Spatial competition and flexible manufacturing with spatially discriminatory pricing

This paper develops a two-dimensional spatial framework, in which firms have the technique of flexible manufacturing and engage in spatially discriminatory pricing, in order to explore the firms’ optimal locations and optimal attributes of basic products under linear transportation costs. The paper shows that the two firms will agglomerate at the center of the location line and the optimal attributes of the two basic products will be located at the first and third quartiles of the attribute line, respectively, when the ratio of the marginal modification rate to the transport rate is high. It also shows that the two firms will locate separately on the location line and that the optimal attributes of the two basic products will remain at the first and third quartiles, when this ratio is moderate. Moreover, this paper proves that the two firms will locate at the first and third quartiles of the location line, respectively, and that the attributes of the basic products will agglomerate at the center of the attribute line, when this ratio is low.     

The Spatio-Relational Nature of Urban Innovation Systems: Universities,Knowledge Intensive Business Service Firms,and Collaborative Networks

The need to better identify the spatio-relational nature of urban innovation systems and spaces is increasingly acknowledged. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to provide an enhanced understanding of the knowledge networks existing between urban Knowledge Intensive Business Service firms (KIBS) and universities, which are often key components of such systems and spaces. Drawing on an analysis of urban KIBS firms and universities in the United Kingdom, it is found that the nature of firms, their location, and the research intensity of their university partners are important determinants of the spatiality and localization of the networks they form. The results show that the smallest urban KIBS firms have the highest propensity to engage in local links with universities, suggesting that they rely most significantly on their own urban innovation system for collaborative network ties.     

Inter-firm linkages,ethnic networks,and territorial agglomeration: Chinese computer firms in Los Angeles

Drawing from flexible production literature on industrial networks, this research pays particular attention to the socially embedded nature of firm linkages in a distribution sector. The empirical study of Chinese-owned computer wholesale firms within Los Angeles County shows that the presence of ethnic identity plays a significant role in the internal operation and external transactions of Chinese firms. Ethnic relations facilitate interactions within the ethnic group, producing a closely knit ethnic network within the industry. The heavy reliance on ethnic networks also has led Chinese firms to a notable geographical separation from the remaining firms in the same sector.     

An industrial organization economic supply chain approach for the construction industry: a review

Understanding industries in terms of the concepts of chains, clusters and networks is becoming increasingly important in economies around the world. Supply chain management for an individual organization is an emerging field of research in the construction management discipline, but less attention has been devoted to investigating the nature of the construction supply chains and their industrial organizational economic environment. This selected review of construction and mainstream management supply chain literature is organized around four themes; distribution, production, strategic procurement management and industrial organization economics, and highlights the need to develop an industrial organization economic supply chain framework for construction. The merging of the supply chain concept with the industrial organization model as a methodology for understanding firm conduct and industry structure and performance is an important contribution to both construction supply chain and construction economic theory. Much of the industrial organization supply chain literature has tended to focus upon manufacturing industries, where typically firms are permanent organizations. This raises issues as to the differences between industries founded upon temporary compared with permanent organizations. There is potential for the development of an industrial organization methodology applicable to the project based industry. Ultimately industrial organization research seeks to have direct implications for industry performance and government policies.     

大型建筑集团多元化战略实施研究

多元化战略是现代企业发展过程普遍采取的一种公司战略,很多企业的成功都得益于多元化战略的成功,但更多企业多元化战略却以失败告终。本文在分析了导致企业多元化战略失败的原因的基础上,提出了大型建筑企业集团发展多元化战略应该培养和提升其核心竞争力、组建合理的组织结构、建立科学的战略实施控制系统以及培养正确的战略思想的结论。     

产业的区域空间效应及其作用机理

产业不仅被动地在空间中选择合适的区位,其发展同样也影响区域空间的形成与演化。研究通过对人类社会不同发展阶段主导产业与区域城镇体系及其空间结构特征对应关系的梳理,揭示了不同产业的区域空间效应及其差异性,并进一步阐明制造业主导下区域城镇体系所呈现的集群化空间特征与服务业主导下集中化空间特征的形成过程和机制。然后采用线性拟合和非参数估计等方法,以京津冀、长三角、珠三角为例对产业区域空间效应及其机制进行量化分析和实证检验,进而展望我国不同区域的城镇化趋势和路径。     

建筑业与制造业企业组织沟通有效性的比较研究

基于用先进的制造业改造传统建筑业的现实需求,在对影响组织沟通的核心要素分析的基础上,设计问卷及测量问题,并进行了数据收集及其信度、效度检验,应用数理统计方法对建筑业和制造业企业的组织沟通有效性进行了比较研究。研究结果表明:制造业企业信息交流的准确性、及时性和充分性均明显好于建筑业企业;而制造业企业的信息交换量虽大于建筑业企业,但差异并不显著。该研究有助于建筑业企业借鉴制造业的先进经验,通过组织沟通有效性水平的提升促进与其他联盟企业的合作。     

Network facility-location models in Stackelberg-Nash-Cournot spatial competition

A hierarchical mathematical programming approach is combined with sensitivity analysis (of variational inequalities) to formulate a facility-location model for a firm competing on a discrete network. It is assumed that the locating firm will act as the leader firm in an industry characterized by Stackelberg leader-follower(s) oligopolistic competition. The othern competitors in this industry are assumed to act as Cournot firms that each operate under the Cournot assumption of zero conjectural variation with respect to theirn — 1 Cournot competitors. It is further assumed that then Cournot firms will react to the location/production/shipping activities of the Stackelberg firm. Therefore, when the Stackelberg firm makes its location, production, and shipping decisions it takes into account the reaction of then Cournot firms to its (the Stackelberg firm's) integrated location and distribution decisions. Specifically, a Cournot reaction function is developed and imbedded in the Stackelberg firm's profit-maximizing objective function to project the anticipated reaction of the Cournot firms to the Stackelberg firm's location decision.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 37th North American Meetings, Boston, November 1990.     

Penetrating the ``knowledge filter' in regional economies

New knowledge in the form of products, processes and organizations leads to opportunities that can be exploited commercially. However, converting new ideas into economic growth requires turning new knowledge into economic knowledge that constitutes a commercial opportunity. A model introduces a ``knowledge filter' between new knowledge and economic knowledge and identifies both new ventures and incumbent firms as the mechanism that reduces the knowledge filter and increases regional growth. This paper tests the hypotheses that new venture creation is a better mechanism than the absorptive capacity of incumbent firms for converting new knowledge into economic knowledge. Our results support the contention that new venture creation is a superior method of penetrating the regional ``knowledge filter' than incumbent firms. The authors contributed equally to the article. We thank Attila Varga, Elaine Mosakowski, Jaehwan Kim, Tom Dean, Dean Shepherd, Joy Godesiabois, Mike Haynie, A. Mushfiq Mobarak, David Audretsch, Saras Sarasvarthy, David Deeds, and the participants at the Summer Institute at the Max Planck Institute for Study into Economic Systems for helpful comments and critiques. A version of this paper was presented at the 2004 Babson Kauffman Entrepreneurship Research Conference in Glasgow, Scotland. We also gratefully acknowledge the funding support provided by the Robert H. and Beverly A. Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at the Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado.     

临钢炼铁厂六号高炉顺利开炉及快速达产实践

详细介绍了临钢六号高炉的顺利开炉与快速达产的实施过程,通过使用大风量烘炉,科学控制工业水压,实行带风装料,合理组织出铁等一系列有效的创新手段,确保了高炉连续性烘炉,保证了高炉四大制度两大气流的合理性,使得高炉顺利开炉,实现快速达产。     

The spillover effects of R&D on manufacturing industry in Taiwan’s metropolitan areas

The literature of new growth theory regards Research and Development (R&D) as a crucial factor in economic growth. This is because R&D not only improves production technology, but also because of its significant externality (spillover) effects on other firms. This paper employs the model developed by Berliant et al. (J Econ Theory 104:275–303, 2002) to examine the externality of R&D within industries closely associated with the spatial distribution pattern of firms in Taiwan’s Metropolitan Areas. Both the mean travel time (to represent the distances) and an overall dispersion are incorporated in this examination of the externality effect. The paper also employs quantile regression techniques to estimate the effects of agglomeration at various quantiles of production value. Based on the data collected by the Taiwan Area Industrial Census for 2001, this research considers all manufacturing industry and two-digit standard industry classification data of manufacturing industries to analyze the R&D spillover effect for various metropolitan areas. The paper analyzes the manufacturing industry as a whole. The electrical and electronic machinery industries, a representative of high-intensity R&D industry, and the apparel and accessories and leather industries, as representatives of low-intensity R&D industry, are also considered. This research concludes that there is an externality (spillover) effect of R&D in each metropolitan area for all three categories. Moreover, the research suggests that the medium and large a firm’s scale the higher the spillover effect it receives will be.     

A Decentralized Control Algorithm for Large‐Scale Building Structures

Abstract: Decentralized control strategy is more suitable for structural control of large‐scale structural systems as it increases in the feasibility of control implementation and decreases the risk on the failure of the control system compared with the conventional centralized control approach. In this article, a decentralized control algorithm is proposed for large‐scale linear building structures. A large‐scale building structure is divided into a set of smaller substructures based on its finite element model. Interconnections between adjacent substructures are treated as disturbances to the individual substructure. Each substructure is controlled by its own local controller using linear quadratic Gaussian control scheme with acceleration measurements as feedback signals. A computational procedure is developed for the recursive estimation of the unknown disturbances to each substructure. Two cases, with substructure interface measurement and without substructure interface measurement respectively, are considered. A numerical example of the decentralized control of the 20‐story Structural Engineers Association of California (SAC) benchmark linear building under seismic excitation is studied to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm. Simulation results demonstrate that the decentralized control algorithm has quite good control performance compared with the conventional centralized control approach. Therefore, the proposed decentralized control algorithm is viable for structural control of large‐scale linear structural systems.     

Business services: Locational requirements and municipal planning

Business service is one of the most rapidly growing sectors in the developed economies. Business service is important both in itself as an increasing part of the service sector, and as a prerequisite for and an integrated part of the productive sectors. With the Danish town of Esbjerg in West Jutland as a case, the paper investigates the structure and development of business services as seen from a provincial centre. Based on the empirical results the paper argues that even though the growth centre strategies of the 1960s for good reasons have been rejected, the theoretical basis for these strategies, namely the idea of growth based on a local network of interacting, innovative firms, still seems to be valid. However, as our present understanding of both innovation and interfirm trade is very different from the understanding on which the growth centre strategies of the 1960s were based the new growth centre strategy will be very different.     

Who’s got the aces up his sleeve? Functional specialization of cities and entrepreneurship

This paper combines the empirical finding of a functional specialization of cities with regional dynamics. We distinguish between cities dominated by headquarters and service firms (urban agglomerations), those with large stand-alone production plants in one sector (industrial agglomerations), and cities with integrated smaller firms (industrial districts). Based on German data, we find differing dynamics across these three city types. Cities that host basic research or integrated incumbents are more conducive to entrepreneurial activity, whereas the opposite is true of industrial agglomerations. Urban agglomerations dominated by headquarters with only administrative functions and the service sector are not very entrepreneur-friendly, either. However, although this type of city provides few externalities for startups in manufacturing, they could very well provide opportunities for service sector startups.     

Managing watershed resources

Watersheds, as integrated land and water systems, have proved difficult to manage successfully. This is in part due to the complexities of accommodating different groups of users and making use of multiple resources in spatially large areas. The paper argues, however, that watersheds have a natural physical and economic logic as a unit of analysis. As a bridge between microlevel analysis of individual farmers or economic units and a regional or sectoral approach, the watershed, when analyzed in an integrated, multi-disciplinary manner, yields useful policy results for improved management of land and water resources. Economic analysis plays a key role in this analysis. Integrated analysis, however, does not mean integrated implementation. Existing systems of social and government organization must be used to implement the chosen policies. This is a difficult, but essential step and may require the use of government fiscal and price policies to harmonize social and private goals.The views expressed in this paper are those of the author, who is Research Associate with the East-West Environment and Policy Institute, Honolulu, Hawaii. Parts of this paper draw on Dixon [5], prepared for the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank.     

中国建筑业企业的国际比较研究——兼以江苏为例

从规模总量、行业市场领域、承包方式、企业所有制结构、产业内组织结构等方面对中外建筑业企业进行了深入比较.通过比较,揭示出中国(江苏)建筑业企业存在的一些问题,如规模小、国际业务少、业务领域相对单一等.研究结果对中国建筑业"强企"的培育和发展有较好的参考价值.     

An introduction to green product development for SMEs

Environmental concerns have begun to receive increasing levels of attention with much of the onus for improved environmental stewardship falling on the industrial business community. The pressures on firms from consumers, legislation, financial sources and larger firms will inexorably increase. If firms choose to wait until pressured to change, the change when it is imposed will most likely be expensive and painful. Adopting and integrating such philosophy in a pragmatic manner into the business activities will allow the firm to benefit from the environmental challenges. Improving manufacturing processes, reducing waste etc., will have direct financial benefit. But taking a hard look at the product and how it is produced, with the involvement of all staff, will create a dynamic environment where opportunities for improvement and change will present themselves. This is particularly true for SMEs which, having good internal communication combined with the potential for being both flexible and specific, are well placed to identify and capitalise on new markets for their products and services     

Knowledge Structures of City Innovation Systems: Singapore and Hong Kong

Cities are naturally the center of attention when innovation and its geography are discussed. This paper seeks to elucidate the knowledge structures of the city innovation systems of Hong Kong and Singapore, and shed light on the performance of knowledge production, networks, and features in accordance with: (1) patent portfolios and fields of technology; (2) the patent landscape; and (3) the correlation map between fields and entities that produce patents. Findings indicate that private firms dominate the patenting landscape for the selected economies. Scientific activities performed by universities and public research institutions are converging with technological knowledge performed by firms. Hong Kong and Singapore sought to attain a co-evolution process for science-based industrial development.     

Trade costs,wage difference,and endogenous growth

In this paper, we develop an endogenous growth and international trade model with two countries in which equilibrium wages in the two countries are different between two countries. First, when trade costs are high, the share of manufacturing firms in the large country increases with a decline in trade costs because of market size. However, the share of firms then decreases with a decline in trade costs when trade costs are low because of wage differences. Finally, all firms agglomerate in the small country, since production costs in the small country are low. In this process, the innovation sector shifts its location from the large‐market and high‐wage country to the small‐market and low‐wage country.     

Housing provision in high growth regions. A comparative study of four European sub‐regions

Best‐practice technique as a concept was developed for the purpose of analysing the structure of manufacturing industries. In my article I argue that the concept may also be applied to the construction industry, though the rationale differs somewhat. Instead of considering the technique embodied in the real capital, one should see it as part of the organization in Marshall's meaning. This would lead to different unit operating costs and different labour productivity among firms competing in the same market. The extent of the variation of the labour productivity during the period 1979–84 is shown in the paper. Productivity functions of different efficiency groups are estimated in order to establish the best‐practice production function. In that process it is also shown that during the period 1979–84 the efficiency of the firms using the best‐practice technique grows faster than the efficiency of all other firms.