Increased emphasis on the links between regional diversity and regional knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurship highlights the need for a focus on the spatial aspects of these multifaceted, dynamic relationships in order to improve our understanding. By means of a conceptual approach, this timely book illustrates the links between innovation and economic development through the role of space. This thought-provoking book addresses the questions regarding diversity, innovation and clusters that require further investigation and analysis. Chapters written by expert contributors bring together cutting-edge theoretical and empirical studies to consider issues such as how spatial diversity affects collaboration, knowledge and innovation; how innovation arises in various locations; how innovative approaches can be identified for local regeneration; and how the growing visibility and importance of start-up companies in the global economy can be analysed. Diversity, Innovation and Clusters will be a key resource for students and academics researching in the fields of economic geography, regional economics, innovation and entrepreneurship. This book provides insights that will be crucial for providing policy makers, planners and consultants with a more comprehensive decision-making platform by utilising spatial perspectives as a driving force for economic growth and development. Contributors include: T. Arvemo, D. Bartlett, K. Berg, I. Bernhard, U. Grasjoe, T. Gronning, M. Imase, I. Jonsson, C. Karlsson, N. Kishida, U. Lundh Snis, M. McKelvey, T. Maeno, L. Mosesdottir, T. Mroczkowski, G.F. Mulligan, M. Okuyama, A.K. Olsson, K. Sakakura, T. Yasui

The Covid, climate and cost of living crises all hang heavy in the air. It's more obvious than ever that we need radical social and political change. But in the vacuum left by defeated labour movements, where should we begin? For longtime workplace activist Ian Allinson, the answer is clear: organising at work is essential to rebuild working-class power. The premise is simple: organising builds confidence, capacity and collective power - and with power we can win change. Workers Can Win is an essential, practical guide for rank-and-file workers and union activists. Drawing on more than 20 years of organising experience, Allinson combines practical techniques with an analysis of the theory and politics of organising and unions. The book offers insight into tried and tested methods for effective organising. It deals with tactics and strategies, and addresses some of the roots of conflict, common problems with unions and the resistance of management to worker organising. As a 101 guide to workplace organising with politically radical horizons, Workers Can Win is destined to become an essential tool for workplace struggles in the years to come.

This book comprises chapters authored by experts who are professors and researchers in internationally recognized universities and research institutions. The book presents the results of research and descriptions of real-world systems, services, and technologies. Reading this book, researchers, professional practitioners, and graduate students will gain a clear vision on the state of the art of the research and real-world practice on system dependability and analytics. The book is published in honor of Professor Ravishankar K. Iyer, the George and Ann Fisher Distinguished Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Urbana, Illinois. Professor Iyer is ACM Fellow, IEEE Fellow, AAAS Fellow, and served as Interim Vice Chancellor of UIUC for research during 2008-2011. The book contains chapters written by many of his former students.

This volume brings together current academic research and knowledge on the economics and management of professional road cycling. Each chapter treats a particular economic aspect of the sport, from organizational structure to marketing, finance, media coverage, labor, strategic behavior, and competitive balance. By discussing the existing research and complementing it with the newest concepts, ideas and data on professional road cycling, this book sets an agenda for further academic research while providing insights for all stakeholders in cycling: governments, cycling's governing bodies, team managers, race organizers, sponsors, media. Furthermore, the unique characteristics of the sport of cycling explored within this text inform broader management and industrial organization research, as they extend analyses of team labor, broadcast revenue generation, and sponsorship financing models. Revised and updated for the second edition, this volume includes new chapters on women's professional road cycling, the economic impact of hosting major cycling events, and the willingness to pay for professional road cycling events. This book is equally of interest to academic researchers, students studying sports economics, and policy makers, such as race organizers, team managers, and sponsors.

Plan to succeed as an entrepreneur--we show you how Business Plans For Dummies can guide you, as a new or aspiring business owner, through the process of creating a comprehensive, accurate, and useful business plan. In fact, it is just as appropriate for an already up-and running firm that realizes it's now time for a full-bore check-up, to ensure the business is in tip-top shape to meet the challenges of the globalized, digitized, and constantly changing 21st Century. This edition of is fully updated, featuring the most recent practices in the business world. Let us walk you through each step of the planning process. You'll find everything you need in this one book, so you can finally stop googling, close all those browser tabs, and get organized and get going. Updates to this new revision include knowing how to pivot when your situation changes, recognizing the need for diversity and inclusion in the workplace, where to tap the latest funding sources, and how to plan for a digital strategy, market disruption, and environmental sustainability. You'll also learn how today's globalized marketplace influences your business--and how you can use social media to influence your customers right back. Learn the ins and out of creating a business plan that will actually work Set effective goals and objectives so your business can find success Wow investors with your knowledge of today's important business trends Map out your finances, marketing plan, and operational blueprint--then confidently get to work! Challenge the traditional framework by building a business plan that's workable in today's reality. Dummies is here to help.

Economic growth across countries during the last 30 years or so has displayed 'dual' divergence between developed and developing countries, and among developing countries. The structural transformation has been either slow or of an anomalous nature. The study addresses these and suggests how they can catch-up with developed world.

Woodward, Nigh, and their colleagues provide a comprehensive investigation of foreign ownership in the United States. Based on the latest, most reliable data and comprising the viewpoints of leading authorities on foreign direct investment, the book offers detailed, previously unpublished information on the effects of foreign direct investment in the United States. The authors find that foreign-owned and domestic corporations are similar in many aspects of their behavior and its effects on the U.S. economy and society, but there are important differences too. By showing exactly where these similarities and differences lie, and using evidence that goes beyond anecdotes, the book makes a significant contribution to the improvement of public policy in the FDI arena. Its primary finding: globalization reduced foreigness. This is an important resource for professionals and academics alike, and for students of international business and economics on the graduate level.

Covering the state of knowledge on FDI in the 1990s, this work shows how it has moved beyond the polarizing debate over the foreign invasion that characterized much of the writings in the 1980s. It explores multinational companies' political action and corporate citizenship. Its policy section discusses foreign and domestic participation in federal industrial policy programs, and whether current regulations make sense. The book also offers a new approach to demarcating foreign ownership in national security/defense industrial bases. In its policy chapters the book covers the question of national treatment and investment in telecommunications. The book concludes with a timely analysis of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment under review by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Trade Organization.

This study focuses on religious gilds or fraternities in both the densely settled shire and the sparsely populated fens of Cambridgeshire, from their apparent proliferation in the mid-fourteenth century to their dissolution under Edward VI in 1558. Gilds exercised social control and contributed to the religious and economic life of the parish, and their changing role reflects social and religious change during the period. Dr Bainbridge's sources include the 1388-9 survey of religious gilds and surviving gild records, wills, manorial records, poll-tax returns and letters patent. Dr VIRGINIA R. BAINBRIDGEteaches at St Hilda's College, Oxford. ......................................................................... This study focuses on religious gilds or fraternities in both the densely settled shire and the sparsely populated fens of Cambridgeshire, from their apparent proliferation in the mid-fourteenth century to their dissolution under Edward VI in 1558, in order to examine social and religious change during the period. Gilds reflected the social hierarchies of their communities, exerting social control and fostering mutual charity in life and commemoration after death; they also made a substantial contribution to the religious and economic life of the parish. Dr Bainbridge examines lay responses to changing devotional and doctrinal patterns through the returns to the 1388-9 survey of religious gilds and surviving gild records; wills, manorial records, poll-tax returns and letters patent supply further information.Dr VIRGINIA R. BAINBRIDGEteaches at the St Hilda's College, Oxford.

The book is an iconoclastic overview of the art of analyzing industries and competition. The book examines the capabilities of several complex business tools such as decision analysis, accounting, and other 'MBA-science' disciplines, and translates them into commonsensical concepts such as competitive strengths, uncertainty, complexity and 'results'.

This volume celebrates the life and career of Gordon Rausser, pioneer and leader in natural resource economics, while critically overviewing the emerging literature in the field. As the chair of the Agriculture and Resource Economics department at UC Berkeley, Rausser led the transformation of the department from a traditional agricultural economics department to a diverse resource economics department addressing issues of agriculture, food, natural resources, environmental economics, energy, and development. This book builds on this theme, showcasing not only the scope of Rausser's work but also key developments in the field. The volume is organized into two parts. The first part speaks about the lessons of Gordon Rausser's career, in particular, his role as a leader in different spheres, his capacity to integrate teaching and entrepreneurship, and his impact on the world food system. The second part will address some of the significant developments in the field he contributed to and how it relates to his work. The chapters include contributions from modern leaders in the economics field and cover diverse topics from many subfields including public policy, public finance, law, econometrics, macroeconomics, and water resources. Providing an excellent reference, as well as a celebration of a pivotal figure in the field, this volume will be useful for practitioners and scholars in agricultural and resource economics, especially the many individuals familiar with Gordon Rausser and his career.

This book gathers selected peer-reviewed papers from the 16th World Congress on Engineering Asset Management (WCEAM), held in Seville from 5-7 October 2022. This book covers a wide range of topics in Engineering Asset Management, including: Asset management and decision support system Industry 4.0 tools and its impact on asset management Monitoring, diagnostics and prognostics for smart maintenance Asset life cycle management Asset management in the industrial sector Human dimensions and asset management performance Infrastructure Asset management Asset condition, risk, resilience, and vulnerability assessments Asset operations and maintenance strategies Reliability and resilience engineering Applications of international and local guidelines and standards The breadth and depth of this state-of-the-art, comprehensive proceedings make it an excellent resource for asset management practitioners, researchers and academics, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students.

A dramatic change of ownership, regulation, and organisation of essential public services, such as electricity, gas, and telecommunications, has taken place in Europe in less than 20 years. This was not the outcome of spontaneous adaptation, but an entirely top-down policy experiment, mainly conceived in London during Mrs Thatcher's years, then pursued in Brussels - the 'capital' of the European Union - and imposed on more or less reluctant players by laws, directives, regulations, and administrative and judicial decisions. The European reform paradigm revolves around three pillars: privatisation, unbundling, and regulated liberalisation of network industries. These industries, despite the reforms, are still special, as they include core natural monopoly components (the electricity grid, the gas pipelines, the telephony networks, etc.), are often based on complex system integration of different segments (for example of electricity generation, transmission, distribution and retail supply), and offer services that have critical social and economic importance, from heating to internet. This book offers a careful scrutiny of energy and telephony reforms and prices paid by households in 15 countries across Western Europe. It attempts to answer such questions as: Are the consumers in Europe happier than they were before the reforms? Do they pay less? Do they get a better quality for the services? Network Industries and Social Welfare provides an overview of the main facts, the conceptual issues, and of the empirical evidence on pricing, perceptions of quality of service, and the issues of utility poverty and social affordability. It suggests that the benefits of the reforms for the consumers have often been limited and that governments should reconsider their overconfidence in regulated market mechanisms in network industries.

This book assesses the digital Bangladesh initiative of the government through different lenses: supply-side and demand-side perspectives and policy diffusions. The Bangladesh government has been pursuing a big-push policy for digitalization, namely the "Digital Bangladesh Vision," since 2009 as a shifting development strategy to leapfrog into the next level of development with the leverage of demographic dividend. However, historical anecdotes, dictated policy, international success stories and other related issues could lead to a rethinking on ICT-based development strategy. The content of the book draws on the author's long-standing research works on ICTs and economic growth in Bangladesh.

This book provides a road-map to successful implementation of strategic outsourcing programmes, providing down-to-earth approaches to outsourcing decision making and programme management, based on a grass-roots understanding. A practitioner-focused book for business leaders and managers providing a holistic view of strategic outsourcing, covering the three essential pillars of success: risks, rewards and relationships. Theauthor shows how business leaders can transform organisational business models, structures and mind-sets, taking the reader on a journey through the book's fifteen chapters, helping the reader truly grasp: the drivers for change as a result of globalisation and convergence and their impact on organisational strategies; how outsourcing can transform the various processes and functions of an organisation; the impact outsourcing is having on various industry vertical sectors; the eight foundations of successful strategic outsourcing programmes, which when combined with strategic decision-making knowledge, guarantees that organisations embarking on the strategic outsourcing journey, derive the transformational benefits they seek."

This book builds an information platform on China's industrial competitiveness, providing scientific design and application case studies for integrated analysis and decision-making facilities and mechanisms for enterprises, industries, financial institutions and governments, which can make up for the lack of adequate information in China's market operations, especially the problems of duplicate construction and vicious competition aggravated by the lack of systematically processed industrial information. This book not only pursues innovation in technical methods and application theories but also pursues the collection, processing and collation of relevant domestic and international data and development and application so as to provide primary results for an industrial competitiveness database adapted to government management needs. The research is closely related to the actual problems in China and extensively uses statistical data to make various model analyses, which has a relatively sizeable academic value.

In the past few years, a considerable number of immigrants have established their own businesses. In doing so, they have contributed in many ways to the economic development of American and European metropolitan areas. Some businesses have been incorporated into the mainstream, while others have stayed on the economic fringes and got engaged in the informal economy. The starting point of this book is that a proper understanding of these businesses is served by focusing on the embeddedness of immigrant businesses in their economic, politico institutional and social environments from a multi disciplinary perspective rather than confining the attention to ethnic cultural or economic sociological aspects only.

This book examines the changing business and economic environment for postal services in Lithuania and the upcoming challenges for this industry. Postal services continue to play a central part in the development of national economies. However, the economic and social role of postal services has changed rapidly and fundamentally over the last two decades. In most industrialized countries, paper-based communications are in serious decline, while the demand for parcel delivery services is rising steadily with the continuing development of e-commerce, just-in-time production techniques, and global supply chains. For the postal sector as a whole, the centre of gravity has shifted dramatically from letters and documents to parcels. The authors explain how the organizational paradigm has inexorably shifted from that of a national, government-owned postal administration providing the basic delivery services required by society, to a system of interdependent local and regional undertakings that both compete and cooperate with one another. The book argues that there are no indications that the postal sector has stopped changing, and that it seems most probable that the European Union's postal sector will look quite different in 2035 than it does today. In closing, the book explains how the shareholders of postal services companies have recently confirmed that the time has come to rethink the strategy of creating and maintaining competitiveness in the postal services industry.

Through a series of case studies and surveys, the authors examine current sustainability trends in outsourcing and recommend how providers should prepare for increasing buyer demands in this area, suggesting buyers and providers can work together to build successful outsourcing relationships through collaborative sustainability projects.

Game theory explores situations in which agents interact strategically and provides a useful foundation for studying many traditional industrial organization topics. This approach has also enabled the emergence of new areas of enquiry including law and economics, networks, the digital economy, auctions, experimental game theory and many others. This second volume of the Handbook includes original contributions by experts in the field. It provides up-to-date surveys of the most relevant applications of game theory to industrial organization. The book covers both classical and industrial organization topics such as mergers in markets with homogeneous and differentiated goods, leniency and coordinated effects in cartels and mergers, static and dynamic contests, consumer search and product safety, strategic delegation, platforms and network effects, auctions, environmental and resource economics, intellectual property, healthcare, corruption, experimental industrial organization, and empirical models of research and development. Authoritative and engaging, this unique Handbook will be an indispensable resource for all serious academics, researchers and students of industrial economics and game theory. Contributors incude: S. Anderson, A. Barge-Gil, P. Belleflamme, J. Brandts, R. Burguet, L. Corchon, A. Daughety, N. Fabra, R. Fauli-Oller, J.-J. Ganuza, M.l. Gonzalez Maestre, A. Hernando-Veciana, M. Hoffmann, E. Huergo, M. Kopel, L. Lambertini, A. Lopez, M. Marini, C. Marvao, E. Maskin, J.G. Montalvo, L. Moreno, M. Motta, P. Olivella, M. Peitz, M. Pezzino, M. Polo, J. Potters, J. Reinganum, R. Renault, G. Rota Preziosi, J. Sandonis, M. Serena, G. Spagnolo

This book provides an overview of the historical financial reforms and regulatory changes in China, highlighting the background to and causes of changes in the income structure of China's banks. It also investigates ongoing concerns with regard to banking diversification in China, and its consequences, amid the global trend of banks' shift to non-traditional businesses. Focusing on three critical aspects of bank-income diversification, namely the effects on profitability, risk level, and efficiency, it employs the concept of systemically important banks, which describes the scale and degree of influence a bank has in global and domestic financial markets. More importantly, rather than replicating techniques employed in the research on developed markets, it applies several improved methodologies to address bank diversification in the specific context created by China's unique institutional background and data characteristics, such as GMM-type threshold models and stochastic frontier analysis with the within maximum likelihood estimation. Shedding new light on the current status of income diversification in the Chinese banking sector, this book is a valuable resource for readers in fields such as banking and financial stability. It will also help banking professionals and financial regulatory authorities to better understand the reform of China's financial industry and the future direction of banking.

This two-volume collection analyses the evolution of wine production in European regions across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. France and Italy in particular have shaped modern viticulture, by improving oenological methods and knowledge, then disseminating them internationally. This second volume looks closely at wine markets and trade, also examining the role of institutions and quality regulation.

This book explains how the traditional paradigm of private and public organizations is changing as a result of the multiple factors that are affecting the way in which goods and services are produced, and for whom they are produced. In view of these disruptive trends, the theory of the firm needs to be updated and to some extent rethought. Moreover, diverse challenges and opportunities such as climate change, aging populations, and new public accountability requirements are necessitating novel frameworks to ensure the long-term survival of public and private organizations. Against this backdrop, the authors contribute to the debate over the firm's primary interest by proposing a new way of viewing the nature of the firm and its relationship with stakeholders. In addition, they carefully analyze the challenges and opportunities mentioned above, evaluating their significance for various important aspects of organizations through different lenses. Global in scope, the book also takes the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals into account. Accordingly, it will be of interest to all readers seeking a better understanding of the evolving nature of firms and organizations in our changing world.

Businessmen with kids often feel trapped between rising expectations at work and at home. Although business demands seem to increase every day, fathers are now expected - and want - to be involved parents. But there are never enough hours in the day. What's a business dad to do?

Tom Hirschfeld, veteran businessman and father of two, addresses the dilemma with surprising insights and sensible solutions. He shows that many of the skills and abilities required to succeed in today's economy - such as motivation, team building, empathy, negotiation, and planning - can be applied just as successfully to parenting. Businessmen who leave their corporate skills at the office each evening may actually be handicapping themselves in the struggle to be more effective fathers. Work and parenting don't have to be separate, competing efforts, but can help and enrich each other.

Hirschfeld is a business dad writing for business dads. With common sense and a humorous touch, Business Dad applies proven business concepts to the challenges every father faces, such as communication, discipline, instilling moral values, sibling rivalry, and teamwork with Mom. It also tackles the toughest daily problems of the business dad, including work-family conflict, frequent travel, and time management. As a major bonus, finally, it shows how the committed dad can win at work, turning his fathering experience into a huge competitive advantage.

Fathering is the most important job a businessman can undertake, and Business Dad is the perfect job manual - filled with lessons from business history, tips from successful executives, and practical wisdom that could come only from real-life experience.

This book deals with World Class Operations Management (WCOM), detailing its principles, methods and organisation, and the results that this approach can bring about. Utilising real-world case studies illustrated by companies that have adopted this model (interviews with Saint-Gobain, L'Oreal, Tetra Pak, Bemis, and Bel Executives), it describes common patterns drawn from decades of hands-on experience, so as to present a theoretical approach together with the concrete application of its principles. WCOM, adopted by several multinational companies, is one of the more innovative management practises, as it integrates the best Continuous Improvement approaches (Lean, Total Productive Management, World Class Manufacturing) as well as the most innovative approaches in human dynamics like Change Leadership, Performance Behavior, Shingo Model, to name a few. Every book's chapter has been authored by an expert in these different fields, thus revealing the synergy among the different practices, which is one of the distinguishing and successful aspects of WCOM Maximising reader insights into the successful implementation of such an approach, and explaining not only its potentialities, but also its implementation dynamics, the critical points and the ways it can be integrated into different situations, this book is also about how to create a culture of excellence that is sustainable over a long period of time and delivers consistent (or ever-improving) results.

Paper and the British Empire examines the evolution of the paper industry within British organisational frameworks and highlights the role of the Empire as a market and business-making area in a world of shrinking commerce and rising trade barriers. Drawing on a valuable range of primary sources, this book covers the period 1861-1960 and examines events from the establishment of free trade backed by the gold standard to Britain's membership of the European Free Trade Association. In the field of the paper industry, the speed and intensity of the industrialisation process around the globe have been shaped by a wide variety of variables, including the surrounding institutional framework; entrepreneurial and organisational strategies; the cost and accessibility of transport; and the availability of capital, knowledge, energy resources, and technology. The supply of papermaking raw materials has also been key and has historically been the most important determinant for geographical location and dominance. The research in this work focuses on the roles played by such variants, on the one hand, and demand characteristics on the other. In particular, it considers developments connected to a quest for Empire-grown raw materials in order to tackle the problem of the lack of indigenous raw materials and the resulting dependence on Scandinavian wood pulp imports. This text is of considerable interest to advanced students and researchers in economic history, business history, and the paper industry, and will also be useful to organisations working within the pulp and paper industries.