceredeployment and creation of integration mechanisms. Acquisitionoutcomes include impact on business capabilities, financialperformance and judgments of overall success. We conclude thatthe results provide stronger support for strategic reconfigurationand productive efficiency explanations for horizontal acquisitionsthan they do for market power, target mismanagement or resourceappropriation explanations.     

Turbulence and Competitive Dynamics in the Internet Services Industry

This paper has two objectives. First, we seek to comprehend the overarching patterns of structural change underlying the hyper-dynamic processes shaping and reconfiguring the Internet services industry during both the Internet hype period in the late 1990s and the ""post-hype' period after the turn of the millennium. This is done through an empirical account of the evolution in commercial customers' Internet use, the corresponding development of new Internet services, and through an analysis of the evolving competitive and cooperative dynamics in Internet services. This analysis encompasses an exposition of both the entry-based dynamics and the post-entry positioning dynamics of different strategic groups operating in Internet services--in particular ""old economy' companies and their adaptation to Internet services. Secondly we try to answer the question whether Internet services is to be considered a complex value system of interrelated services provided by different types of firms in different industries, rather than a unitary industry of competing firms.     

Competitive Impact of Strategic Restructuring: Evidence from the Telecommunications Industry

Stock market evidence can provide insights into how firms inrapidly changing markets design and implement strategies. Thefailed merger attempt of Bell Atlantic and TCI serves as a casestudy for examining the effects of strategic choices on firmsin the telecommunications industry. The paper documents thevarying strategies of the seven regional Bell operating companies(RBOCs) and analyzes the stock price reactions of industry participantsto the proposed merger and its termination in the context ofthese differing strategic orientations. Results reveal thatthe announcement of the merger generated significant spillovereffects for other cable and local telephone companies as wellas for other industry participants. We use the reactions totest hypotheses regarding the rationale for the merger proposaland the reasons for its demise. Stock price reactions to theproposal were significantly more positive for the three RBOCsthat had committed to strategic approaches similar to Bell Atlantic'sthan for the other three RBOCs. However, reactions to the terminationindicate that investors viewed the hierarchical organizationalstrategy of Bell Atlantic as less desirable than those beingpursued by other Bell companies.     

Firm Partial Modularity and Performance in the Electronic Manufacturing Services Industry

Firms continue to develop new ways to decentralize non-core activities to outside parties. Scholars have approached this issue with modularity theory, suggesting a continuum of arrangements ranging from hierarchy to market. Hierarchy relies on fiat, while partially modular forms, those forms between hierarchy and market, require greater coordination, communication and relationships between firms than do fully modular (or market) forms. While modularity theory identifies this continuum, the associated empirical literature tends to dichotomize modularity: firms are either modular or they are not. Nor does the empirical literature examine the performance outcomes of modular arrangements within this continuum. By examining firms that vary between full integration and partial modularity with a continuous modularity measure, this paper empirically examines the performance outcomes associated with a range of modularity levels. We derive this measure from a peculiar inventory option available within the electronic manufacturing services (EMS) industry. Our data include observations on 260 firms over five years. We find that more firms rely on partially modular arrangements, the lower their performance. We suggest explanations for this result, and areas of future research meant to pursue it.     

The Impact of Human Capital Quality on the Boundaries of the Firm in the US Telecommunications Industry

Based on firm-level data for local operating companies in theUS telecommunications industry, this paper explores how humancapital of higher quality enhances the firms' abilities to enjoyincreasing returns and enables them to increase the scale ofvarious activities. Specifically, the ability of telecommunicationsfirms to increase the deployment of switches, enhance the infrastructureof lines and increase beadcount is assessed. The payment ofefficiency wages is meant to enable firms to attract human capitalof higher quality. Based on the literature, the payment of efficiencywages is captured as the average wage payment per employee.After controlling for scale effects, human capital quality andother variables significantly impact the companies' abilitiesto exploit increasing returns and enhance the scale of theiroperations, as measured in a disaggregated manner for a varietyof activities.     

创意产业中设计的本质内涵思辨

目的探索发展中的设计内涵,正确认识设计在创意产业中的地位、作用及意义。方法根据发展中的设计内涵的演变,划分为设计的古典、现代、当代3个层面,通过对创意产业中变化发展的设计内涵、本质、规律,进行剖析、归纳、总结,形成以人为本设计思维需求和新的创新机会,更好地促进设计与产业的融合。结论走上设计传承文化、设计创新科技、设计服务民生、设计改善环境、设计面向未来的良性发展道路。     

电子制造服务产业需求协同模型的构建与应用

运用象限分析法,以价值链为切入点,对电子制造服务产业需求管理中的主要指标,销售额比率、生产频率、生产时间进行分析.通过纵向分析历史数据,计算出客户平均的周需求量与销售比率,同时确定产品在需求协同模型中的位置,计算出生产频率和被均衡化的需求量.归纳了四大需求类型并建立适用于中国电子制造服务产业的需求协同模型.     

工作研究在餐饮业前场服务中的应用

运用工作研究的程序分析、操作分析、动作分析方法,对某饮食文化有限公司美食城的前场工作流程、员工合作作业及动作进行分析,提出了顾客就餐的合理流程、传菜程序的改善方案、传菜员与服务员的联合作业方法以及划菜单动作的改进方案,并对改进前后的方案进行了对比分析,以证明改善效果.     

生产性服务业标准化国际比对与发展思考

本文对我国与国际生产性服务业标准化的现状及特点进行了较为全面的比较,在此基础上,提出了我国生产性服务业标准化的未来工作建议.     

优化服务 促进浦东印刷行业迅速发展

上海浦东印协,在过去的一年里"加强管理、拓展功能、提升水平、夯实基础"上下真工夫,坚持履行协会职能,积极推进绿色印刷,实施"走出去战略",扩大合作交流,深入调查研究,强化引导服务.促进浦东印刷行业迅速发展。2011年"上海浦     

翻译管理——应对语言服务行业的策略与技术

对翻译管理的定义、研究对象和目标进行了界定,指出了翻译管理产生的背景和原因。翻译管理的发展需要工业工程学科技术的支撑。翻译管理技术的应用、翻译服务标准的出台、本地化的兴起以及理论框架的确立等极大地促动了翻译管理的发展。翻译管理旨在对系列方法、工具、资源进行整合,通过流程设计和技术应用来满足行业服务要求。广义翻译管理是各种方法和工具的独立使用与有机融合。狭义翻译管理是针对具体的翻译项目去实现所设定的多个翻译管理目标。而研发以作为表意文字的中文为核心的翻译管理技术需引起人们的关注。     

用标准引领家庭服务业的健康快速发展

文章分析了我国家庭服务业的现状及存在的问题,从标准化工作角度提出发展我国家庭服务业的3点建议。     

Buyer behaviours and the performance of the supply chain: An international exploration

This paper studies the effects of buyer?supplier interaction in a supply chain environment. It focuses on the effects of buyer behaviours (such as supplier selection, number of suppliers, percentage of outsourcing, and frequency of production changes) on the performance of the supply chain. Using data collected from machine tool manufacturers around the world, the various behaviours of buyers are examined to see how they induce or mitigate the degree of uncertainty experienced by suppliers and thus affect suppliers' delivery performance. In addition, it was investigated how such buyer behaviours could further affect the supply chain's ability to perform as expected. The statistical results suggest that many buyer behaviours that have no direct effect on buyer's performance can have a significant effect on their suppliers' performance. Specifically, buyer behaviours directly manifest in supplier performance and only indirectly manifest in their own performance. This can give the buyer the false impression that the supply base is harming performance, when the real problem is the way the buyer manages the supply chain. The results vary by region of the world, suggesting that any theory that links buyer behaviours to supplier performance will need to consider a firm location.     

Emerging Patterns in Global Telecommunications Alliances and Mergers

This paper examines global telecommunications mergers and alliances.Telecommunications companies are combining with other companieswith increasing frequency. OECD customers, companies and governmentsare the key players driving and shaping this trend. Customersdrive companies to provide local infrastructure and multinationalservices. Company strategies to penetrate foreign markets, exploitproduction economies, increase control and decrease competitivepressure increase merger and alliance activity. These mergersand alliances may actually increase rivalry rather than decreaseit, so decreased government intervention may be in order.