The study examines the basic research methodologies and approaches for assessing business performance. It provides a critical literature analysis on how perception-based evaluation can be used to evaluate performance, specifically for SMEs. The analysis of the literature covers articles from major journals related to the topic. The methodology followed during the conduct of this paper involves starting with the broad case of articles in general business performance measurement, then focusing on the indicators used to study SMEs. Next, the review screens the list, focusing on the differences between subjective and objective measures. The validity issue related to subjective measures is also discussed.

This paper tests a control model to discover the effect of the decline in oil prices on the relative efficiency of government expenditure in the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The econometric analysis shows that as a consequence of the decline in oil prices, the GCC countries need a relatively higher proportional rate of growth in their government expenditure to maintain a given percentage of income growth in the long run. This may, however, prove difficult, which necessitates greater reliance on other means of control.

Uncertainty generates unstable processes along supply chains, which in the end worsen their performance. Some sources of uncertainty in agri-food supply chains are distinct from those affecting general supply chains. These include issues such as variable harvest and production yields, and the huge impact of climate conditions. Thus, a deep understanding of which uncertainty factors mostly affect on agri-food supply chain management and its performance is vital for allow agribusiness to deal with them effectively. The purpose of this study is to discuss the perceived environmental uncertainties in the context of the rice supply chain in Thailand. A review of the literature indicates that perception of seven factors -supply, demand, process, planning and control, competitor behavior, government policy, and climate uncertainty-are all potential causes of uncertainty and hence instability in the Thai rice supply chain. The research method used in order to confirm these factors is a survey with mail-out questionnaires to rice millers and rice exporters in Thailand. Descriptive statistics are employed to review which uncertainty factors within the rice supply chain are perceived as the greatest. Major findings show that planning and control, competitor behavior, government policy and climate uncertainties are the most influential factors. Because they depend upon information availability, accuracy, and throughput times, planning and control remain highly uncertain because information technology is rarely used in the Thai rice industry. Thus, lack of appropriate IT tools means that environmental uncertainties cannot be dealt with effectively. In addition, there is high competition in both the domestic and international rice market, leading to highly unpredictable competitor behaviors. As is the case in many developing countries, Thai government policies are turbulent, and the new factor of climate uncertainty in agri-food supply chain management is becoming more and more important in the Thai rice industry.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors influencing Indonesian students' choice of university by estimating the trade-off students make in selecting a university.Design/methodology/approach -Conjoint analysis was used to examine the relative importance and the part-worth scores of the attributes that influence students' public university preferences in Indonesia.Findings -High-school leavers in Indonesia trade off university preferences and view advice from family, friends, and/or teachers, reputation, and job prospects as important factors for selecting a public university. Two different preference-based segments of prospective students were identified from cluster analysis, and classified as either a "social networks-based decision" or a "rational decision" segment. A choice simulator was employed with three propositions, and the segments were found to have dissimilar preferences.Research limitations/implications -While this paper provides insights on higher-education consumer choice, more research is needed that includes samples from different types of higher-education institutions and fields of study.Practical implications -A greater understanding of student choice can help to inform marketing practices and customize marketing strategies for each segment by providing important information to principal parties involved in making university choice decisions.

El tema de las raíces unitarias en series temporales macroeconómicas ha recibido gran atención, tanto desde el punto de vista teórico como de investigación aplicada, en las últimas tres décadas. Desde el trabajo clave de Nelson y Plosser (1982), contrastar la presencia de una raíz en datos temporales ha llegado a ser un asunto de gran interés. Esta cuestión ganó incluso preponderancia con el artículo de Perron de 1989, que destaca la importancia de los cambios estructurales al contrastar procesos de raíces unitarias. Este trabajo revisa la literatura disponible sobre contrastes de raíces unitarias, teniendo en cuenta los posibles cambios estructurales. Se explica la diferencia entre contrastar cambios cuando la fecha del cambio es conocida (o exógena) y cuando el cambio es determinado endógenamente. También describimos contrastes tanto para cambios simples como para cambios múltiples. Además, el artículo revisa los estudios empíricos y da una aplicación para que los lectores puedan comprender los problemas subyacentes que se están afrontando en el estudio de las series temporales con cambios estructurales.

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