Heinrich von Stackelberg's book, "Grundlagen einer reinen Kostentheorie", published in 1932 was at the forefront of a growing conceptual revolution in the theory of the firm, a theory which appears more relevant than ever in today's economic climate. In this work, Stackelberg masterfully built a theoretical framework which he later developed in Market Structure and Equilibrium. Foundations of a Pure Cost Theory represents the first translation of the original German version into English. This substantial book offers readers a critical and technical understanding of the firm, how firms function and the environments in which they operate. Fundamental notions of cost production, market economy, optimum position and velocities of production are given prominence. Ultimately, this work, which remains largely unknown, can be seen as a milestone text in our understanding of the strategies adopted by firms as a whole. The book has been meticulously translated from the German into English, retaining the author's examples in their historical context and capturing the spirit of the time with all its subtlety and significance.

This book addresses the main challenges affecting modern logistics and supply chains and is organized according to five main themes: supply chain strategy and management, information and communication technology (ICT) for logistics and related business models, vertical and horizontal collaboration, intelligent hubs (e.g. ports and cities) and policy for sustainable logistics. The key findings presented are based on both extensive research and on business cases. The book examines logistics from a comprehensive viewpoint embracing the entire supply chain. The overarching advanced logistics and supply chain concept at the heart of this book endeavors to contribute to a sustainable intelligent transport system by making it more efficient, cost-effective, safe, reliable and competitive. Specifically, the book focuses on the need for a variety of supply chain, logistics and transport options, on the potential offered by technological developments, infrastructural and organizational aspects, information flows, the financial and legal domain, harmonization and the complexity of implementation. In closing, the book presents new approaches to the coordination of sound business and governance models.

Since the 1990's, researchers, practitioners and public administrations have given more thought to urban logistics. However, their interests and goals are not the same, and several approaches do not produce efficient logistics systems as a result. This book aims to provide both a conceptual framework for urban logistics planning and management and to create a basis for deploying solutions that aim to reduce the main nuisances related to urban goods. The proposed book is divided in two parts. The first proposes a set of methodological chapters, written by key authors, which aim to support decision makers in their current choices related to urban logistics. In addition to public authorities' aims and goals, the book highlights the importance of private actors, and shows how supply chain management can deal with the problems of the last urban mile and its integration in global logistics chains. The second presents several applied research works that deal with current planning and practice issues in urban logistics, such as the role of city planning, the place of night deliveries in carrier organization, the limits of logistics pooling, and the real estate market, among others. The book was written by key authors, all having considerable research experience and recognised as experts in their respective fields. Each chapter presents methods and results of research works, written for a broad audience, and more precisely directed to both academics and practitioners.

Along with the increasing deregulation of European utility markets the dynamics of and the competitive pressure in the utility industries have steadily increased over the last years. These changes in the regulatory framework towards an integrated market environment have resulted in new challenges for the management of power and gas companies and in a substantial need for strategic reorientation. In the context of these developments the Handbook Utility Management reflects current challenges in the utility industries and provides solutions from a managerial perspective. The inclusion of latest insights from top managers, renowned researchers, professionals in utility-related investment banking and consulting, and professionals in public and supranational organizations on all value chain activities within the industry makes the Handbook an indispensable asset for both professionals and researchers.

From the Introduction: This volume is dedicated to the remarkable career of Professor Peter Schmidt and the role he has played in mentoring us, his PhD students. Peter's accomplishments are legendary among his students and the profession. Each of the papers in this Festschrift is a research work executed by a former PhD student of Peter's, from his days at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to his time at Michigan State University. Most of the papers were presented at The Conference in Honor of Peter Schmidt, June 30 - July 2, 2011. The conference was largely attended by his former students and one current student, who traveled from as far as Europe and Asia to honor Peter. This was a conference to celebrate Peter's contribution to our contributions. By "our contributions" we mean the research papers that make up this Festschrift and the countless other publications by his students represented and not represented in this volume. Peter's students may have their families to thank for much that is positive in their lives. However, if we think about it, our professional lives would not be the same without the lessons and the approaches to decision making that we learned from Peter. We spent our days together at Peter's conference and the months since reminded of these aspects of our personalities and life goals that were enhanced, fostered, and nurtured by the very singular experiences we have had as Peter's students. We recognized in 2011 that it was unlikely we would all be together again to celebrate such a wonderful moment in ours and Peter's lives and pledged then to take full advantage of it. We did then, and we are now in the form of this volume.

A number of developing countries, including small island states have common problems that have affected their development and growth. Knowledge Management (KM) initiatives can be used to address some of these issues, but these developing countries need to understand what is needed to implement them, in order to improve economic conditions. While many of these countries have access to technologies that can be used to assist in knowledge management, relevant and low cost KM initiatives need to be considered in improving their existing KM processes. Sectors critical to the growth of these developing countries include health care, crime management, disaster recovery management, small and medium size enterprise development. Knowledge Management for Development: Domains, Strategies and Technologies for Developing Countries highlights the opportunities in these sectors and provides advice as to how these countries should go about understanding, building and adopting the relevant KM strategies and technologies. This book identifies appropriate technologies which should be considered to increase productivity within the identified sectors in the developing countries and also sectors in where knowledge management initiatives can yield maximum value. It also considers the constraints of these territories, recommending appropriate technologies and strategies for KM initiatives. It provides advice on how these technologies should be adopted in these sectors of developing countries. Investing in these strategies should benefit these countries development and growth.

This book examines the modules/elements required before implementing knowledge management solutions in typical manufacturing and service industry. The objective is to develop a framework, design and model suitable for all requirements and a strategy to properly implement. Related case studies from organizations are included, with the results provided to use as a solution to problems experienced when implementing knowledge management in the industry. Implementing a knowledge management system can be complex and dynamic, no matter how well planned and developed. Inevitably a degree of organizational inertia is focused on the current state rather than the new. Within an enterprise, personal and group involvement and interests process status and technology landscape can deflect the commitment needed to successfully implement such a system. Cumulative evidence from past research in knowledge management suggests that effective implementation of KM solution in any organization requires a robust designs and models for various critical elements of process, people and technology. Using the techniques provided in this book, readers should be able to design knowledge management strategies, to align objectives of the KM initiatives with their business goals.

The automotive industry is one of the most environmental aware manufacturing sectors. Product take-back regulations influence design of the vehicles, production technologies but also the configuration of automotive reverse supply chains. The business practice comes every year closer to the closed loop supply chain concept which completely reuses, remanufactures and recycles all materials. The book covers the emerging environmental issues in automotive industry through the whole product life cycle. Its focus is placed on a multidisciplinary approach. It presents viewpoints of academic and industry personnel on the challenges for implementation of sustainable police in the automotive sector

This book provides an original analysis of the problems facing global governance and in particular that of one of the most globalised of all industries - shipping. Central to all global trade and its dramatic growth, shipping faces difficulties of governance stemming from its every globalised nature. The current characteristics of global governance - nation-state fixation, anachronistic institutions, inadequate stakeholder involvement and an over-domination of owner interests are dwarfed by the problems of stasis and fixation which means that policies to address problems of safety, the environment and security are inadequate. This book provides a full and wide ranging discussion of how governance can be animated in a global context so that the dynamism of the maritime industry and its problems can be prevented, regulated and understood. Its unique approach to governance makes it essential reading for all maritime policy-makers and those analysing maritime issues, alongside those with an interest in governance in its widest sense.

While logistics has caught on as a vital component in China's national development plan, both government agencies at all levels and various types of enterprises have put considerable effort into propelling logistics to a new height. Recent logistics developments in China have witnessed a scene of significant boom dotted with few sporadic dips. This book, the third volume in the series on "Contemporary Logistics in China," is a must-read publication, which affords the readers a clearer view of the intrinsic consolidation and increased efforts made amid the recent advancements in China's logistics development. The research findings in this book reflect the expertise and diligence of a team of learned researchers in the highly-regarded Logistics Research Center at Nankai University. The book presents a comprehensive and thorough analysis of the progression and propagation of modern logistics in China, as well as a fresh look at some emerging hot issues with potential bearings on future logistics development. Researchers and practicing professionals alike will find this book an indispensable and timely reference and information resource.

Industrial production in high-wage countries like Germany is still at risk. Yet, there are many counter-examples in which producing companies dominate their competitors by not only compensating for their specific disadvantages in terms of factor costs (e.g. wages, energy, duties and taxes) but rather by minimising waste using synchronising integrativity as well as by obtaining superior adaptivity on alternating conditions. In order to respond to the issue of economic sustainability of industrial production in high-wage countries, the leading production engineering and material research scientists of RWTH Aachen University together with renowned companies have established the Cluster of Excellence "Integrative Production Technology for High-Wage Countries". This compendium comprises the cluster's scientific results as well as a selection of business and technology cases, in which these results have been successfully implemented into industrial practice in close cooperation with more than 30 companies of the industrial production sector.

This book reflects on the causes of resource-based conflicts and competition, and presents solutions for safely and sustainably providing resources with a focus on material flow management. The contributions from different disciplines highlight issues such as safe access to resources, conflicts over water and energy supplies, waste of strategic mineral resources, sustainable resource consumption, and renewable energy technologies.

This book reports the elements required for implementing Just in Time (JIT) technique in companies. The main reasons for low implementation processes and the main benefits from the successful implementation of them are highlighted in this book. Structural equation models are presented to help identify the essential elements in JIT.

RFID is a key technology for Europe. Today there is a noticeable shift away from the days of RFID pilot projects, and towards a time where organisations are looking to RFID to drive efficiency and innovation. Although Europe is a leading player in the world of RFID technology, several challenges which are preventing RFID from reaching its full potential need to be addressed. To further the advancement of this technology, coordinated European efforts need to be promoted, specifically in the areas of standardisation, user guidelines, legislation, technology development, and research and development. These themes have been analysed, and clear recommendations have been derived, stating what the different RFID stakeholders can do to support the technology. This book is aimed at decision makers in all fields of society, e.g. in companies, politics, business associations, etc. The publication is a summary of the results of the coordination action CE RFID - "Coordinating European Efforts in the RFID Value Chain" - and is a network of European RFID technology providers, vendors and end users. It aims at promoting the use of RFID technology and supporting further development. The project was funded by the European Commission under the 6th Framework Programme.

This book gives a systematic exposition of China's logistics development to the English-reading community. The ultimate goal of the book is to present a timely portrayal of China's logistics market growth and the evolution status of China's logistics industry. Being the fourth volume of the "Contemporary Logistics in China", the book strives to offer in-depth analysis on some hot issues and dilemmas amid the on going dynamic and multi-faceted development and also a source of reference for interested readers in academic and professional fields.

This book examines how and why collaborative quality assurance techniques, particularly pair programming and peer code review, affect group cognition and software quality in agile software development teams. Prior research on these extremely popular but also costly techniques has focused on isolated pairs of developers and ignored the fact that they are typically applied in larger, enduring teams. This book is one of the first studies to investigate how these techniques depend on and influence the joint cognitive accomplishments of entire development teams rather than individuals. It employs theories on transactive memory systems and functional affordances to provide answers based on empirical research. The mixed-methods research presented includes several in-depth case studies and survey results from more than 500 software developers, team leaders, and product managers in 81 software development teams. The book's findings will advance IS research and have explicit implications for developers of code review tools, information systems development teams, and software development managers.

The main goal of this book is to help organizations improve their effort estimates and effort estimation processes by providing a step-by-step methodology that takes them through the creation and validation of models that are based on their own knowledge and experience. Such models, once validated, can then be used to obtain predictions, carry out risk analyses, enhance their estimation processes for new projects and generally advance them as learning organizations. Emilia Mendes presents the Expert-Based Knowledge Engineering of Bayesian Networks (EKEBNs) methodology, which she has used and adapted during the course of several industry collaborations with different companies world-wide over more than 6 years. The book itself consists of two major parts: first, the methodology's foundations in knowledge management, effort estimation (with special emphasis on the intricacies of software and Web development) and Bayesian networks are detailed; then six industry case studies are presented which illustrate the practical use of EKEBNs. Domain experts from each company participated in the elicitation of the bespoke models for effort estimation and all models were built employing the widely-used Netica (TM) tool. This part is rounded off with a chapter summarizing the experiences with the methodology and the derived models. Practitioners working on software project management, software process quality or effort estimation and risk analysis in general will find a thorough introduction into an industry-proven methodology as well as numerous experiences, tips and possible pitfalls invaluable for their daily work.

Significantly extended from the first edition and published in response to the new international standard ISO55000, this book on physical asset management (2nd Ed.) presents a systematic approach to the management of physical assets from concept to disposal. It introduces the general principles of physical asset management and covers all stages of the asset management process, including initial business appraisal, identification of fixed asset needs, capability gap analysis, financial evaluation, logistic support analysis, life cycle costing, management of in-service assets, maintenance strategy, outsourcing, cost-benefit analysis, disposal and renewal. Physical asset management is the management of fixed assets such as equipment, plant, buildings and infrastructure. Features include: *Suitable for university courses and builds on first edition to provide further analytical material *Aligned with the international asset management standard ISO55000 *Provides a basis for the establishment of physical asset management as a professional discipline *Presents case studies, analytical techniques and numerical examples with solutions Written for practitioners and students in asset management, this textbook provides an essential foundation to the topic. It is suitable for an advanced undergraduate or postgraduate course in asset management, and also offers an ideal reference text for engineers and managers specializing in asset management, reliability, maintenance, logistics or systems engineering.

The legal services marketplace has become ever more competitive. Identifying a robust business strategy and sources of competitive advantage are difficult challenges for law firms today. The review of legal services carried out by Sir David Clementi, leading to the Legal Services Bill, paves the way for yet more change, competition and consolidation. As well as reviewing the way that law firms are regulated, the Bill will de-regulate the ownership of law firms, so that they can be made public or owned by multi-disciplinary principals. For the first time, firms now face the prospect of not being wholly owned and managed by lawyers, and of being able to seek capital in the general finance markets in the same way as other businesses. Stephen Mayson has been a consultant to law firms all over the world for more than 20 years, and is one of the most respected commentators on legal practice. In this new book, he presents the first in-depth and systematic treatment of strategy, competitive advantage and valuation for the legal services market. The text provides practical guidance for law firms on how respond to the reforms to be introduced by the Legal Services Bill, and in particular how to build and preserve value in the new environment. It explores in detail a range of factors that firms need to address in order to face both known and new forms of competition, and build a sustainable business. In the first part of the book, the author explores the emerging landscape of legal services. He discusses fair market valuation and the link between strategy, competitive advantage and valuation, before addressing regulation and competition. Here the decline of regulatory barriers (including the Clementi Review and the Legal Services Bill) and the effects of maturing markets are examined, as well as the issues and challenges of consolidation and polarisation of legal service providers, and globalisation. Mayson then examines the nature of competitive advantage, including its foundations and sustainability. In the third section, the principles of valuation, including definitions of value and methods of valuation, are looked at, in addition to an analysis of the drivers of value in law firms and guidance on how to optimise and sustain income. A section on the implications of valuation then focuses on issues such as the possible tensions between individuals and the organisation, collective action and commitment, and the longevity of the firm. In the final section, the author looks at the foundations of strategy, such as: its context; the 'strategic triangle' of services, clients and geography; strategic objectives and risks; the strategic response; and the building of capital for competitive advantage (including a discussion of financial, physical, human, social and organisational capital). The book ends with a discussion of future prospects for the legal services market. Law Firm Strategy: Competitive Advantage and Valuation is an invaluable text for those already managing law firms, those looking to compete with existing law firms in the new environment, and those who are not lawyers but find themselves with an opportunity to own, invest in or manage a legal services business.

This book deals with complex variants of Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) and Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) within the manufacturing and service industries. The objective is to develop heuristics for these supply chain problems in order to offer practical solutions to improve operational efficiency. These heuristics are evaluated using benchmark and derived data-sets. Case studies pertaining to logistics in different industries including textile machinery manufacturing and banking are also included to demonstrate the created heuristics. High competition in today's global market has forced the organizations to invest in and focus on their logistics system. The critical function of logistics is the transportation within and across various supply chain entities. Both supply and distribution procedure require effective transportation management. A small improvement in routing problems can lead to huge logistics savings in absolute terms. This book should appeal to executives, researchers and consultants seeking supply chain management solutions.

This volume models a 21st century supply chain: one that uses technology that leads to the power of the individual, not larger organizations. Author Jack Buffington explains how in the near future, each of us will be a "prosumer" in a peer-based economy of micro-level manufacturing with little waste and infinite customization. There are two primary schools of thought in regard to the world economy of the future; from one side is a belief that economic growth can continue in perpetuity, driven upon a cheap and plentiful energy supply. From the other point of view is a perspective that economic growth will soon end has due to a lack of cheap and plentiful oil, too much financial debt, and a damaged environment that cannot withstand more growth. Frictionless Markets proposes a third way: a 21st century model based upon an economic calculus that does assume that fossil fuels are rapidly depleting and the environment is being damaged, but does not assume that this means an end to growth, but rather, a beginning of opportunities. Frictionless Markets tells the story of why and how frictionless markets will exist by the year 2030. Dr. Jack Buffington is both a supply chain professional for one of the largest consumer products companies in the world, and a researcher in biotechnology and supply chain at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.

This book is devoted to analysis and design of supply chain contracts with stochastic demand. Given the extensive utilization of contracts in supply chains, the issues concerning contract analysis and design are extremely important for supply chain management (SCM), and substantial research has been developed to address those issues over the past years. Despite the abundance of classical research, new research needs to be conducted in response to new issues emerging with the recent changing business environments, such as the fast-shortening life cycle of product and the increasing globalization of supply chains. This book addresses these issues, with the intention to present new research on how to apply contracts to improve SCM. Contract Analysis and Design for Supply Chains with Stochastic Demand contains eight chapters and each chapter is summarized as follows: Chapter 1 provides a comprehensive review of the classical development of supply chain contracts. Chapter 2 examines the effects of demand uncertainty on the applicability of buyback contracts. Chapter 3 conducts a mean-risk analysis for wholesale price contracts, taking into account contracting value risk and risk preferences. Chapter 4 studies the optimization of product service system by franchise fee contracts in the service-oriented manufacturing supply chain with demand information asymmetry. Chapter 5 develops a bidirectional option contract model and explores the optimal contracting decisions and supply chain coordination issue with the bidirectional option. Chapter 6 addresses supply chain options pricing issue and a value-based pricing scheme is developed for the supply chain options. With a cooperative game theory approach, Chapter 7 explores the issues concerning supply chain contract selection/implementation with the option contract under consideration. Chapter 8 concludes the book and suggests worthy directions for future research.

This volume presents new theoretical insights, practical strategies, and policy initiatives in the rapidly evolving field of global supply chain security. As businesses, governments, and society at large have become increasingly dependent on a global network to provide goods and services, protecting global supply chains has become an issue of vital importance for industries, nations, and regions. The "supply chain" encompasses all the links connecting a manufacturer to end users of its products. Links may take the form of plants, supplier warehouses, vendor facilities, ports or hubs, retail warehouses or facilities, and outbound shipping centers. Links also involve all the ways goods are moved-by truck, ship, airplane, or rail car. A great deal can go wrong in the supply chain due to company or systemic mismanagement and inefficiency, criminal activity, employee or technology errors, or terrorism, to name just a few of the threats. Then there are government regulation, industry or association oversight, and security agencies (both public and private) keeping track. Globalization, stricter security regimes, and increasingly sophisticated criminal activity have made cross-border cargo movements more complex, putting the integrity of end-to-end supply chains at much greater risk. This is why the security of the supply chain has become such an important issue for business people: there is too much at stake to let problems proliferate or stagnate. It has been estimated, for example, that thieves now steal $50 billion in goods each year from various points along the supply chain. Synthesizing the most current research, practical application, and policy, Global Supply Chain Security covers a range of emerging topics-from risk assessment to technology deployment to continuity planning-and will serve as a useful resource for anyone concerned with supply chain security issues, including scholars, students, business executives and policymakers.

The challenge of growth in transport, especially in freight transport, and scarce resources in money, landscape and local opposition against new infrastructure investment require new solutions from transport policy. This book deals with these issues taking as an example the transport corridor Rotterdam-Genoa, one of the most heavily used in Europe. In 2010 the INTERREG project Code24 with partners from five European countries started with the aim to develop a transnational strategy to strengthen and to develop the corridor. The main objective was to accelerate and jointly develop the transport capacity of the entire corridor by ensuring optimal economic benefits and spatial integration while reducing negative impacts on the environment at local and regional level. These issues are highlighted in the book from an interdisciplinary perspective, taking into account spatial, economic, environmental and political aspects.

Enterprise Interoperability is the ability of an enterprise or organisation to work with other enterprises or organisations without special effort. It is now recognised that interoperability of systems and thus sharing of information is not sufficient to ensure common understanding between enterprises. Knowledge of information meaning and understanding of how is to be used must also be shared if decision makers distributed between those enterprises in the network want to act consistently and efficiently. Industry's need for Enterprise Interoperability has been one of the significant drivers for research into the Internet of the Future. EI research will embrace and extend contributions from the Internet of Things and the Internet of Services, and will go on to drive the future needs for Internets of People, Processes, and Knowledge.