For over 30 years environmental policy has developed under the assumption that self-interest explains firms' environmental behaviour and that the problem of pollution can be rectified by technological fixes. This policy paradigm has been proved wrong: entrenched antagonism between firms and regulators, and greater environmental harm, have proved to be the dominant outcomes. This book re-focuses environmental policy analysis by demonstrating how behavioural models can be applied within the field to better understand the propensity of the firm to engage in pro-environmental, innovative activities. The book develops an essential tool for environmental policy analysis in the context of technical change. A rigorous theoretical and methodological framework is applied to identify sources of firms' willingness (or resistance) to engage in cleaner production and to evaluate under which conditions the firm's pro-environmental, innovative behaviour may be fostered. The author undertakes extensive research through a case study of the In-Bond industry in Mexico and assesses the significance and relationship of individual factors relating to a firm's innovative behaviour towards 'greener' production. The model developed helps to understand the planned behaviour of the firm in specific contexts, to shape and guide empirical inquiry, and to produce useful corporate and public policy recommendations. Environmental Policy and Technological Innovation comprehensively explores the factors which can influence a firm's behavioural approach towards developing clean technologies. Unlike many other studies on environmental policy, it addresses the origin of the problems and not just the symptoms. It will become an indispensable companion for local, national and international environmental regulators, environmental policymakers and analysts, and those interested in technological innovation and technology policy.

Korea has been at the centre of intense debate concerning the role of government in economic development. Taking an in-depth approach, this book analyses the path of Korea's industrial technology development. In contrast to many previous studies on Korea, the author argues that the role of foreign multinational enterprises has been significant while the government's was surprisingly limited in scope. The author addresses three main questions: * How was Korea able to develop so effectively despite the low inflow of foreign technologies and capital? * What is the role of multinational enterprises in 'teaching' technology to the firms from developing countries? * What has been the influence of public policy on Korea's technology development? The author demonstrates that the key to the Korean electronics industry's spectacular growth has been through its participation in and learning from an inter-firm arrangement called 'original equipment manufacturing' (OEM) arrangement, and a number of firm-level case studies support this argument. This book will be of special interest to scholars of industrial and development economics, innovation and Asian studies. It will also be of use to policymakers responsible for industrial policy development.

Entrepreneurs engaging in international business face business environments that are fundamentally different from their home countries. Despite decades of entrepreneurship research, we know little about these entrepreneurs and their strategic behaviour in establishing and managing transnational operations. This book applies an institutional perspective on transnational entrepreneurship to empirical investigations of transnational corporations (TNCs) from Hong Kong and Singapore. Henry Wai-chung Yeung argues that significant variations in institutional structures of home countries explain variations in the entrepreneurial endowments of prospective transnational business networks. This is illustrated by empirical data from two in-depth studies of over 300 TNCs from Hong Kong and Singapore and over 120 of their foreign affiliates in Asia. Entrepreneurship and the Internationalisation of Asian Firms is a timely contribution to theoretical and empirical studies in international business and will be widely read by those interested in international business, industrial economics, organisation studies, political economy, regional studies and economic geography.

Since the 1970s, there have been many changes to the ways in which Japanese firms have conducted business. The editors of this volume examine the strategies of Japanese subsidiaries in the new global economy and present, in four parts, a comprehensive picture of the nature of Japanese multinational enterprises.The book addresses the overall nature of Japanese investment in international markets, and its broader implications for corporate performance. The entry mode choice and its relationship to performance is then examined, in an attempt to establish overall trends in the performance of various modes. The focus then shifts explicitly to joint ventures since nearly half of all Japanese subsidiaries take this form. Finally, the management strategies that Japanese firms have used in their foreign subsidiaries are investigated. Japanese Subsidiaries in the New Global Economy utilizes empirical analyses based on a very large, longitudinal data set, coupled with state of the art conceptual development. This volume provides a complete current picture of the international strategy of Japanese firms, which will be both useful and informative for researchers, scholars and policy makers in international business, international economics, foreign investment, joint ventures and expatriate management.

Paulo Figueiredo comprehensively examines how and why latecomer companies differ in the manner and rate at which they accumulate technological capability over time. He focuses on how key features of the underlying learning processes influence the paths of technological capability accumulation and, in turn, the rate of improvement in operational performance. The author details the various processes and mechanisms by which a company acquires knowledge from external and internal sources, through individuals, and then converts, or fails to convert, it into organisational assets. These different ways of managing technological learning are studied in detail during the lifetime of two of the largest steel companies in Brazil. He goes on to demonstrate that the rates of technological capability-accumulation and operational performance improvement can be accelerated if deliberate and effective efforts are made to improve knowledge acquisition and knowledge conversion processes. Indeed, these efforts are likely to generate significant financial benefits for the company that manages these processes effectively. The author is rigorous in his empirical analysis and adopts an original perspective by concentrating on latecomer firms within a non-industrialised country. The focus of analysis and the practical approach developed within the book will interest students and scholars of business, technology, innovation, and strategic management, as well as providing a source of reference and information for policymakers and managers in private and state-owned organisations.

Entrepreneurial Competition and Industrial Location explores the notion of entrepreneurial competition from its theoretical foundations in early Austrian and contemporary evolutionary economics. Focusing on the structural development of the intangible factors of production such as labour skills, advertising and research and development, the book's empirical implications are tested in a comparative study of competitive performance in the EU, Japan and the USA. Typical mechanisms of external spillovers, shaping industrial location by means of Marshallian cluster formation, highlight the dimension of industrial location. Peneder finally employs the three evolutionary principles of variation, cumulation and selection to establish entrepreneurship, learning and fair markets as the main pillars of modern competitiveness policy. This volume paves the way for a better understanding of the market process, demonstrating the importance of intangible factors as sources of competitive advantage both by conclusive theoretical argument and careful empirical investigation.

The growth in global competitiveness and interdependence has led to an increased interest in the role of industrial policy in achieving economic growth objectives. Heather Smith reignites the contentious debate of the role of the state using East Asian economic development in general with particular emphasis on Taiwan and Korea. Using quantitive techniques, the author analyses the view that industry policy interventions were a necessary factor explaining Taiwan's economic performance in the 1980s. Lessons for other countries attempting to upgrade their industrial structure are drawn from the comparative industrialisation experience of Taiwan and Korea, along with: * a comprehensive discussion of strategic industry policy with an application to East Asia. * discussion on the impact of the 1997-1998 financial crisis in Korea * a critique of the structuralist/revisionist literature in the light of the financial crisis. This highly topical study constitutes essential reading for governmental and non-governmental policymakers, business leaders and academics alike.

This major new book contains contributions by many of the leading historians of technology. The contributors argue that culture, institutions and learning either made the way for, or blocked technological and industrial transformation. Their essays include broad comparative frameworks between Europe and Asia, and Europe and America, and examine the specific experiences of Britain, France, Holland, Germany and Scandinavia. Themes addressed include cultures of invention and the learning economy, technological inertia and path dependence, patents and product innovation, and technology, institutions and boundaries.

This book surveys the current state of industry in sub-Saharan Africa and examines claims that Africa is de-industrialising. It focuses on the challenge for economic policy to find ways to reverse this trend. The contributors begin by analysing general issues relating to industrialisation in Africa, including the question of Africa's comparative advantage in industry, the role of small-scale enterprises and the scope for infant industry promotion. They then focus on issues such as: * evidence of de-industrialisation within Africa * comparative industrial performance between African countries and economies outside Africa * the role of regional trade integration * lessons to be learnt from industrialisation in East Asia * policies of major lending institutions towards industrial loans The authors then consider evidence from country studies including export performance in Nigeria, protection and transport costs in Uganda, public enterprises in Tanzania, enterprise reform in South Africa and the impact of free trade policies in Southern Africa. They find that the diversity of experience in the region and the complexity of the issues caution against accepting simple generalisations on African industrialisation. Industrial Development and Policy in Africa will be required reading for scholars of economic development and industrial economics.

In recent decades, digital technologies have permeated daily routines, whether at school, at work, or during personal engagements. Stakeholders in education are promoting innovative pedagogical practices, the business sector is utilizing updated processes. Even the public is improving their lifestyles by utilizing innovative technology. In a knowledge construction setting, technology becomes a tool to assist the user to access information, communicate information, and collaborate with others towards human development and knowledge management. In this context, ubiquitous computing has emerged to support humans in their daily life activities in a personal, unattended, and remote manner. Ubiquitous Technologies for Human Development and Knowledge Management serves as an authoritative reference source for the latest scholarly research on the widespread incorporation of technological innovations around the globe. It examines how the application of ubiquitous computing technologies affects various aspects of human lives, specifically in human development and knowledge management. The chapters demonstrate how these ubiquitous technologies, networks, and associated systems have proliferated and have woven themselves into the very framework of everyday life. It covers categorized investigations ranging from e-governance, knowledge management, ICTs, public services, innovation, and ethics. This book is essential for ICT specialists, technologists, teachers, instructional designers, practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students interested in the latest technologies and how they are impacting human development and knowledge management across different disciplines.

The interdependencies between politics, governance and technology have created a 'virtual state'. The author analyses this development within the framework of postmodernism in order to illustrate the importance of adopting a postmodern perspective to understand the theory and practice of public administration and politics. This book examines the special connections linking politics, administration and technology in the 'information society'. Paul Frissen describes recent developments both within public administration and in postmodernism and uses examples from Dutch public administration in order to emphasise the importance of the postmodern perspective. Finally, the author considers the role of politics in the virtual state. This book will prove to be invaluable to scholars of public and social policy, public administration and politics. The translation was funded by NWO, the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research.

Innovation is critically important for countries seeking to maintain or improve their competitive advantage in the global economy. This book addresses the major current policy debates in science, technology and innovation focusing mainly on Europe but also including comparisons with other countries around the world.The R&D policies of five European countries - the UK, The Netherlands, France, Finland and Germany - are examined to understand national innovation systems and public policies, the determination of R&D spending priorities, research responsibilities and the allocation of funds. The authors combine interviews with senior civil servants, analyses of government publications and various government statistics on R&D performance. They consider national debates on science, technology and innovation policies within the wider context of the overarching political and administrative culture, and relate actual innovation and research policies to structural and institutional features of national economies. This book will be warmly welcomed by scholars and all those in decision making positions in government and non-governmental institutions on research, innovation and technology.

Environmental taxes are considered one of the most attractive environmental policy instruments. However, many problems still prevent their widespread implementation. This impressive book offers a comprehensive, global and innovative treatment of the environmental tax issue. The author provides detailed economic analysis as well as practical policy suggestions and presenting numerous examples that have been successful in addressing complex issues as well as considering questions including: how should the instrument be designed? what to do with the tax revenues? how taxes could be made acceptable for industry, politicians and voters an analysis of the ethical issues of environmental taxation. This comprehensive treatment of environmental taxes will ensure the book's appeal to researchers, academics and students. It will also be of immense value to those working with the environment, as well as providing practical solutions to implementation problems faced by civil servants in central and local government.