Advances in computational methods have led, in the world of financial services, to huge databases of client and market information. In the past decade, various computational intelligence (CI) techniques have been applied in mining this data for obtaining knowledge and in-depth information about the clients and the markets. This paper discusses the application of fuzzy clustering in target selec...

In this paper we describe the successful application of a sophisticated Operations Research model and the corresponding solution techniques for scheduling the 6,500+ drivers and conductors of the Dutch railway operator NS Reizigers (Netherlands Railways). In 2001 the drivers and conductors were very dissatisfied with the structure of their duties, which led to nation wide strikes. However, the ...

An assumption generally subscribed in evolutionary economics is that new technological paradigms arise from advances is science and developments in technological knowledge. Demand only influences the selection among competing paradigms, and the course the paradigm after its inception. In this paper we argue that this view needs to be adapted. We demonstrate that in the history of computing tech...

We develop a nonparametric test of productive efficiency that accounts for the possibility of errors-in-variables. The test allows for statistical inference based on the extreme value distribution of the L?? norm. In contrast to the test proposed by Varian, H (1985): 'Nonparametric Analysis of Optimising Behaviour with Measurement Error, Journal of Econometrics 30, 445458, our test can be compu...

The ISO 9000 experiences of the same sample of organisations over a five year time period is examined in this paper. The responses to a questionnaire sent out at the end of 1999 to companies which had a reasonably long term experience with the ISO 9000 series quality system are analysed. These companies were ISO 9000 series certified before 1994 when the authors conducted their first survey on ...

This paper discusses a decision support system for airline and railway crew planning. The system is a state-of-the-art branch-and-price solver that is used for crew scheduling and crew rostering. We briefly discuss the mathematical background of the solver, of which most part is covered in the Operations Research literature. Crew scheduling is crew planning for one or a few days that results in...

This paper considers the role of electronic communication in the creation and distribution of knowledge, and in particular, the creation and sharing of personalised knowledge. Personalised knowledge or “intellectual capital” is perhaps a least understood but most important asset of modern organisations. This paper reveals the creation and sharing of personalised knowledge in a network organisat...

In the midst of the turbulence wrought by the global economy, it has become common to see projects as an essential medium for achieving change. However, project based learning practices – as a subset of organizational learning practiceshave not kept pace with this development. To explore this concern, we have carried out a study on practices adopted by organizations for learning through project...

Over the last decade we have witnessed the rise and fall of the so-called new economy stocks. One central question is to what extent these new firms differ from traditional firms. Empirical evidence suggests that stock returns are not normally distributed. In this article we investigate whether this also holds for portfolios of stocks from a growth industry. Furthermore, we will compare this ty...

The capital structure and regulation of financial intermediary firms are important topics for regulators and academic researchers. In general, theory predicts that firms choose their capital structures by balancing the benefits of debt against its costs. The purpose of this paper is to analyze capital structure as a function of bank's specific variable factors. It examines the relationship ...