IE University

About: IE University is a education organization based out in Segovia, Castilla y León, Spain. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Corporate governance & Context (language use). The organization has 527 authors who have published 1709 publications receiving 64682 citations.

Improving Product Design Using Quality Function Deployment: The School Furniture Case in Developing Countries

Abstract: This paper presents a quality function deployment (QFD) analysis of the design of school furniture in developing countries, using Costa Rica as the baseline. The dynamic hierarchy process model for QFD was used to help the product development team make effective decisions in satisfying the requirements of the customer constrained by limited resources. A number of total quality management (TQM) tools were employed during the development of the school furniture solution. A dynamic, cross-functional team organization was used. A simple form of quality function deployment was used to identify the desirable product design, safety, and service features.

Why are the Levels of Control (so) Different in German and UK Companies? Evidence from Initial Public Offerings

Abstract: We analyse why the control of listed German and UK companies is so different. As shareholders in Germany are less protected and control is less expensive, German investors prefer controlling stakes. We also focus on economic factors such as profitability, risk and growth to predict the probability of occurrence of different states of control six years after the flotation. Large UK companies become widely held whereas in large German firms new shareholders control significantly larger stakes. Wealth constraints become binding for UK shareholders whereas German shareholders can avoid this by using pyramids. We find substantial differences between a takeover by a concentrated shareholder and one by a widely-held company. For the UK, the probability of the former increases when the company is risky, small and poorly performing. Conversely, the latter is more likely when the target is large, fast growing and profitable. Poor performance and high risk require control and monitoring by a concentrated shareholder. Conversely, high growth and profitability attract widely-held companies. Founders are less inclined to dilute their stake to retain private benefits of control. When German firms are profitable and risky, control is likely to go to a concentrated shareholder, but growth and low profitability increase the probability of a control acquisition by a widely-held firm.

Will politics be tweeted? New media use by Iranian youth in 2011

Abstract: The uprisings after the 2009 elections in Iran generated debate on new media’s potential to affect dissent in authoritarian countries. We surveyed 2800 young, educated, metropolitan, and technologically savvy Iranians over a year after the election and during the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa to examine what sources these youth use for information, the extent to which they rely on new media for political exchanges, their experiences with online censorship, and political efficacy as related to new media. Although the Internet was stated as the most important news outlet, state-controlled television was often used, and Twitter was the least prevalent new media platform. Personal issues and IT/science were more often discussed via new media than politics. Further, it was using new media, not talking politics online, that predicted the frequency with which respondents encountered blocked websites online and also perceptions of their ownpolitical efficacy. Although our findings may support voic...

The decision of the supply chain executive to support or impede supply chain integration: A multidisciplinary behavioral agency perspective

Abstract: Applying the behavioral agency model developed by Wiseman and Gomez-Mejia (1998), this article analyzes human resource factors that induce supply chain executives (SCEs) to make decisions that foster or hinder supply chain integration. We examine two internal sources (compensation and employment risk) and one external source (environmental volatility) of risk bearing that can make SCEs more reluctant to make the decision to promote supply chain integration. We argue and empirically confirm the notion that an employment and compensation system that increases SCE risk bearing reduces the SCE's willingness to make risky decisions and thus discourages supply chain integration. We also reveal that this negative relationship becomes stronger under conditions of high environmental volatility. In addressing the “so what?” question, we found empirical support for the hypothesis that supply chain integration positively influences operational performance. Even though this decision has a positive value for the firm, we showed that SCEs discourage supply chain integration when they face higher risk bearing. Hypotheses are tested using a combination of primary survey data and archival measures in a sample of 133 Spanish firms.