Originally published in 1994 this volume investigates the relationship between a firm's decision to integrate vertically and its research and development (R & D) strategy. Literature on vertical integration is reviewed and a framework presented to analyze the costs and benefits of vertical integration. The theoretical basis for the proposed hypostheses is investigated and the hypotheses tested empirically.

Originally published in 1994 this book undertakes a comprehensive study dealing with the effects of machine flexibility, tool magazine capacity, varying production demands and different oeprating policies on the production planning problems. Performance measures such as FMS flexibility, makespan and inventory are used in evaluating the effects. Three measures of FMS flexibility - actual routing flexibility, potential routing flexibility and capacity flexibility are defined and operationalized.

In a context of growing social and environmental concerns, the role of large enterprises and corporations in encouraging sustainability has drawn increasing attention in recent years. Both academic debates and public-opinion research have called into question the extended responsibilities of firms in our increasingly inter-connected world. By studying issues associated with the greatest challenges mankind is currently facing - from climate change to social exclusion - the scientific community is aware of the need to account for the actions and agendas of companies, especially large ones. They are becoming important global political actors with great power, but also unprecedented responsibilities. With this in mind, the authors believe that it is more important than ever that large enterprises, on the one hand, take into account the opinion of their stakeholder while defining their strategies and, on the other hand, disclose material and relevant information on their ability to contribute to sustainability while delivering value for all of their stakeholders. A consensus is being reached on the responsibility of large enterprises to report in a triple bottom perspective - not only on their financial performances, but also on their social and environmental outcomes. Consequently, it is important to understand what elements organizations need to report on in order to provide stakeholders with relevant and comprehensive sustainability reports. Against this background, this book presents a significant and original contribution, both empirically and theoretically, to the social and environmental accounting literature by studying the various features of stakeholder engagement in sustainability reporting.

The rapid changes in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union are often bewildering, with many frequent, highly significant changes in the different sectors of the economy and the political system. There have been frequent changes of personnel in government and economic management and many changes have been reversed - and sometimes forgotten, or at other times reinstated. What happened when? Who was responsible for what? Did such a change in one sector precede or follow a particular change elsewhere? These are points not easily remembered. This book provides full details of the many changes, and enables sense to be made of what would otherwise be a confusing situation. Developments are arranged chronologically by sector, and the book is unusual in extensively chronicling both economic and political developments and the crucial connections between them. There is a generous introduction and overview to help the reader find his or her way around. The material covers the period up to late autumn 2000, and thus offers a valuable guide to policies in the Putin era.

This book asks how governments in Africa can use evidence to improve their policies and programmes, and ultimately, to achieve positive change for their citizens. Looking at different evidence sources across a range of contexts, the book brings policy makers and researchers together to uncover what does and doesn't work and why. Case studies are drawn from five countries and the ECOWAS (west African) region, and a range of sectors from education, wildlife, sanitation, through to government procurement processes. The book is supported by a range of policy briefs and videos intended to be both practical and critically rigorous. It uses evidence sources such as evaluations, research synthesis and citizen engagement to show how these cases succeeded in informing policy and practice. The voices of policy makers are key to the book, ensuring that the examples deployed are useful to practitioners and researchers alike. This innovative book will be perfect for policy makers, practitioners in government and civil society, and researchers and academics with an interest in how evidence can be used to support policy making in Africa. The Open Access version of this book, available at https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003007043, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license

The literature on innovation in Africa is rapidly expanding, and a recurring thread in the emergent literature is the pervasiveness of systemic weaknesses that inhibit the innovation process. Despite these, firms are able to innovate in Africa. It is then logical to ask: how do African firms manage to overcome the prevalent constraints and learn to innovate? This book directly tackles this question, with a view to improving our understanding of the innovation landscape in Africa. The book brings together some of the latest innovation research from across the African continent, ranging from Tanzania and Ethiopia in the east to Nigeria in the west. The chapters included in the collection adopt different but complementary theoretical and methodological approaches to address a rich mix of interrelated issues. These issues include the factors that enhance or inhibit innovation in African firms, the sources of (knowledge/information for) innovation, policy options for overcoming constraints and facilitating firm-level innovation, the nature and roles of brokers and intermediaries in dealing with innovation constraints and in facilitating the innovation process and the role of interactive learning and acquisition of embodied technology in the innovation process. This book was originally published as a special issue of Innovation and Development.

Originally published in 1994 this book examines problems related to investment planning, capacity additions, and choice of technology in dynamic manufacturing systems characterized by multiple products, dynamic demand growth, uncertainty in demand and availability of alternative technologies. A model-based methodology is developed that focuses on trade-offs between flexible and conventional technology. The research conducted for this book is directed to the development of tools to support investment decisions in production capacity over medium and long-term planning horizons.

Originally published in 1995 this volume examines and analyzes the factors that have made the township-village enterprise (TVE) such a driver of growth in the Chinese economy in recent years. The book analyzes the background of the TVE and discusses regional differences in TVE efficiency as well as examining the apparent contradiction of the success of the TVE despite the lack of well-defined property rights. Issues of rural-rural and rural-urban migration phenomena are discussed and the differences discussed between the Chinese economy and those of other developing nations.

This book provides industry insights and fresh ideas for the advancement of the most vital global industry - food. Drawing on their industry and academic expertise the authors have identified three controlling aspects of food business operations that can unleash long term success: consumer health and wellbeing; product and process sustainability; and harnessing advances in digitalization. If developed to their maximum potential these factors have the capability to revolutionize the food sector. Food Industry 4.0 highlights advancement opportunities for the food manufacturing sector, including innovation in products, processes and services, as it seeks to combine productive, efficient and sustainable practices. The contents address: * Mapping data, new approaches for food system applications. * The perfect meal and making a balanced global diet possible. * Industry 4.0 applications in the food sector: robotics and automation, big data, Internet of Things, cybersecurity. * Resource utilization in the food manufacturing sector. * Resilience and sustainability in food supply chains. * Environmental and social governance in our food system. It is of significant benefit to food industry practitioners working in operational and product development roles, academic researchers, policy makers, students, and food sector professionals.

Rural Development in Practice focuses on the evolving nature of rural development in the Global South. It outlines how we got to where we are today, checks what we can learn from history, and explores the development drivers, facilitators, and obstacles most likely to shape the years ahead. The book covers the management of fishing grounds, forests, grazing lands, water sources and soil, and looks at the effects of infrastructure, trade mechanisms, and new crop varieties on farming. The author discusses the opportunities and challenges of microfinance, social safety nets and migration, and assesses the way ICT and climate change are changing everything, rapidly. Real-life examples, exercises, role-plays, textboxes, anecdotes, and illustrative artwork are used to bring concepts and theories to life, and every chapter concludes with a section that explores how best to tackle the tough and complex dilemmas of our time. Rural Development in Practice is essential reading for students at all levels and may be of benefit for programme and policy staff in rural-focused government departments, multilateral agencies, and non-government organisations.

Over the past several decades of reform and opening up to the outside world, remarkable economic growth has been achieved in China and has drawn considerable world attention. The question of how to explain that phenomenon and the road China has taken towards its modernization have been the focus of attention from worldwide economists and experts. This book attempts to explore China's economy from the perspective of government foresighted leading which gives full play to government functions, particularly those of regional governments. On the one hand, government foresighted leading enables government to exercise foresighted leading by means of foundations, mechanisms and regulations of market economy. On the other hand, it could reduce government malfunction and minimize the cost of remedying defects. Government foresighted leading theory is an important innovation and contribution to the theoretical configuration of economics. It not only offers an explanation of China's continuous economic growth, but further classifies economics into microeconomics, macroeconomics and mezzoeconomics which includes regional economics, industrial economics or structural economics, supplementing the traditional microeconomics and macroeconomics system.

Volume 28 of the Advances in International Management focuses on the opportunities and challenges for multinational enterprises that consider emerging economies as their destinations or their homes. Chapters in this volume examine the rise of home-grown multinational enterprises in emerging economies and the challenges they face when they enter developed markets. They also analyze the co-evolution of and the dynamic interaction between market institutions and business organizations in emerging economies. The volume provides a forum for thought-provoking ideas, empirical research, and discussions, and is ideal for researchers and doctoral students whose work touches emerging markets.

Over the last 70 years, Korea has experienced a rapid and remarkable transformation from a devastatingly poor nation to one of the world's leading advanced economies, achieving both sustained economic growth and a successful democracy. This pioneering work focuses on the key role of sustained investment in human capital behind Korea's phenomenal success. Human Capital and Development analyzes the importance of balancing diverse aspects of the educational system at different stages of development. The need to balance general and vocational education, top-down and bottom-up reform, as well as qualitative and quantitative expansion are highlighted. Adapting Korea's development experience to general principles shows that rather than seeking universal strategies and rules, the key to successful transformation is the provision of educational systems that can evolve over time depending on socio-economic and technological conditions for both developing and advanced countries. For researchers and students of economic development, education, and Asian development, this book is an excellent tool to discover possible ways for developing countries to initiate and accelerate their paths of economic growth and development. This book also provides a useful reference for policy makers of advanced as well as developing countries in designing their education systems and policies.

Economic growth and its relevant subjects have been given the first priority in the research agenda since China initiated economic reforms in 1978, while the topics of social protection and gender equality have been largely left at the periphery for a long period. This book is a collection of evidence-based studies conducted mainly in poor areas of rural China during the recent two decades. Based on individual interviews and sample data analyses, this book emphasizes the importance of cooperative organizations to poverty reduction, and puts forward that gender equality is closely related with sustainable development. In addition, it addresses the issues of food security and elimination of social exclusion - the key to bridging economic divide. It also studies social protection, including basic health protection system, nutrition and healthcare for children, old age security for landless farmers and rural migrant workers. By providing first-hand accounts of different vulnerable groups, such as the poor, women, migrant workers, ethnic minorities and small farmers, this book offers valuable insights into studies of contemporary Chinese society and economy.

The international conference "Sustainable Collaboration in Business, Technology, Information and Innovation (SCBTII) 2019" has brought together academics, professionals, entrepreneurs, researchers, learners, and other related groups from around the world who have a special interest in theories and practices in the development of the field of digital economy for global competitiveness. Considering that, at present, technology and industry 4.0 are still a leading trend and offer great opportunities for global businesses, the rise of industry 4.0 makes competition in the business world more attractive, yet fierce. Opportunities and challenges for business development in industry 4.0 are becoming firm and it also provides businesses the possibility to compete globally. Companies that desire to enter this global competition should pay attention to customer benefits and business fairness in order to achieve sustainability in this digital economy. This proceedings volume contains selected papers from this conference and presents opportunities to communicate and exchange new ideas and experiences. Moreover, the conference provided opportunities, both for the presenters and the participants, to establish research relations, and find global partners for future collaboration.

In the last three decades since the fall of the Berlin Wall, there has been a vast amount of study looking at transforming the planned economy to a market economy from both theoretical and empirical aspects. This book provides an overview and insight into transition economies in the recent decades and looks at key economics topics from the so-called "transition strategy debate" to environmental reform. The book also includes an analytical review and meta-analysis of the existing literature. By integrating theoretical discussions and synthesizing empirical findings in a systematic manner, this book may help to enlighten the debate on the timing, speed, and policy sequence of economic transition. The book will particularly appeal to researchers, policy makers, other practitioners, and under- and post-graduate students who are interested in transition economies in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Southeast Asia, and China. It aims to be read as an advanced reader.

This book, together with Economic Development and Reform Deepening in China is a collection of papers written in recent years about maintaining economic growth, managing inflation, the relationship between growth and structural adjustment, control of price growth, maintaining stable economic development, and other relevant aspects of macro-control, economic development, and deepening reform. Chinese government adopts many of the recommendations put forward by the book.

Since the reform and opening up period, the world has witnessed a transformation within China. This transformation has led millions out of poverty within China and has in recent years seen China as an important and vital engine of economic growth for the rest of the world. While China has made great strides in embarking on the road to a market economy, this book emphasizes that transformation within China to market-driven development is far from over. In this book, Zhang puts forward the idea that the reform in China has now reached a crossroads. The next steps have a bearing not only on the sustainability of past reform but even on whether China will become a veritable world power in the future. With the reform at this pivotal juncture, this book explores further reform within China and examines how the reform debate will develop. The Road Leading to the Market is a highly readable collection of essays which will appeal to researchers and students of China's economy and a globalized economy.

This book, together with Macro-control and Economic Development in China is a collection of papers written in recent years about maintaining economic growth, managing inflation, the relationship between growth and structural adjustment, control of price growth, maintaining stable economic development, and other relevant aspects of macro-control, economic development, and deepening reform. Chinese government adopts many of the recommendations put forward by the book.

Land reform has been the most challenging social issue for China, which is in transition from an agricultural society to an industrialized country. As the initiator of "common-ownership trust", the author introduces trust theory into China's land reform, trying to settle the issues of land right verification and land circulation. Firstly, this book reflects on land circulation and common ownership theoretically. Then it reviews China's rural land system transition in history as well as its current circumstances and problems. Based on theoretical thinking and practice, this book proposes land trust and expounds on its nature and content. Lastly, it interprets the "cloud trust + land trust" model which combines science, technology, knowledge and capital with land to realize the intensive and overall development of land. This book attempts to solve China's land problems with financial tools, which provide significant implications for not only land reform but also trust theory study.

Economic transformation in traditional development economics refers to the transition from an agricultural society to an industrial one. Based on the practical conditions and the experience since reform and opening up in the late 1970s, the author observes that the path China's economy takes is a dual transformation, namely, developmental transformation from an agricultural society to an industrial economy, and institutional transformation from planned economy to market economy. Centering on property ownership reform which is the supreme reform of the dual transformation, this book discusses land ownership approval, stock-holding system reform and the maintaining ownership of private enterprises, etc. Besides, the book expounds on the urbanization in China, believing that it is not only the outcome of the dual transformation but also the booster that will help China's economy continue to develop at a high speed. Independent innovation and industrial upgrading which is the key to the enhancement of enterprises' competitiveness is also covered. The combination or overlapping of the two types of transformations in China has had no precedent in history, and it has not been discussed in traditional development economics. Scholars and students in China's economic studies and development economics studies will be attracted by this book. In addition, this book will be a valuable reference for other developing countries which are undergoing economic transformation.

What are the long-term structural features of the Egyptian economy? What are the factors that have facilitated or inhibited its performance? This crucial and timely work answers these questions and more by examining the most important economic decisions to have impacted the Egyptian economy since 1952 and the political factors behind them. Drawing on Khalid Ikram's extensive knowledge of economic policymaking at the highest levels, The Political Economy of Reforms in Egypt, 1952-2015 lays out the enduring features of the Egyptian economy and its performance since 1952 before presenting an account of policy-making, growth and structural change under the country's successive presidents to the present day. Topics covered include agrarian reforms; the Aswan High Dam; the move towards Arab socialism and a planned economy; the reversal of strategy and the infitah; fiscal, monetary, and exchange-rate policies; consumer subsidies; external debt crises; negotiations between Egypt and international donors and financial institutions; privatization; labor and employment; and poverty and income distribution. The analysis concludes with an examination of institutional reforms and development strategies to tackle the Egyptian economy's structural problems and lay the foundation for sustained and rapid growth. Written from the point of view of a 'participant-observer, ' this book will be indispensable to students of political economy, to scholars of Egypt and the Middle East, and to the general reader who wishes to understand, especially from the wealth of insider information provided, how domestic and international politics and economics can interact to shape decisions that promote, or prevent, economic reforms.

This book, first published in 1989, examines the practice of international business in the Asia-Pacific region. It examines the factors which have influenced its growth and dissemination and analyses particular elements in a transnational, cross-cultural and comparative way. By relating its conclusions to research findings from elsewhere, the Asia-Pacific area is placed in the context of the global business scene. By synthesizing the established body of knowledge and offering managerial insights the book has much to offer the researchers and policy makers of today.

The focal point of this study, first published in 1991, is to investigate the effect of growth patterns on inflation and the distribution of income through inductive examination of the particular experiences in Korea and Taiwan. Both countries are regarded as models of successful industrialization, but contrast significantly in the matter of their development strategy yielding a more equitable distribution of income, along with a moderate inflation from the benefits of economic growth. Korea experienced considerable rates of inflation and a worsening of the distribution of income, while Taiwan avoided both economic evils. This book analyses how Taiwan's economy managed to reconcile growth with inflation and distribution and why Korea could not achieve similar performance.