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The purpose of this paper is to propose a three-staged approach to configuration change management that uses a combination of complexity analysis, data visualization, and algorithmic validation to assist in validating configuration changes.

In order to accomplish the above purpose, the authors conducted a review of existing configuration management practices. This was followed by an in-depth case study of the configuration management practices of a major automotive OEM. The primary means of data collection for the case study were interviews, ethnographic study, and document analysis. Based on the results of the case study, a set of support tools is proposed to assist in the configuration management process.

Through the case study, the authors identified that the OEM used a configuration management method that largely represented the rule-based reasoning methods identified in the literature review. In addition, many of the associated challenges are present, primarily, the difficulty in making changes to the rule system and evaluating the changes.

The primary limitation is that the case study was based on a single OEM. However, the results are in line with other practices identified in the literature review. Therefore, it is expected that the findings and recommendations should hold true in other applications.

A set of configuration management tools and associated requirements are identified and defined that could be used to assist companies in the automotive industry, and perhaps others, in managing their option changes as they continue to move towards full mass customization of products.

The proposed approach for configuration management has not been seen in any other organization. The value of this paper is in the effectiveness of the proposed approach in assisting in the configuration change management process.

This article is a conference report of the Frankfurt Book Fair, compiled so that those not in attendance can read about some of the structured discussions that were programmed.

The author attended lectures and discussions and took notes.

There are many technological changes on the horizon for the publishing industry, which in turn will affect how readers and researchers will access information.

If you couldn't attend the Frankfurt Book Fair, this conference report will allow you to read about some of the opinions on technology expressed by leaders in the publishing industry.

The significance of private equity as a form of financing and investing has led to growing interest in the real estate economy over the past few years. Anglo‐American investors in particular are currently engaged in large‐scale real estate transactions and have now become the most important group of investors in the European hotel real estate market. However, for private equity funds, the high risk of investing in complex tourism and specialized real estate such as hotels is always coupled with an expectation of returns well above the market average. Yet actually achieving above market returns is not always accomplished. This paper therefore deals with the question of why some real estate private equity investors succeed in getting returns above the total market average even in the overall bear Western European market environment while others fail to do so. It shows that one formula for success includes deliberately exploiting market imperfections und overcoming inefficient information policies.