Environmental factors and product adaptation in Middle Eastern markets : the experience of Australian companies

This paper examines the impact that environmental factors have on the decision of Australian companies to adapt products for Middle Eastern markets. It  concludes that of all product aspects, labeling requires the greatest amount of adaptation and that socio-cultural factors have the greatest influence on overall product adaptation. Furthermore, environmental factors impact on product   adaptation in different ways, reflected in the adaptation of different aspects of the overall product.

Simultaneous volatility transmissions and spillover effects: U.S. and Hong Kong stock and futures markets

Contemporaneous transmission effects across volatilities of the Hong Kong Stock and Index futures markets and futures volume of trade are tested by employing a structural systems approach. Competing measures of volatility spillover, constructed from the overnight U.S. S&P500 index futures, are tested and found to impact on the Hong Kong asset return volatility and volume of trade patterns. The examples utilize intra-day 15-min sampled data from this medium-sized Asia Pacific equity and derivative exchange. Both the intra- and inter-day patterns in the Hong Kong market are allowed for in the estimation process.

Transitional labour markets : a social investment and risk mitigation strategy for social policy

Drawing on transitional labor market (TLM) theory, this introductory chapter highlights major themes, overviews the contributions to this volume and suggests a future agenda for policy makers. The focus of applied research projects has been the impact of post-modem social transformations on systems of social protection, looking through the lens of the labor market and shifts in household and family structure. The Transitional Labor Market project uses the TLM model as a means of developing new thinking on how flexibility and innovation might be paired with social investment and new forms of social protection. TLM theory emphasizes the importance of institutions and of the links between different institutions which frequently operate as policy silos, rather than integrated systems to buffer risks and support capability and enhance employability. The great advantage of the TLM model is that it draws attention to the right places for strategic reform. It does not offer a standard set of institutions to facilitate transitions however.

Entrepreneurship in the markets of nonprofit performing arts organisations

This paper explores how managers in nonprofit performing arts organizations balance the interests of the various funding sources and market opportunities to service their revenue requirements. It reviews a tension in nonprofit performing arts organizations: the relationship between limited funding and the subsequent need to act entrepreneurially and innovatively amongst the various funding sources. Using a longitudinal analysis of annual reports in six major nonprofit performing arts organisations in Australia since 1975, the paper uncovers some of the interplay essential to entrepreneurship. From this discussion, different strategies and tensions are highlighted that nonprofit general managers have used. Comparisons are made with nonprofit art museums which previous research has shown have the same funding tensions.

Electronic markets and service delivery: requisite competencies for virtual environments

Electronic markets have a short but dynamic history. How an electronic market can be successfully developed remains in dispute. There is a clear need to better understand the nature of electronic markets themselves and, in particular, to review important developments in their conceptualisation. To enable a deeper understanding of these issues, we decided to restrict our investigation to electronic markets in the agricultural export sector. Agribusiness is a natural early adopter of digital marketplaces because of the industry’s traditional reliance on markets and current take-up of global supply chain management (Wilkins, Swatman and Castleman, 2002). We review two portals from this sector that aimed to simplify access to regulatory documentation. The earlier implementation had its funding withdrawn after one year, whilst the more recently established portal is rapidly becoming a showcase project for the stakeholders. We use a composite theory based on Bijker (1995) and Nowotny et al (2001) to establish a framework for analysing our data. We also refer to a body of literature characterising intangible services and their design and its implications for emarket implementations. Our findings indicate that governance style is in fact closely related to the success or failure of specific sites. We also found support for earlier research indicating that expectations and understanding of electronic markets are still evolving.

B2B electronic markets: a conceptual model for analyzing the sources of business value

This paper describes research supporting the development of a conceptual model for understanding the sources of business value of Business-to-Business (B2B) Electronic Markets. Based on six case studies and an analysis of current literature, Aggregation, Matching, and Integration emerged as the three key sources of business value. The framework provides a structured and systematic approach for understanding various B2B Electronic Market models, and helps develop strategies to leverage these sources of business value.

Career progression, human capital and pay equity in Australian public sector labour markets

This study uses data from the Victorian Public Sector Census 2004 to identify the extent of equity in pay and career progression (promotion). A system of three equations is developed to capture the endogeneity between human capital and promotion and the interdependence between promotion, pay and human capital. The results indicate that there are substantial differences in the average wages earned by public sector employees in different Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) groups. While some of these differences arise from factors beyond the control of the public sector employers, others arise from bias in the public sector employment system and procedures. The earnings of individual employees in the public sector are determined in a systematic way by the wage structures in the different sub-sectors, the skill base of the employee on recruitment, sub-sector specific promotion rates, acquisition of formal and informal training and the apparent bias within recruitment and promotion systems in dealing with particular groups. The apparent bias of recruitment and promotion systems is complex in makeup and varies within EEO groups as well as between EEO groups. Most of the difference in pay across employees can be explained as an outcome of individual choice and labour market conditions external to the public sector. After adjusting for sectoral wage differences, skill base when recruited, sectoral promotion rate differences, experience in the public sector, whether individuals are employed on a full-time or part-time basis and individual training decisions, the statistical evidence is consistent with the finding that public sector recruitment and promotion systems tends to be biased, on average, against females and those from culturally diverse backgrounds. Achievements in formal education are important for salary progression. This is particularly the case for women. The main drivers of participation in formal education were employer support in both financial and non-financial terms. Promotion rates were important factors in explaining wage differences. Women tended to receive slightly fewer promotions than men, but women received, on average, greater rewards for each promotion.

Strategies for B2B electronic markets : delivering business value to buyers and sellers

This paper discusses the key elements of effective and successful strategies for organisations engaging in Business-to-Business (B2B) Electronic Markets. Existing literature have concentrated on developing schemas for categorising B2B Electronic Markets, and evaluating the innovative business models they employ, with less focus on understanding the business value of B2B Electronic Markets from a multi-stakeholder, business strategy perspective. In the present business climate, business managers and executives are keen to discover strategies to maximise performance improvements associated with ICT adoption. Based on case studies of B2B Electronic Markets, this paper discusses the importance of (i) creating and distributing business value among the various stakeholders, (ii) determining a pragmatic approach for engaging in B2B Electronic Markets, and (iii) managing the transformation of business processes associated with B2B Electronic Markets. The study contributes to practice and research by presenting rich empirical insights into the operations ofB2B Electronic Markets, and providing suggestions for future research in the topic area.

Contemporaneous intra-day volume, option, and futures volatility transmissions across parallel markets

The primary objective of this article is to investigate volatility transmission across three parallel markets operating on the Sydney Futures Exchange (SFE), both within and out of sample. Half-hourly observations are sampled from transaction data for the share price index (SPI) futures, SPI futures options, and 90-day bank accepted bill (BAB) futures markets, and the analysis is carried out using the simultaneous volatility (SVL) system of equations as well as competing volatility models. The results confirm the poor ability of GARCH models to fit intraday data. This study also applies an artificial nesting procedure to evaluate the out-of-sample volatility forecasts. Implied volatility has very limited (if any) predictive power when evaluated in isolation, whereas the SVL model with implied volatility embedded provides incremental information relative to competing model forecasts.

Speed of adjustment within currency markets

One measure of market efficiency is the speed at which prices adjust to fundamental value with the arrival of information. This paper examines this issue by estimating speed of adjustment coefficients using three  methodologies for eight currencies for the entire year of 1996 using half hourly non-overlapping return intervals. We find that the bulk of adjustment to fundamental value for all currencies occurs within the hour but then quickly deteriorates. Within the hour adjustment is sufficiently quick to be considered efficient but the lack of full adjustment to fundamental value is not what would be predicted within an efficient market. There is no evidence for any of the currencies studied of a tendency to over react. There is also little difference in the speeds of adjustment between actively and less actively traded  currencies. There is however a definite difference in the speed at which currencies adjustment depending on whether they are free floating or managed exchange rates. Free floating rates adjust much quicker. Government intervention slows adjustment to fundamental value.