Previous studies on the effects of outsourcing have relied largely on anecdotal evidence, non-financial metrics or accountingbased measures that ignore intangible value. This study views outsourcing effects from its future revenue-generation potential, using market value. The relation between firms' market valuation and outsourcing decisions is investigated using a cross-sectional valuation approach. Results based on Japanese manufacturing industries data from 1994 to 2002 indicate that core business-related outsourcing, offshore outsourcing, and shorter-term outsourcing have positive effects on outsourcing firms' market value. In contrast, non-core business-related outsourcing, domestic outsourcing, and longer-term outsourcing are not found to enhance firm value. #

A B S T R A C TThis special issue is dedicated to Operations Management (OM) in Asia. A requirement for the special issue articles is that they have content related to the effects of national culture on OM. Here, the OM literature is combined with work from Anthropology and Women's Studies to provide a wide view of the effects of various Asian cultures on OM. The basic premise is that OM decisions may need to take culture into account: some OM practices are altered or precluded by culture, while others are more effective in some cultures than others. Numerous examples are provided involving quality management, shift scheduling, revenue management, facility location, layout, supply chain strategies, and other areas.ß

This study examines the publication output of individuals and business schools in the field of Production and Operations Management (POM). A ranking system was devised based upon publications in the leading POM journals. Two ranking approaches were applied to business schools: productivity and quality. Articles were counted in two ways: one ranking counted each article as one unit, and authors “shared” the unit equally, and the second ranking gave each contributor credit for one “distributed” unit.These are the first publication productivity rankings for the field of POM, and are based upon publications in the years 1989–1993.

This study uses a cluster analysis procedure to develop a classification model of low‐contact services based on seven operations objectives. The effectiveness of the classification scheme is tested by demonstrating the link between the objectives, competitive priorities, and performance. This study also identifies eight underlying factors of competitive priorities in low‐contact services. Furthermore, discriminant analysis on competitive priority dimensions shows that low‐contact services consist of multiple groups and therefore should not be lumped into one group in any analysis scheme.