Prior research has debated the relative importance of such factors as human capital, political capital and region in determining workers' earnings in reform-era urban China. This article argues that a main agent of social stratification in contemporary China continues to be the danwei, the work unit. Using data from a 1999 survey we conducted in three large Chinese cities, Wuhan, Shanghai and X...

Many businesses still put too much focus on manufacturing, marketing and sales without considering the inter-linkages amongst these elements. This paper shows the importance of including packaging logistics and supply chain management in strategic planning. By integrating these aspects, retailers and suppliers may reduce costs, environmental impact and increase profits. A case study at IKEA is ...

OBJECTIVE To examine whether the nationwide smoking ban, imposed in 2007, had an impact on the profitability of Belgian restaurants. DATA AND METHODS Objective financial reporting data on 1613 restaurants were analysed with return on assets as the outcome measure. The data were collected from the Belfirst database and cover the period 2004-2009. To assess the impact of the smoking ban, a diff...

Funding combination is the most important issue for the companies while they know the amount of required capital. Companies should be careful regarding the appliance of financial providing methods compatible with the investment strategy of company and profitability. This study seeks to examine the relationship between the capital structure and the profitability of pharmaceutical companies in Ir...

Purpose – This paper aims to assess the usefulness of cost-to-serve for customer profitability management through literature review and a case study in a food-industry company. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on a case study. The study presents the state-of-the-art of the literature review related to cost-to-serve measurement and customer profitability analysis and a case st...

Customer value creation is allegedly at the centre of relationships between service recipients and service providers (such as financial service organisations in general, and commercial banks in particular). This research considers the role of customer value creation in the strategic response of banks to external changes in their growth opportunities. The analysis established that there had been...

Conservation agriculture (CA) practices are being widely promoted in many areas in sub-Saharan Africa to recuperate degraded soils and improve ecosystem services. This study examined the effects of three tillage practices [conventional moldboard plowing (CT), hand hoeing (MT) and no-tillage (NT)], and three cropping systems (continuous maize, soybean-maize annual rotation, and soybean/maize int...

Richter, J. P., & Muhlestein, D. B. (in press). Patient experience and hospital profitability: Is there a link? Health Care Management Review. To assess whether, independent of a direct financial impact, a more positive patient experience is associated with increased profitability.  A positive patient experience is associated with increased profitability, and a negative patient experience is e...

Notes: Center discussion papers are preliminary materials circulated to stimulate discussion and critical comments.