Non-wovens Satisfy the Textile Industry at the Beginning of 2006

The economic performance of China's non-woven industry in the first two months of 2006     

The Survival of the Fittest,the Market Philosophy Works

In China, the cotton textile industry undertakes over 50% of the total fiber processing volume, rendering a great number of quality yarns & cloth to its downstream pipelines, such as knitting, dyeing & finishing, home-textiles and apparels industries. In 2005, the export of Chinese cotton textiles & apparels reached US$41.13 billion, import US$5.393 billion. At present, the total employment in the large-scale cotton textile enterprises is estimated for 2.512 million people, holding 26.5% of …     

“Open access:” the ideal and the real

“Open access” would allow ISPs to use a cable operator's broadband connection under regulated terms and conditions. Advocates stress the desirability of an “end-to-end” architecture for the Internet and the danger that cable operators will use their control over the last mile to limit consumer choice and stifle innovation. Opponents contend that wholesale price controls and other regulatory burdens under what they term “forced access” would in fact slow down the deployment of broadband, stifle innovation and harm consumers. The fears of “open access” advocates seem largely speculative at this point. Evidence from related policies also favors the opponents. “Closed” cable systems are beating their “open” DSL competitors in the market place; analogous regulation of cable TV did not serve consumers well; and forced “unbundling” of local service has been controversial and largely ineffective. In addition, relevant technology stocks declined in price with political and legal victories for “open access” and increased when it suffered setbacks.     

Promoting Effective Consultation? Assessing the Impact of the ICE Regulations

Drawing on evidence from longitudinal case studies in 25 organizations, this article examines whether information and consultation (I&C) bodies established in the context of the UK's Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004 have been the vehicle for effective consultation, based on objective criteria. Assessed against the regulations' default provisions that require I&C concerning strategic business issues and major organizational change, a substantial minority of participating organizations were categorized as ‘active consulters’, while a majority were ‘communicators’. The differing trajectories of I&C primarily reflected internal organizational dynamics, particularly management's approach to consultation. Beyond providing the catalyst for managerial moves to introduce I&C, the influence of the statutory framework proved largely peripheral.     

Doing the right thing? HRM and the angry knowledge worker

This paper explores the relationship between human resource (HR) practices, commitment, work and employment relations. Drawing on an in‐depth ethnography of knowledge workers within a global, high‐technology, knowledge‐intensive firm, the paper offers a multidimensional understanding of structures of influence and of commitment that interact in distinctive ways to shape the employee experience. In examining the context and content of ‘best practice’ HR in a ‘celebrated’, leading‐edge company, we have offered a more complex, grounded picture of the intent and outcome of commitment‐seeking policies. The paper demonstrates that, contrary to mainstream and critical scholarship, skilled technical workers in knowledge‐intensive firms can be uncommitted, angry and high performing at the same time.     

Restructuring the PET World

ChinaThe consumption of MMF (Man-made fiber) in 2005 was 17.10 million tons, which amounted to 76% of the total. Among various kinds of MMF, nearly 76% of the whole consumption was taken by polyester fiber, which was 13 million tons with an annual growth rate of 16.4% during the past five years. The production capacity of PET industry performed well during the last ten years, of which the annual growth rate was nearly three times of the world average level. In 1995, the total production ca…     

Is there a pilot in the chain? Identifying the key drivers of change in the fresh pineapple sector

High-value export-oriented agriculture is today considered as a means of integrating smallholders into the world economy. This paper examines the geographic and organisational changes that have taken place in the fresh pineapple sector over the past 50 years. We begin with a historical analysis of the changes in leadership among producer countries, namely the dethroning of Côte d’Ivoire by Costa Rica. We show that this geographical shift has been accompanied by massive organisational changes: the pineapple sector is increasingly driven by large downstream actors who derive their power from the ability to impose their definition of quality to the whole chain, and from economies of scale and scope. Although varietal innovation plays a key role throughout the period, commercial and logistical innovation are of increasing strategic importance. However, because of the constraints imposed by the concerned supply chains, small farmers risk being excluded or marginalized.     

Mr.Du,the Steersman''''s Brainstorming to Helm the Industry''''s Sailing

The nation-wide conference of devel-opment and reform for textile industrywas held here on January 12th, 2006 af-ter China weathered through the storms& torrents of various trade disputes in thetroubled water of 2005 and arrived at portof the new year, the start of the next Five-Year Plan period from 2006 all the wayto 2010. A roadmap for the country's eco-nomic & social growth with each fiveyear group as a routine time-table, thisplans making tradition has remained un-changed since its first…     

Who Invented the Lerner Index? Luigi Amoroso, the Dominant Firm Model, and the Measurement of Market Power

The invention of the price/cost margin (P-MC)/P as an index of market power is usually credited to Lerner (Rev Econ Stud 1(3):157?C175, 1934). Landes and Posner (Harv Law Rev 94(5):937?C996, 1981) is similarly often considered the main reference for the generalized version of the index in the case of a dominant firm that shares the market with price-taking rivals. From the viewpoint of the history of industrial economics both claims are incorrect. It was not Lerner who invented the price/cost margin index and the generalized version was fully derived before WWII. In both cases, priority should be given to Luigi Amoroso, the leading Italian mathematical economist in the interwar decades. In the latter case the names of Heinrich von Stackelberg and George Stigler also deserve credit.     

Does the market for ideas influence the rate and direction of innovative activity? Evidence from the medical device industry

Prior work argues that the “market for ideas” supports an open system of innovation, allowing for efficient development of technology across firms. Although this literature has described important features of this market, how it influences the rate and direction of innovation remains an open question. We exploit an exogenous shock to a subset of U.S. medical device firms to study this question. We first document the breakdown in the market for ideas after a federal investigation made it more difficult for the leading orthopedic firms to work with physician‐inventors. We then present evidence of a dramatic decline in the rate of innovation for these firms. Further, a marked shift in direction occurs toward lower‐quality inventions and away from product categories where physician knowledge is critical. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Back to the Future? US Labour in the New Gilded Age

This article argues that the twenty‐first century US labour movement has increasingly come to resemble its counterpart in the Gilded Age 100 years ago. Starting in the 1970s, deindustrialization and deregulation have gradually undermined the New Deal labour relations system, and have led to the proliferation of precarious labour. The labour movement then began to experiment with alternative labour organizing strategies and increasingly sought out political alliances with other progressive movements, reproducing practices that were widespread among US unions prior to the New Deal era. Although many of these experiments have succeeded on a small scale, they face intransigent opposition from employers and anti‐union organizations, and whether they can be expanded enough to generate a new labour movement upsurge remains to be seen.     

Can Tightness in the Housing Market Help Predict Subsequent Home Price Appreciation? Evidence from the United States and the Netherlands

This article assesses the predictive power of variables that measure market tightness, such as seller's bargaining power and sale probabilities, on future home prices. Theoretical insights from a stylized search‐and‐matching model illustrate that such indicators can be associated with subsequent home price appreciation. The empirical analysis employs listings data on residential units offered for sale through a real estate broker in the Netherlands and for certain U.S. regions. Individual records are used to construct quarterly home price indices, an index that measures seller's bargaining power and (quality‐adjusted) home sale probabilities. Using conventional time‐series models we show that current sale probabilities and bargaining power can significantly reduce home price appreciation forecast errors and help to predict turning points in local area housing markets. The measures and approaches in this article help to demonstrate ways in which researchers and practitioners can leverage listings data to gain knowledge about the current and future state of the housing market.     

Lighting the way or stealing the shine? An examination of the duality in star scientists' effects on firm innovative performance

Do star employees enhance or constrain the innovative performance of an organization? Using data from 456 biotechnology firms between 1973 and 2003, we highlight the duality of the effects that stars have on firm performance. We show that while stars positively affect firms' productivity, their presence constrains the emergence of other innovative leaders in an organization. We find that firm productivity and innovative leadership among non‐stars in a firm are greatest when a star has broad expertise and collaborates frequently. We offer cross‐disciplinary insights into the role of human capital as a source of competitive advantage, suggesting that the value of human capital in a firm is contingent on the mutual dependence inherent in high‐status employees' relationships with other individuals in a firm. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Where are the best opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the food system (including the food chain)? A comment

In a recent paper Garnett (2011) examines the greenhouse gas emissions arising from the global food system. This paper builds on Garnett’s contribution by considering how high levels of food waste contribute to the food chain’s greenhouse emissions and how they can be reduced, something Garnett generally overlooks. The emissions that arise from food waste represent the emissions embedded in the production of food that is then wasted and the emissions that arise from the process of waste disposal. Food waste can also be split into pre-consumer and consumer waste. These distinctions give rise to four categories of food waste related emissions: pre-consumer embedded, pre-consumer waste disposal, consumer embedded and consumer waste disposal emissions. The levels of food waste in each category differ between economies, as do the causes of wastage. Policies to address food waste and the associated emissions need to promote a mixture of technological and behavioural change and be tailored to the economic, cultural and technological conditions in each country.     

U.S. Debt Crisis Increases the Risk of the Chinese Textile Exports

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s on Friday downgraded the U.S.’s rating.Fear is spreading quickly through the market.It’s becoming a vicious cycle and could feed into consumers reducing their demand as well.Will it has a direct impact on Chinese textile and apparel exports?     

Union Immobility? Trade Unions and the Freedoms of Movement in the Enlarged EU

East–West union co‐operation in Europe is discussed as the most serious test to cross‐border union solidarity, in the light of new frameworks capable to make sense of transnational trade union activity and alternative to theoretical nationalism. The empirical assessment of trade union chances reviews the activities of trade unions in the UK, Germany, Austria and Poland on foreign investment, migration and movement of services. Secondary evidence and case studies show that the strength of transnational union action does not depend on the country, but rather on its form. ‘Structural’ Europeanization remains weak (e.g. in most European Works Councils), while network‐based action is displaying strong developments, especially on migration, but least on the movement of services.     

What is the function of a figurine? Can the repertory grid technique tell?

Teaching design and product development at upper secondary school level in Sweden is a matter of interdisciplinary considerations. Education in product development, at this level, prepares students for further studies and career in engineering or industrial design. Knowledge of artefacts is an important element in the education. In coherence with the visual and rhetorical strategies characterising the knowledge field, students learn how to develop an idea to a final product. In this study twelve engineers and industrial designers, professionals representing the knowledge field of product development are studied regarding their interpretations of eight pre-selected artefacts. Data is collected and analysed using repertory grid technique. The aim of the study is to examine whether/what we can learn from the informants’ experiences and knowledge that is relevant to education in design and product development at upper secondary school level. Findings show that four of the artefacts appear to be carriers of attributes that reveal the interviewees’ definitions of the artefacts’ functional nature. From these findings it is shown that the interviewees’ definitions of concepts concerning aesthetics/decoration and function can be seen as cultural expressions. How the repertory grid technique is used in this particular study is thoroughly described and the results relevance for education is discussed.