Publications

Theoretical explanations for the positioning of firm boundaries have developed from a range of literatures including transaction cost economics, firm-level capabilities, organizational theory and the knowledge based view. To date, these perspectives have provided explanations concerning firm boundaries at a specific point in time. To build a more dynamic understanding of how firm boundaries alter over time and the triggers that drive such changes (the 'adaptation problem') we present the case of the UK Pension Industry (1985-2014). Adopting an inductive epistemology and relying upon template and matrix analysis of the qualitative data, we build a dynamic model of firm boundary choices that incorporates feedback loops and a recognition of both firm-level and industry-level determinants. We observe that as the industry moves from being entirely vertically integrated, to eventual disaggregation and then starting to in-source activities again as technologies and regulations change, firms alter their architectures to engage more or less with the market and vary their investment in capabilities according to the potential for gains from specialization and gains from trade. The final dynamic model integrates theoretical concepts from transaction cost economics, firm-level capabilities and organizational design in respect of modular versus integrated architectures.

Cyber security management requires fast and cost efficient responses to threat alerts. Automation of cyber threat sensing and responding is one way to achieve immediate reactions to imminent threats. There are already tools for an extensive automation of threat sensing, e.g. threat intelligence sharing platforms. Methods, techniques and tools for reacting to menacing states and events, e.g. security-policy-controlled systems, have also been explored and published for some time. What is still missing, however, is the integration of these two approaches. This paper describes first steps towards an integration of threat intelligence sharing platforms and security-policy-controlled systems. We present a conceptual design for threat reaction strategies, security architectures and mechanisms and information representation requirements. We use two exemplary threat scenarios to demonstrate our proposals.

Nachdem das Bundeskartellamt die Fusion von Miba und Zollern abgelehnt hat, haben die beiden Unternehmen eine Ministererlaubnis beantragt. Dabei wurden bekannte, aber auch neue Gründe genannt, um einen Gemeinwohlvorteil des antikompetitiven Zusammenschlusses aufzuzeigen. Die Autoren untersuchen diese Gründe wirtschaftstheoretisch und kommen zu dem Ergebnis, dass der Bundeswirtschaftsminister die Erlaubnis nicht erteilen sollte. Zudem empfehlen sie eine grundsätzliche Überarbeitung des Instruments Ministererlaubnis.