Market Contingent Hierarchies: Theory and Evidence. Operating in a small open economy trying to pursue an export-led strategy for economic growth, Australian firms are increasingly exposed to the types of market uncertainties that are the subject of this project. Australian firms cannot rely on economies of scale developed through large domestic markets but must instead depend on innovation and organisational nimbleness to exploit opportunities as they appear. This project will develop and test ....Market Contingent Hierarchies: Theory and Evidence. Operating in a small open economy trying to pursue an export-led strategy for economic growth, Australian firms are increasingly exposed to the types of market uncertainties that are the subject of this project. Australian firms cannot rely on economies of scale developed through large domestic markets but must instead depend on innovation and organisational nimbleness to exploit opportunities as they appear. This project will develop and test with Australian data the organisational theories necessary for the international success of Australian firms. Read moreRead less
Modelling the Quality of Hospital Care in Australia. It is estimated that substandard quality of hospital care causes around 4,500 deaths and 12,500 cases of permanent disability per year. Results from the study will support the implementation of quality control programs to help prevent unnecessary harm to patients, improve the quality of hospital care, and more generally, promote the objectives of the Australian health care system. The envisaged outcomes advance national research priorities by ....Modelling the Quality of Hospital Care in Australia. It is estimated that substandard quality of hospital care causes around 4,500 deaths and 12,500 cases of permanent disability per year. Results from the study will support the implementation of quality control programs to help prevent unnecessary harm to patients, improve the quality of hospital care, and more generally, promote the objectives of the Australian health care system. The envisaged outcomes advance national research priorities by improving health care provided to children and the elderly. The Fellowship will help alleviate the shortage of health economists in Australia by improving my own skills and supporting me to train junior staff.Read moreRead less
A Synthesis of Agency and Managerial Power Theories and Its Applications to Corporate Governance, Management Compensation, and Firm Performance. The existing models of corporate governance in economics and finance based on agency theory do not successfully portray all modern corporations. Thus the importance of a new and rigorous way to study corporate governance can be hardly exaggerated. This project will provide a synthesized theory of corporate governance and is expected to produce highest- ....A Synthesis of Agency and Managerial Power Theories and Its Applications to Corporate Governance, Management Compensation, and Firm Performance. The existing models of corporate governance in economics and finance based on agency theory do not successfully portray all modern corporations. Thus the importance of a new and rigorous way to study corporate governance can be hardly exaggerated. This project will provide a synthesized theory of corporate governance and is expected to produce highest-quality research publishable in top-tier journals. This will, among others, enhance Australia's standing as a knowledge nation. This project is also expected to contribute to the discussions on how to improve corporate governance and regulation of management compensation both in Australia and abroad. Read moreRead less
What do boards do? The measurement of board activity, its impact on firm valuation and board responses to the financial crisis. This study examines what corporate boards do using a novel measurement approach. It is expected that this measure will be widely adopted by industry and academia.
An empirical analysis of structural cost management decision making. This study analyses the rationale adopted by firms in implementing cost management choices with significant social and economic consequences. Layoffs, across-the-board cost cuts and off-shoring are significant influences on workforce participation levels in the Australian economy. This study explores the factors associated with firms and managers that lead to systematic preferences for certain types of cost management respons ....An empirical analysis of structural cost management decision making. This study analyses the rationale adopted by firms in implementing cost management choices with significant social and economic consequences. Layoffs, across-the-board cost cuts and off-shoring are significant influences on workforce participation levels in the Australian economy. This study explores the factors associated with firms and managers that lead to systematic preferences for certain types of cost management responses. In analysing these decisions in a range of organizational settings, and seeking to establish best practice benchmarks in innovative cost management practice, this study directly supports the government's workforce participation agenda. Read moreRead less
Public-Private-Partnership Governance and Performance: An Empirical Assessment. While Australia's rural and regional communities require improved infrastructure services at reduced costs and higher quality; infrastructure costs are significant and governments' funds are insufficient to meet demand. Public-private-partnerships (PPPs), if they work successfully, can be the key to meet this demand. As PPPs reduce the financial investment that governments need to make, the greater the opportunity fo ....Public-Private-Partnership Governance and Performance: An Empirical Assessment. While Australia's rural and regional communities require improved infrastructure services at reduced costs and higher quality; infrastructure costs are significant and governments' funds are insufficient to meet demand. Public-private-partnerships (PPPs), if they work successfully, can be the key to meet this demand. As PPPs reduce the financial investment that governments need to make, the greater the opportunity for considered infrastructure development, if the PPPs are successful and meet their intended financial and social objectives. Thus, a better understanding of the performance outcomes of different governance mechanisms in PPPs can result in less expensive and better infrastructure services for Australia's communities.Read moreRead less
Outcome Trust: An Experimental Validation. Scholars have studied trust from a host of disciplinary perspectives. With such a diversity of scholarship, we find both a conflict over approaches and methods as well as the inevitable differences about the fundamental nature of the concept of trust. Bhattacharya, Devinney & Pillutla develop a remarkably robust operational model of trust that is a function of two factors, the uncertainty faced by the parties to a relationship and the conjectures they ....Outcome Trust: An Experimental Validation. Scholars have studied trust from a host of disciplinary perspectives. With such a diversity of scholarship, we find both a conflict over approaches and methods as well as the inevitable differences about the fundamental nature of the concept of trust. Bhattacharya, Devinney & Pillutla develop a remarkably robust operational model of trust that is a function of two factors, the uncertainty faced by the parties to a relationship and the conjectures they form about each other's actions. We propose to test this formulation rigorously, using experimental methods, thereby allowing us to broaden our understanding of the critical concept of trust.Read moreRead less
Massively parallel algorithms for Bayesian inference and decision making. This project uses the graphical processing units of desktop computers, originally developed for games and video, to enhance substantially the quantitative tools used on a daily basis by economists. It will develop procedures and software to enhance the reliability of economic predictions and policy.
Managing the Diffusion of Innovations: Understanding the Processes of R&D Collaboration in East Asia and drawing lessons for Australia. A series of collaborative R&D ventures have emerged in East Asia, within quite distinctive institutional frameworks. Unlike the case of many of the collaborative arrangements in the US, Europe or Japan, where mutual risk reduction is frequently the driving influence, in the case of Taiwan, Korea and Singapore it is technological learning, upgrading and catch-up ....Managing the Diffusion of Innovations: Understanding the Processes of R&D Collaboration in East Asia and drawing lessons for Australia. A series of collaborative R&D ventures have emerged in East Asia, within quite distinctive institutional frameworks. Unlike the case of many of the collaborative arrangements in the US, Europe or Japan, where mutual risk reduction is frequently the driving influence, in the case of Taiwan, Korea and Singapore it is technological learning, upgrading and catch-up industry creation that is the object of the collaborative exercises. The study is concerned with the evolving organizational architecture of these R&D alliances and seeks to draw comparisons between them and established collaborative arrangements in the USA, Japan and Europe, and draw lessons for Australia.Read moreRead less
Cyclical industrial dynamics in high-technology industry: The case of Flat Panel Displays. Australian high-technology industry policy is strongly focused on securing entry by Australian firms into such industries as semiconductors and flat panel displays (which utilize ICT and photonics technologies). Success to date has been modest. One of the prime barriers to entry is the cyclical character of the industries - in the sense that firms in East Asia appear to have secured entry only during downt ....Cyclical industrial dynamics in high-technology industry: The case of Flat Panel Displays. Australian high-technology industry policy is strongly focused on securing entry by Australian firms into such industries as semiconductors and flat panel displays (which utilize ICT and photonics technologies). Success to date has been modest. One of the prime barriers to entry is the cyclical character of the industries - in the sense that firms in East Asia appear to have secured entry only during downturns. A deeper understanding of the cyclical industrial dynamics of such industries promises to enhance the prospects for successful entry by Australian firms, and thereby contribute to fulfilling the goals of public policy in this area.Read moreRead less