Stackelberg differential game models have been used to study sequential decision making in noncooperative games in diverse fields. In this paper, we survey recent applications of Stackelberg differential game models to the supply chain management and marketing channels literatures. A common feature of these applications is the specification of the game structure: a decentralized channel composed of a manufacturer and independent retailers, and a sequential decision procedure with demand and supply dynamics and coordination issues. In supply chain management, Stackelberg differential games have been used to investigate inventory issues, wholesale and retail pricing strategies, and outsourcing in dynamic environments. The underlying demand typically has growth dynamics or seasonal variation. In marketing, Stackelberg differential games have been used to model cooperative advertising programs, store brand and national brand advertising strategies, shelf space allocation, and pricing and advertising decisions. The demand dynamics are usually extensions of the classical advertising capital models or sales-advertising response models. We begin by explaining the Stackelberg differential game solution methodology and then provide a description of the models and results reported in the literature.

Modeling a business to match its customer perceived (and customer desired) outcomes, remains an on-going task. This paper considers shows how a service value networks (SVNs) approach may be engaged to model, and deliver, understanding of the front-end business and its direct engagement with its immediate (or front-end) customers. These front-end customers may be either: (1) its off-line, in-store customers — engaging directly with the business sales staff (or representative), or (2) its on-line, virtual customers — engaging with the business via internet or remote access. In this situation, both the business, and the customer draw upon their respective viewpoints, and both sides influence the interaction. External to these business and customer influences are additional factors that capture the immediate and broader global effects — termed environmental effects. These three business-customer engagement areas of influence are captured by a SVN SEM approach.

Without a business-customer encounter of some kind the likelihood of a services business, and a prospecting customer, successfully engaging in an exchange process is reduced. This exchange may be a physical, and/or services exchange, and/or an information and/or ideas exchange. To the business, this encounter is, in effect, a trade, and as a result, the business targets acquiring an economic exchange that will ultimately deliver a net positive economic outcome. To the customer, external and internal information feeds, servicing, perceived value, and satisfaction, are key encounter drivers. SVNs offers a new way to understand the business-customer encounter, and to then utilize this acquired knowledge to either: (1) build a strategic management model, or (2) reengineer its business networks, and to then create a re-positioned, more customer-aligned business operation — one that is capable of delivering win — win, competitive business-customer solutions.

This study provides a framework of target costing to extend its original scope when the underlying distribution is non-normal. The new specification limits can be derived by listening to the market price from Taguchi loss function. Later, the new specification limits can be linked through the non-normality-based Ĉ _pk value along with non-normality-based $\overline X $-R control charts to derive goal control limits. Moreover, an example is provided to illustrate the usefulness of the proposed framework of target costing by relentlessly reducing cost and improving product quality to gain competitiveness in the marketplace.

In this paper, we first introduce the concepts of knowledge closeness and knowledge distance for measuring the sameness and the difference among knowledge in an information system, respectively. The relationship between these two concepts is a strictly mutual complement relation. We then investigate some important properties of knowledge distance and perform experimental analyses on two public data sets, which show the presented measure appears to be well suited to characterize the nature of knowledge in an information system. Finally, we establish the relationship between the knowledge distance and knowledge granulation, which shows that two variants of the knowledge distance can also be used to construct the knowledge granulation. These results will be helpful for studying uncertainty in information systems.

This paper addresses the capacity allocation problem for a capacitated manufacturer who can distribute her product to the end customers through an independent retailer channel as well as through her direct channel. Demands of the channels are substitutable, which induces competition between them. We show that to avoid channel competition, it is possible for the manufacturer to deny the retailer of capacity. Specifically, if channel substitution rate is high, a retailer of low demand will never be allocated any capacity even when the available capacity is ample. While, if the channel substitution rate is low, capacity allocation strategy depends on the retailer’s demand and the available capacity. Many other interesting managerial insights are provided and illustrated with numerical examples.

Roadmapping, originated from industry as a strategic planning tool, is attracting increasing applications in academy. Based on the recognition that roadmapping is a knowledge creation process, this paper analyzes what kind of support is needed or helpful for establishing a creative environment for roadmapping in academy and reviews various types of such support from the perspective of i-system methodology. As case studies of such support, this paper further introduces roadmapping pratices in Janpan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

Chain reaction bankruptcy is regarded as common phenomenon and its effect is to be taken into account when credit risk portfolio is analyzed. But consideration and modeling of its effect leave much room for improvement. That is mainly because method for grasping relations among companies with limited data is underdeveloped. In this article, chance discovery method is applied to estimate industrial relations that are to include companies’ relations that transmit chain reaction of bankruptcy. Time order method and directed KeyGraph are newly introduced to distinguish and express the time order among defaults that is essential information for the analysis of chain reaction bankruptcy. The steps for the data analysis are introduced and result of example analysis with default data in Kyushu, Japan, 2005 is presented. The structure estimated by the new method is compared with the structure of actual account receivable holders of bankrupted companies for evaluation.

Reliability allocation problem is commonly treated using a closed-form expression relating the cost to reliability. A recent approach has introduced the use of discrete integer technique for un-repairable systems. This research addresses the allocation problem for repairable systems. It presents an integer formulation for finding the optimum selection of components based on the integer values of their Mean Time to Failure (MTTF) and Mean Time to Repair (MTTR). The objective is to minimize the total cost under a system reliability constraint, in addition to other physical constraints. Although, a closed-form expression relating the cost to reliability may not be a linear; however, in this research, the objective function will always be linear regardless of the shape of the equivalent continuous closed-form function. An example is solved using the proposed method and compared with the solution of the continuous closed-form version. The formulation for all possible system configurations, components and subsystems are also considered.