bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Gender Differences in Expatriate Job Performance
Authors: Sinangil Handan Kepir , Ones Deniz S.
Published: June 2003

Cette étude s’était donné pour but l’analyse des différences de genre dans les performances professionnelles à l’etranger. Ce faisant, on cherchait à répondre à deux grandes questions: 1. Les femmes peuvent‐elles remplir efficacement les fonctions d’un emploi à l’étranger? 2. Les expatriées peuvent‐elles réussir dans un environnement culturel susceptible d’être perçu peu accueillant aux femmes selon les normes occidentáles? L’échantillon était constitué de 193 expatriés, provenant de 36 pays, qui travaillaient en Turquie. L’évaluation des performances professionnelles a été faite par un collegue de l’expatrié appartenant au pays d’accueil. Les sujets ont en moyenne étéévalués de façon similaire quant à leurs performances quel que soit leur sexe. Notre recherche est favorable à l’accroissement de la mixité chez les expatriés. Si les multinationals faisaient davantage appel aux femmes, cela améliorerait la diversité qualitative dé la main‐d’oeuvre et construirait des environnements plus riches à l’étranger sans nuire à la perfomance.

The purpose of this study was to examine gender differences in expatriate job performance. In doing so, we sought answers to two main questions: (1) Can women effectively perform expatriate job duties? (2) Can female expatriates be successful in a cultural environment that may be perceived to be unfriendly to females by Western standards? One hundred and ninety‐three expatriates from 36 countries around the world, currently working in Turkey, constituted the sample. Job performance ratings were obtained from a host country national coworker of each expatriate. Men and women expatriates on average were rated quite similarly in terms of their job performance. Our study lends support to the employment of more gender diverse expatriates. The employment of more women in the international workforce by multinational companies would enhance the quality of workforce diversity, and build more inclusive contexts in expatriate assignments, without decrements to job performance.
Cost‐ and Income‐based Measures of Human Capital
Authors: Le Trinh , Gibson John , Oxley Les
Published: June 2003

Human capital is increasingly believed to play an important role in the growth process, however, adequately measuring its stock remains controversial. In this paper three general approaches to measurement are identified; cost‐based, income‐based and educational stock‐based. This survey focuses on the first two approaches and provides a critical review of the theories and their applications to data from a range of countries. Particular emphasis is placed upon the work of Jorgenson and Fraumeni (1989, 1992) and some new results for New Zealand based upon their approach are also presented.
What have We Learnt from the Convergence Debate?
Authors: Islam Nazrul
Published: June 2003

This paper surveys the convergence literature. It begins by laying out different definitions of convergence and by showing the link between the convergence issue and the growth theory debate. The paper then follows the convergence research conducted along four different approaches, namely the cross‐section, panel, time‐series, and distribution approaches. The paper shows the association of these methodological approaches with various definitions of convergence and highlights the connections among the convergence results. It shows that, despite some impressions to the contrary, there is considerable agreement among the results. Although the convergence research might not have solved the growth debate entirely, it has helped both the neoclassical and the new growth theories to adapt and evolve. The research on convergence has established new stylized facts regarding cross‐country growth regularities. It has brought to fore the existence of large technological and institutional differences across countries and has given rise to new methodologies for quantifying and analyzing these differences. This is providing a new information base for analysis of technological and institutional diffusion and for further development of growth theory in general.
How Large Is International Trade’s Effect on Economic Growth?
Authors: Lewer Joshua J. , Berg Hendrik Van den
Published: June 2003

The estimated static welfare gains from international trade are very small, on the order of one percent of GDP. The case for free trade is therefore increasingly linked to trade’s apparent positive effects on economic growth. But how large are these growth effects? The vast empirical literature has emphasized the statistical significance, not the economic significance, of the trade‐growth relationship. This survey’s re‐examination of the empirical literature focuses on the size of the relationship between trade and growth. Our survey reveals that the many empirical studies are surprisingly consistent in terms of the size of the relationship: A one percentage point increase in the growth of exports is associated with a one‐fifth percentage point increase in economic growth. Given the power of compounding, the effect of trade on growth is very important for human welfare.
Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth
Authors: Zagler Martin , Dürnecker Georg
Published: June 2003

This paper surveys the literature on fiscal policy and economic growth. We present a unifying framework for the analysis of long run growth implications of government expenditures and revenues. We find that several tax rates and expenditure categories exhibit a direct impact on the growth rate of the economy. In a creative synthesis we have assigned the relevant literature to the twelve introduced policy variables. Due to the equivalence of some policy variables we are left with six degrees of freedom, where we need four to internalize the model’s intrinsic externalities, leaving two instruments to conduct short run fiscal policy.
Productivity, Technology and Economic Growth: What is the Relationship?
Authors: Carlaw Kenneth I. , Lipsey Richard G.
Published: June 2003

The relationship between productivity, technology and economic growth has been debated extensively in the endogenous growth, growth accounting, New Economy and policy literature. This paper briefly surveys the literature on total factor productivity (TFP) calculations – the various techniques and problems associated with it. We argue that TFP is not a measure of technological change and only under ideal conditions does it measure the supernormal profits associated with technological change. The critical driving force of economic growth is not the super normal profits that technological change generates but rather the continuous creation of opportunities for further technological development. Six illustrations of when TFP fails to correctly measure these super normal profits are provided. A version Carlaw and Lipsey’s (2003b) model of endogenous general purpose technology‐ driven growth is then utilized to make some progress toward answering Prescott’s (1998) call for a theory of TFP. The model is used to simulate artificial data and connect theoretical assumptions of returns to scale and resource costs to the conditions under which TFP miss‐measures the actual growth of technological knowledge.
The Long‐Run implications of Growth Theories
Authors: Temple Jonathan
Published: June 2003

This paper draws attention to some possible misunderstandings concerning the place of long‐run outcomes in growth theory. It argues that the traditional emphasis on these outcomes is often misguided. As a result of this emphasis, too much attention is paid to the role of knife‐edge assumptions, and researchers may be led to interpretations of the evidence, or models of the growth process, that are not wholly sensible.
Transacting in the State of Union: A Case Study of Exchange Governed by Convergent Interests
Authors: Smith Ring Peter
Published: June 2003

Transaction cost economics (TCE) treatments rarely devote extended consideration to the comparative advantages of non‐contractual governance. This paper focuses on one form of non‐contractual alternative. After addressing the concept of a `state of contract' as it may be inferred from TCE theory. I offer an alternative, `the state of union', in which the parties to an exchange can have their cake (efficient production frontiers) and eat it too (equitable outcomes without costly safeguards). An application of the concept is presented in a case study. The paper concludes with an assessment of implications of the argument for scholars and managers.
Job Insecurity and Labour Market Lemons: The (Mis)Management of Redundancy in Steel Making, Coal Mining and Port Transport
Authors: Turnbull Peter , Wass Victoria
Published: June 2003

Redundancy provisions in Britain have failed to promote organizational regeneration or labour mobility from declining to expanding firms/industries. On the contrary, as human resources are wantonly discarded through the (mis)management of redundancy, job security and X‐efficiency in the internal labour market has been severely eroded. In external labour markets, many redundant workers, the so‐called `lemons' of the labour market, are consigned to long‐term unemployment because employers are wary of hiring a worker that another firm does not want. These deleterious outcomes are elaborated through detailed case studies from steel‐making, coal‐mining and port transport, where mass redundancy has proved instrumental in the process of industrial restructuring. In order to re‐establish trust and security in the internal labour market, alternative methods of managing changing labour market requirements, based on reconversion rather than redundancy, are considered in the concluding section.
Soft and Hard Models of Human Resource Management: A Reappraisal
Authors: Truss Catherine , Gratton Lynda , Hope‐Hailey Veronica , McGovern Patrick , Stiles Philip
Published: June 2003

Two of the most widely adopted models of human resource management are the hard and soft versions. These are based on opposing views of human nature and managerial control strategies. The hard model is based on notions of tight strategic control, and an economic model of man according to Theory X, while the soft model is based on control through commitment and Theory Y. We argue that because these assumptions are so divergent, they cannot both properly be incorporated within a single model of human resource management.

Eight in‐depth case‐studies were carried out, involving questionnaires, interviews and focus groups in order to find out whether organizations were practising either form of HRM. We found that no pure examples of either form existed. The paper concludes that the rhetoric adopted by the companies frequently embraces the tenets of the soft, commitment model, while the reality experienced by employees is more concerned with strategic control, similar to the hard model. This distinction between rhetoric and reality needs to be taken into account in conceptualizations of human resource management.
Green Business: Technicist Kitsch?
Authors: Newton Tim , Harte George
Published: June 2003

In this paper we present a critical analysis of current `green business' literature. We pay particular attention to the strongly evangelical language of the literature, and we consider whether such green evangelism is likely to represent an effective rhetoric strategy. We pursue this theme through exploring arguments for `environmental excellence', organizational `eco‐cultures', and for corporate environmental strategies. We suggest that current prescriptions for `organizational eco‐change' are often buttressed by evangelical rhetoric and are reliant on the assumption that organizations will voluntarily become greener. Given the centrality of voluntarism within this literature, we devote the latter part of the paper to considering its efficacy, and explore the deferred argument that organizational eco‐change will only come about through stronger state regulation.
A UK `Hands‐off' Venture Capital Firm and the Handling of Post‐investment Investor‐‐Investee Relationships
Authors: Sweeting R. C. , Wong C. F.
Published: June 2003

Commentators on the UK venture capital industry have observed that it has reached a watershed in its development, with the players of the 1980s having to reassess their positions and possibly, in some cases, their continuing viability as independent operators. It has been suggested that increasing numbers of UK venture capitalists are moving towards a more `hands on' approach to post‐investment relationships with investees in the hope of improving performance and investment out‐turns. Research in the US suggests that the hoped for improvement by this route is not a foregone conclusion. In this paper we examine how a longstanding and successful UK venture capitalist makes a widely publicised `hands‐off' approach work ‐‐ and how their investees see the approach working. Our research supports the view that, over time, and by a process of feedback learning from post‐investment performance monitoring, investees are selected that are compatible with this particular approach. Our findings demonstrate that mutual trust is one of the most vital elements in successful `hands‐off' post‐investment relationship building ‐‐ and that achieving this requires careful and considered nurturing. Moreover, because `hands‐on' involvement can be expensive in terms of investor management resources and against the stated investor policy, relationships of the principal‐‐agent type were kept to a minimum as far as was possible consistent with protecting investments.
Making the Matrix Matter: Strategic Information Systems in Financial Services
Authors: Scarbrough Harry
Published: June 2003

This study draws on findings from a sample of large Scottish‐based financial institutions to examine the development and impact of innovative `strategic information systems'. It contrasts prescriptive, discourse‐based and institutional models of strategic IS (information systems) with a social constructionist approach. In this approach, the development of strategic IS is viewed in terms of IS functions' attempts to construct new ways of classifying and justifying IT investments. Such attempts are seen partly as a response to the dynamics of interprofessional competition, and partly as a means of handling the uncertainties of a shifting technological and sectoral environment.

The case studies ‐‐ which encompass remote banking, management information and branch network applications ‐‐ highlight the impact of the new strategic vocabulary on the development and management of IS projects. The emergence, aims and eventual success or failure of such projects is seen to be closely linked to the parallel development of new ways of classifying IS work. The cases further demonstrate the role of both the institutional and sectoral context and the internal structuring of expertise (principally the role of the IS function within the management structure) in favouring or inhibiting the new categories of action associated with the strategizing of IS. The paper concludes by suggesting that institutionalized forms of classification may not only provide the most enduring legacies of new management paradigms, but may also stand as the greatest barriers to their success.
The Thin Line Between Advanced and Conventional New Technology: A Case Study on Paper Industry Management
Authors: Laurila Juha
Published: June 2003

The case study evidence in this paper suggests that management of technological change is more complicated than the existing literature has acknowledged. Rather than merely introduce or not introduce new technology, managers have to choose between more or less advanced technologies whose implications are difficult to assess. Moreover, the choice between advanced and conventional production technologies seems to be influenced more by situational determinants than by the habitual actions of managers or changes in management characters. Taking these situational determinants and firm‐specific critical incidents seriously is essential, especially for an understanding of why managerial actors alter their approach to managing technological change. By adopting a longitudinal firm‐in‐sector perspective to technological change this paper demonstrates how coinciding increases in material resources and competitive pressures encourage management to adopt advanced instead of conventional technology. To justify this argument, the paper compares two consecutive technological change projects in the same firm and describes the background of their profoundly different degrees of sophistication.
Multiple Stakeholder Orientation in UK Companies and the Implications for Company Performance
Authors: Greenley Gordon E. , Foxall Gordon R.
Published: June 2003

Orientation to the diverse interests of stakeholder groups is central to strategic planning, and failure to address the interests of multiple stakeholder groups may be detrimental to company performance. However, some companies may be unable to address all these interests, owing to a scarcity of resources, and the impact of multiple stakeholder orientation may be influenced by the environment. Despite calls by leading writers in the literature, there is no empirical evidence about the potential association of orientation to multiple stakeholders with company performance.

The results of a study of UK companies designed to elucidate this association are reported in this paper. Although the results give some support to the proposition that orientation to multiple stakeholders is positively associated with performance, such associations are contingent on the external environment, as they are moderated by competitive hostility, after controlling for the intervening effects of market growth.
Benchmarking as a Mixed Metaphor: Disentangling Assumptions of Competition and Collaboration
Authors: Wolfram Cox Julie R. , Mann Leon , Samson Danny
Published: June 2003

Examination of the management literature on benchmarking reveals that the concept conveys a mixed metaphor. While collaboration among benchmarking partners is advocated, description of benchmarking practice is dominated by principles and language that convey notions of competition. The `competitive' approach to benchmarking is due to four narrow, constricting assumptions: (1) that the motivation behind benchmarking is to improve and reduce a performance gap relative to some superior comparison other, (2) that benchmarking is a formal, organizationally sanctioned means of competing with others, including partners, (3) that benchmarking involves comparison through measurement or marking, and (4) that benchmarking is an activity initiated (and assessable) by one party. Two opposing concepts of benchmarking (as competition) and benchmarking (as collaboration) are introduced to develop a model for predicting the degree of competition and/or collaboration involved in relationships between benchmarking parties. Key factors within this model include context, activities, partnership and outcomes.
Seeing isn’t Believing: Understanding Diversity in the Timing of Strategic Response
Authors: Barr Pamela S. , Huff Anne S.
Published: June 2003

There is general consensus in the strategy literature that successful firms alter strategy to address changes in their environments and enact more favourable conditions. Studies of organizational change suggest that this adjustment is not always made in a timely manner. Different beliefs about cause and effect have been established as a plausible explanation for differential responses to environmental change. This exploratory study of six pharmaceutical firms suggests more specifically that multiple concepts associated with environmental changes must be directly linked to organizational performance before new strategies are initiated. The results emphasize the importance of stress as a precursor to strategic response and have implications for the way we conceptualize `response' when referring to significant changes in strategy.
‘How would you measure something like that?’: Quality in a Retail Bank
Authors: Knights David , McCabe Darren
Published: June 2003

In this paper we explore a case study of total quality management (TQM) within the financial services sector. We demonstrate that a ‘conformance to requirements’ approach towards TQM is concerned with increasing management’s physical and financial control over procedures, documentation, systems and people. Such an approach only partially addresses quality because (a) there can never be a precise ‘conformance’ and (b) this approach neglects customers and employees. We illustrate that often management do not understand the flaws/problematics and underlying philosophy behind TQM. Thus they continue to adopt ‘inconsistent’ approaches, such as attempting to control costs and employees while espousing the importance of the customer and the need for a trust‐based culture. Yet, whether or not they understand the rationale behind TQM and attempt to widen their focus by considering people and customers more directly, we argue that management cannot easily adopt a ‘consistent’ approach because a preoccupation with controlling costs is bound up with career‐based identities and hierarchical power relations. Ultimately we argue that management cannot control ‘quality’ in any simple top down way, essentially because of the ‘indeterminacy’ of labour, the ‘intangibility’ of customer satisfaction, and the complexity of organizational power and identity relations.
Animating the Pioneer versus Late Entrant Debate: An Historic Case Study
Authors: Bryman Alan
Published: June 2003

This paper examines the debate about whether early entrants/pioneers to an industry enjoy long–term advantage over their successors. While most of the research suggests that pioneers are advantaged, there are methodological problems with these studies that tend to enhance the likelihood that pioneers will be found to be more successful. Through a case study of the US animation industry, it is shown that being a late entrant was almost certainly advantageous to some of the companies concerned. The paper explores the reasons why some late entrants prevailed over others and some of the mechanisms that allowed late entrants to overcome pioneers. The factors involved in survival relative to pioneers include the limited protection of patents, complacency, the mobility of staff with expertise in a new technology (in this case cel animation), and the neglected importance of managerial and organizational factors. It is shown that the findings also have implications for the population ecology approach.
Accounting for Management and Managing Accounting: Reflections on Recent Changes in the UK
Authors: Ezzamel Mahmoud , Lilley Simon , Willmott Hugh
Published: June 2003

This paper uses data derived from interviews carried out in a number of UK companies to explore the extent to which management concerns are driven by accounting practices, and also how accounting practices are mediated by the views that managers have of the role of accounting. The paper also analyses accounts given by UK managers of the ways in which changes in accounting are being managed. Two specific issues relating to accounting change are examined: (1) the impact of new information technology on accounting change, and (2) the competition between accounting and alternative bodies of expertise as mechanisms for change. In studying accounting in the context of wider organizational change, the paper focuses on a number of distinct, yet related, themes: (1) management accounting’s power to reinvent itself; (2) the interface between management accounting practices and employee empowerment (as one example of ‘new’ management practices); and, (3) contradictions in using management accounting calculi to facilitate the ‘new’ organization.
Middle Management’s Strategic Influence and Organizational Performance
Authors: Floyd Steven W. , Wooldridge Bill
Published: June 2003

This study investigated relationships between middle managers’ formal position, their strategic influence and organizational performance. Among the 259 middle managers represented in the study, managers with formal positions in boundary–spanning sub–units reported higher levels of strategic influence activity than others. At the organizational level of analysis, the study found that firm performance was associated with more uniform levels of downward strategic influence, and more varied levels of upward influence among middle management cohorts. The findings suggest that middle managers’ strategic influence arises from their ability to mediate between internal and external selection environments. In addition, positive effects on organizational performance appear to depend on: (1) whether the overall pattern of upward influence is conducive to shifts in the network centrality of individual managers; and (2) whether the pattern of downward influence is consistent with an appropriate balance between the organization’s need for control and flexibility.
Japanese Interfirm Networks: Exploring the Seminal Sources of their Success
Authors: Edwards Samimi Clive T., Rod
Published: June 2003

An extensive body of literature explains features of the highly co‐operative relationship between Japanese firms, particularly Toyota, and their supplier‐firm network. The literature does not explore when these networks emerged or the factors conducive to their emergence. This paper uses transaction cost analysis and game theory to address these issues. It indicates that the networks emerged in the 1950s, and that the initiating factors were exogenous to the networks, centring on the unusual business environment that then prevailed in Japan. The analysis indicates why firms like Toyota gained an advantage over competitors in America. They were relieved of two major transaction costs: those linked to internalization and decomposed subcontracting. In addition, successful networks developed intragroup understandings that led to significant reductions in both interfirm co‐ordination costs and direct production costs per unit of output. The paper questions the extent to which Toyota‐type networks are prevalent in Japan. It questions the advantage that firms in America or elsewhere (even Japan) can gain from emulating Toyota practices such as unguarded subcontracting. It offers a different interpretation to standard business practices in firms like Toyota, such as relational contracting. It provides a basis for a reinterpretation of Japanese business history and the role of ‘Japan Inc.’.
Strategic Technology Management in a Mid‐corporate Firm: the Case of Otter Controls
Authors: Jones Oswald , Smith David
Published: June 2003

This paper examines strategic technology management in the mid‐corporate sector (firms with a turnover between £1 million and £130 million). There is a considerable literature which emphasizes the importance of linking technology and strategy, but this concentrates primarily on the activities of large firms. It is suggested that smaller firms can also benefit from a more strategic approach to technology management and this could help strengthen an area of weakness in the UK economy. The research is based on an in‐depth case study of Otter Controls and utilizes a framework developed by Dodgson and Rothwell to analyse the firm's acquisition of new technologies. It is suggested that this model has utility in examining strategic technology management but the addition of a network perspective helps delineate the ways in which external relationships are established and sustained. The data indicate that universities can be useful sources of technology for smaller firms, but successful transfer is dependent on management skill in creating a culture that is open and flexible. Such firms do have considerable problems in assessing the skills and competences of university departments and this adds to the risks of technology alliances. There is also evidence to suggest that even universities with long‐standing industrial links lack awareness of the problems associated with management in commercial organizations.
Contextual Influences on Executive Selection: Firm Characteristics and CEO Experience
Authors: Guthrie Datta James P., Deepak K.
Published: June 2003

This study examines the relationship between antecedent organizational characteristics and the pre‐succession experience of individuals chosen as chief executive officer (CEO) – relationships that have received limited attention in past research. A sample of 214 CEO selection decisions was used to test hypothesized relationships between the firm characteristics of size, performance, growth, advertising intensity, risk and individual attributes pertaining to the experience of selected CEOs. Results indicate the following relationships: pre‐succession profitability, size and advertising intensity are associated with the chosen executives' organizational tenure levels; pre‐succession firm size and risk are associated with the age of selected CEOs; and, pre‐succession profitability and advertising intensity are associated with type of functional background experience. Findings provide new insights into the relative importance of pre‐succession experience associated with different organizational contexts in CEO selection decisions.
Changing of the Guard: the Influence of CEO Socialization on Strategic Change
Authors: Fondas Nanette , Wiersema Margarethe
Published: June 2003

This paper utilizes socialization theory to describe why some chief executive successions lead to a change in a firm's strategic direction and others do not. We argue that socialization theory permits the identification of a constellation of individual and situational characteristics that can drive or restrain strategic change following succession. Specifically, we develop a framework of how differences in chief executives' prior work experience, educational background, personal characteristics, and differences in the role's requirements and socialization agents' characteristics, can all serve as forces driving or restraining the likelihood of strategic change. This perspective goes beyond the distinction between a successor's origin as an organizational insider or outsider used in previous research to explain the strategic implication of chief executive succession. It provides a description of an underlying process – socialization – that constitutes a theoretical rationale for the link between executive successions and strategic outcomes.
Asset Productivity Turnaround: the Growth/Efficiency Challenge
Authors: Winn Joan
Published: June 2003

Growth and productivity have been linked together as the path to increasing profitability. However, companies that embark on aggressive growth strategies often find their efficiency severely compromised. This research examined companies whose asset productivity declined severely during periods of aggressive growth. Contrary to conventional turnaround wisdom, asset pruning and debt reduction did not accompany asset productivity turnarounds; however, successful turnaround companies did decrease their long‐term debt ratios as they continued to expand. Companies that failed to turn around their asset productivity declines suffered subsequent declines in sales and income growth. Although the firms in this study did not publicly acknowledge the presence of decline, takeover attempts were more likely to occur during or immediately after the period of asset productivity decline.
Patterns of ‘Mock Bureaucracy’ in Mining Disasters: An Analysis of the Westray Coal Mine Explosion
Authors: Hynes Timothy , Prasad Pushkala
Published: June 2003

Recent studies on the antecedents of industrial crises have tended to focus on disasters in high‐risk systems involving complex technologies and tightly‐knit processes. This paper examines events leading up to mining disasters which past research has characterized as being typically more foreseeable and avoidable. We discuss how many mining disasters are likely to be the result of ‘mock bureaucracies’ or situations characterized by overt violation of safety rules at the workplace. Using the Westray mine explosion as an illustrative case, the paper traces the development and institutionalization of a mock bureaucracy in an organization. Implications for further research and understanding of industrial crises are drawn.
TQM and BPR: Beyond the Beyond Myth
Authors: De Cock Christian , Hipkin Ian
Published: June 2003

It is generally assumed in the popular management literature that the TQM (total quality management) and BPR (business process re‐engineering) movements are the two latest expressions of an increasing sophistication in management techniques and principles. Following this logic it only is a matter of time before they will be superseded by yet another management innovation. This paper aims to explode this ‘beyond’ myth by exposing the underlying logic of TQM and BPR implementation patterns in two case companies. Empirical findings will be related back to critical approaches to the study of TQM and BPR. Concrete suggestions as to how to move beyond the quick fix managerial mode will be proposed. Our approach is intended to provide a counterweight to the unreflective discourse surrounding TQM and BPR by breaking open the naturalness of this discourse. It supplies a few landmarks for managers and researchers to take a step back, hesitate, and reflect on the phenomenon of planned organizational change.
Understanding Configuration and Transformation through a Multiple Rationalities Approach
Authors: Dyck Bruno
Published: June 2003

Why are some transformational change attempts implemented while others are rejected? This study suggests that patterns of underlying multiple rationalities commitments help to explain. Data from four periods of configuration and 11 transformational change attempts spanning a 40‐year organizational history are analysed using a multiple rationalities framework. The findings suggest that transformational change attempts are ubiquitous, that transformational changes are more likely to be implemented if supported primarily by value‐based rationality, and that organizational members' support for an incumbent configuration increases over time. The conclusion calls for a reconceptualization of configuration, and the inclusion of rejected change attempts in future studies of change and stability.
The Cognitive and Behavioural Dimensions of Organizational Learning in a Merger: an Empirical Study
Authors: Leroy Frédéric , Ramanantsoa Bernard
Published: June 2003

This paper addresses the links between cognitive and behavioural learning at both a theoretical and empirical level. An integrative model is developed which identifies a number of conceptually distinct learning modes and which incorporates the tacit aspect of knowledge. An empirical illustration of this model is provided in the form of a case study of a merger of two companies in the BSN‐Danone Group. Mergers provide firms with opportunities for shared learning but this study also identifies several barriers to learning. The managerial implications of an integrated approach to organizational learning are also discussed.
Cognitive Inertia in a Turbulent Market: the Case of UK Residential Estate Agents
Authors: Hodgkinson Gerard P.
Published: June 2003

Recently, a number of researchers seeking to develop cognitive approaches for understanding processes associated with the development and implementation of competitive positioning strategies have drawn attention to the notion of ‘cognitive inertia’. Once established, there is a danger that actors may become overly dependent on their mental models of competitive space, to the extent that they fail to notice changes in the material conditions of their business environment, until these changes have become so widespread, or significant in other ways, that their organization's capacity for successful adaptation has been seriously undermined. While there have been several anecdotal accounts of cognitive inertia reported in the literature, and a number of researchers have explored processes of cognitive change in organizations more generally, to date there have been virtually no studies published which have investigated this phenomenon specifically within the domain of competitor assessment. This paper reports one such investigation, a longitudinal field study which explored the extent to which actors' mental models of competitive space in the UK residential estate agency (real estate) industry, an industry characterized by high volatility in recent years, remained stable or changed over time. An initial sample of 208 respondents from 58 firms completed detailed questionnaires at the onset of the recent recession in the UK property market. The questionnaires were designed to elicit the respondents' perceptions of their own organization and various competitors on a number of key dimensions. A sub‐sample of 114 respondents from 41 firms returned a further set of completed questionnaires, 12 to 18 months later, when the recession had become deeply established. The findings are entirely consistent with the cognitive inertia hypothesis. The results indicate that the respondents' individual and collective cognitions remained highly stable, despite a significant down‐turn in the property market from T1 to T2.
A Current and Future Agenda for Cognitive Research in Organizations
Authors: Huff Anne Sigismund
Published: June 2003

The study of cognition in organizational settings has expanded dramatically over the last decade in response to the interdisciplinary growth of cognitive science. The first papers to appear generated great enthusiasm for the possible applications of a cognitive perspective but, understandably, focused on cognition itself, tended to work in the absence of empirical data, were sceptical about the possibility of defining collective cognition, and introduced too many similar but somewhat inconsistent concepts. The papers in this volume illustrate how we have moved beyond those early days in several critical areas, as detailed below.
Efficiency of alternative property right allocations when farmers produce multiple environmental goods under the condition of economies of scope
Authors: Strappazzon Loris , Ha Arthur , Eigenraam Mark , Duke Charlotte , Stoneham Gary
Published: June 2003

The efficiency implications of different property right allocations when two environmental goods can be produced under the condition of economies of scope are analysed. It is assumed that an environmental agency – acting on behalf of the community – employs an auction‐based mechanism to buy biodiversity services from farmers. However, farmers’ production of biodiversity produces a second good as a by‐product (e.g., mitigation of a river pollutant) that is valued by point‐source emitters who are engaged in a pollution trading market. The efficiency implications of allocating the property right of the good, mitigation, to either the agency or farmers are analysed. If the agency owns the mitigation then the agency can sell mitigation to point‐source emitters, offsetting the cost of biodiversity. If farmers own mitigation, then they sell it directly to point‐source emitters. Assuming similar transaction costs associated with each property‐right allocation, allocating the property right to farmers improves efficiency, as farmers take account of their private information to make profit‐maximising decisions about the supply of biodiversity and mitigation; the agency would have trouble accessing this private information.
Modelling the adoption of organic horticultural technology in the UK using Duration Analysis
Authors: Burton Michael , Rigby Dan , Young Trevor
Published: June 2003

Duration Analysis, which allows the timing of an event to be explored in a dynamic framework, is used to model the adoption of organic horticultural technology in the UK. The influence of a range of economic and non‐economic determinants is explored using discrete time models. The empirical results highlight the importance of gender, attitudes to the environment and information networks, as well as systematic effects that influence the adoption decision over the lifetime of the producer and over the survey period.
Do EU direct payments to beef producers belong in the ‘blue box’?
Authors: McErlean Seamus , Wu Ziping , Moss Joan , Ijpelaar Jos , Doherty Andrew
Published: June 2003

In the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture, so‐called ‘blue box’ support measures were exempted from reduction commitments, provided they were delivered under ‘production‐limiting’ programs. Although classified as ‘blue box’, the EU system of direct payments (DP) to beef farmers imposes ‘claim‐limiting’ restrictions rather than ‘production‐limiting’ restrictions, allowing farmers to keep additional animals over and above the number upon which they are eligible to claim DP. The present paper provides empirical evidence that EU direct payments capitalise into the market prices of male calves and young steers in Ireland. It is also likely that DP capitalises into the prices of beef cows and heifers. Given this capitalisation process, some farmers can obtain ‘capitalised’ DP on animals produced over and above the ‘claim‐limiting’ restrictions, by selling these animals through auction markets. Thus, ‘capitalised’ DP probably encourages production over and above the limiting measures.
The story of deregulation in the dairy industry
Authors: Edwards Geoff
Published: June 2003

The deregulation of dairy marketing that occurred on 1 July 2000 is a fascinating case study in microeconomic reform. The role of interacting industry and institutional features in the movement to deregulation is explained, with political realities being recognised. A key part of the deregulation bundle was an unprecedented “structural adjustment” package valued at about one and a half billion dollars (in 1998–1999). Questions are raised about the rationale for this package, the process of determining it and the means of funding it.
Carbon‐accounting methods and reforestation incentives
Authors: Cacho Oscar J. , Hean Robyn L. , Wise Russell M.
Published: June 2003

The emission of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide, and the consequent potential for climate change are the focus of increasing international concern. Temporary land‐use change and forestry projects (LUCF) can be implemented to offset permanent emissions of carbon dioxide from the energy sector. Several approaches to accounting for carbon sequestration in LUCF projects have been proposed. In the present paper, the economic implications of adopting four of these approaches are evaluated in a normative context. The analysis is based on simulation of Australian farm–forestry systems. Results are interpreted from the standpoint of both investors and landholders. The role of baselines and transaction costs are discussed.
Who gains from Australian generic wine promotion and R&D?
Authors: Zhao Xueyan , Anderson Kym , Wittwer Glyn
Published: June 2003

The present paper estimates the distributions of aggregate returns from different types of research and promotion investments by the Australian grape and wine industry among grapegrowers, winemakers, domestic and foreign consumers, and the tax office. The results show that most of the gains from cost‐reducing R&D in grape and wine production go to producers and that producers get a far larger share of the benefit from export promotion than that from domestic promotion. Foreign consumers of Australian wine also enjoy a significant share of the benefits from Australian R&D. Sensitivity analysis shows that the key results hold for a wide range of parameter values.
Commercial release of first‐generation genetically modified food products in New Zealand: using a partial equilibrium trade model to assess the impact on producer returns in New Zealand
Authors: Saunders Caroline , Cagatay Selim
Published: June 2003

In the present paper, the impact of genetically modified (GM) food production on producers, consumers and trade in New Zealand is simulated under various scenarios using the Lincoln Trade and Environment Model (LTEM). The LTEM simulates, against various assumptions of proportions of GM/GM‐free production, the impact of various scenarios relating to preference for or against GM production. The results from this preliminary analysis show that the greatest positive impact on New Zealand income is from following a GM‐free strategy, where it is assumed such markets as the European Union and Japan have a large switch in preference away from GM food, followed by the scenario when there is a 20% preference for GM‐free.
Ag econ angst crisis revisited
Authors: Johnson Robin , Rossmiller George E. , Sandiford‐Rossmiller Frances
Published: June 2003

The present paper was inspired by and is a response to the Rola‐Rubzen, Hardaker and Dillon paper ‘Agricultural economists and world poverty: progress and prospects’ (Rola‐Rubzen et al. 2001). It is agreed that the position of agricultural economists in foreign aid and poverty programs has declined over recent decades. Such a feeling of guilt and remorse expressed by the above authors does indeed create considerable ‘angst’. A major reason for this state of affairs lies in ‘the flavour of the month’ approach of the development agencies. These include women in development, gender‐based farming systems research, household nutrition and food security, people participation, and targeting the poorest of the poor. These fads have driven disciplinary considerations to the wall and the more widely‐defined objectives have reduced the drive for economic efficiency. We argue there is still a place for better designed and delivered assistance programs within the wider framework of assistance that has become fashionable. Greater application of institutional principles in both the political processes associated with assistance and the implementation agencies would improve the outcomes of many projects. Particular attention would need to be given to the interface between the development agencies and recipient governments. The present paper picks up on the market failure aspects of agriculture's rather poor contribution to development, and develops a wider perspective in terms of the new institutional economics and a continuing role for the agricultural economist.
The Disappearance of Disability? Thoughts on a Changing Culture
Authors: MacKay Gilbert
Published: May 2003

Gilbert MacKay was appointed professor of special education at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow in September 2000. With a background in teaching and educational psychology, Professor MacKay has research interests in early communication and people with intellectual disabilities. Recently, the Scottish Executive awarded him grants totalling £250,000 for the development of a service for young children with autism and for the professional education of experienced teachers in developmental difficulties such as dyspraxia.

This paper, originally given as a keynote address at the Scottish NASEN conference in Glasgow, challenges many of the prevailing trends in relation to disability and special educational needs. Taking a broad view of developments since Warnock, and providing a fascinating insight into recent initiatives in Scotland, Gilbert MacKay offers an analysis of five ways in which the notion of disability, and the practical reality of our responses to it, are being unhelpfully removed from the educational arena. While we can all strive to promote forms of inclusion that encompass ever–widening parameters of diversity, no one’s interests are served if the implications of individuals’ difficulties are simply ignored or wished away. Gilbert MacKay highlights the dangers in some recent trends but also points the way towards a much more responsive and productive future.