Interplay Of Costs Research Articles

Looking at the big picture of IS investment appraisal through the lens of systems theory: A System Dynamics approach for understanding the economic impact of BIM

Despite the fact that Building Information Modelling (BIM) is one of the most promising technological developments for the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, the body of literature addressing its financial implications on corporate level is still limited. Therefore, we propose a quantification model that is based on design science research and provides an enhanced understanding of cost and benefit implications arising from BIM investments from a systems theory perspective. The quantification model developed in System Dynamics (SD) is based on a literature review as well as a case study, whereby the socio-technical nature of BIM, its various tangible and intangible benefits as well as its multiple impact levels on the corporate system are taken into account. The results of our simulation experiments within the scope of the case study reveal that the interplay of costs and benefits of BIM with the subsystems of the organisation is manifold, which results in a long-term improvement of the company’s economic performance. Through the lens of systems theory, the financial impacts of the BIM investment can be examined by integrating all costs and benefits into the subsystems of the organisation and by investigating their interplay on system level rather than treating them as isolated system elements.

The interplay of costs, trust and loyalty in a service industry in transition: The moderating effect of smartphone adoption

The importance of loyalty in service industries is widely recognized, and previous studies show consumer trust and perceived costs affect loyalty. The interplay of costs, trust and loyalty has also been shown for the telecommunications industry, but the recent smartphone revolution challenges existing theorizing. As consumers with smartphones collect and share more data including location information, increasing privacy and security risks make consumer trust even more important. Moreover, consumers with smartphones spend less on voice calling and text messages since they switch to over-the-top services, which changes the relationship that consumers have with their mobile operator. This paper studies the impact of perceived costs and trust in operators on the loyalty that consumers express towards their operator. We analyse a representative sample of 549 Dutch consumers, of which 25% own a smartphone. The effect of trust on loyalty is significant and consistent across smartphone owners and non-owners. Perceived costs have an indirect effect on loyalty, mediated by trust, but this indirect effect is fully moderated by smartphone ownership. Practical implication is that maintaining consumers’ trust continues to be important to retain their loyalty, and especially smartphone owners should be offered tariffs that consumers consider fair.

PCN11 - Magnitude of Benefit and Costs for Recent Solid Tumor Agents

Phase 3 oncology clinical trials have had success rates of 41% (Djulbegovic, Arch Int Med 2008). Against this backdrop, context is needed on the magnitude of benefit to expect from future successful trials, and the interplay of cost. Recognizing the limitations of comparing results across trials and therapies, we assessed recent FDA solid tumor approvals showing overall survival (OS) benefit in a randomized trial. The objective of this analysis is to define the magnitude of benefit and cost of solid tumor therapies approved by FDA from 2009-2013 having phase 3 OS benefit. A systematic review of CenterWatch FDA-Approved Drugs and FDA sNDA/sBLA databases was conducted. Inclusion criteria required FDA approval or efficacy supplement, with OS data published 2009-2013. Hazard ratio (HR) and absolute and relative gain in median OS were assessed. First month drug costs were determined for 4Q2013, using methods previously described by Bach (NEJM 2009). Agents intended to be administered for £ 6 weeks were excluded from the cost analysis. Limitations include omission of many agents that represent important advances yet did not demonstrate statistically significant OS benefit relative to a control arm. 18 FDA approved agents across 25 indications for 9 tumor types were assessed. The mean HR (range) and the mean relative gain in median OS vs trial comparator was 0.702 (0.410-0.817) and 27.91% (11.9%-67.2%), respectively. Medians for each measure were 0.725 and 23.6%. Mean first month treatment costs were $12,601 ($5,881-$50,025) with median costs of $9,282. Over the last 5 years, for FDA-approved agents for treatment of solid tumors, the magnitude of survival benefit, measured either as Hazard Ratio or relative gain in median OS, was 24-30%. This benefit, and first month costs of $9 - 13,000, may represent midpoints of expected levels for future solid tumor agents.

A Model of the Cost of Income Shifting with an Application to Tax Planning and E-Commerce

This manuscript develops a model that incorporates income shifting into investments by U.S. multinationals in their foreign subsidiaries. The model demonstrates that, while there is always an incentive to shift income into the U.S. from high foreign tax rate subsidiaries, income shifting out of the U.S. to low tax rate countries occurs only when the required rate of return on foreign investments is low (repatriations are unlikely), i.e., it is not always optimal to shift to low-tax-rate countries. It also shows that the optimal amount of shifting relates to the interplay of costs and the tax rate differential. We apply the model to examine a setting where cross-sectional costs of income shifting likely vary based on the extent to which a firm is engaged in electronic commerce. Electronic commerce potentially alleviates costs by making it easier for firms to strategically locate sales among foreign jurisdictions, and to shift sales between domestic and foreign locations to benefit from the relative taxation of the two. Consistent with our theory, we find firms in industries with high levels of e-commerce have lower cash effective tax rates, and this effect is magnified for firms that are less likely to have taxable repatriations.

Interplay of cost and adoption of tele-medicine in Sub-Saharan Africa: The case of tele-cardiology in Ethiopia

...the barriers to diffusion of Tele-Medicine are not entirely technical. Cost has to simultaneously satisfy a number of stakeholders... (Anderson, Aydin and Jay, et al., 1994). Rising costs of the provision of healthcare have been a major issue for debate in both developing and developed countries. This is especially true of very capitalistic societies such as the United States where privatization of the healthcare sector has left many with little or no affordable healthcare. The situation is even worse in developing economies. Developing countries deal with various problems in the provision of health services and healthcare Tan et al. (E-medicine diffusion: E-medicine in Developed and Developing countries. Chapter 8 in E-health paradigm shift: Perspectives, domains and challenges. In Tan J. (Ed.), Imprint of Wiley, New York, Jossey-Bass, 2005). Some of these problems include acute shortages of healthcare professionals and medical facilities Mbarika et al. (Journal of the Association for Information Systems (JAIS) 2005;6(5):130---170). Such shortages have resulted in growing numbers of middle to upper-class citizens of developing countries traveling abroad to seek necessary health services. Using a multi-method case study research, this paper examines the role of Tele-Medicine in the healthcare system and analyzes the costs and benefits of introducing Tele-Cardiology services in Ethiopia (a Sub-Saharan African country). This is a cost comparison study for the treatment of cardiac patients traveling abroad versus patients treated via Tele-Cardiology. Our findings show that Tele-Cardiology is clinically more feasible and more cost effective compared to patients traveling abroad for treatment.

Market uncertainty and competitive equilibrium entry

Firms facing an uncertain market environment can choose the optimal mix of early and late production by trading off informational advantages of late production against cost advantages of early production. Consequently, their choice of entry into the market, whether early and/or late, depends on the interplay of cost and stochastic demand conditions. This paper characterizes the competitive equilibrium conditions that determine the mode of market entry and derives comparative statics results to show how competitive equilibrium entry modes vary with changes in various market conditions.