The optimization test environment

The Optimization Test Environment is an interface to efficiently test different optimization solvers. It is designed as a tool for both developers of solver software and practitioners who just look for the best solver for their specific problem class. It enables users to:

Choose and compare diverse solver routines;

Organize and solve large test problem sets;

Select interactively subsets of test problem sets;

Perform a statistical analysis of the results, automatically produced as , PDF, and JPG output.

The Optimization Test Environment is free to use for research purposes.     

Algorithms for optimization and stabilization of controlled Markov chains

This article reviews some recent results by the author on the optimal control of Markov chains. Two common algorithms for the construction of optimal policies are considered: value iteration and policy iteration. In either case, it is found that the following hold when the algorithm is properly initialized:

1. A stochastic Lyapunov function exists for each intermediate policy, and hence each policy isregular (a strong stability condition).
2. Intermediate costs converge to the optimal cost.
3. Any limiting policy is average cost optimal.

The network scheduling problem is considered in some detail as both an illustration of the theory, and because of the strong conclusions which can be reached for this important example as an application of the general theory.     

Emotions and foreign direct investment: A theoretical and empirical exploration

Abstract

Emotions are largely absent in economic models. Possibly for this reason, many theories fail to explain the actual decisions made by managers.

Therefore, we integrate emotions with regular microeconomic theory. We focus on FDI decisions, and include both economic and emotional variables in our analysis of the firm’s decision-making process.

In our theoretical analysis, emotions are included in a utility maximization model that considers not only the utility of the firm but also the utility of the individual decision-maker.

In our empirical analysis, the presence of emotions in FDI decision-making is tested using a sample of Dutch enterprises that considered an investment in Central or Eastern Europe between 1990 and 2000.

     

Isomorphic Pressures, Peripheral Product Attributes and Emerging Market Firm Export Performance

• Drawing upon the neo-institutional theory of mimetic isomorphism and the concept of the extended product, we identify and empirically evaluate two potential product strategies that emerging market firms (EMFs) may use to improve their export performance while also addressing the financial, managerial expertise, and international experience limitations that they frequently face.
• Hierarchical regression is used to test our proposed peripheral product adaptation strategies on a unique dataset of 106 Chinese and Romanian exporters.
• We find that EMFs that change either of two visible peripheral product attributes (the brand name or the packaging) to conform to local market norms, on average, are more satisfied with their export performance than those that pursue other strategies. Our results also suggest that changing the brand name to conform to local market norms has more than twice the impact on EMF performance than does changing the packaging.
• Consistent with the tenets of neo-institutional theory, EMFs managers may be able to improve their firms’ export performance by changing the peripheral attributes of their products to conform to local market norms.

     

Global Transfer and Indian Management

• The goal of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of Indian management and to challenge more generally ahistorical and essentialist notions of indigenous management perspectives.
• Drawing selectively on postcolonial theory, we suggest that a historical hybridity perspective serves as a crucial heuristic device to understand the nature of Indian management and its globalization related transition.
• Discussing the example of the local mismatch and transfer outcome related to a global transfer initiative in a German subsidiary in India, we illustrate the analytical value of a historical hybridity perspective.
• Our paper concludes that the postcolonial notions of ‘hybridity’ or ‘inbetweenness’, are crucial to understand the nature of management in India and in emerging markets more generally as they move us beyond reductionist Eastern vs. Western or indigenous vs. global dichotomies.

     

The first basic problem for a notch at the apex of an infinite wedge

In this paper it is shown that the first basic problem of the plane theory of elasticity for an infinite triangular wedge with a notch at its apex can be reduced to a non-homogeneous Hilbert problem for the Mellin transform of a vector function made up of stress and displacement components. The possibility of solving this problem depends on the matrix factor of the non-homogeneous Hilbert problem. When certain matrix components are polynomials in the parameter of the Mellin transform, it is possible to factorize the matrix in question, and hence to obtain a solution of the problem. In this way the solutions of the basic problem for three different geometries are obtained:

1. an arbitrarily oriented notch on the boundary of a half-plane;
2. a notch on the line of contact of an arbitrary wedge with a half-plane
3. a semi-infinite notch with an arbitrarily oriented branch.

These three cases are illustrated graphically in Figs. 1(a), (b), (c) respectively. The calculation of the stress intensity factors in case (a) when the loading on the notch can be expressed by power series is considered in more detail.     

FDI Structure, Investment Specificity, and Multinationality Value under Host Market Uncertainty

• To address mixed results regarding the value of multinationality, we take into account some important but less explored contingent factors related to country and subsidiary asset specificity.
• From our analyses using a panel dataset of Korean FDI, we find that subsidiaries’ local commitment in terms of FDI depth and local sales are negatively associated with multinationality value, whereas their intra-firm trade links to other affiliates are positively associated with the value.
• We conclude from our findings that in addition to dispersed operations across countries, other country- and subsidiary-specific factors moderate the effect of FDI breadth on multinationality value.
• We believe our study contributes to the literature by its fine-grained analysis of the environmental and organizational conditions wherein MNCs’ multinationality generates value.

     

The Social Influence of Executive Hubris

• Executive hubris—an important psychological bias—affects the strategic decisions of a firm as well as their implementation. Yet executive hubris brought about by social influence in different cultural environments is not well understood.
• Anchored in the upper echelons theory and the cross-cultural management literature, this study investigated the social influence of executive hubris among peer executives in two different cultural contexts: China and the US.
• Using a large set of survey data on Chinese firms and a large archive of US firm data, we found that the social influence of executive hubris is stronger in the Chinese context than in the US. The social influence among Chinese executives tends to be moderated by their similarity in categorical factors indigenous to the Chinese context: executives who are managing state-owned firms or were politically appointed are more strongly influenced by each other than by those managing non-state-owned firms or were not politically appointed.
• We illustrate that cultural contexts give rise to differences in the social influence of executive hubris.

     

Mode Combinations and International Operations

• An enduring characteristic of extant literature on foreign operation modes is its discrete choice approach, where companies are assumed to choose one among a small number of distinctive alternatives.
• In this paper, detailed information about the operations of six Norwegian companies in three key markets (China, UK and USA) is used as the basis for an exploration of the extent to which, and how and why, companies combine clearly different foreign operation modes. We examine their use of foreign operation mode combinations within given value activities as well as within given countries.
• The study reveals that companies tend to combine modes of operation; thereby producing unique foreign operation mode ??packages?? for given activities and/or countries, and that the packages are liable to be modified over time??providing a potentially important optional path for international expansion.
• The data show considerable variation across cases; ranging from extensive use of mode combinations to a singular focus on a specific mode of operation. The study contributes to a refinement of our understanding of the path of internationalisation, and throws up a number of awkward theoretical questions about the process.

     

Some questions on the corrosion of steel in concrete—Part I: when,how and how much steel corrodes

It is widely accepted that concrete-embedded steel is in a passive state. However, there are some exceptional circumstances that induce corosion in an active state within concrete structures, thereby severely reducing their durability. This two-part paper analyses some major questions which, however elementary they may be, are still controversial in scientific, technical and economic terms. The first part provides answers to the following questions on the steel/concrete/environment system:

1. How does steel in concrete normally behave?
2. What are the initiating factors for depassivation?
3. What are the effects of corrosion?
4. What is the morphology of corrosion in the active state? and
5. What is the corrosion rate threshold above which the durability of reinforced concrete structures is impaired? The answers to these questions are provided in light of experimental results, most of which were obtained by the authors themselves.

     

What Do HR Managers Really Do?

• The contribution of the HR function in supporting international business operations has received limited attention to date, with even less attention paid to HR roles.
• This article seeks to address this by studying the role of HR managers on international projects.
• We identify five IHR roles: service provider, policy police, strategic partner, change agent; and welfare officer.
• We also identifyhow these roles are enacted, questioning the prevailing divide between strategic and operational roles; and adding another dimension??emotional.
• We also argue that role enactment is context-specific; and show how context constrains as well as enables IHR role enactment.

     

Growth modes of GaAs on tungsten

An account is given of the various types of crystal growth observed when GaAs is grown by a conventional vapour transport process on to a tungsten substrate. Three main types of growth are described:

1. three-dimensional nucleations which eventually grow together to form polycrystalline layers,
2. thin single-crystal layers,
3. dendrites.

The thin layers appear to grow by steps sweeping across the surface, and evidence is presented to suggest that adjacent steps are twinned with respect to one another. Some of the dendrites have a relatively large mass of material at the growing end: it is suggested that this is due to a vapour-liquid-solid mode of growth. The regular hexagonal shape of some of the dendrites is noted and a growth mechanism is suggested to account for their shape.     

The suitability of new sample preparations for the determination of the cement content of cement stabilised tropical soils

Three new sample preparation methods other than the method suggested in B.S. 1924: 1967 are utilised for the determination of the cement content of cement-stabilised tropical soils with a view to

1. reducing the quantity of acid digested,
2. making unnecessary the use of ball mill crushers, and
3. reducing the preparation time.

Statistical analyses of the results obtained indicate that the above advantages can indeed be realised and recommendations are made accordingly.     

Market Orientation, Embeddedness and the Autonomy and Performance of Multinational Subsidiaries in an Emerging Economy

• This paper develops a conceptual framework for market orientation, embeddedness, autonomy and performance of multinational subsidiaries in an emerging economy.
• We argue that internal and external embeddedness has different performance implications for export- and local market-oriented multinational subsidiaries.
• Our results, based on a sample of 233 multinational subsidiaries from China, indicate that while external embeddedness has a positive impact on specialized resources of both types of subsidiary, such resources only positively affect the performance of local market-oriented subsidiaries. By contrast, internal embeddedness has a negative impact on specialized resources of both types of subsidiary.
• Managerial and policy implications are discussed.

     

Subsidiary Interdependencies and International Human Resource Management Practices in German MNCs

• Using the resource-based view, this paper links the degree of interdependence that exists between subsidiaries of multinational corporations (MNCs) to the use of various International Human Resource Management (IHRM) practices.
• We assume that in many MNCs this interdependence has increased the need for cross-border coordination.
• We analyze to what extent MNCs use IHRM practices in order to enhance their coordination capability across national borders.
• We present a framework that addresses these effects and empirically test it using data from a questionnaire survey among 142 majority-owned overseas subsidiaries of German MNCs.
• The findings show that the degree of interdependence is related to the level of international experience of staff employed in subsidiaries, the use of third-country nationals, the provision of training, the use of cross-cultural management teams, and the choice of employee evaluation and reward methods.
• We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for IHRM practitioners and scholars as well as the limitations of our study.

     

The Quality of Domestic Legal Institutions and Export Performance

• Does the quality of domestic legal institutions matter for export performance? How does differential access to protections and privileges offered by informal institutions moderate the relationship between the quality of formal legal institutions and export performance? To answer these questions, we develop a theoretical framework drawing on insights from trade theory and institutional theory.
• We propose that higher-quality legal systems in an exporter’s location are associated with higher export performance, particularly when trade partners face higher levels of external and internal uncertainty. We further propose that firms that have less access to local informal institutions to reduce transaction costs and opportunism benefit more from better-developed legal institutions.
• Using information for more than 198,000 firms and legal quality information for 120 cities in China, we find strong support for our predictions. We discuss our contributions to the literature on institutions and export.

     

Progressive Focusing and Trustworthiness in Qualitative Research

• The business and management community increasingly recognises that qualitative research is a ??messy??, non-linear and often unpredictable undertaking. Yet, a considerable proportion of the qualitative research published in top journals is still presented as the result of a linear, predictable research process, thus wrongly suggesting deductive reasoning.
• In this paper, we focus on a particular type of ??messiness?? where during fieldwork, the research context is revealed to be more complex than anticipated, forcing the researcher to gradually refine/shift their focus to reflect ??what really matters??. We adopt Stake??s notion of progressive focusing for this gradual approach.
• Progressive focusing is well-suited to qualitative research in international business requiring complex iteration between theory and data, and the truthful yet coherent presentation of the research process. We propose that this dual challenge of complexity and trustworthiness may be addressed by using computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS).
• We present conceptual considerations and guidelines and offer a view on a ??messy??, non-linear doctoral research project conducted using a progressive focusing approach, to demonstrate how CAQDAS can help to develop and re-negotiate insights from theory and interview data, as well as enhance trustworthiness, transparency and publication potential.

     

Flow and deformation of fresh concrete

The results of studies made from the standpoint of rheology on methods of predicting flows and deformations of fresh concrete and mortar as basic research for rationalization of concrete construction are described. This paper contains as follows:

1. method of measuring viscosity of fresh concrete and mortar;
2. method of estimating deformation of fresh concrete due to its own weight;
3. proposal of the “Inclined Pipe Test Method” as a new method of testing consistency of grout mortar.

     

Technological Knowledge Intensity and Entry Mode Diversity

• This paper expands the entry mode literature by referring to multiple modes exerted simultaneously in different value chain activities within and across host markets, rather than to a single entry mode at the host market level. We apply competing theoretical perspectives—internalization theory and knowledge transfer efficiency considerations on the one hand, and organizational learning theory on the other—to argue that firms’ technological knowledge intensity affect their entry mode diversity across value chain activities, across host markets, and at the overall corporate level.
• Analyzing a unique dataset we show that high technological knowledge intensity is strongly associated with high entry mode diversity across value chain activities and at the corporate level, but only weakly associated with greater entry mode diversity across geographic host markets.