This book analyses the financing problems of Greek small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), within a liberalized financial system and within an economic environment of fiscal and monetary constraints. Using recent data covering a ten-year period, the main aim of the research is to explain the interdependence between the situation of the banking sector generally and that of small and medium enterprises. The author argues that the reluctance of banks to lend to Greek companies because of the strict financing constraints, due to the national debt crisis, serves to exacerbate the cycle of economic recession. This factor seriously undermines the efforts of Greek companies to develop growth opportunities, and negatively affects their competitiveness as well as their ability to strengthen their market position. The author examines the supply and demand aspect of the problem: there is lower demand for lending due to the decline of demand for goods and services as well as a tightening of banks'credit standards, whilst on the supply side, the deteriorating financial situation of banks and their willingness to avoid increasing risk are important contributing factors. Finally, the author presents the main conclusions of the analyses carried out in the previous sections of the book and discusses some relevant recommendations for future research. Building on the extant literature, this book analyses the problem from the point of view of both businesses and the banking sector. The study is useful for scholars, businesses and policy decision makers who are interested in the problem of small and medium-sized enterprises financing.

Series Information:
Routledge Studies in Organizations and Networks

It is widely recognized that Britains economic growth has slowed drastically since the end of the Second World War. The 1950s are often seen as the significant decade in this respect, when a strong government could have checked economic decline in its earliest stages. However, in 1964 Labour alleged that the Conservative government had sorely failed to do just this and had led the nation through thirteen wasted years. Many commentators have agreed with this, yet until now such views have been subject to little serious empirical scrutiny. This text responds to the need for a full assessment of the Conservatives performance in this period. Drawing upon a range of archival sources, Nick Tiratsoo and Jim Tomlinson explore the different aspects of the efficiency question. Beginning with the major issue of attempts in the 1950s to Americanize British industry, the authors also discuss Conservative policy on competition, education and training, investment and research and development. This research reveals that the Conservatives were informed about each of these issues, yet shrank from effective reform. They were, rather, reduced to inertia by ideological dilemmas, internal party antagoni

Examining the UK's manufacturing sector, this book features contributions from specialists in business, management, economics, organizational behaviour and economic geography. Subjects covered include: the nature of change in the management of manufacturing organizations; the significance of manufacturing in the mature economies of the 21st century; the impact of Japanese companies and methods; the implications of de-industrialization; comparative analysis of British, Japanese and American electronics manufacturers; the regional political economy of manufacturing; the changing nature of buyer-supplier relations; and the prospects for manufacturing renewal in the UK. Detailed and topical, this book should be of interest to business students, researchers and public policy makers.

Examining the UK's manufacturing sector, this book features contributions from specialists in business, management, economics, organizational behaviour and economic geography. Subjects covered include: the nature of change in the management of manufacturing organizations; the significance of manufacturing in the mature economies of the 21st century; the impact of Japanese companies and methods; the implications of de-industrialization; comparative analysis of British, Japanese and American electronics manufacturers; the regional political economy of manufacturing; the changing nature of buyer-supplier relations; and the prospects for manufacturing renewal in the UK. Detailed and topical, this book should be of interest to business students, researchers and public policy makers.

Economic restructuring in Eastern Europe has added a new universe of firms to the pool of cases for study of managerial effectiveness. Yet, in the ideologically charged atmosphere of post-communist transitions, analysis of the functioning of East European firms is sometimes clouded by preoccupation with privatization issues -- whether ownership is held by banks, a state or public agency, foreign investors, or inside or outside shareholders. This volume focuses on the performance of firms as a measure of the effectiveness of corporate governance, and only then attempts to draw conclusions about the relative advantages of different ownership structures.

This text offers a fresh perspective on the rise of large-scale companies in Victorian England, by locating their origins in political and social practice. It seeks to challenge the division between the state and the market that has informed regulatory theory and policy. Th e study is divided into three sections, each on a different facet of "joint-stock politics". The first section surveys the East India Company and the Bank of England, two political institutions which needed to adjust to tendencies in the 19th century to view companies as more properly part of the market. The second aprt locates England's early joint-stock banks in the voluntarist and regionalist political culture of the 1830s, then traces their departure from these origins through the end of the century. The final section argues that Victorian railways, in shielding themselves from state intervention, neglected their public relations with creditors, customers and workers,and suffered economically as a result.

G.B. Richardson is often thought of as the 'founding father' of the theory of the firm or market. His work has given insights into issues and debates such as markets versus hierarchies, price stability, the economics of information and the concept of competition based uopn differentiated firms. Drawn from a recent colloquium held in his honour, the papers in this volume tie in with the themes central in G.B. Richardson's work, addressing their significance, their relationship to the work of other economists and their potential for further development. The first few chapters cover themes related to the comparative neglect of Richardson's work, such as the links with a Marshallian school and the connection with Austrian thinking. Later chapters go on to discuss modern thinking on the theory of the firm, connections between economic and management approaches, as well as applications of the "Richardson model" on collaborative arrangements, the growth of the firm and innovation policy. Crucially, the book also includes a recent essay by G.B. Richardson himself, which shows the continuing development of his ideas. This collection aims to encourage further development of Richardson's them

Reissuing works originally published between 1961 and 1990, this set of 12 books offers a selection of scholarship on the history of natural resources. Many of the titles discuss the nuclear power debate from various angles while others look at coal, or resources and energy in the third world.

This title was first published in 2002: Anthony Bende-Nabende focuses on the ongoing globalization process, which has sparked an unprecedented world-wide debate. He provides a one-stop centre for a balanced coverage of the theoretical, empirical and policy issues linking globalization with foreign direct investment, regional economic integration, and economic growth and sustainable development. This stimulating book comprehensively explores the theoretical and empirical literature inter-linking the aforementioned factors from the anti-globalization activists' viewpoint, and from the pro-globalization proponents' perspective. It proposes policies that individual countries should pursue, based on the recognition that globalization generates both positive and negative effects. These comprise policies required to maximise the economic benefits globalization may generate, and those that aim to eliminate or at least minimize the negative development-oriented effects globalization may engender and, hence, to propel sustainable development. The book will be an essential guide for students, academics and those involved in international economics, environmental studies, international relations, and growth and development studies.

This title was first published in 2000: The central aim of the Common Agricultural Policy is to support the incomes of farmers, yet reliable information on the overall incomes of farmers and their households is scarce. In general, farmers in the EU are not a low-income or poor sector of society and much of the present CAP income support goes to those that are relatively well-off. This book, the 3rd edition to address these issues, has been updated and expanded to include: updated coverage of statistics and references; the major changes in methodology of income measurement flowing from the 1995 revision of the European System of Accounts; a critical examination of wealth and balance sheets for the agricultural industry as currently calculated; incorporation of material from Japan and countries in Central and Eastern Europe that are candidates for EU membership.

This title was first published in 2002: Why do endogenous cycles persist in Spain? Manuel Roman demonstrates a highly novel approach to the study of finance and the persistence of endogenous growth cycles, providing a balanced account of the Post Keynesian, Classical and Neo-classical political economy approaches. Finding key propositions from a representative set of heterodox cycles' models, he rigorously tests their chief claims, grounding his research in empirical data. The endogenous forces behind persistent fluctuations in the Spanish economy are also identified and explored in this theoretically rich text, the first of its kind to examine the Spanish economy in such great detail.

This title was first published in 2002: This compelling text is the first major application of Michael Porter's diamond framework to identify the sources of national competitive advantage in the case of Greece. Offering a useful evaluation of Porter's theory through an extensive literature review, the book also draws on empirical evidence from five selected Greek industries. It also provides information and commentary on many aspects of the Greek economy, its historical evolution and its current trends. International and Greek investors, international organizations, business consultants and financial institutions will certainly benefit from this analysis of the Greek economic environment. Moreover, universities and researchers will be interested in the evidence supporting or refuting parts of the widely used and cited "diamond" framework.

This annotated bibliography contains over 4,000 entries providing detailed information on books, journal articles, and theses in Business History worldwide. The coverage includes works published in the United States, England, France, Germany, Japan, Sweden and Italy; all are annotated in English. Entries cover a wide range of industries, from agricultural engineering to toys, weapons engineering, and wholesale distribution. Specific companies mentioned are indicated at the bottom of each annotation. Using the Standard Industrial Classification System, the book details:
*Exploitative Industries
*Traditional and Heavy Industries
*Light Industry
*Trade and Distribution
*Financial Services
*Other Services (including Health and Transportation)
*Corporate Structures
*Management and Entrepreneurship
The works listed in the "International Bibliography of Business History" will be found in almost any college library and will be used by every student, teacher, and librarian working in the field of Business.

Absentee Ownership is an inquiry into the economic situation as it has taken shape in the twentieth century, particularly as exemplified in the case of America. According to Thorstein Veblen, absentee ownership is the main and immediate controlling interest in the life of civilized men. It is the paramount issue between the civilized nations, and guides the conduct of their affairs at home and abroad. World War I, says Veblen, arose out of a conflict of absentee interests and the peace was negotiated with a view to stabilize them.

Part I of the book is occupied with a summary description of that range of economic circumstances and that sequence of economic growth and change that led up through the nineteenth century and have come to a head in the twentieth century. Part II is an objective, theoretical analysis of those economic circumstances described in the first part of the book.

Marion Levy writes in his introduction about the phrase "absentee ownership" and how it has a definite connotation, representing a dark figure in the economic system, a frustration of desired levels of self-sufficiency. In the early days, the giants of business enterprise had faces--Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Ford, Edison--but they all turned into faceless bureaucracies, says Levy. The giants may not have been nice, but they had faces and human traits. Absentee ownership wiped that out for the common man. Veblen's book continues to be of vital importance to the studies of economics, political theory, and sociology.

The combination of international privatization trends coupled with advancements in computer and communication technology have transformed the conduct of international business. The result has been a consolidation of players in all aspects of business, including banking, aviation, insurance, and mass media. This book discusses one such player -- the Transnational Media Corporation (TNMC).
Long remembered as a time of rapid growth and expansion for international business, the decades of the '80s and '90s were a period characterized by major mergers and acquisitions. Good examples of this include Time Inc.'s 1989 merger with Warner Communication for $11.2 billion and Walt Disney's 1996 purchase of Cap Cities/ABC for $19.5 billion. According to the late Steven Ross, former co-chief executive officer of Time-Warner, "In order to succeed in business today, you must be in all the major markets of the world." TNMCs have indeed become salient features of today's global economic landscape.
This volume asks the most basic of questions: What makes a global corporation global? And, to what extent do TNMCs affect the marketplace of ideas? This book, then, is intended for the business professional or student who is interested in understanding the business and operations of transnational media.
Part I examines the regulatory and economic reasons prompting the formation of a TNMC. It seeks to explain why such companies engage in direct foreign investment and further considers how transnational operations affect the development of new media products in terms of cost, quality, and availability. The TNMC is unique among global corporations given the fact that its primary business is the creation of information and entertainment products. This book also examines the highly complex relationship between TNMCs and the host nations in which they operate. It further considers such specific issues as cultural trespass, transborder data flow, and the effects of transnational media on the marketplace of ideas.
Part II of this volume provides a series of case study analyses of five leading TNMCs including Time-Warner Inc., Sony Inc., Bertelsmann AG, the Walt Disney Company, and News Corporation Ltd. Specific attention is given to the history, business philosophy, and economic performance of each of these companies.

The combination of international privatization trends coupled with advancements in computer and communication technology have transformed the conduct of international business. The result has been a consolidation of players in all aspects of business, including banking, aviation, insurance, and mass media. This book discusses one such player -- the Transnational Media Corporation (TNMC).
Long remembered as a time of rapid growth and expansion for international business, the decades of the '80s and '90s were a period characterized by major mergers and acquisitions. Good examples of this include Time Inc.'s 1989 merger with Warner Communication for $11.2 billion and Walt Disney's 1996 purchase of Cap Cities/ABC for $19.5 billion. According to the late Steven Ross, former co-chief executive officer of Time-Warner, "In order to succeed in business today, you must be in all the major markets of the world." TNMCs have indeed become salient features of today's global economic landscape.
This volume asks the most basic of questions: What makes a global corporation global? And, to what extent do TNMCs affect the marketplace of ideas? This book, then, is intended for the business professional or student who is interested in understanding the business and operations of transnational media.
Part I examines the regulatory and economic reasons prompting the formation of a TNMC. It seeks to explain why such companies engage in direct foreign investment and further considers how transnational operations affect the development of new media products in terms of cost, quality, and availability. The TNMC is unique among global corporations given the fact that its primary business is the creation of information and entertainment products. This book also examines the highly complex relationship between TNMCs and the host nations in which they operate. It further considers such specific issues as cultural trespass, transborder data flow, and the effects of transnational media on the marketplace of ideas.
Part II of this volume provides a series of case study analyses of five leading TNMCs including Time-Warner Inc., Sony Inc., Bertelsmann AG, the Walt Disney Company, and News Corporation Ltd. Specific attention is given to the history, business philosophy, and economic performance of each of these companies.

This book, first published in 1985, tackles simultaneously three major questions about the course of industrial evolution: what are the features of the industrial systems that have developed outside Western capitalism? What are the salient evolutionary developments now occurring in all advanced capitalist systems? What light can social theory throw upon the evolution of industrial systems thus far and in the future? In answering these questions the author provides an exposition of how the Soviet system works and how the Japanese system developed; a critical analysis of three issues of major contemporary concern - the control of giant corporations, the impact of automation, and the shift to service employment; and a commentary on the theories of classical and contemporary social thinkers. Concluding with his own conceptualisation of the determinants of industrial evolution, the author also offers his own evaluation of the needs of the advanced industrial societies.

During the last two decades there has been widespread evidence of change in specific aspects of employing organizations, employment and employment related institutions.
Changing Forms of Employment looks at the underlying trends which generate pressures towards a fundamental reshaping of social institutions in three ways: changes in the organization of production, particularly those associated with the growth of service dominated economics; the effects of technological change, particularly those associated with Information Technology; the erosion of the 'male breadwinner' (or single earner) model of employment and household.
These trends have resulted in strains and ruptures in the organization and regulation of employment, and related institutions including trade unions, employers, and households. The task of the next decade is to both reconstruct relationships, and to renew institutions.

Full Contributors:
Jill Rubery, School of Management, UMIST, Manchester, UK; Paul Edwards, University of Warwick, UK; Paul Marginson, University of Warwick, UK; Peter Armstrong, Sheffield University, UK; John Purcell, University of Bath, UK; John Allen, The Open University, UK; Nick Henry, University of Birmingham, UK; Tony Lane, University of Liverpool, UK; Bryn Jones, University of Bath, UK; Duncan Gallie, Nuffield College, Oxford, UK; Carole Thornley, Keele University, UK; Alice Lam, The University of Kent at Canterbury, UK; Jacqueline O'Reilly, WZB Berlin, Germany; Abigail Gregory, Irene Bruegel, Judy Wajcman, University of Warwick, UK.

In the last few decades, many global cities and towns have experienced unprecedented economic, social, and spatial structural change. Today, we find ourselves at the juncture between entering a post-urban and a post-political world, both presenting new challenges to our metropolitan regions, municipalities, and cities. Many megacities, declining regions and towns are experiencing an increase in the number of complex problems regarding internal relationships, governance, and external connections. In particular, a growing disparity exists between citizens that are socially excluded within declining physical and economic realms and those situated in thriving geographic areas. This book conveys how forces of structural change shape the urban landscape. In The Post-Urban World is divided into three main sections: Spatial Transformations and the New Geography of Cities and Regions; Urbanization, Knowledge Economies, and Social Structuration; and New Cultures in a Post-Political and Post-Resilient World. One important subject covered in this book, in addition to the spatial and economic forces that shape our regions, cities, and neighbourhoods, is the social, cultural, ecological, and psychological aspects which are also critically involved. Additionally, the urban transformation occurring throughout cities is thoroughly discussed. Written by today's leading experts in urban studies, this book discusses subjects from different theoretical standpoints, as well as various methodological approaches and perspectives; this is alongside the challenges and new solutions for cities and regions in an interconnected world of global economies. This book is aimed at both academic researchers interested in regional development, economic geography and urban studies, as well as practitioners and policy makers in urban development.

This book, first published in 1936, offers the conception of the dynamics of the Key Economic Area as an aid to the understanding of Chinese economic history. By tracing their development through a historical study of the construction of irrigation and flood-control works and transport canals, it shows the function of the Key Economic Area as an instrument of control of subordinate areas.

This book is the result of a two-year interdisciplinary research programme named PRISM (Policy making, Reporting and measuring, Intangibles, Skills development and Management), financed by the European Commission and aimed both at understanding better how these assets are created and developed and what the policy implications of their growing importance in economies are. The book focuses on the policy issues raised by the increasing importance of intangible assets in a country's growth and competitiveness. The main idea is that the value of intangible assets, which is imperfectly captured by current economic indicators and imperfectly formalized in economic theory, lies in their being the cumulative elements that keep the economy together - the glue of the system. This argument leads to the focus on networks and social capital as drivers of the development of intangible assets and is illustrated by the case of EU innovation and knowledge diffusion policy.

First published in 1999, this book brings together the findings from research projects funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. The programme of research examined the problems faced by home owners with the collapse of the property market in the late 1980s. The book focuses on households with negative equity and uses analyzes of secondary data sets, social surveys and in-depth interviews to explore the implications of the fall in property values for both households and the wider economy. In particular it examines the kinds of coping strategies adopted by home owners in relation to debt and mobility. Home Ownership in Crisis? thus gets beyond aggregate estimates and offers the reader a detailed understanding of what negative equity actually means for the individuals concerned. Moreover, by exposing a range of circumstances in which negative equity arises, the book also informs debates about the kinds of policy initiatives which may be appropriate in dealing with a more volatile economic environment in Britain and elsewhere.

This book offers a sociological account of the process by which companies instituted and continue to institute outsourcing in their organization. Drawing on qualitative data, it examines the ways in which internal outsourcing in the information technologies and human resources professions negatively affects workers, their work conditions, and working relationships. With attention to the deleterious influence of outsourcing on relationships and the strong tendency of market organisations to produce social conflict in interactions - itself a considerable 'transaction cost' - the author challenges both the ideology that markets, rather than hierarchies, produce more efficient and less costly economic outcomes for companies, and the idea that outsourcing generates benefits for professional workers in the form of greater opportunity. A demonstration of the social conflict created between employees working for two separate, proprietary companies, Working Lives and in-House Outsourcing will be of interest to scholars with interests in the sociology of work and organizations and the sociology of professions, as well as those working in the fields of business management and human resources.