The blurring of boundaries between hitherto distinct scientific disciplines, technologies or markets is a common and powerful phenomenon. Subjects of this convergence often change consumer behaviours, favouring products and platforms with multiple functions. The Anticipation of Converging Industries provides a detailed focus on the triggers, drivers and consequences of convergence to create a more concise definition of convergence. This detailed analysis includes a specifically developed toolbox for 'convergence foresight', creating a forecasting method for convergence trends. With the focus on the chemical, biotechnological and pharmaceutical industries, several indicators of convergence in the areas of Nutraceuticals/Functional Foods, Cosmeceuticals and ICT are derived from samples including over 1million patents and scientific publications. By supporting this methodical approach with real world data, The Anticipation of Converging Industries is perfect for industry practitioners looking for a competitive edge in the present and for the future. Similarly, academics will find a comprehensive theoretical concept for better understanding the underlying rationale of convergence at their disposal

Economic progress in the digital knowledge society will be characterized by enormous structural change and the growth of digital services. This book focuses on the role of information and communication technologies for economic integration, networking and growth. It highlights technological and regulatory dynamics with respect to EU countries and the US and presents new policy conclusions at both the national and international levels, including welfare analysis.

Exploding the curious myth that the ocean is a barrier rather than a highway for communication, this unusual interdisciplinary study examines the English Atlantic context of early American life. From the winterless Caribbean to the ice-locked Hudson Bay, maritime communications in fact usually met the legitimate expectations for frequency, speed, and safety, while increased shipping, new postal services, and newspapers hastened the exchange of news. These changes in avenues of communications reflected--and, in turn, enhanced--the political, economic, and social integration of the English Atlantic between 1675 and 1740. As Steele deftly describes the influence of physical, technological, socioeconomic, and political aspects of seaborne communication on the community, he suggests an exciting new mode of analyzing Colonial history.

"United States Service Industries Handbook" is designed to bring together the wealth of information on federal data sources for services, to analyze some of the characteristics of these industries, and to inquire into some of the problems of a service-oriented economy. It examines the strenght of the service sector, the growing proportion of consumer expenditures on service products, the explosion in service sector employment, the increasing importance of services in U.S. international trade, and the inclusion of services in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Also discussed are the present status of the industry and international trade issues affecting services. In addition, this comprehensive volume includes the latest statistics for the industry, a broad bibliography, and a detailed listing of sources of data.

It is widely admitted that markets are the main driving force of the economy but governments intervention could, in some circumstances, improve on their outcomes. This book provides a structured analysis relating theoretical arguments, implementation approaches and effectiveness of industrial policy.

In the past twenty years the clusters of small enterprises proved to be among the most dynamic ways to promote the endogenous growth of local economic systems. However, the case of 'survival clusters' in developing countries is more controversial, as many international organizations and specialized government agencies have verified over their long-term experience. This book offers a new interpretative key, which we call 'a stage and eclectic approach' to the development of clusters. This approach supports public efforts to increase the effectiveness of policy-making and development operations in local contexts.

This book challenges the prevailing view that regional economic decline is caused by unionization and can be avoided through tax cuts. Respected economist Douglas Booth suggests the establishment of cooperative financial institutions in order to shift corporate responsibility from stockholders to employees. Policymakers, those interested in employee ownership, unionists, and those interested in the nation's economic problems in general will find the book provocative and timely.

More than twenty million migrant workers send $40 billion to their countries of origin each year, making labor second only to oil as the most important commodity traded internationally. The essays contained here deal with this unsettled sociopolitical issue--international labor migration and its relationship to economic development--seeking to determine the effects of recruitment, remittances, and return migration on labor-exporting countries. Many analysts, sending-country governments, employers, and migrant workers feel that countries with unemployed workers should, if possible, export them to countries with labor shortages. Remittances from migrants and returning workers who were trained abroad should stimulate economic growth enough to reduce unemployment and pressures to emigrate. It was projected that within a decade or less, labor-importing countries would emerge from the labor-shortage phase of their development. However, migrant workers have become a structural feature of the economies in Western Europe, the Middle East, South Africa, and the United States: emigration does not promote development in the sending countries. This collection of twelve chapters by experts in the field examines the conceptual and theoretical issues in international labor migration and looks at the relationship between migration and development in Africa, between Mediterranean countries and Europe, between Asian labor exporters and Middle Eastern importers, and the effects of emigration on Latin America and the Caribbean.

In addition to comprehensive introductory and concluding sections, Conceptual and Theoretical Issues in International Labor Migration and The Unsettled Relationship between Migration and Development, the volume is divided into four additional sections that scrutinize labor migration and development in Africa, Greece, and Turkey, Asian countries, and Latin America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The book's recurring theme states that there is no iron law of migration-induced development: recruitment, remittances, and returns do not automatically generate stay-at-home development. This first thorough and comparative treatment, with its focus on the population, social policy, labor market, language, and foreign policy implications of recent and present policies, will be invaluable for courses on refugees and migrants in sociology and comparative public policy. Research libraries and international assistance organizations will find it an indispensable resource.

Corporate Security Responsibility? focuses on the role of private business in zones of conflict. The book contributes to closing the gap between research on Global Governance and Peace and Conflict Studies. It applies a systematic research design to the study of corporate governance contributions to peace and security across a number of cases.

The question of why some companies succeed while others languish prompted the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta to sponsor the March 1983 conference on Growth Industries in the 1980s from which this book was derived. Experts from key industries addressed the question at a time when recession caused bankruptcy in many businesses. Paradoxically, many small companies, primarily in high technology areas, grew dynamically and added 15 million jobs to the nation's economy. This book, presenting the current thinking of highly regarded contributors, offers insights into how this nation can encourage the growth of companies and industries that will restore our competitive advantage.

The years between 1865 and 1920 were eventful ones for the sake of Missouri. It was not only the time of Jesse James, Scott Joplin, and Mark Twain, of progressive governors Joseph Folk and Herbert Hadley, of the first general strike in St. Louis and some especially vicious vigilante activity, it was also the time when Missouri, like many other states, was being transformed by the tides of industrialism and economic growth. This social history examines the social and economic forces that resisted economic development in Missouri. Here, Thelen explores the various ways that people attempted to maintain their values and dignity in the face of overwhelming new economic, cultural, and political pressures, and analyzes the grassroots patterns that emerged in response to rapid social change. Thelen, who is one of the leading historians of the Progressive period in America, contends that people found their strength not in class solidarity or other Marxist responses but in what he calls "the resistance of folk memories," which allowed them to call upon the best elements of their collective past to help them cope with the new situation.

Motivated by recent events and experiences in antitrust enforcement and policy in the United States and the European Union, and new insights and findings from academic research, this book presents a collection of theoretical, empirical and public policy-oriented articles representing recent research on the political-economy of antitrust. Political-economy is defined broadly to include the demand-side drivers of antitrust activity such as market failures and interest-groups, along with supply-side drivers including ideology and partisan politics as well as the importance of informational limitations in antitrust enforcement and the institutional structure of the antitrust agencies. Examining issues related to the political-economy of antitrust is important as antitrust policy and enforcement provide a key mechanism for preserving the competitiveness of markets, with implications for innovation, efficiency, growth and welfare. This book brings together contributions by leading academic researchers in the areas of political-economy, cartels, merger and non-merger enforcement, as well as economists working with antitrust authorities in the U.S. and E.U., to make a timely contribution for researchers and practitioners.
The chapters in this volume cover the full range of topics: enforcement of cartels; merger control; monopolization and abuse of dominance; and systemic issues in antitrust enforcement and policy. Since the last few years have seen significant changes in both the U.S. and E.U. in the attitudes towards cartels, the book places emphasis on antitrust enforcement of cartels, including topics such as the corporate leniency programs that have recently been introduced in the U.S.and E.U., optimal deterrence mechanisms against cartels and detection of cartels.
While the individual chapters of the book make independent contributions and may be read separately, the book brings together articles from various sub-areas to present a more encompassing picture. The first chapter provides an overview of some of the trends and recent research in antitrust enforcement and policy and highlights the contributions made by the chapters in this volume.
*Motivated by recent events and experiences in antitrust enforcement and policy in the United States and the European Union, and new insights and findings from academic research
*Brings together contributions by leading academic researchers
*Makes a timely contribution for researchers and practitioners

Already the world's third largest economic power, China presents enormous potential for businesses worldwide. Opportunities abound, and despite current economic crises throughout Asia, Richter and the contributors to this unique volume are convinced that opportunities in China can only increase. They explore and analyze these opportunities and the management practices that implement them. In doing so they study the Chinese economy, forecast the future of Chinese business organization, and assess China's place in the coming global economy. Recent developments in the Chinese economy show how Chinese firms actively pursue new strategies to shape their organizations. The current Asian crisis will radically alter the patterns of doing business in China, and Richter and his contributors explain how Western firms can cope with these ongoing changes. Other books, usually from the Western viewpoint, tend to describe only the present structure of the Chinese economy. Richter's looks at it from China's viewpoint and advocates a dynamic approach to the study of Chinese organizations. The analytical scope of the book concentrates more thoroughly on transforming organizations' structures than is found in other mainstream studies. Their book is thus a true inside view of China's economic and business structures, by people who have studied and know it intimately--a book that will help corporate executives and their academic colleagues appreciate China's vitality and understand the reasons for her optimism.

Although knowledge of China is growing it still remains relatively sparse, considering the rise to prominence of Chinese business enterprises. Richter and his Chinese experts (visionaries he calls them) seek to fill the gaps. They look at the complex questions associated with the concept of ownership and control in China and address economic policy and the development of the Chinese firm. They look at the development path of some selected industries, then itemize the challenges that multinational companies face in China, ending with a discussion of a hypothetical way of managing. All of the contributors are members of the worldwide Chinese business and academic communities. The research presented inspires further academic discourse and managerial policy in face of evolving Chinese reality. The book supplies expert knowledge and support for business practitioners, policy analysts, scholars and students in China and abroad.

The Social and Cognitive Impacts of E-Commerce on Modern Organizations includes articles addressing the social, cultural, organizational, and cognitive impacts of e-commerce technologies and advances on organizations around the world. Looking specifically at the impacts of electronic commerce on consumer behavior, as well as the impact of e-commerce on organizational behavior, development, and management in organizations. This important new book aims to expand the overall body of knowledge regarding the human aspects of electronic commerce technologies and utilization in modern organizations and to assist researchers and practitioners to devise more effective systems for managing the human side of e-commerce.

Virtually every city in the nation's older industrial regions, no matter its size, grapples with the challenge of unused or abandoned manufacturing facilities and other industrial sites. Local public officials, economic development practitioners, and site owners who have sought to revitalize fallow industrial properties face daunting challenges: contamination of the buildings, equipment, and surrounding land and water. Public concern about health effects from hazardous chemicals, changing environmental law, and evolving private sector development and financing priorities have made it increasingly difficult for communities to restore and reuse former manufacturing sites. This study, sponsored by the Northeast-Midwest Institute, offers analysis and practical guidance on how these blighted areas--brownfields--have been and can be brought back to life.

The basic features of R & D and of technical change are presented in a descriptive fashion. An economic framework is then developed for studying endogenous technical change.

Too many new products fail. Mainly because new products are hard to differentiate from exisiting products and they don't capture the customer's imagination. The failure is due to a poor understanding of customers' needs. Companies need to take a radical approach to identifying customers' real needs, and this book demonstrates innovative ways to acheive this.

This book deals with the development and fortunes of Inmos, today the largest British-owned semiconductor manufacturer of high volume, standard micro-electronic components. Authors McLean and Rollands provide a detailed history of the company from its beginnings in the late 1970s as a desperate attempt on the part of the Labour Government to regain a strategic British presence in the microelectronics industry to its present position and future in the world of high-technology industry.