A rare empirical test of the assertions of critics of multinational corporations (MNCs), who argue that firm-level social and environmental performance suffers as MNCs grow increasingly mobile.

Get an insightful, expert look at the inner workings of China's business world, highlighting the country's attempts to develop the scientific and technological base for a greener economic model. Business and Technology in China offers a perceptive look at China's economic wonder and the science/business partnership that is pointing the way to its future. In a series of narrative chapters, the book marks China's astonishing transformation into a global manufacturing powerhouse, with specific coverage of the devastating human and environmental impact of that growth, the effects of the 2008 global financial crisis, and China's new Initiatives for creating a more sustainable economic model. Business and Technology in China shows why China's renewed focus on scientific and technological innovation as an economic driver is so important. Drawing on extensive research, author Jing Luo makes the case that China's new model can still produce significant growth, even as it sets the stage for improved living standards and smarter environmental stewardship. Charts and tables provide the most recent statistics on China's economy from a variety of authoritative sources Provides a list of online resources for further exploration of China and its economy

This book attempts to link some of the recent advances in crowdsourcing with advances in innovation and management. It contributes to the literature in several ways. First, it provides a global definition, insights and examples of this managerial perspective resulting in a theoretical framework. Second, it explores the relationship between crowdsourcing and technological innovation, the development of social networks and new behaviors of Internet users. Third, it explores different crowdsourcing applications in various sectors such as medicine, tourism, information and communication technology (ICT), and marketing. Fourth, it observes the ways in which crowdsourcing can improve production, finance, management and overall managerial performance. Crowdsourcing, also known as "massive outsourcing" or "voluntary outsourcing," is the act of taking a job or a specific task usually performed by an employee of a company or contractors, and outsourcing it to a large group of people or a community (crowd or mass) via the Internet, through an open call. The term was coined by Jeff Howe in a 2006 issue of Wired magazine. It is being developed in different sciences (i.e., medicine, engineering, ICT, management) and is used in the most successful companies of the modern era (i.e., Apple, Facebook, Inditex, Starbucks). The developments in crowdsourcing has theoretical and practical implications, which will be explored in this book. Including contributions from international academics, scholars and professionals within the field, this book provides a global, multidimensional perspective on crowdsourcing.

After the Second World War, the economics of the western capitalist countries were based on a production system called fordism, but in the mid 1970s this system began to break down, and it has been in crisis since. But does resolving this crisis imply a complete break with the past, notably with the principles of Taylor and Ford?;Based on an analysis of the transformations currently taking place in several international companies, this book reveals the complexities and subtleties of today's transitions.

This tenth volume of papers emanating from the annual International High Technology Small Firms Conference represents a full decade of research and policy relevant papers on innovation and growth problems of New Technology-based Firms (NTBf).
Because this series has become the major vehicle for publication among the best international researchers working on the formation and subsequent growth problems of NTBfs, it represents an authoritative voice on NTBf development problems.
Topics covered in this volume include strategy, spin offs - their contribution to NTBf growth and the problems they encounter during the traumatic "spin off" process, the current hot topic of clusters and their role in enhancing NTBf formation and growth, networking and global issues since many NTBfs are truly "born global."

The globalization of business has ended corporate colonialism in international commerce, and out of this has emerged what the author calls the global corporation. Differing in many important ways from the now obsolete multinational corporation it is replacing, the global corporation is actually a network of independent entrepreneurs, liberated from the control of headquarters, and thus able to implement a new vision of the overall enterprise, its competitive strategies, and how it coordinates and communicates within itself. The author carefully delineates the subtle distinctions among concepts that are often taken, mistakenly, as synonyms for globalization, such as multinationalization, and elicits the implications these distinctions have for the management of international business.

Nurtured in the post-GATT era, and especially in the last twenty years, the model of the global corporation describes an international business organization in which the parent company treats each national market as a part of a single, integrated regional or global market, setting up autonomous divisions or forming alliances and partnerships to handle each product and business line for the entire region or entire world market. In this network organization, the parent company plays the role of support office for the individual divisions, which are treated as equals. The structure consists of the support level, which handles company-wide concerns, and unit level, which handles unit-specific concerns. The two-level management is supported and re-enforced by a corporate vision and by efficient and effective communication and incentive structures.

The Growth of Chinese Electronics Firms outlines the way firms grow in China at an organizational level. Kimura uses China's electronics industry as a case study for measuring technology-fuelled growth and provides a way to understand diversified the growth process systematically.

Alkhafaji presents the fundamental concepts of corporate governance and suggests a new approach to the subject that focuses on the stakeholder. As Alkhafaji demonstrates, corporate governance has moved far from traditional concerns with purely business issues like growth and profitability and now includes public issues such as pollution, equal employment opportunities, insider trading, and criminal conduct. Using data from his own empirical studies, Alkhafaji argues that the conventional board model no longer functions as originally intended. He analyzes potential management reaction to alternative forms of governance bodies and concludes that the data suggest a stakeholder board would be best suited to current American conditions.

Organized into five parts, each of which builds upon concepts discussed in the preceding chapters, the volume begins by discussing the concept of the company and the changing environment in which it operates. In the second section, Alkhafaji addresses corporate governance in specific terms and includes survey data showing management's reaction to traditional and nontraditional forms of corporate governance. Part three looks at corporate governance in the context of social responsibility, ethics, and business-government relations, while the following chapters discuss the ongoing restructuring of American business and its relation to corporate governance. The final section examines the role played by corporate governance in strategic management. Numerous tables, figures, and models support points made in the text.

This book analyses essential concepts of competition law and industrial policy, and shows where the two areas clash with and complement each other, respectively. The discussion takes place in the context of developing countries, taking into consideration their realities and specific needs. South Africa serves as a real-world example for competition law that goes beyond the notion of consumer welfare. An in-depth analysis of the enforcement of South African law illustrates how the law is used both to combat the negative effects of past industrial policy, and to accommodate current economic and social needs.The book is intended for all readers with an interest in the enforcement of competition law in developing countries. It will particularly benefit those who want to learn about unorthodox approaches that integrate the concept of "public interest" and social imperatives into the application of competition law.

This volume examines the experiences of well-managed firms that attempt to improve quality, productivity, innovation, technology, and human resources. The editors have brought together papers by the best known authorities on effective policies and practical guidelines for enhancing productivity and quality, combining them with those by leaders of America's high performance companies that describe their actual experiences with productivity and quality. The resulting synthesis of experience and concepts will be of significant value not only to executives and managers attempting to implement productivity-enhancing programs within their own firms but also to business and management programs charged with training America's future corporate leaders. In addition to describing policies and programs, the volume provides a framework for implementation including creating awareness, measuring inputs and outputs, designing and initiating programs, and maintaining follow-up procedures. The contributors also examine public policy changes aimed at encouraging R&D and capital investment, eliminating government constraints in the global marketplace, and improving education and training.

Divided into four parts, the volume begins with an introductory chapter by the editors which explores the critical relationships among productivity, quality, and competitive advantage. The second section contains specific policy recommendations from such renowned experts as W. Edwards Deming, Joseph M. Juran, Thomas J. Peters, Armand W. Feigenbaum, Jackson Grayson, and Rosabeth Moss Kanter. In Part III, corporate leaders from Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Texas Instruments, Ford, 3M, Nucor, and others detail their experiences with productivity and quality programs. Contributions from two winners of the Baldrige National Quality Awards (Globe Metallurgical and Xerox) as well as from Florida Power & Light, the first company outside Japan to win the coveted Deming Prize, are included in this section. Throughout, the contributors stress the need to be customer-driven; the importance of nurturing a cohesive corporate culture to support the demands for innovation, flexibility, and ever-increasing levels of productivity and quality; and the critical role of manufacturing strategy in enhancing productivity and quality. The final section presents managerial guidelines for competitive success.

The recent crisis in financial markets has seen a gradual erosion of the boundaries of asset classes previously regarded as risk-free. We have gone from a world mostly free of default risk to one where credit risk is largely reflected in equity prices. Traditional valuation methods now need to be integrated to take into account a scenario in which expectations of growth are considerably reduced, and credit risk is increased to levels previously unheard of. But as the majority of private companies are sub-investment grade, Valuing Private Companies: How Credit Risk Reshaped Equity Markets and Corporate Finance Valuation Tools sets out an innovative new method for estimating private companies' cost of equity based on a Fixed Income Approach (FIA). In addition to the book's theoretical insights, illustrating in great detail the relationship between default risk and equity risk premium, readers will benefit from the practical experience the author has accumulated as a risk manager within major banking groups such as UniCredit Group, Capitalia SpA, and Banca di Roma SpA.

This book provides comprehensive coverage on the key issues of Chinese investment in the Australian minerals industry. It offers unique insights into the entry process, the management of Chinese investments, and their success factors and lessons learnt as being impacted upon by the entangling of political, economic, social and competitive forces.

Twenty-one authors from a variety of backgrounds analyse the global competitiveness of the Asian firm in different parts of the world and at different phases of their internationalisation process. They find that the Asian firms' emphasis on 'soft' skills such as networking, organisational learning and sharing stands in sharp contrast to the economic rationality of Western firms, which stress individual performance measurement, clearly defined responsibilities and accountability. Asian firms face serious problems in adjusting their systems to the Western environment without losing their competitiveness.

This is an exceptional new work on family business, showing how to maintain a balanced relationship between the family and the company, and ensure satisfactory business results. This roadmap helps the reader to build better managed and more stable family firms.

This book systematically describes and evaluates the impact of energy cooperatives as a key driving force in the German energy transition toward a sustainability-oriented energy sector. Based on a comprehensive survey and three case studies, it provides an instructive overview of the overall dimensions and scope of energy cooperatives in Germany, and of their history, structure and current investment projects. The book not only contributes to the energy policy discourse in Germany, but also highlights the role of energy cooperatives to enable an international readership to explore their potential in other countries. Further, it makes a theoretical contribution toward substantially supplementing actor research in general, and enterprise research in particular, in the field of sustainability transitions science.

Through case studies this volume provides evidence that a link between sourcing capabilities and organizational structure contributes to a positive sourcing performance. Reveals that providers who are able to adapt to changing client circumstances, whilst establishing a fit, succeed in achieving a sustainable performance.

The study of emotions in organizations is unlocking new and exciting insights into why employees behave as they do in groups, organizations and in different cultural contexts. In this 5th volume of "Research on Emotion in Organizations", a collection of the latest work advancing knowledge and practice in these areas is showcased. The readings will appeal to all seeking a better understanding of the social and emotional competencies that help employees thrive in the workplace, the types of emotional self-management strategies employees use in managing emotion work and how the work context affects these, the impact of emotional displays in the workplace on performance appraisal and perceived organizational commitment, the role of unconscious affect on attitudes and behaviors at work, how interpersonal relationships between co-workers affect vitality and job performance, cross-national and cross-cultural issues, and how to build positive work environments.

This book provides detailed empirical analysis of countries in Asia to examine various dynamic models that incorporate the impact of technology and innovations on the industry evolution and overall economic growth.

This is an updated and edited version of Robin Marris' classic "The Economic Theory of Managerial Capitalism" (1964). This was widely recognized as pathbreaking as it was the first attempt by a professional economist to make a formal theory of the behavior and growth of a large-scale "managerial" corporation based on a realistic assessment of the sociological and institutional environment. The model determined the long run growth rates of individual firms on the basis of the financial and market environment on the one hand, and the needs, interest and aspirations of both managers and shareholders on the other. Managers in particular were shown to trade desire for growth against fear of takeover. These then novel important features of modern capitalism--mergers, takeovers and executive bonuses and the relationship between the growth of firms and the growth of the economy--have become increasingly topical. The new book contains the original introduction along with reworked and updated coverage of the theoretical model, along with completely new chapters both of micro-theory and assessing and responding to the debate which the book created.

This book provides an assessment of the evolution and dynamics of regional innovation systems (RISs) and the economic and social impact of resulting knowledge spillovers, presenting comparative case studies on the regions of several Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries (Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Lithuania and Estonia). It analyses RISs on the basis of several dimensions, such as absorption capacity and intellectual capital, and using several methods such as data envelopment analysis, patent network analysis, and weighted sum approach. Further, by looking at the economic and social impact of knowledge spillovers in RISs and networking, it identifies key distinguishing factors, including foreign direct investments, still prevalent centralized decision-making, EU-driven innovation policies and public financing of innovations. Sectoral case studies, e.g. from the automobile, chemical and other hi-tech manufacturing industries, are presented to help readers understand the different types of knowledge spillovers in CEE countries and the evolution and dynamics of RISs, and provide a multifaceted overview of the CEE regions.

As sales of fair-trade goods explode across the globe, Fair Trade and the Citizen-Consumer provides a timely analysis of the organizations, institutions and grassroots networks behind this growing movement. Drawing on examples from the UK, Sweden and USA, this book moves away from models of individualized consumer choice and instead explores the collective cultures and practices that motivate and sustain fair-trade consumer behaviour. Although the fair-trade citizen-consumer has been called to action and publicly represented as an individual 'voting' in the marketplace, this book reveals how market interventions are editing the choices available to consumers, at the same time as 'Fairtrade Town' consumer networks are flourishing. Offering new and critical insights into the fair-trade success story, this book also contributes to debates about sustainable consumption behaviour and the growth of 'new' forms of political participation and citizenship.

The book addresses the concept of knowledge in a work and organizational context, professional or knowledge work, and knowledge-intensive firms. It provides a critical, moderate social constructivist understanding of these themes and the current interest in knowledge management, organization and the "knowledge economy". Professional service as well as science and high-tech work and firms are treated, reporting case studies of IT and management consultancy firms, advertising agencies and life science based companies. The concepts of knowledge and knowledge management are discussed and dominant functionalist thinking debunked. The ambiguity of knowledge in the input, process and output of professional work is emphasized. It is suggested that we should be careful in assuming too much about the nature, role and effects of "knowledge" in business life and instead take the constructed nature of knowledge seriously and scrutinize knowledge claims. Knowledge talk and claims may frequently be key elements in marketing and identity work as much as they inform us about key activities of professionals and knowledge-intensive firms. The book covers a fairly broad set of management, organization and working life aspects are addressed, including HRM themes and different forms of control including client control and regulation of identity. From a perspective emphasizing the ambiguity of social and business life, rhetoric, symbolism, image, politics of knowledge claims, identity and identity work are viewed as crucial for the understanding and management of professional/knowledge work and organizations. The book is provocative and challenges key assumptions in dominant knowledge and organization thinking, suggesting a novel theoretical approach. The book is intended for third year level undergraduates upwards, and aims to say things also of relevance for scholars. It mixes textbook and research ambitions. As a (moderately) constructivist text with a relatively broad focus, the book may have some potential as a text complementing more conventional textbooks also in general organization and management courses.

The book is a collection of original research papers by a number of industrial organization economists active in the field of Research and Development theory and policy. The contributions gathered here cover several relevant topics in this area; namely patent policy, the effects of market structure and the internal organization of the firm on R&D incentives and technical progress, R&D cooperation and technological spillovers, innovation and the entry process. Comprehensive views of the acquired knowledge of these topics are presented together with new insights on these issues, including policy insights wherever appropriate. The book is intended for professional researchers in industrial organization, antitrust officers, plus graduate students (at both Master and PhD level).