This research review, written by two pioneers of e-commerce, discusses thirty of the most important papers written in the fields of economics, marketing and strategy. Topics covered include evaluation of the benefit to consumers of competition and product variety online, examination of auctions and reputational feedback mechanisms designed to mitigate informational asymmetries in online markets, and the debate on digital property rights including privacy, piracy and the open source movement. The review provides a thoughtful and accessible consideration of the subject of e-commerce, invaluable to scholars and practitioners alike.

Chinese business firms and their networks of personal and business relationships, are becoming increasingly important players in the global economy. This book examines the global and regional operations of Chinese business firms and considers their implications for the management and organisation of these firms, aided by specific case studies. Written by leading researchers in this field, The Globalisation of Chinese Business Firms is a valuable and timely contribution to the study of Asian business systems.

This book examines how to promote industrial development in low-income countries. It considers the role of traders in the evolution of a cluster, the role of managerial human capital, the effect of the "China shock," and the role of industrial policies focused on international knowledge transfer in supporting the upgrading of clusters.

This book systematically provides a prospective integrated approach for complexity social science in its view of statistical physics and mathematics, with an impressive collection of the knowledge and expertise of leading researchers from all over the world. The book mainly covers both finitary methods of statistical equilibrium and data-driven analysis by econophysics. The late Professor Masanao Aoki of UCLA, who passed away at the end of July 2018, in his later years dedicated himself to the reconstruction of macroeconomics mainly in terms of statistical physics. Professor Aoki, who was already an IEEE fellow, was also named an Econometric Society Fellow in 1979. Until the early 1990s, however, his contributions were focused on the new developments of a novel algorithm for the time series model and their applications to economic data. Those contributions were undoubtedly equivalent to the Nobel Prize-winning work of Granger's "co-integration method". After the publications of his New Approaches to Macroeconomic Modeling and Modeling Aggregate Behavior and Fluctuations in Economics, both published by Cambridge University Press, in 1996 and 2002, respectively, his contributions rapidly became known and spread throughout the field. In short, these new works challenged econophysicists to develop evolutionary stochastic dynamics, multiple equilibria, and externalities as field effects and revolutionized the stochastic views of interacting agents. In particular, the publication of Reconstructing Macroeconomics, also by Cambridge University Press (2007), in cooperation with Hiroshi Yoshikawa, further sharpened the process of embodying "a perspective from statistical physics and combinatorial stochastic processes" in economic modeling. Interestingly, almost concurrently with Prof. Aoki's newest development, similar approaches were appearing. Thus, those who were working in the same context around the world at that time came together, exchanging their results during the past decade. In memory of Prof. Aoki, this book has been planned by authors who followed him to present the most advanced outcomes of his heritage.

This textbook covers over three centuries of British business history from 1720 to the present day. Wilson argues that company culture has been the most important component in the evolution of business organisations and management practices. The influence of business culture on firms' structure, sources of finance, and the background and training of senior managers are investigated to show its pivotal importance in determining business performance. The book also examines how British business adapted to changing economic, institutional and socio-cultural environments yet failed to develop the kind of managerial hierarchies typified by American and German corporations. Wilson uses an extensive number of case studies to support his conclusions. The book covers the subject chronologically with an extra chapter comparing Britain's experience with the USA, Germany and Japan. -- .

Little attention has been given to the impact of adopting different governance models on societies and nations unaccustomed to alternative ways of working. This book explores the governance impact on both the structure and performance of organizations, and also examines the reactions and social repercussions of the emerging shareholder value philosophy championed by Anglo-American enterprises on stakeholder societies such as France, Germany, Japan, and the Scandinavian countries.

`The book is an excellent example of the application of modern econometric techniques to Chinese data, some of which was especially collected for the research. The results throw new light on aspects of industrial sector reform in China. The book deserves wide attention from those interested in the economic reforms in China, especially those interested in the implications of the reforms for industrial sector efficiency and productivity growth.' - Christopher Findlay, University of Adelaide As the rural township, village and private enterprises are becoming more and more significant in the Chinese economy, this book focuses on the comparison of the rural (non-state) and state firms in terms of performance. The analysis is based on the empirical results from estimating various production functions applied to cross-section and panel data. Both aggregate and firm-specific efficiencies are examined in the case studies, exploring potential sources of efficiency differentials such as ownership, scale, factor intensity, location and economic reforms. Special attention is also paid to the regional comparison of industrial development and performance. The implications of the findings in the book for economic and reform policy are thus highlighted.

So what is a member-owned business? What does it look like? How can we distinguish it from an investor-owned business? The crucial distinction is between a business that is people-centred, and one that is money-centred. This book explores the growing number of companies which use this model and their wider signoficance in socirty

Social capital theorists have shown that inequality arises in part because some people enjoy larger, more supportive or otherwise more useful networks. But why do some people have better networks than others? Unanticipated Gains argues that the answer lies less in people's deliberate "networking" than in the institutional conditions of the colleges, firms, gyms, and other organizations in which they happen to participate routinely. The book introduces a model of social inequality that takes seriously the embeddedness of networks in formal organizations, proposing that what people gain from their connections depends on where those connections are formed and sustained. It studies an unlikely case: the experiences of mothers whose children were enrolled in New York City childcare centers. As a result of the routine practices and institutional conditions of the centers-from the structure of their parents' associations, to apparently innocuous rules such as pick-up and drop-off times--many of these mothers dramatically increased their social capital and measurably improved their wellbeing. Yet how much they gained depended on how their centers were organized. The daycare centers also brokered connections to other people and organizations, affecting not only the size of mothers' networks but also the resources available through them. Social inequality then arises not merely out of differences in skills or deliberate investments - as the conventional social scientific and political wisdom would have it - but also out of the differences in the routine organizations in which people belong. In addition to childcare centers, Small also identifies the social forces at work in many other organizations, including beauty salons, bath houses, gyms, and churches.

Part of the "European Economic Interaction and Integration Workshop Papers" series, this book examines the role of competition in economic transition and integration, looking at examples in history such as Japan's postwar industrial policy and Czechoslovakia's competition policies. So far, in the countries of Central and East Europe, and of the former USSR, privatization of state enterprises has failed to bring about a more responsive, more competitive behaviour of these firms. It is recognized that various elements of competition - privatization, breaking down of monopolies, trade liberalization, strengthening of small- and medium-sized competitors, and institutional requirements - should be implemented simultaneously.

The study of organizations has been dominated by administrative, economic and performative concerns. The contributors of this book acknowledge the impact of Robert Cooper on their own work and develop further his insistence that organizational analysis must be understood in terms of the rationalization of society as a whole. Amongst the contributors are many experts in organizational theory. Chapters cover a wide area of interest, including organizational science and post-modernism, the logics of organizing and instrumental experience. In doing so, the book departs from an emphasis on "organizations" as social objects and moves towards a position of analysis which situates itself in the wider context of the late modernity. It should be valuable reading for students across a range of disciplines, including sociology, management and organizational behaviour as well as political studies. It should also be of interest to all professionals who desire to have a better understanding of organizational society and of the future direction of organizational studies.

Series Information:
Routledge Studies in Business Organizations and Networks

The Handbook of Research on Family Business provides a comprehensive first port of call for those wishing to survey progress in the theory and practice of family business research. In response to the extensive growth of family business as a topic of academic inquiry, the principal objective of the Handbook is to provide an authoritative and scholarly overview of current thinking in this multidisciplinary field. The contributors examine recent advances in the study of family business, which has undertaken significant strides in terms of theory building, empirical rigour, development of sophisticated survey instruments, systematic measurement of family business activity, use of alternative research methodologies and deployment of robust tools of analysis. A wide selection of empirical studies addressing the current family business research agenda are presented, and issues and topics explored include: * validation of the protagonist role that family firms play in social-economic spheres; * operational and definitional issues surrounding what constitutes a family business; * historical development of the field of family business; * methodologies encompassing micro and macro perspectives; * challenges to the orthodox microeconomic view of homo-economicus firms by highlighting the virtues of family influence and social capital. Comprising contributions from leading researchers credited with shaping the family business agenda, this Handbook will prove an invaluable reference tool for students, researchers, academics and practitioners involved with the family business arena.

This book draws on a neo-institutional theory to characterize service-oriented manufacturing firms in relation to more familiar organizational forms, such as lean and agile. It sheds light on whether being lean is a prerequisite for agile organizations and whether agile organizations are precursors of service-oriented organizations. The book empirically examines the prevalence of such organizations using representative samples of manufacturing firms in an industrialized country. This approach makes it possible to "zoom in" and determine whether the extent of adoption of digital manufacturing innovations, digital services, and service-oriented business models varies with organizations' size, industry, product complexity, lot size, type of design process, and type of manufacturing process. In turn, it shows which digital manufacturing innovations, lean practices, and services contribute to leanness-related performance capabilities like quality and costs; agility-related capabilities like fast delivery, flexibility and innovation; and service-oriented capabilities like high service performance and digitalization. In addition, it explores the question of whether lean, agile, and service-oriented performance capabilities contribute to financial performance separately or jointly.

Global interest in technology-based growth politics is growing as technology becomes an increasingly important factor in economic competitiveness. In spite of increased efforts in many nations to develop more effective industry strategies, most of these endeavors have been ad hoc exercises rather than derived from a consistent framework. Technology Infrastructure and Competitive Position provides that missing framework. It begins by providing an overview of technology-based competition and the relevant issues. A conceptual model is developed that emphasizes the roles and impacts of the supporting infrastructure. Finally, the book addresses the interaction of corporate and governmental roles for providing technology infrastructure, some funding issues and mechanisms for cooperative planning and implementation.

Miwa is one of the leading young Japanese scholars debunking the myths - all too common in the west but eagerly promoted in Japan also - about the distinctive Japanese way. He soberly examines the roles of government and banks, firms and networks, workers and managers. The result is a fine analysis of how where and why the Japanese economic system fundamentally resembles that in the west, with a clear explanation of the few areas where it significantly differs.' - Leslie Hannah, London School of Economics and Political Science; Professor Miwa has earned quite a name for himself in Japan for his brilliant but biting iconoclastic views. Now, Western readers will learn what the fuss has been about. Self-styled authorities on the Japanese economy will squirm, for Miwa takes no prisoners; his logic is relentless, merciless and - inevitably - right.' - J.Mark Ramseyer, the University of Chicago Law School; This is a monumental work, demystifying the Japanese economy and contesting the conventional view that Japan is different'. In doing so, Professor Miwa paves the way for a new era of comparative study.' - Kazuo Koike, Hosei University, Tokyo; Professor Miwa, no longer an enfant terri

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.

This expansive and practical Handbook introduces the methods currently used to increase the understanding of the usefulness and versatility of a systematic approach to qualitative research in entrepreneurship. It fills a crucial gap in the literature on entrepreneurship theory, and, just as importantly, illustrates how these principles and techniques can be appropriately and fruitfully employed. The Handbook is underpinned by the belief that qualitative research has the potential to charter hitherto unexplored waters in the field of entrepreneurship and thus contribute significantly to its further advancement. The contributors seek to assist entrepreneurship researchers in making more informed choices and designing more rigorous and sophisticated studies. They achieve this by providing concrete examples of research experiences and tangible 'how to' advice. By clarifying what these research methods entail, how they are currently being used and how they can be evaluated, this Handbook constitutes a comprehensive and highly accessible methodological toolbox. Dealing with both well-accepted qualitative approaches and lesser-known, rarer and more novel approaches to the study of entrepreneurship, this Handbook will be invaluable to those studying, researching and teaching entrepreneurship.

This indispensible book offers step-by-step guidance to small and mid-sized companies and non-profit organizations in managing corruption risks in overseas markets. It covers how and why to build a culture of integrity, develop a risk-based anti-corruption compliance programme, and engage with other industry players in collective action against shared corruption challenges. The focus on culture, compliance and collective action helps resource-stretched companies to build a strong foundation for a healthy and flourishing organization, as well as contribute towards raising standards of integrity across their industry. Key features include: Guidance for creating and contributing to collective action Quick definitions, tips and practical tools such as checklists A hands-on approach with an emphasis on culture and leadership Case studies and real-life examples of both corruption risks and the importance of a strong compliance culture. Anti-Corruption Compliance will be an invaluable resource for senior managers of small and mid-sized organizations in minimizing exposure to corruption risks in international markets. It will also prove useful to corporate lawyers and others involved with compliance functions in larger companies, as well as to academics and students of corporate law with an interest in anti-corruption and compliance.

While acquisitions and expansion strategies are understood as exciting in the business world, contraction activities are received less enthusiastically. Nevertheless, portfolio restructuring constitutes a strategic tool to increase the strategic focus of firms and achieve economies of scale and an efficient control of multiple business units. This restructuring thus has distinct implications for companies and units. The Handbook of Research on Corporate Restructuring and Globalization provides emerging research on the theoretical infrastructure for portfolio restructuring in a single piece of work and explores important topics in the field including the implications on foreign and domestic units and the degree to which increasing globalization influences restructuring practices. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as emerging markets, risk assessment, and global business, this book is ideally designed for corporate managers, government officials, scholars, researchers, and students.

This textbook helps students to understand the social, economic, and environmental importance of the mutual relations between industries in the same and in different regions and nations and demonstrates how to model these relations using regional, interregional, and international input-output (IO) models. It enables readers to extend these basic IO models with endogenous household expenditures, to employ supply-use tables (SUTs) that explicitly distinguish the products used and sold by industry, and to use social accounting matrices (SAMs) that detail the generation, redistribution and spending of income. In addition to the standard demand-driven IO quantity model and its accompanying cost-push IO price model, the book also discusses the economic assumptions and usefulness of the supply-driven IO quantity model and its accompanying revenue-pull IO price model. The final chapters highlight three main applications of the IO model: (1) economic impact analysis of negative supply shocks as caused by, for example, natural disasters, (2) linkages, key sector, and cluster analysis, (3) structural decomposition analysis, especially of regional, interregional, and international growth, and demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of these IO applications. Written for graduate students of regional and spatial science as well as for economists and planners, this book provides a better understanding of the foundations, the power, the applicability and the limitations of input-output analysis. The second, completely revised edition expands on updating IO tables, modelling the disaster reconstruction phase, and includes an appendix on the necessary matrix algebra.

The story of one village, Yantian, and its remarkable economic and social transformation, this book shows how outcomes are shaped by a number of factors such as path dependence, social structures, economic resources and local entrepreneurship.

Although modern location theory is now more than 90 years old, the focus of researchers in this area has been mainly problem oriented. However, a common theory, which keeps the essential characteristics of classical location models, is still missing.

This monograph addresses this issue. A flexible location problem called the Ordered Median Problem (OMP) is introduced. For all three main subareas of location theory (continuous, network and discrete location) structural properties of the OMP are presented and solution approaches provided. Numerous illustrations and examples help the reader to become familiar with this new location model.

By using OMP classical results of location theory can be reproved in a more general and sometimes even simpler way. Algorithms enable the reader to solve very flexible location models with a single implementation. In addition, the code of some algorithms is available for download.

This book gathers selected peer-reviewed papers from the 15th World Congress on Engineering Asset Management (WCEAM), which was hosted by The Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul Campo Grande, Brazil, from 15--18 August 2021 This book covers a wide range of topics in engineering asset management, including: strategy and standards; sustainability and resiliency; servitisation and Industry 4.0 business models; asset information systems; and asset management decision-making. The breadth and depth of these state-of-the-art, comprehensive proceedings make them an excellent resource for asset management practitioners, researchers, and academics, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students.