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Since 2000, Indian special economic zones were established with the intention to attract foreign direct investment. We present a first empirical assessment with new data from 1980 to 2010 and evaluate the outcome after 10 years. In general, our empirical results confirm that special economic zones attract FDI statistical significantly. Another finding of the study is that open economies with stable inflation attract more FDI than small and closed economies.
India’s growth: perspectives for Indo-European business “Skilled labour in India: bridging the gap”
(2011)
The following paper is based on a survey conducted for ESB Business School and will show how German companies perceive India’s labour market. Besides existing geographical and sectoral gaps we will reveal gaps in the required qualification profile. Thinking merely of hard qualification factors like education levels, skills etc., though, would be short-sighted. Often cited intercultural qualifications also play an important role.
What can be done? What should be done to bridge these gaps? These will be the leading questions of this chapter. We will discuss some solutions – not forgetting that the problems German companies face are complex and knowing there is no ideal way. However, we will see that some of the most urgent problems can be solved or reduced by Indo-European or Indo-German co operation models in the field of vocational training and institutions of higher education.
The Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) track the performance of companies that lead in corporate sustainability in their respective sectors or in the geographies they operate. The Sustainable Asset Management (SAM) Indexes GmbH publishes and markets the indexes, the so-called Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes in collaboration with SAM. All indexes of the DJSI family are assessed according to SAM’s Corporate Sustainability AssessmentTM methodology.
Unraveling the double-edged sword : effects of cultural diversity on creativity and innovativeness
(2014)
Cultural diversity is considered a “double-edged sword” (Kravitz, 2005) as research on its effects on teams’ performance regularly delivers inconsistent and contradictory results. This paper makes an attempt to unravel the double-edged sword by discerning different forms of cultural diversity: separation and variety (Harrison & Klein, 2007). Based on a review of the literature, a conceptual model is developed hypothesizing that cultural variety yields positive, while cultural separation yields negative effects on team creativity and innovativeness. In addition the effects of national diversity are contrasted to proof whether national diversity can serve as a proxy for cultural diversity as is often practiced. The model is tested on a sample of 113 student teams of Entrepreneurship modules at 4 European universities. Cultural diversity is measured directly on the basis of individual team members’ cultural value orientations by means of the CPQ4 (Maznevski, DiStefano, Gomez, Noorderhaven & Wu, 2002). Data is analyzed using the PLS structural equation modeling technique. The results confirm the hypothesized impacts of cultural variety and separation on creativity but do not deliver evidence for impacts on innovativeness. Same is true for national diversity. Interestingly, national diversity does not show any relation to neither form of cultural diversity.
In this paper, research projects with 30 meter balanced cabling and data rates up to 25 Gbps over one single pair are described. The project aim is to achieve 100 Gbps via a four pair balanced cabling channel. In the following, spectral characteristics of the used prototype twisted pair are presented. Therefore, the insertion loss of the single cable in comparison to the insertion loss of the cable in combination with an equalizing amplifier, as well as the group delay of the cable and the cable connected to the equalizing amplifier is shown. Furthermore, a carrierless Pulse Amplitude Modulation with 32 different levels (PAM-32) as an approach for a possible line encoding is presented. Finally, research measurements of the data transmission with a data rate up to 25 Gbps via shielded twisted pair is shown.
This paper is a brief review on the book ‘Capital in the Twenty-First Century’ by the French scholar Thomas Piketty. The book has started a new debate about inequality and capital taxation in Europe. It provides interesting empirical facts and develops a theory of the functioning of capitalist economies. However, I personally think the book is less convincing than recognized in the public debate. The demonstrated theory of economic growth in the book is elusive and lacks a psychological and behavioral underpinning. In fact, I do think that the increasing inequality and economic divergence are caused by capitalism but the psychological and behavioral aspects of humans are of similar or greater significance. Therefore, Piketty’s argument does not stimulate an open and scientifically founded debate in all aspects.
This article focuses on potential economic implications of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union (EU) and the Indian Federation. The economic implications are evaluated by estimating an Extended gravity model for all existing FTAs with the Indian Federation. Moreover, we control for the trade contribution of EU member countries in our econometric model during the period from 1990 until 2008. The results show a significant increase in trade, if there is a free trade agreement between India and another country. Interestingly, we find that India has the largest positive impact from FTAs with more advanced economies. Thus, we reaffirm the potential benefits of trade relationships between the EU and India.
Strategy to adjust people’s performance capabilities to new requirements and grantee employability in the world of work. Good examples for this are the current changes in the logistics environment. Regularly, new services and processes close to production were taken into the portfolio of logistics enterprises, so the daily Tasks are changing continuously for the skilled works.
LOPEC aims in developing and offering special-tailored training for Lean Logistics and required basic skills for skilled workers on shopfloor level. Needed know-how for today’s challenges in logistics will be transferred. Another aspect of LOPEC is the development and use of a personal excellence self-assessment that allows a Person to assess and thus improve his/her own level of maturity in employability skills. Thus, LOPEC is aiming at People ehancement as entry ticket to lifelong continuous learning by increasing the maturity level of personal logistic excellence. A common European view for “Logistics personal excellence” for skilled workers will ensure that the final product is an open product, using international, pan European validated standards. As results LOPEC will provide training modules for post-secondary education in the area of Lean Logistics, required basics skills and offers transparency of personal excellence with a personal self-assessment Software solution, regarding the personal maturity Level of hard and soft skills at any time. It can be used as an innovative tool for monitoring personal lifelong learning routes as well as within companies as a strategic tool within Human Resource Development.
The article discusses how drama can support language learning at the university level and how drama can also support learners in acquiring professional competences. In the first part, the article will briefly outline forms of drama in language teaching. It will discuss its benefits, such as putting language in context, making learning holistic and memorable, improving learners’ social and personal competences. The second part describes aspects of drama beneficial for language learning in a professional context and gives a concrete teaching example: theatre projects with a focus on business English.
This paper examines the relationship of asset Price determination via Google data. To capture this relation, I create a model and estimate several time series’ regressions. I use weekly data from 2004 to 2010 from 30 international banks. To my knowledge this is the first study which differentiates between Google’s search volume and Google’s search clicks. I show that asset prices are positively related to the rate of change in Google’s search volume, trading volume and the level of Google search clicks. Secondly, I demonstrate that the absolute level of Google’s search volume and Google’s search clicks
behave differently regarding the asset price dynamics. Google’s search volume, which measures long-run searches, is negatively related while Google’s search clicks have a positive relationship to asset prices. Hence, Google’s data offer new insights on both measuring attention and pricing financial assets.
This paper develops a new governance scheme for a stable and lasting European Monetary Union (EMU). I demonstrate that existing economic governance is based on flawed incentives especially due to insufficient macroeconomic coordination, failures of institutional enforcement and animal spirit in financial markets. All this caused the European sovereign debt crisis in 2010. Consequently, the EMU crisis is not a conundrum at all rather a failure of national and supranational governance. To tackle this problem, I propose a return to flexible but compulsory rules driven by market forces. The new governance principles shall promote the compliance and effective enforcement of rules.
Applied mathematical theory for monetary-fiscal interaction in a supranational monetary union
(2014)
I utilize a differentiable dynamical system á la Lotka-Voletrra and explain monetary and fiscal interaction in a supranational monetary union. The paper demonstrates an applied mathematical approach that provides useful insights about the interaction mechanisms in theoretical economics in general and a monetary union in particular. I find that a common central bank is necessary but not sufficient to tackle the new interaction problems in a supranational monetary union, such as the free-riding behaviour of fiscal policies. Moreover, I show that upranational institutions, rules or laws are essential to mitigate violations of decentralized fiscal policies.
This article briefly describes reasons for dramatising poetry in the language classroom and then gives practical descriptions of how poetry can be taken ‘from page to stage’. It focusses on the aspects content, form and context of poems and how they can be dramatised. A special focus is on working with Shakespearean sonnets but the ideas can be transferred to other types of poetry as well.
This booklet will give you an overview of the development of CSR from a (brief) historic point of view and will examine the underlying concepts and research. Furthermore, examples of contemporary CSR management will be explored to show how companies Interpret the issue and how they face the challenges of managing the new demands placed upon them. Business, in the end, comes down to figures and numbers which give management, shareholders and stakeholders a chance to measure a company’s success. Therefore, modern methods and approaches for measuring, rating and ranking a company’s CSR management will be presented. Finally, an attempt will be made to evaluate CSR as a tool for increasing global welfare and as a business and management strategy for companies and entrepreneurs.
This paper provides a quantitative approach to measuring the effectiveness of ambush marketing by using Google data. To our knowledge, it is one of the first studies that develop an empirical approach that directly measures the attention effect of ambush marketing in sports. The new data consists of 14 ambushers (treatment group) and 26 official sponsors (control group) and covers the time period of 2004 to 2012. These firms conducted marketing activities during the past football World Cups and European Championships. The innovation in our paper is the measurement method of attention by means of Google. The results are as follows: First ambush marketing increases product attention significantly. Second the product awareness of ambushers is greater or the same to that of official sponsors. Finally, we demonstrate that ambush marketing has positive impacts on the company's performance. Overall, we conclude that Google provide new insights for the analysis of ambush marketing.
Quest 3C : an integrative simulation game used to encourage cross-disciplinary thinking and action
(2014)
Interdisciplinary, complex problem-solving and the necessity to communicate effectively in global Teams characterise today’s rapidly changing Business environment. Employers consistently stress the need for business engineering graduates to demonstrate technical expertise, methodological competences and diverse soft skills. The "silo effect" in higher education has partially created a gap between what industry wants and what academia provides. Here we examine how interdisciplinary team teaching and shared ICT might be more effective in bringing higher education teaching in sync with industry and its demands.
Whither the german council of economic experts? The past and future of public economic advice
(2014)
The article discusses the development and impact of the German Council of Economic Experts (GCEE). Firstly, the author studies the historical origins and the institutional setup of the GCEE. In the second step, an analyse of the impact of the annual reports of the German Council is given, along with the international comparison with other advisory boards. Finally, the paper discusses the current economic challenges and the need of modernization of the GCEE in special and political advisory boards in general.
Prior studies ascribed people’s poor performance in dealing with basic systems concepts to different causes. While results indicate that, among other things, domain specific experience and familiarity with the problem context play a role in this stock-flow-(SF-)performance, this has not yet been fully clarified. In this article, we present an experiment that examines the role of educational background in SF-performance. We hypothesize that SF-performance increases when the problem context is embedded in the problem solver’s knowledge domain, indicated by educational background. Using the square wave pattern and the sawtooth pattern tasks from the initial study by Booth Sweeney and Sterman (2000), we design two additional cover stories for the former, the Vehicle story from the engineering domain and the Application story from the business domain, next to the original Bathtub story. We then test the three sets of questions on business students. Results mainly support our hypothesis. Interestingly, participants even do better on a more complex behavioral pattern from their knowledge domain than on a simpler pattern from more distant domains. Although these findings have to be confirmed by further studies, they contribute both to the methodology of future surveys and the context familiarity discussion.
At Reutlingen University in Germany students from different countries and disciplines can learn business English within the framework of a theatre production. In the "Business English Theatre" they work in an international project team staging a play with a business focus and thus improve both their language, social and professional skills.
As "the most international company on earth", DHL Express promised to deliver packages between almost any pair of countries within a defined time-frame. To fulfill this promise, the company had introduced a set of global business and technology standards. While standardization had many advantages (improving service for multinational customers, faster response to changes in import/export regulations, sharing of best practices etc.), it created impediments to local innovation and responsiveness in DHL Express' network of 220 countries/territories. Reconciling standardization-innovation tradeoffs is a critical management issue for global companies in the digital economy.
This case describes one large, successful company's approach to the tradeoff of standardization versus innovation.
Started as a mono-line focused purely on savings, in late 2012 ING Direct Spain was becoming a full-service bank. To this end, the bank had substantially increased its product- and channel-portfolio. ING Direct Spain originally provided "simple", "good value for money" products in an "easy to deal with" way at low cost supported by a direct model. But with the growth in its product portfolio during the previous decade and the ambitious goal of becoming a full-service bank, an increase in complexity seemed inevitable. Like many businesses in the global, digital economy, ING Direct Spain found it needed to decide which complexity created value for its customers and which one not. It also learned that IT can contribute to complexity and/or help manage complexity.
This case offers a close look at challenges of growing a company by increasing product complexity to provide comprehensive yet simple services.
Executive education in IS is under the scrutiny of many institution for the potential to bring in financial revenues. However teaching executives can be a very challenging task because of the previous experiences, variation in their previous education, and multiplicity of motivations for pursuing a continuous education. The panel aims at sharing successful experiences and highlighting challenges of dealing with executive audiences. The panel will present the results of a large survey among executive students and identify the three most significant elements emerged from the survey: the importance of theory that is actionable, the importance of varied pedagogical tools and practices, and the importance of relevance beyond practical tools. Based on a survey that will be distributed to the audience at the beginning of the panel, the audience will be actively engaged in sharing their experiences on the three topics aiming at capitalize and sum up the collective knowledge of the room.
Today 40 Gbps is in development at IEEE 802.3bq over four pair balanced cabling. In this paper, we describe a transmission experiment of 25 Gbps enabling either a single pair transmission of 25 Gbps over a 30 meter balanced cabling channel, or a 100 Gbps transmission via a four-pair balanced channel. A scalable matrix modeling tool is introduced which allows the prediction of transmission characteristics of a channel taking mode conversion into account . We applied this tool to characterize PCB-channels including the magnetics and PCB for a four-pair 100 Gbps transmission. We evaluated prototype cables and connecting hardware for frequencies up to 2 GHz and beyond. Finally we investigated possible line encoding schemes and provide measurement results of a transmission over 30 m with a data rate of 25 Gbps per twisted pair.
This paper studies the impact of governmental transparency on the political business cycle. The literature on electoral cycles finds evidence that cycles depend on the stage of the economy. However, we show a reliance of the cycle on transparency. We use data for G7 countries and compare it with less developed OECD countries. Our theory states that transparency reduces the political cycles due to peer pressure and by voting outs. We confirm the theory with an econometric assessment of 34 countries from 1970 to 2012. We discover smaller cycles in countries with a higher transparency, especially in G7-countries.
Industry 4.0 predicts that industrial processes, technological infrastructure and all corresponding Business processes, with the help of information and communication technology (ICT), will advance to integrated, ad-hoc interconnected and decentralized Cyber-Physical Production Systems (CPPS) with real-time capabilities of selfoptimization and adaptability. Considering this change, the human being will remain in a dominant role, because it is not expected that the human factor with its characteristics and capabilities will be substituted entirely by autonomously acting technology in the foreseeable future. The mechanical intelligence, for instance, is limited to the selection of predefined options, while human creativity, flexibility, the ability to learn and to improve are required to design and configure systems, processes and products. Humans have the expertise and experience to analyze, assess and solve - even in exceptional situations. However, the amount of purely manual tasks for shop floor workers will decrease. Their role will change from a manually executing to a proactive preconceiving worker with increased responsibility. Due to the growing degree of digitalization and interconnectedness, also the tasks and responsibilities for planning and design personnel will continuously expand and become more complex. The work in versatile ad-hoc networks with advanced ICT-Tools and assistance systems will lead to increased requirements regarding the knowledge, capability and capacity of the respective employees. The on-going pervasion of IT and emergence of systems with unprecedented complexity specifically require significantly improved capabilities in analysis, abstraction, problem solving and decision making from future labour. Accordingly, the industry is asking for graduates that are educated interdisciplinary and practice-oriented. Some universities already meet these expectations, using learning factories for realistic, action-oriented classes and trainings. Lecturers are confronted with the challenge to identify future job profiles and correlated qualification requirements, especially regarding the conceptualization and implementation of CPPS, and to adapt and enhance their education concepts and methods adequately and consequently. For the new, virtual world of manufacturing a proper understanding of engineering as well as Computer sciences is essential. Industry 4.0 implies this interdisciplinary split. Integrated competencies for product and process planning and design, methodological competencies for systematical idea and innovation management as well as a holistic system and Interface competence will be crucial to achieve interconnection of physical and digital processes and machines. The Vienna University of Technology and the ESB Reutlingen committed to integrate key aspects of Industry 4.0 into their respective learning factories successively. Thus, the students will act as the coordinators of the CPPS and thereby remain in the center of all learning and implementation activities.
Global acting rating agencies were held responsible for the latest financial market crisis. False estimations in rating, non-transparent methods, processes and systems as well as a lack of qualification of rating analysts have been points of criticism. The level of the tightened regulation of the agencies in the USA and in Europe is pointed out in this article. All relevant institutions and norms as well as the international and national standards from the German point of view are presented and exhaustively analyzed. In doing so it is illustrated, that in this olio-political market one can definitely speak about protection with regard to the admission and accreditation of the agencies.
This white paper builds a new financial theory of euro area sovereign bond markets under stress. The theory explains the abnormal bond pricing and increasing spreads during the recent market turmoil. We find that the strong disconnect of bond spreads from the respective bonds’ underlying fundamental values in 2010 was triggered by an increase in asymmetric information and weak reputation of government policies. Both factors cause a normal bond market to switch into a crisis mode. Finally, those markets are prone to self-fulfilling bubbles in which the economic effects are amplified by herding behaviour arising from animal spirits. Altogether, this produces contagious effects and multiple equilibria. Thus, we argue that government bond markets in a monetary union are more fragile and vulnerable to liquidity and solvency crises. Consequently, the systemic mispricing of sovereign debt creates more macroeconomic instability and bubbles in the euro area than in a single country. In other words, financial markets are partly blind to national default risks in a currency union. Therefore, the current European institutional framework puts the wrong incentives in place and needs structural changes soon. To tackle the root causes we suggest more market incentives via consistent rules, pre-emptive austerity measures in good economic times, and a resolution scheme for heavily indebted countries. In summary, our paper enhances the bond market theory and provides new insights into the recent bond market turmoil in Europe.
The automotive industry faces three major challenges – shortage of fossil fuels, politics of global warming and rising competition from new markets. In order to remain competitive companies have to develop more efficient and alternative fuel vehicles that meet the individual requirements of the customers. Functional Integration combined with new Technologies and materials are the key to stable success in this industry. The sustaining upward trend to system innovations within the last ten years confirms this. The development of complex products like automobiles claim skills of various disciplines e.g. engineering, chemistry. Furthermore, these skills are spread all over the supply chain. Hence the only way to stay successful in the automotive industry is cooperation and collaborative innovation. Interdisciplinary and interorganizational development has high demands on cooperation models especially in the automotive industry. In this case study cooperation models are analyzed and evaluated according to their applicability to interdisciplinary, interorganizational development projects in the automotive industry. Following, the research campus ARENA2036 is analyzed. ARENA2036 is an interdisciplinary, interorganizational development project housing automobile manufacturers, suppliers, research establishments and university institutes. Finally, based on interviews with the partners and the precede analyses of cooperation models, suggestions for implementation are given to ARENA2036.
Few unfocused factories outperform competitors, but Focus is elusive because the environment is constantly evolving and this requires changes to a factory’s key tasks. So how can focus be achieved and sustained? We present insights derived from an historical analysis of the German Hewlett-Packard server plant which went through a series of Focus changes over the years. Using this example, we provide clues for the right timing of Focus changes and discuss critical structural and infrastructural changes required during the Focus transitions, as well as cross-functional coordination and leadership challenges. Our assertion is that production operations constitute a system that can adapt to disruptive Change by using the levers of manufacturing policies to stay focused on a limited but absolutely essential task which creates a strategic advantage.
In this paper it is first identified the trade-off among costs, flexibility and performances of autonomous robotic solutions for material handling processes, where adding value with automation is not as trivial as in production processes: hence the requirement for automated solutions to be simple, lean and efficient becomes even stricter. Then a method for modelling and comparing differential performances and costs of manual and autonomous solutions is developed. As a result of the method, a smart man-machine collaborative interface is designed and its impact evaluated on a specific case of study. Results are then generalized and prove the strong conclusions that in unconstrained environments, where full standardization cannot be achieved, the risk of investing in autonomous solutions can only be mitigated by creating a fast and smart man-machine collaborative interface.
According to a recent survey the great majority of players in logistics are planning to adopt one or more robotic solutions until 2019. Technical solutions for automation of processes in logistics are often available as a market-ready product, but the lack of standardization and skepticism towards long term investments are often the reasons why these solutions are not implemented on a large scale. This paper is set to bridge the gap between the world of technologies and the one of applications in order to help investors, robot producers and system integrators to decide on which branch of logistics to set their focus. The three main branches Courier Express Parcel (CEP), contract logistics and production logistics are briefly defined and distinguished through their characteristic factors and parameters. Then a method based on the analysis of three parameters (operative costs, required performance and flexibility) in the three branches is set to identify the most convenient branch of logistics for investing in new technologies, namely the one in which the risk of investment is lower, the return is higher and faster. The conclusion of the method shows that higher labor costs, strict regulations and higher standardization make the production logistics the most suitable branch for investments in emerging automation solutions.
The EU funded project RobLog recently developed a system able to autonomously unload coffee sacks from a standard container. Being the first of its kind, a further development is needed in order for the system to be competitive against manual labor. Financing this development entails a risk, hence a justified skepticism, which can be overcome by the longsighted view of the existing market potential. This paper presents a method to estimate the market potential of autonomous unloading systems for heavy deformable goods. Starting from the analysis of the coffee trade, first the current coffee traffic is investigated in order to calculate the number of autonomous systems needed to handle the imported sacks; Results are validated and the method is extended for the calculation of the potential of other market segments, where the same unloading technology can be applied.
IOS 2.0 : new aspects on inter-organizational integration through enterprise 2.0 technologies
(2015)
This special theme of „Electronic Markets“ focuses on research concerned with the use of social technologies and "2.0" principles in the interaction between organization (i.e., with "inter-organizational systems (IOS) 2.0"). This theme falls within the larger space of Enterprise 2.0 research, but focuses in particular on inter-organizational use (between enterprises), not intra-organizational use (in a single enterprise). While there is great interest in practice regarding the use of 2.0 technologies to support intra-organizational communication, collaboration and interaction, information systems (IS) research has largely been oblivious to this important use of social technologies.
Success in human resource management (HRM) depends on the question of whether applied practices of HRM meet specific contingency factors and are appropriately configured. Using this argument, the present article examines HRM in professional service firms (PSFs) in pursuit of three objectives. First, we introduce a conceptual framework that illustrates how the constitutive characteristics of PSFs, as contingency factors, influence HRM practices and research. Second, based on this framework, we summarize key findings of research on HRM in PSFs and open up potential avenues for further research. Third, we reflect on the argument that HRM in PSFs can contribute to an understanding of HRM practices in other organizational settings, leading to the question of the mutual transferability of HRM practices. Aside from these three primary objectives, we also introduce the contents of the special issue.
This paper provides new evidence on the formation and anchoring of inflation expectations. I conduct a game experiment and analyze the adjustment as well as the impact of credible targets on expectations. In addition, I evaluate the idiosyncratic determinants on the formation of expectations. The analysis reveals six results: First, I find evidence that long-term inflation expectations are firmly anchored to a credible target. Second, a temporary deviation due to unexpected monetary policy might trigger a decline in credibility, and third a de-anchoring of expectations due to uncertainty. Fourth, I find that people change their expectations little if a credible target exists. Fifth, expectations exhibit a large degree of time-variance only in environments without a target. Sixth, the dynamic adjustment to an ‘incomplete’ equilibrium, which is theoretically unstable, is nevertheless rapid and persistent in case of credible targets. All in all, I demonstrate a unique game setup with contributions to both experimental and monetary economics.
Marketing channels are among the most important elements of any value chain. This is because the bulk of a nation´s manufacturing output flows through them. The intermediaries (e.g., distributors, wholesalers, retailers) constituting marketing channels perform specific distribution functions,such as transportation, storage, sales, financing, and relationship building, better than most manufacturers. Over his distinguished career, Louis P. Bucklin investigated many questions about the structuring and functioning of marketing channels using conceptual, empirical, and microeconomics model-based methodologies. Today, the academic marketing literature contains hundreds of articles that have employed these three broad classes of methodologies to investigate issues of channel intermediaries´ interorganizational relationships, for example, power-dependence, relational outcomes, conflict and negotiations, and manufacturing firms´ channel strategy, for example, channel structure, selection, coordination and control. So far, however, there has been no review of how the three different methodologies have contributed to advancing knowledge across this set of channels research domains.
Usually financial crises go along with bubbles in asset prices, such as the housing bubble in the US in 2007. This paper attempts to build a mathematical model of financial bubbles from an econophysics, and thus a new perspective. I find that agents identify bubbles only with a time delay. Furthermore, I demonstrate that the detection of bubbles is different on either the individual or collective point of view. Second, I utilize the findings for a new definition of asset bubbles in finance. Finally, I extend the model to the study of asset price dynamics with news. In conclusion, the model provides unique insights into the properties and developments of financial bubbles.
The paper designs a quantum model of decision-making (QMDM) that utilizes neuroscientific evidence. The new model provides both normative and positive implications to economics. First, it enhances the study of decision-making which is an extension of the expected utility theory (EUT) in mathematical economics. Second, we demonstrate how the quantum model mitigates drawbacks of the expected utility theory of today.
This paper analyzes governance mechanisms for different group sizes. The European sovereign debt crisis has demonstrated the need of efficient governance for different group sizes. I find that self-governance only works for sufficiently homogenous and small neighbourhoods. Second, as long as the union expands, the effect of credible self-governance decreases. Third, spill-over effects amplify the size effect. Fourth, I show that sufficiently large monetary unions, are better off with costly but external governance or a free market mechanism. Finally, intermediate-size unions are most difficult to govern efficiently.
This paper develops a linear and tractable model of financial bubbles. I demonstrate the application of the linear model and study the root causes of financial bubbles. Moreover, I derive leading properties of bubbles. This model enables investors and regulators to react to market dynamics in a timely manner. In conclusion, the linear model is helpful for the empirical verification and detection of financial bubbles.
This paper examines the determinants of Google search in the banking area. The weekly Google data from 2004 to 2013 used for this study consists of the 30 largest banks, the Federal Reserve, and the European Central Bank. To my knowledge, this is the first study on the determinants of Google data. Firstly the paper shows that Google searches are correlated with several performance variables and market data, such as asset prices and trading volume. Secondly it demonstrates that banks´ internal performance data has a major influence whereas market data is rather insignificant. Moreover it is shown that Google search for central banks is largely determined by the level of interest rates as well as the inflation and output gap. This is evidence that central bank attention is primarily driven by the policy targets. Accordingly Google data can be applied to analyze the timely impact of monetary policy.
This paper is a review about the book "Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises" by Timothy Geithner. The book mainly discusses the policy decisions and implications of T. Geithner during his job as New York FED president and US-Treasury secretary under president Obama. The book reveals some hidden information about the decision-making process in both institutions. But it lacks a scientific foundation in order to explain the financial crisis in more detail. Hence, I think the book is less convincing than recognized in public. No doubt, Geithner crisis response deserves appreciation especially the "Stress Test". However, the overall book does not demonstrate that the response is sustainable in the long run and scientifically sound. Consequently, it is more a book on public policy and governance than economics.
In the last decade, numerous learning factories for education, training, and research have been built up in industry and academia. In recent years learning factory initiatives were elevated from a local to a European and then to a worldwide level. In 2014 the CIRP Collaborative Working Group (CWG) on Learning Factories enables a lively exchange on the topic "Learning Factories for future oriented research and education in manufacturing". In this paper results of discussions inside the CWG are presented. First, what is meant by the term Learning Factory is outlined. Second, based on the definition a description model (morphology) for learning factories is presented. The morphology covers the most relevant characteristics and features of learning factories in seven dimensions. Third, following the morphology the actual variance of learning factory manifestations is shown in six learning factory application scenarios from industrial training over education to research. Finally, future prospects of the learning factory concept are presented.
Shorter product life cycles and emerging technologies in the field of industrial equipment are changing the prerequisites and circumstances under which the design of assembly and logistics systems take place. Planners have to adapt the production in accordance with the underlying product at a higher pace, oversee a more complex system and - most importantly - find the ideal solution for functional as well as social interaction between humans and machines in a cyber-physical system. Such collaborative work systems consider the individual capabilities and potentials of humans and machines to combine them in a manner that assists the operator during his daily work routine towards more productive, less burdening work. To be able to design work systems which act on that maxim, specific competences such as the ability of integrated process and product planning as well as systems and interface competence are required. The ESB Logistics Learning Factory trains students as well as professionals to gain such qualification by providing a close-to-reality learning environment based on a didactical concept which covers all relevant methods for ergonomic work system design and a state-of-the-art infrastructure composed of a manual assembly system, service robots, visual assistance systems, sensor-based work load monitoring and logistical resources. Group-based, activity oriented scenarios enable the participants to put the learnings into practice within their professional environments. By this, learning factories have an indirect impact on the transfer of proven best practices to the industry and thereby on the diffusion of the idea of human-centric working environment.
This paper establishes a unique linkage between economic and sociological theories. I study the root causes of the euro crisis from both perspectives. I find that resolving the euro crisis requires economic and sociological insights, particularly in respect to the design of European institutions, rules, and regulations. I develop a new paradigm in attempt to tackle the euro crisis. This paper demonstrates the importance of an interdisciplinary dialogue and how this may safeguard the future of the Economic and Monetary Union.
In this paper, we investigate how conventions enable organisational actors to cope with paradoxical tensions in performance appraisal systems. Building on a case study of a performance appraisal system reform in a public sector organisation, we analyse how this organisation enabled superiors to take into account both accountability and professional logic. When new appraisal rules required superiors to rank their employees according to their qualifications but also to show collegiate solidarity, superiors negotiated an organisation-wide understanding of the rules that enabled them to address both logics simultaneously. The study underlines the importance of collective understandings for individual responses to paradoxical tensions and reveals how performance appraisal systems can be operated according to different logics.
Previous studies have reported changes in organizational identities as a result of external or internal triggers. In contrast, we highlight how the paradoxical nature of an organizational identity can influence stability and change that identity. Using the example of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, we show how a "stable state of instability" of the organization´s collective identity is constantly being reproduced. We contribute to the literature on organizational identity by first analyzing a case in which identity change is not triggered by a disruptive event. Second, we show how the paradoxical nature of identity triggers attempts to reconcile contradictions of the paradox, culminating in permanent state of gradual changes of organizational identity. Finally, we exemplify how, as a form of partial organization where volunteers take part in the identity formation process, Wikipedia copes with the tensions that ensue from its collective identity.
Throughout the past decade the rapid proliferation and widespread adoption of social media for marketing purposes can be observed across all technological and digital touch points. This paper focuses on the implementation of social media marketing during mega sports events. We examine impacts by analyzing Adidas’ and Nike’s social media campaigns in the frame of the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil. What impact did the social media activities of Nike and Adidas have on their Twitter and Facebook presence? Which additional value did the social media activities contribute to their respective targets of the entire marketing campaign? In order to answer these questions an empirical study was conducted. Several hypotheses were formulated and tested.
Creating an image transfer through event marketing : principles, requirements and consequences
(2015)
Event marketing is primarily implemented to emotionalize the target group. So, the most important objective of marketing events is to improve the image of a brand or a company. In this paper an image transfer model for event marketing is introduced. As a basis, the principles of event marketing are presented. After that, the state of the art in attitude and image research is discussed. Based on current research, an image transfer model for event marketing is developed and the conditions required for an image transfer to take place from an event to a brand or a company are explained. Depending on which conditions are met, there are different consequences with regard to the image transfer from the event to the brand or company that are structured and characterized in detail.