Managing Quality under Heterogeneous Consumer Demand and Product Quality, October 2005

Based on accepted advances in the marketing, economics, consumer behavior, and satisfaction literatures, we develop a micro-foundations model of a firm that needs to manage the quality of a product that is inherently heterogeneous in the presence of varying customer tastes or expectations for quality. Our model blends elements of the returns to quality, customer lifetime value, and service profit chain approaches to marketing. The model is then used to explain several empirical results pertaining to the marketing literature by explicitly articulating the trade-offs between customer satisfaction and costs (including opportunity costs) of quality. In this environment firms will find it optimal to allow some customers to go unsatisfied. We show that the relationship between the expected number of repeated purchases by an individual customer is endogenous to the choice of quality by the firm, indicating that the number of purchases cannot be chosen freely to estimate a customer’s lifetime value.

Small Business: Referral Information on Programs to Assist Women and Minorities in Establishing and Expanding Small Businesses, Revised October 2000

Small Business: Referral Information on Programs to Assist Women and Minorities in Establishing and Expanding Small Businesses

Business Organization and Coordination in Marketing Specialty Hogs: A Comparative Analysis of Two Firms from Iowa, November 2005

We study business organization and coordination of specialty-market hog production using a comparative analysis of two Iowa pork niche-marketing firms. We describe and analyze each firms management of five key organizational challenges: planning and logistics, quality assurance, process verication and management of �credence attributes,� business structure, and profit sharing. Although each firm is engaged in essentially the same activity, there are substantial differences across the two firms in the way production and marketing are coordinated. These differences are partly explained by the relative size and age of each firm, thus highlighting the importance of organizational evolution in agricultural markets, but are also partly the result of a formal organizational separation between marketing and production activities in one of the firm.

Report to Government Oversight Committee Regrading Soil and Water Conservation Districts Competition with Small Business, 2006

At the request of the Government Oversight Committee, the Ombudsman gathered information regarding competition by county Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) with small business through the sale of products and services. The goal of the Ombudsman’s review was to assist the Government Oversight Committee (Committee) in gaining an objective understanding of the issues so the Committee can ascertain whether there is a problem that requires legislation this legislative session. The Ombudsman focused on gathering specific information from four SWCD offices in central Iowa; Dallas, Greene, Guthrie and Jasper. These offices were specifically identified in documentation presented to the Government Oversight Committee by affected small business owners (contractors), Jon Judson of Diversity Farms and Dan Brouse of Iowa Restorations. However, with 100 SWCDs in Iowa,1 each with their own elected commissioners and each with different practices, priorities and fundraising activities, what the Ombudsman learned about these four counties may not be applicable to all the SWCDs in Iowa. The Ombudsman assigned the case to the Assistant Citizens’ Aide/Ombudsman for Small Business, Kristie Hirschman. For reference purposes in this report, actions taken by Ms. Hirschman will be ascribed to the Ombudsman.

Business Plan Chicago to Iowa City Intercity Passenger Rail Route, March 21, 2012

Overview of the Passenger Service Connects Iowa City, Quad Cities and Chicago, 219.5 miles Twice‐daily service each way, 4 hours and 15 minutes travel time 246,800 passengers first year (676 per day) Project construction cost $310 million (80% federal, 14.5% Illinois, 5.4% Iowa) On‐time performance 90% or better (trains arrive within 10 minutes of schedule) Competitive passenger rail service operator selection Iowa’s annual share of operating cost support averages $3 million

Business Plan Chicago to Iowa City Intercity Passenger Rail Route, March 21, 2011

This business plan describes the methods by which the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) will partner with Iowa counties and cities to fund Iowa’s share of the operating and maintenance cost for the Chicago- Iowa City passenger-rail service, an average of $3 million per year.