Mit der Einfuehrung von Ganzheitlichen Produktionssystemen wird in der deutschen Industrie eine neue Entwicklungsstufe betrieblicher Rationalisierung verbunden: Es sollen bislang wenig verbundene Rationalisierungsmassnahmen ‚ganzheitlich‘ zusammengefuehrt werden. Der reale Stellenwert...

We propose a theory of the global production process that focuses on tradeable tasks, and use it to study how falling costs of offshoring affect factor prices in the source country. We identify a productivity effect of task trade that benefits the factor whose tasks are more easily moved...

The number of different car and light truck models produced in North America has increased enormously over the last decades. The data suggests that producing this increased variety of vehicles is associated with a productivity penalty. We show that manufacturers can adopt complementary...

Tenancy has been a means for labor to advance their socio-economic condition in agriculture yet in Brazil and Latin America, tenancy rates are low compared to the U.S. and the OECD countries. We test for the importance of insecure property rights in Brazil on the reluctance of landowners to rent...

It was the question of how best to balance the costs of ordering and of running out of stock against the costs of holding excess inventory that inspired Kenneth Arrow, Theodore Harris, and Jacob Marschak to introduce the (<em>S</em>, <em>s</em>) model in 1951. In this celebratory article, we show how this model...

After the accession of Bulgaria in EU, the Bulgarian market becomes part of the common European market. The internationalization of the enterprises, the development of competitive productions, the strategic orientation towards international markets, have decisive role for the future development...

This paper explores the processes of transforming a network of non-mandated exchange relations into a cohesive and innovative partnership. The question this paper attempts to answer is how to speed up innovation processes in such networks. The paper demonstrates that transformation of networks...

This paper documents the significant presence of diversified firms in the U.S. economy and presents three views on why firms diversify. The market power view argues that firms diversify to wield conglomerate power across markets. The agency view argues that diversification is undertaken by...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of online social networks in experiencing a change in working environment of today's leaders. Design/methodology/approach – The study's participants were managers, directors and CEOs working in different organizations (including...