This edited book examines the challenges and opportunities arising from today’s sharing economy from an operations management perspective. Individual chapter authors present state-of-the-art research that examines the general impact of sharing economy on production and consumption; the intermediary role of a sharing platform; crowdsourcing management; and context-based operational problems. Sharing economy refers to a market model that enables and facilitates the sharing of access to goods and services. For example, Uber allows riders to share a car. Airbnb allows homeowners to share their extra rooms with renters. Groupon crowdsources demands, enabling customers to share the benefit of discounted goods and services, whereas Kickstarter crowdsources funds, enabling backers to fund a project jointly. Unlike the classic supply chain settings in which a firm makes inventory and supply decisions, in sharing economy, supply is crowdsourced and can be modulated by a platform. The matching-supply-with-demand process in a sharing economy requires novel perspectives and tools to address challenges and identify opportunities. The book is comprised of 20 chapters that are divided into four parts. The first part explores the general impact of sharing economy on the production, consumption, and society. The second part explores the intermediary role of a sharing platform that matches crowdsourced supply with demand. The third part investigates the crowdsourcing management on a sharing platform, and the fourth part is dedicated to context-based operational problems of popular sharing economy applications. “While sharing economy is becoming omnipresence, the operations management (OM) research community has begun to explore and examine different business models in the transportation, healthcare, financial, accommodation, and sourcing sectors. This book presents a collection of the state-of-the-art research work conducted by a group of world-leading OM researchers in this area. Not only does this book cover a wide range of business models arising from the sharing economy, but it also showcases different modeling frameworks and research methods that cannot be missed. Ultimately, this book is a tour de force – informative and insightful!” Christopher S. Tang Distinguished Professor and Edward Carter Chair in Business Administration UCLA Anderson School of Management

The gap between demand for consumer goods and their efficient supply is greater now than at any other time, and is widening as consumers' wants become less predictable, and suppliers struggle to meet them. Quick Response (QR) is both a management paradigm and a methodology that allows supply systems to react quickly to changes while improving their performance. QR aims to help organize a business in the face of problems associated with the vast array of goods and services now to be found in consumer markets. It is particularly relevant to the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and Fashion industries. QR works by compressing the time between product or service design concept and appearance on the retail shelf. It then takes advantage of such recent technologies as Point of Sale (PoS) tracking and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to constantly up-date estimates of true consumer demand, and then places intelligent re-orders for goods with flexible manufacturers and their suppliers. One of the features of this book is the demonstration that the range of industries able to benefit from the application of QR methodologies is extremely wide. However, this apparent universality comes with a strong 'health warning'. By placing QR in a broad framework of management thinking, the book allows comparison with other paradigms and their off-shoots - partnerships and alliances, measurement and benchmarking, Information Systems Technology strategies, Total Quality Management, and change management. Belief systems such as World Class Manufacturing, Lean Production, Agile Manufacturing, Virtual Organization, Time-Based Competition, Supply Chain Management (SCM) and chaos theory, are also reviewed and contrasted. The book then quantifies the performance benefits that accrue from the application of QR using examples from the US and European industries as well as computer simulation. Lessons are also drawn from a wide variety of SMEs (Small and Medium sized Enterprises) who are using QR as a strategic tool, as well as those who have not yet adopted it. For the latter, there are recommendations for implementing QR. The future management and research directions required for full exploitation of QR are also explored in a separate section. The most important aspect of this book is that it concentrates on the practical, hands-on management of a supply pipeline as opposed to the generalized theories of Supply Chain Management.

This book is a self-contained treatment of all the mathematics needed by undergraduate and masters-level students of economics, econometrics and finance. Building up gently from a very low level, the authors provide a clear, systematic coverage of calculus and matrix algebra. The second half of the book gives a thorough account of probability, dynamics and static and dynamic optimisation. The last four chapters are an accessible introduction to the rigorous mathematical analysis used in graduate-level economics. The emphasis throughout is on intuitive argument and problem-solving. All methods are illustrated by examples, exercises and problems selected from central areas of modern economic analysis. The book's careful arrangement in short chapters enables it to be used in a variety of course formats for students with or without prior knowledge of calculus, for reference and for self-study. The preface to the new edition and full table of contents are available from https://www.manchesterhive.com/page/mathematics-for-economists-supplementary-materials

How Markets Work presents a new and refreshing introduction to elementary economics. The venerable theory of supply and demand is reconstituted upon plausible and defensible assumptions concerning human nature, the law, and the facts of everyday life in short the Real World . The message is that markets differ in ways that matter. Starting with a brief survey of property and contract law, the lectures develop several ideal types of markets such as credit, assets, and labor while illuminating the similarities and differences among them. Care has been taken to ensure that the reformulations presented are accessible to students and compatible with a variety of non-mainstream traditions in economic thought. Topics covered include the theory of markets, labor markets, market processes when influenced by the availability of information, and social, ethical and political considerations. Also discussed are commodity, credit and asset markets, contracts, dynamics of labor markets, and the economics of discrimination. This book is intended as an essential supplemental text for undergraduate economics students, particularly in heterodox programs, as well as for those in companion liberal arts and sociology fields looking for an accessible introduction to essential economic theory.

Introduction to Business covers the scope and sequence of most introductory business courses. The book provides detailed explanations in the context of core themes such as customer satisfaction, ethics, entrepreneurship, global business, and managing change. Introduction to Business includes hundreds of current business examples from a range of industries and geographic locations, which feature a variety of individuals. The outcome is a balanced approach to the theory and application of business concepts, with attention to the knowledge and skills necessary for student success in this course and beyond. This is an adaptation of Introduction to Business by OpenStax. You can access the textbook as pdf for free at openstax.org. Minor editorial changes were made to ensure a better ebook reading experience. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This eleventh edition was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. Some of its articles were written by the best-known scholars of the time and it is considered to be a landmark encyclopaedia for scholarship and literary style.