In this paper we consider the problem of integrated scheduling of various types of handling equipment at an automated container terminal, where the objective is to minimize the makespan of the schedule. We present a Branch & Bound algorithm that uses various combinatorial lower bounds....

Steel structures such as bridges, tanks and pylons are exposed to outdoor weathering conditions. In order to prevent them from corrosion they are protected by an organic coating system. Unfortunately, the coating system itself is also subject to deterioration. Imperfect maintenance actions such...

In this paper we incorporate the term structure of interest rates in a standard inflation forecast targeting framework. We find that under flexible inflation targeting and uncertainty in the degree of persistence in the economy, allowing for active learning possibilities has effects on the...

This article analyzes the relationship between the usage of Internet-based technologies, different types of innovation, and performance at the firm level. Data for the empirical investigation originates from a sample of 7,302 European enterprises. The empirical results show that Internet-based...

In the past thirty years the full turnover-based storage policy as described by Hausman et al. (1976, Management Science 22(6)) has been widely claimed to outperform the commonly used ABC class-based storage policy, in terms of the resulting average storage and retrieval machine travel time. In...

This article provides empirical tests of the hypothesis of ‘optimal cognitive distance’, proposed by Nooteboom (1999, 2000), in two distinct empirical settings. Variety of cognition, needed for learning, has two dimensions: the number of agents with different cognition, and differences in...

This paper analyzes the cost of capital of firms with foreign equity listings. Our purpose is to shed light on the question whether international and domestic asset pricing models yield a different estimate of the cost of capital for cross-listed stocks. We distinguish between (i) the...

Using weekly data on advertising expenditures in various media and response data on awareness, consideration and choice, we test the hierarchy of effects hypothesis. Our empirical results, based on a simultaneous equations model with pooled parameters across brands, suggest that we can reject...

During the past decade, irrational exuberance has turned into a possibly equally irrational pessimism about what the Internet can accomplish. The fear of getting ruined through cannibalization losses has recently deterred many firms from deploying the Internet as a distribution channel. But do...

Warnings to the broad population in an emergency situation, irrespective of location and condition, is a public policy responsibility. Public wireless networks offer now the opportunity to deliver emergency warnings in this way with explanations, because in many countries the mobile penetration...