Intangible Asset Dynamics and Firm Behaviour

We study the adoption of different patterns of intangible asset (IA) accumulation in manufacturing firms. Contrary to most of the previous literature, we find such patterns to be highly differentiated. In particular, we identify three types of firm behaviour: high and persistent, low and persistent, and discontinuous. We link the capability-based view of the firm to theories of asset complementarities and market signalling to explain how firm-specific traits affect such behaviours. We obtain the following results: first, the persistent accumulation of IAs is favoured by the internal availability of highly skilled personnel; second, firms with (a) large IA base and (b) high propensity to exploit complementarities in the asset stocks are more likely to persistently accumulate IAs than to discontinuously or never accumulate IAs and third, the adoption of quality management standards facilitates the accumulation of IAs, especially if this is done discontinuously. This paper adds to the previous literature in two ways: first, it highlights the existence of great heterogeneity in the dynamics of IA accumulation and, second, it provides an explanation for such heterogeneity.     

Stress‐enhanced clonal selection algorithm for structural topology optimization

Recently, numerous modified versions of immune algorithms (IAs) have been adopted in both theoretical and practical applications. However, few have been proposed for solving structural topology optimization problems. In addition, the design connectivity handling and one‐node connected hinge prevention, which are vital in the application of population‐based methods with binary representation for structural topology optimization, have not been applied to IAs in the literature. A stress‐enhanced clonal selection algorithm (SECSA) incorporating an IA with a dominance‐based constraint‐handling technique and a new stress‐enhanced hypermutation operator is proposed to rectify those deficiencies. To demonstrate the high viability of the presented method, comparisons between the presented SECSA and genetic algorithm‐based methods were made on minimum compliance and minimum weight benchmark structural topology design problems in two‐dimensional, three‐dimensional, and multiloading cases. In each case, SECSA was shown to be competitive in terms of convergence speed and solution quality. The main goal of this study is not only to further explore the capabilities of IAs, but also to show that an IA with appropriate enhancements can lead to the development of attractive computational tools for global search in structural topology optimization. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Networks of Clusters: A Governance Perspective

This paper aims to further our emerging knowledge on the external linkages of regional clusters. We adopt a network governance perspective and study connected clusters as goal-directed, multilevel whole networks that we denote as “cluster networks.” Based on an analysis of four empirical cases varying in regional scope, age and industry context, we identify two governance forms: internally governed cluster networks are formed to establish ties among cluster representative organizations to share knowledge and pool resources on selected activities; externally governed cluster networks are formed to systematically develop cross-cluster ties and competences on and across levels and are brokered by a central intercluster administrative organization as well as several decentralized lead organizations. Our findings show that cluster connectivity can go beyond organization-based pipelines and personal relationships to include clusters as governed entities, albeit with different intensities regarding the brokerage of ties on lower levels.     

肇庆市营商环境优化与标准化治理研究

作为政府治理的手段、科技创新的刚需和产业发展的标配,标准化在优化区域营商环境中的作用重大。本文以肇庆为例,从标准化治理逻辑出发,探讨标准化治理与营商环境优化间的内在逻辑,以此梳理肇庆市营商环境优化中标准化治理的显著成效。并以新发展理念为脉络,提出肇庆营商环境优化中标准化治理的发展路径。     

Risk Governance of Emerging Technologies Demonstrated in Terms of its Applicability to Nanomaterials

Nanotechnologies have reached maturity and market penetration that require nano‐specific changes in legislation and harmonization among legislation domains, such as the amendments to REACH for nanomaterials (NMs) which came into force in 2020. Thus, an assessment of the components and regulatory boundaries of NMs risk governance is timely, alongside related methods and tools, as part of the global efforts to optimise nanosafety and integrate it into product design processes, via Safe(r)‐by‐Design (SbD) concepts. This paper provides an overview of the state‐of‐the‐art regarding risk governance of NMs and lays out the theoretical basis for the development and implementation of an effective, trustworthy and transparent risk governance framework for NMs. The proposed framework enables continuous integration of the evolving state of the science, leverages best practice from contiguous disciplines and facilitates responsive re‐thinking of nanosafety governance to meet future needs. To achieve and operationalise such framework, a science‐based Risk Governance Council (RGC) for NMs is being developed. The framework will provide a toolkit for independent NMs' risk governance and integrates needs and views of stakeholders. An extension of this framework to relevant advanced materials and emerging technologies is also envisaged, in view of future foundations of risk research in Europe and globally.     

The Business Governance of Localized Knowledge: An Information Economics Approach for the Economics of Knowledge

Information economics provides important tools to articulate an economics analysis of the governance mechanisms for the generation and exploitation of localized technological knowledge. A variety of hybrid forms of knowledge governance ranging from coordinated transactions and constructed interactions to quasi-hierarchies can be found between the two unrealistic extremes of pure markets and pure organizations. The notion of localized technological knowledge as a highly heterogeneous dynamic process characterized by varying levels of appropriability, tacitness, unpredictability and indivisibility, which take the forms of complementarity and modularity, cumulability, compositeness, fungibility, helps to grasp the logic behind the variety of knowledge governance mechanisms at work. The analysis of transaction, agency and communication costs provides basic guidance to elaborate an integrated framework able to understand the matching between types of knowledge and modes and mechanisms of knowledge governance both in generation and exploitation.     

An improved immune algorithm for optimizing the pulse width modulation control sequence of inverters

In this article, an improved immune algorithm (IIA), based on the fundamental principles of the biological immune system, is proposed for optimizing the pulse width modulation (PWM) control sequence of a single-phase full-bridge inverter. The IIA takes advantage of the receptor editing and adaptive mutation mechanisms of the immune system to develop two operations that enhance the population diversity and convergence of the proposed algorithm. To verify the effectiveness and examine the performance of the IIA, 17 cases are considered, including fixed and disturbed resistances. Simulation results show that the IIA is able to obtain an effective PWM control sequence. Furthermore, when compared with existing immune algorithms (IAs), genetic algorithms (GAs), a non-traditional GA, simplified simulated annealing, and a generalized Hopfield neural network method, the IIA can achieve small total harmonic distortion (THD) and large magnitude. Meanwhile, a non-parametric test indicates that the IIA is significantly better than most comparison algorithms. Supplemental data for this article can be accessed at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0305215X.2016.1250894.     

Grasping institutional complexity in infrastructure mega-projects through the multi-level governance system: A case study of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge construction

This study analyzes the design and operation of multi-level governance system for the smooth delivery of infrastructure mega-projects with high institutional complexity caused by market transition. From an institutional perspective, this study scrutinizes the structure, elements, and dynamics of the governance system of infrastructure mega-projects and then proposes an integrative framework based on the inductive case study of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge mega-project. Multiple evidences of archives, field studies, and interviews related to the case project are triangulated to further analyze the institutional effects, specifically those with government logics and market structures, on the design and operation of the three-level governance system. Results reveal that the co-evolution between governments and markets in China has shaped the vertical levels of the mega-project governance system and has further affected their evolution and operation across various stages of project development. This study contributes to the rapidly emerging research on complex system governance by proposing a systematic model of three-level mega-project governance to enhance the timely delivery of infrastructure mega-projects within budget.     

制造企业供应网络治理策略选择的博弈分析

根据前人对供应网络治理策略的研究,供应网络治理策略可以归纳为以日本企业为代表的封闭式的治理策略和以美国企业为代表的开放式的治理策略2种类型。通过建立委托代理模型对2种供应网络治理策略条件下购买方的期望效用进行了比较分析,研究结果表明供应购买过程中的交易成本,供应商的生产效率及购买方和供应商合作过程中的知识转移效果都决定了特定的供应网络治理策略的效率。最后指出了分析结果对我国制造企业的实践指导意义。     

Corporate governance impact on banking risk

This study aims to determine the relationship between several factors of governance and the level of risk in 10 Tunisian banks during an analysis period of eight years. We propose an important empirical question and examine the internal mechanisms of governance aimed at reducing financial risks. This estimation is based on a model with a single equation that examines variables relative to governance and credit risk to determine their impact on banking financials. Results demonstrate that the internal mechanisms of governance present diverging effects on the financial risk of the Tunisian banks in our case study (i.e., credit risk). Moreover, making applications work by putting together a process and model for banking risk is important. This model can be applied in any bank, and the results can be used to make decisions in real time.     

Effective visualisation of design versions: visual storytelling for design reuse

Improving and supporting the process of design knowledge reuse can increase productivity, improve the quality of designs and lead to corporate competitive advantage. Whereas internal knowledge reuse (reusing knowledge from one’s personal memory or experiences) is very effective, external knowledge reuse (reusing knowledge from an external digital or paper archive) often fails. This paper studies the value of the storytelling paradigm in supporting reuse from an external repository. Based on a formalisation of the internal reuse process from ethnographic studies, a prototype system, Corporate Memory (CoMem) is presented, which supports the reuse process, specifically the steps of finding and understanding reusable items. This paper focuses on the ability of designers to understand designs that are found in corporate repositories. It is argued that in order to understand and reuse a found design, the designer needs to see the evolution of that design during the original design process. An Evolution History Explorer module of the CoMem system is presented that uses a storytelling metaphor and lays out versions visually side-by-side. A formal user evaluation of CoMem supports the hypotheses that (1) exploring the evolution of a design improves the reuse process, and (2) that visual storytelling is an effective paradigm for supporting that exploration.     

物流公共信息平台治理机制对治理绩效的影响

构建了物流公共信息平台治理机制、治理能力和治理绩效的关系模型,并利用结构方程对模型进行了检验。结果表明:正式契约通过影响协调能力和创造知识能力来影响平台的治理能力,而对整合能力无直接影响;非正式关系与治理能力的三个维度有正相关关系;治理能力的三个维度与治理绩效有正相关关系。     

从质量管理到质量治理:基于中国的实证

本文结合"质量社会共治"与"治理"的概念,提出了质量治理一词,并在公司治理结构的理论基础上,通过分析企业、市场主体、社会中介组织、新闻媒体与政府这五大参与主体,探索性地建立质量治理结构的理论模型,最后针对质量治理所需解决的问题提出了相应的对策建议.     

公司治理视角下基于VPRS的公司经营困境预警

从公司治理的角度,构建了一套比较全面的综合预警指标体系。以2006-2009年首次被ST的160家上市公司及其配对公司作为研究样本,基于变精度粗糙集理论(VPRS),分别构建仅包含财务指标和包含所有指标的上市公司经营困境预警模型。通过理论分析和实证研究发现:健康公司和困境公司在早期的公司治理方面就存在着显著差异,晚期差异逐渐减小;加入公司治理变量后的变精度粗糙集模型的预测精度得到了提高;仅包含财务数据的模型在经营困境的晚期预测精度较高,早期预测效果不佳;对早期预测来说,包含财务指标和公司治理指标等多方面因素的模型更加适合。     

Coordination within the Firm and Endogenous Growth

The purpose of the paper is to show how firm organization maychange due to endogenous technical change. The firm is depictedas an organization where a collective knowledge on manufacturing(mastering and improving existing technology) is built throughlearning by doing, requiring coordination between workers withinthe workshop. Two styles of coordination, each of them correspondingto a special design of the division of labor, are modeled: acentralized one, in which knowledge is confined to specializedworkers (engineering office) and a decentralized one, in whichevery worker participates in learning. We show that the relativeefficiency (static and dynamic) of these two styles of coordinationmay change when the differentiation of products, stemming fromendogenous forces, grows: whereas the centralized style is moreefficient when the technological level is low, the decentralizedone becomes more efficient when the technological level is higher.     

Digital technology-driven smart society governance mechanism and practice exploration

A smart society is an advanced form of society following agricultural society, industrial society, and information society, with digital data processing system as its main carrier. However, the governance of a smart society still faces many challenges. In view of this problem, first, this research constructs a smart society governance modernization strategy. Second, the innovation mode of a society governance mechanism driven by digital technology is proposed, including the precise intellectual control of a digital twin, the intelligent ubiquitous sensing of the Internet of Things, the empowerment remodeling of a blockchain and the livelihood service of artificial intelligence. Third, this study systematically explores the practice of smart society governance modernization from the aspects of basic information platform construction, evaluation system construction, application demonstration of epidemic prevention and control driven by big data, support of spatial intelligence and artificial intelligence technology for people’s livelihood, smart campus, public resources, and data governance application demonstration to provide theoretical guidance for promoting digital technology innovation in the process of the governance of a smart society.     

On Corporate Governance Guidelines ＆Developing Markets

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Capital Structure of Foreign Direct Investments: A Transaction Cost Analysis

Transaction cost theory (TCT) plays a major role in theorizing about the boundaries of the multinational enterprise (MNE), and is increasingly being applied to intra-MNE governance. We apply TCT to capital structure decisions for MNE subsidiaries. According to TCT, equity and debt are not just financial instruments, but alternative governance structures. Equity is useful for projects involving specific assets that do not serve well as collateral, and for knowledge intensive activities where information asymmetry and public good issues make external financing more costly. We study under what conditions MNE headquarters may wish to partially re-introduce market mechanisms inside the MNE through the use of external or internal debt to finance subsidiaries. This can allow economizing on governance costs and strengthen subsidiary manager incentives, but may be inappropriate if subsidiary assets are MNE-specific or subsidiary-specific. Empirically testable propositions are developed.     

Optimal risk allocation in alliance infrastructure projects: A social preference perspective

The mechanism of risk allocation is designed to protect all stakeholders, and it is vital to project success. Qualitative and quantitative ways of optimizing risk allocation have been well documented in extant literature (e.g., allocation principles, models, and solutions), and the foci of existing research are usually the maximization of rational utility. Few research has focused on partners’ social preferences affecting the output of risk allocation. This study presents a quantitative approach based on modeling alliance member (AM)’s inequity aversion (IA) to analyze risk-sharing arrangements in an alliance project. Fehr and Schmidt’s inequity-aversion model is integrated into modeling partner’s utility. This paper derives results for an alliance leader (AL)’s optimal risk-sharing ratio and AM’s optimal risk-management effort simultaneously. The derivation is based on solving a restrained optimization problem using the conception and methods from Stackelberg game theory. Results show that an AM’s IA significantly affects risk allocation between AL and AM. Specifically, envious preference is positively related to AL’s optimal risk-sharing ratio, whereas guilty preference negatively affects AL’s optimal risk-sharing ratio. These findings will be of interest to academics and practitioners involved in designing alliance negotiations.