Cost-related Factors Research Articles

Addressing effective construction logistics through the lens of vehicle movements

Purpose – Construction logistics is an essential part of construction supply chain management (CSCM). However, limited attention has been paid to this issue in the New Zealand construction industry. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge about what hampers efficiency in transporting construction materials and plants to a construction site. The intention is to gain detailed understanding of the practice and obstacles in efficient construction logistics and thus identify interventions to improve logistics efficiency, especially using the numbers of vehicle movements to the construction site as an indicator. Design/methodology/approach – A case study approach was adopted with on-site observations and interviews. Observations were performed during constructions on-site from the start of construction to “hand-over” to the building owner. A selection of construction suppliers and subcontractors involved in the studied project were interviewed. Findings – Data analysis suggested that cost-related factors affecting the construction logistics, both monetary and non-monetary factors were not measured and largely ignored, especially the possible environmental and/or social impact occurred by the truck movement. Factors in the service-related sector were insufficiently managed in the observed site. The main contribution to inefficient construction logistics are related to understanding and implementing CSCM. It is noticed that there is inadequate awareness of CSCM and logistics efficiency largely due to lack of commitment from the management level and skills at the operational level. Originality/value – Significant intrinsic and extrinsic interventions necessary to enhance construction logistics were acknowledged from the data analysis. These include both qualitative and quantitative data. These intrinsic and extrinsic interventions, such as implementing appropriate logistics tools that suits individual site and introducing traffic management costs, offer plausible explanations regarding how to improve the efficiency in construction logistics through optimising transportation movements to the construction site.

Life Circle Cost Minimizing Modeling for Highway Alignment base on Genetic Algorithm

Highway alignment design is always treated as a complicated multi-objective related question which can be solved by a life circle cost minimization model. Life circle cost minimization model, involves main cost-related factors considered in highway alignment design, is discussed in this paper. A new genetic algorithm with a powerful genetic operator for alignment design is proposed for this model. This algorithm, retaining the evolving stability of those superior individuals, fully enhances the converging speed, solution accuracy and make up the deficiencies in generality of conventional method in coping with prematurity. Experiments show that the new method makes remarkable progress in robustness and effectiveness compared with other methods and possesses significant values in engineering applications.

Role of Modern Factors in the Process of Choosing a Location of an Enterprise

Decisions on locating enterprises in an area are complex and involve an in-depth analysis of many factors. Apparently, traditional factors which are often identified with cost-related factors are not the standard or a sole basis for choosing a location for an enterprise. New factors continue to emerge as a result of the current technological progress and development of the society. They are often referred to as modern factors and they accompany the birth of new businesses which respond to contemporary consumer needs and create new products and services. In principle, a location decision is influenced by many factors, classified both to traditional (classical) factors and to modern factors. Furthermore, the literature offers a distinction between hard and soft factorsi.e. measurable and non-measurable factors, having a different weight in a decision-making process. Their impact is dependent on the type of business and a size of an enterprise and the stage of decision-making. It is common that the human factor, related to decision-makers’ characteristics and motives, plays an important role in the decision-making process. The factor is rather difficult to measure. This paper discusses and identifies the importance of the modern factors, with a particular emphasis of the personal aspect of the decision-making process in matters of location of enterprises.

Factors Affecting Cost Overruns in Micro-scaled Construction Companies

The ultimate goal of any construction company is to make profit and thereby earn money at the end of each undertaken project. In order to achieve this goal, construction companies should complete the projects within their anticipated budgets and durations, and expected quality targets. However in most construction projects severe cost overruns occur due to various factors. Experiencing cost overruns is a very important problem for construction companies, but especially for micro-scaled construction companies. Severe cost overruns may even cause micro-scaled construction companies’ bankruptcies. Therefore, micro-scaled construction companies should thoroughly analyze the factors that prevail in the project in question. The main objective of this study is to investigate the importance levels of factors that may bring about cost overruns in construction projects undertaken by micro-scaled construction companies. For this purpose, an extensive literature review was conducted and 38 factors were identified. These factors were categorized into 7 major groups, which are: 1) Contract-related factors, 2) Time-related factors, 3) Cost-related factors, 4) Quality-related factors, 5) Human resource-related factors, 6) Communications-related factors, and 7) Risk-related factors. A questionnaire, which consists of 10 questions, was designed based on information gathered from the literature review. The questionnaire mainly comprises 3 sections. These questionnaires were delivered to 136 micro-scaled construction companies. Out of these 136 companies, 78 returned completed questionnaires. This accounts for a response rate of 57%. Reliability and ranking analyses were carried out on the collected data. The survey results indicated that design problems (i.e., design changes, constructability problems, delays in design approvals) is the most critical factor.

The main cost-related factors in airlines management

This paper analyzes the main factors that affect the strategies to reduce airlines costs. These costs factors were presented to experts from the airline industry through two rounds of questionnaires in sense to be weighed. It was applied a method based on the structure of the AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) and the results show that the main important factors for a cost-related airlines strategy are, in importance: route structure and mesh; type and characteristics of the aircraft; cost of labor and management quality. This hierarchy can help the decision maker when facing the need of defining priorities in reduction costs. past decades despite the increase in air transportation and significant decrease in average operation costs, it is observed that airlines have low profitability. The liberalization of the markets and increase opportunities for competition diminishes prices, even when airlines face increasing costs. Considering that advantage in costs is an important strategy for carriers to remain in the market, this paper analyzes the main factors that affect the strategies to reduce airlines costs. These costs factors were presented to experts from the airline industry through two rounds of questionnaires in sense to be weighed. It was applied a method based on the structure of the AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) and the results show that the main important factors for a cost-related airlines strategy are, in order of importance: route structure and mesh; type and characteristics of the aircraft; cost of labor and management quality. This hierarchy can help the decision maker when facing the need of defining priorities in reduction costs.

Examining Health Care Costs Among MANNA Clients and a Comparison Group

Chronically ill populations have a strong need for quality public health nutrition services to aid in disease management and improve health outcomes. Evidence suggests that neglecting the importance of adequate nutrition in chronically ill patients has far-reaching implications on the health status of the individual and the health care costs. Research is currently lacking a focus on this topic. This pilot study done through the nonprofit organization MANNA (Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance), which serves the greater Philadelphia area, explored the health care expenditures of 65 MANNA clients over time in comparison with a similar group of Medicaid patients who did not receive MANNA services. Health care expenditures were examined before and after clients began receiving services. The study found that the mean monthly health care costs decreased for three consecutive months after initiation of MANNA services. Other health care cost-related factors, such as inpatient costs, length of stay, and number of hospital admissions also displayed a downward trend. These results help show the significance of medical nutrition therapy and home-delivered meal services on overall health care.

Evaluating the effect of cost related factors on relationship quality

PurposeIn today's competitive retail industry maintaining relationships with suppliers has become very important to modern day retailers. To develop and maintain long‐term relationships with their suppliers, retailers need to identify and understand the key antecedents enhancing the quality of their relationships. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of the cost related factors on relationship quality in the retail industry.Design/methodology/approachThis study is exploratory in nature and involved factor and multiple regression analysis. Data were cross sectional in nature and the unit of analysis was individual retail companies in Bangladesh.FindingsResults derived from the exploratory factor analysis revealed a new factor named operational cost. The results of the regression analysis showed that termination cost became the strongest predictor influencing the quality of a retailer's relationship with its suppliers.Research limitations/implicationsThe characteristics of the three cost related factors from the study indicated that future research should focus on and incorporate other factors influencing relationship quality in retail settings.Practical implicationsThe results from the study identified a few key cost factors, based upon which the retailers can take necessary steps to develop effective relationship marketing strategies with their suppliers.Social implicationsThe findings from this research can guide retailers to enhance their relationship with their suppliers, thus contributing toward a more harmonious working environment within the B2B domain.Originality/valueThe research is based on primary data collected from Bangladesh's retail industry.

Perceived value, transaction cost, and repurchase-intention in online shopping: A relational exchange perspective

This study proposes a framework to understand the impacts of both value-related and transaction cost-related factors on repurchase intention from online shoppers' perspective. In particular, this study defines the construct of cost as a three-component conceptualization (i.e., information searching cost, moral hazard cost, and specific asset investment). Based upon empirical evidence on a survey of 887 online shoppers, this study shows that consumers' perceived value and each cost component are positively related to repurchase intention. Importantly, information searching cost exerts the most significant influence on repurchase intentions among the four relational factors. The result suggests that providing sufficient cues to reduce consumers' information searching cost is the core element of repurchase intention formation. This article closes with theoretical and practical implications.

Do Central and Eastern European Countries Posses FDI Advantages to More Developed Western Countries?

This paper examines the main determinants of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 26 European countries over the period 1996 -2010. The previous research reports two groups of explanatory factors: gravity factors (proximity, market size) and factor endowments (infrastructure, human capital). Other factors that are found to have significant effect are trade openness, tax policy and tax incentives, labor costs and regional integration. Using regression analysis on a data panel consisting of nearly 390 observations from a total of 26 European countries, the study shows significant relationships between FDI and various proxies for different location, institutional and policy factors. By distinguishing between Eastern and Western European countries, this study provides further evidence that the importance of different location factors is not significantly different across the two groups of countries, whilst there is a set of institutional quality effects that are stronger in the group of more developed Western economies. At the same time cost-related factors such as corporate tax rate and unit labor costs appear to be of high significance only for the group of CEE countries. Thus, we may conclude that Central and Eastern European countries do posses some comparative advantages to more developed Western countries as attractive destination to foreign investors.

The determinants of export market performance in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development service industries

This study aims to investigate the determinants of service export market performance, using OECD data. Real exchange rate, technology variables and institutional environment are introduced as explanatory variables in regressions for 17 OECD countries over 2001–2007. Some of the major findings from the study can be summarized as follows. There was no robust evidence that cost-related factors have an impact on service export performances. Controlling for cost changes, it was found that technology factors (R&D intensity, fixed capital formation and IT investment) have a positive effect on export market share dynamics. It is also clear that the institutional factors (human capital, free trade environment and English as an official language) have a positive impact on service export performances.

Scepticism towards insecticide treated mosquito nets for malaria control in rural community in north-western Tanzania.

Despite existence of effective tools for malaria control, malaria continues to be one of the leading killer diseases especially among under-five year children and pregnant women in poor rural populations of Sub Saharan Africa. In Tanzania Mainland the disease contributes to 39.4% of the total OPD attendances. In terms of mortality, malaria is known to be responsible for more than one third of deaths among children of age below 5 years and also contributes for up to one fifth of deaths among pregnant women. This paper is based on a study conducted in a rural community along the shores of Lake Victoria in Mwanza region, North-Western Tanzania. The study explores reasons for scepticism and low uptake of insecticide treated mosquito nets (ITNs) that were promoted through social marketing strategy for malaria control prior to the introduction of long lasting nets (LLN). The paper breaks from traditional approach that tend to study low uptake of health interventions in terms of structural practical constraints--cost, accessibility, everyday priorities--or in terms of cognition--insufficient knowledge of benefits e.g. ignorance of public health messages. This paper has shown that, the majority of people who could afford the prices of ITNs and who knew where to obtain the insecticides did not necessarily buy them. This suggests that, although people tend to report cost-related factors as a barrier against the use of ITNs, there are other critical concerns at work. Without underestimating the practical factors, our study have recommended to consider critical examinations of those other concerns that hinder optimal utilization of ITN for malaria control, and the basis for those concerns.

On the scale-neutrality of transgenic seeds: Micro-level access, impacts and implications on further research

For transgenic seeds to contribute to agricultural development and food security, transaction cost-related factors, gender issues, institutional constraints and smallholder farmers’ preferences will have to be addressed. In the light of the prevailing controversies and debates, this paper partially reviews the transgenic seeds’ impact on the literature to assess their scale neutrality and identify the methodological and research issues for future impact studies. In terms of methodology, selection bias, lack of explicit attention to risk, endogeneity, dependence on single season data, comparing average outcomes for users versus non-users, and using recall survey data are identified as the most important weaknesses of the existing impact studies. Further issues include heterogeneous impacts on rural poverty and farm income, scale-neutrality, dis-adoption, desirable and undesirable features of transgenic seeds, and their potential crowding-out effect on transgenic seeds on traditional varieties. The paper has argued and presented the reasons for non-scale neutrality of transgenic seeds, at access and impact levels. Integrating transgenic technology into the African rural development agenda needs addressing agricultural biotechnology transfer mechanisms sensitive to gender, farmer heterogeneity and income distribution for which there is a need to create public-private partnerships as these criteria are less appealing to the private sector. Key words: Transgenic seeds, heterogeneous impacts, scale neutrality, methodological issues, policy options.

Two-stage adoption of different types of pollution prevention (P2) activities

Pollution prevention (P2) remains the key pollution reduction strategy in the US despite its limited success in improving environmental performance. To aid the targeting of policies to promote the types of P2 that achieve environmental goals, this study investigates the intricate nature of P2 adoption by (1) distinguishing among three types of P2: procedural changes, input and material changes and equipment and product changes, (2) disentangling the adoption decision into a binary and a count decision, and (3) analyzing benefit- and cost-related factors. Using a sample of facilities of S&P 500 firms, I employ NB hurdle models to analyze how facilities respond to these factors in making P2 adoption decisions. I find that facilities that have lower cost of adoption due to past P2 experience have higher likelihood of adoption and higher rates of adoption of all types of P2. However, those exposed to greater threat of enforcement action find limited scope for P2 in achieving environmental compliance objectives. Some regulatory threat variables even have a negative effect. Facilities also adopt P2 to enjoy market-related benefits: final good producers are more likely to adopt P2 that appeal to consumers (input and material changes), while intermediate good producers are more likely to adopt P2 that is valued by its supply chain (procedural changes). Community characteristics and other knowledge sources are not always positively associated with the likelihood of adoption nor with the rate of adoption.

Rapid assessment methods in eye care: An overview

Reliable information is required for the planning and management of eye care services. While classical research methods provide reliable estimates, they are prohibitively expensive and resource intensive. Rapid assessment (RA) methods are indispensable tools in situations where data are needed quickly and where time- or cost-related factors prohibit the use of classical epidemiological surveys. These methods have been developed and field tested, and can be applied across almost the entire gamut of health care. The 1990s witnessed the emergence of RA methods in eye care for cataract, onchocerciasis, and trachoma and, more recently, the main causes of avoidable blindness and visual impairment. The important features of RA methods include the use of local resources, simplified sampling methodology, and a simple examination protocol/data collection method that can be performed by locally available personnel. The analysis is quick and easy to interpret. The entire process is inexpensive, so the survey may be repeated once every 5–10 years to assess the changing trends in disease burden. RA survey methods are typically linked with an intervention. This article provides an overview of the RA methods commonly used in eye care, and emphasizes the selection of appropriate methods based on the local need and context.

The Role of Cost Related Factors in the Competitiveness of European Services

The emergence of service offshoring places competitiveness at the centre of the discussion on international trade and business. Service competitiveness factors remain a field that is largely unexplored. This paper addresses the role of cost related factors explaining service competitiveness. It empirically tests trade performance of 15 European countries in 8 service markets in order to observe the role of cost factors, country effects and industry specific patterns. A model based on cross section and panel data regressions is suggested in order to test the influence of cost determinants and their elasticities. Results show great heterogeneity among service activities and suggest the importance of non-cost related factors within European Union countries.

Factors that determine use of breeding services by smallholder dairy farmers in Central Kenya

This study examined the determinants of smallholder dairy farmers' use of breeding services in Nyandarua and Kiambu districts, Central Kenya. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 140 randomly selected respondents. The breeding services considered were artificial insemination (AI), natural bull service, or a combination of AI and bull services. A multinomial logit econometric model was used fitting AI as the base category. There was a negative relationship between higher levels of education, herd size, and location and the use of bull service. However, education, herd size, and credit were positively related to the combined option. The results indicate that uptake of AI services after the liberalization of the sector is influenced by other factors besides cost-related factors. Factors such as accessibility to breeding services and product markets had influence on the farmer decision to choose among the available breeding services. The effectiveness of the breeding services in terms of successful conception also plays a big role in the choice. A need for concerted efforts to increase farmer's knowledge base on utilization and effectiveness of available breeding services is imperative. Furthermore, smallholder dairy farming could be made more sustainable and economically viable by implementing initiatives geared towards enhancing access to breeding services that would guarantee access to quality genetic material.

ON THE PROVISION OF MICRO LOANS - MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS AND TRADITIONAL BANKS

This paper employs a utility maximizing model to answer two questions: (i) what are the cost-related factors that determine the supply of a loan by traditional banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs)?; and (ii) why is the supply of micro loan zero under a bank’s maximization problem while it is positive under the maximization problem of an MFI? We find that costs associated with default, information asymmetry and liability determine the supply of a loan by a financial institution. Furthermore, we show that under certain conditions (that we derive) a bank may make a loss if it provides micro loan. As a result, it does not supply micro loan.

Deferring a University Offer in Rural Australia

Atrend of increasing regional disadvantage is suggested in the pattern of rising rates of deferral of university places amongst rural school-completers in Australia. Cost-related factors and financial barriers are prominent in the reasons given by these young people for deferring a place at university. These trends formed the impetus for a study of the destinations of rural school-completers in the Australian state of Victoria, the findings of which are reported in this article. The issue of theoretical and practical interest that this article examines is whether this phenomenon of deferral constitutes a disadvantage for these young people. Are these deferrers ‘lost’ to the system? Do they eventually take up their places? Are some groups less likely to take them up than others? What happens to the rest? Of particular interest is the question regarding what barriers might prevent some groups from taking up their place. And finally, what is the experience of those who enter university? Do they continue and thrive in their studies? This article considers these questions in the context of data outlining the destinations of non-metropolitan deferrers in their second year out of school.

Evaluating options for US coal fired power plants in the face of uncertainties and greenhouse gas caps: The economics of refurbishing, retrofitting, and repowering

Facing a cost for emitting carbon dioxide, US entities that own coal-fired power plants have a number of options to pursue as alternatives to retiring the plant and investing in a new one with lower carbon emissions. These include: (1) continuing to operate business as usual and obtaining emission allowances as needed, (2) switching to or cofiring low carbon fuels, (3) retrofitting with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), (4) repowering with an advanced coal technology incorporating CCS, and (5) refurbishing to improve plant efficiency in combination with any of the previous options. Markets for refurbishing, retrofitting, and repowering were assessed using data bases of existing coal fired power plants along with the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) code, which was modified to undertake an integrated analysis of how retrofit and repowering options would compete with other options for managing the fleet of coal fired power plants. Sensitivities with respect to key uncertainties are presented, including carbon values, natural gas prices, CCS incentives, and system-wide cost effectiveness of refurbishing in conjunction with retrofitting or repowering. The indicated market for coal fired power plants that could be retrofitted with near commercial CCS technology under carbon cost scenarios ranging from 45–60$/MTCO2e (metric ton CO2 equivalent) is on the order of 100 GW. A similar market is apparent for repowering, but with technologies that are as yet not commercialized. Below 30$/MTCO2e, CCS technologies would not deploy without incentives. While refurbishing can extend the market for either retrofitting or repowering, its impact will depend on the extent to which efficiency as well as other cost related factors can be collectively upgraded.

Colorado workers' compensation: medical vs chiropractic costs for the treatment of low back pain

Objective Low back disorders (LBDs) are the most common complaint among workers; therefore, many questions arise about cost-effective treatment approaches. This investigation evaluated the differences in cost-related factors among a population of patients selecting chiropractic vs allopathic care for the treatment of nonspecific LBDs. The study hypothesis was that chiropractic care would be more cost-effective or equivalent to allopathic care for the noncomplicated LBDs. Methods Cases were extracted from an insurance company database of patients reporting work-related low back injuries who were treated with either chiropractic or allopathic approaches. Cases were matched using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, codes 722 (intervertebral disk disorders), 724 (other and unspecified disorders of the back), and 847 (sprains and strains of other and unspecified parts). The data set included 76 chiropractic cases and 2386 medical cases. Results The total amount paid by the insurance company was 1.7 times higher for patients treated by doctors of chiropractic (DCs) compared with those treated by medical doctors (MDs), and the cost of clinical treatment was 3.3 times higher for the DCs than MDs. Conclusion The cost for treatment by DCs was greater than that of MDs for similarly classified conditions affecting the low back. The amount paid by the insurance company was primarily related to the number of services given by each provider.