Employee empowerment in manufacturing: a study of organisations in the UK

Based on a postal survey and interviews, this paper analyses employee empowerment in the UK manufacturing industry, including how it is pursued and perceived, and the key factors that determine success. Success seems to depend on far-reaching changes in procedures, hierarchies and reward structures. This need to mobilise individual agents and structure reconfirms the agency-structure duality.     

Privatisation in transition: the Czech experience

This article explores a stage in the capitalist transformation of the Czech Republic in early 1993. Three levels of change are examined: institutional developments in industrial relations; perceptions of change among union policy makers; and attitudes and experiences of managers and workers at workplace level.     

Corporate Financing Decisions and Non-Debt Tax Shields: Evidence from Italian Experiences in the 1990s

Between 1995 and 1999, Italy experienced three episodes of fiscal reform during which different categories of non-debt tax shields were introduced, including a classical investment tax credit, a system of dual income taxation, and an investment tax credit restricted to equity financed investments. Using the balance sheets of a large sample of Italian companies, we construct a data set which allows us to evaluate the impact of the different fiscal interventions. We apply MacKie-Mason's (1990) method to study incremental financing decisions using discrete choice analysis. The analysis shows that the measures introduced were successful in reducing the advantage of debt financing relative to equity financing. We relate the findings to the current literature on the determinants of capital structure. JEL Code: G32, H25     

Induced and Linguistic Generalized Aggregation Operators and Their Application in Linguistic Group Decision Making

We introduce a wide range of induced and linguistic generalized aggregation operators. First, we present the induced linguistic generalized ordered weighted averaging (ILGOWA) operator. It is a generalization of the OWA operator that uses linguistic variables, order inducing variables and generalized means in order to provide a more general formulation. One of its main results is that it includes a wide range of linguistic aggregation operators such as the induced linguistic OWA (ILOWA), the induced linguistic OWG (ILOWG) and the linguistic generalized OWA (LGOWA) operator. We further generalize the ILGOWA operator by using quasi-arithmetic means obtaining the induced linguistic quasi-arithmetic OWA (Quasi-ILOWA) operator and by using hybrid averages forming the induced linguistic generalized hybrid average (ILGHA) operator. We also present a further extension with Choquet integrals. We call it the induced linguistic generalized Choquet integral aggregation (ILGCIA). We end the paper with an application of the new approach in a linguistic group decision making problem.     

Integrated assessment of public investment in land-use change to protect environmental assets in Australia

A framework for comprehensive integrated assessment of environmental projects is developed and applied in partnership with a regional environmental body. The framework combines theory with practice, bringing a pragmatic and efficient approach to the rigorous assessment of projects for a large number of environmental assets in the north central region of the state of Victoria, Australia. The approach is codified as the Investment Framework for Environmental Resources (INFFER). The analysis assisted the environmental body to make strong business cases for a number of environmental projects, resulting in funding for those projects. Key features of the study include extensive participation of decision makers and stakeholders, integration of a comprehensive set of information about projects, explicit assessment of uncertainties and information gaps, and analysis of the most appropriate policy mechanism for each project. The process of applying the framework involved four steps: identification of around 300 important environmental assets in the region, filtering the list of assets to remove those that are less likely to provide opportunities for cost-effective public investment, development and detailed assessment of projects for a subset of assets, and negotiation of funding for projects. Implications for land-use policy include that environmental projects vary widely in their cost-effectiveness, requiring careful targeting of funds if environmental benefits are to be maximised. Many existing environmental programs use simplistic analyses to support decision making, resulting in missed opportunities for substantially greater environmental benefits. Promoting adoption of improved analytical methods is very challenging, requiring changes in mind-set and culture in environmental organisations. Widespread adoption is unlikely unless funders create incentives by rewarding those project proponents who undertake rigorous and comprehensive project assessments that focus on achievement of environmental outcomes.     

The collective voice of unions and workplace training in Italy: New insights from mixed methods

Using a three-phase approach that combines quantitative (pooled OLS, fixed effects and IV) with qualitative (semi-structured interviews) analyses, we find that in Italy, workplace unions are more likely to enhance training when they sign a firm-level agreement and when they can get access to external funds for financing. We also identify three channels: what we call a ‘maturation effect’, double-track communication and watch-dog function. We argue that these results are consistent with the idea that the impact of workplace unions on training depends on the empowerment of its collective voice within an institutional framework that does not fit either of the standard models provided by collective and liberal market economies.     

Wealth inequality in Sweden, 1750–1900†

This article examines the evolution of wealth inequality in Sweden from 1750 to 1900, contributing both to the debate on early modern and modern inequality and to the general debate on the pattern of inequality during industrialization. The pre‐industrial period (1750–1850) is for the first time examined for Sweden at the national level. The study uses a random sample of probate inventories from urban and rural areas across the country, adjusted for age and social class. Estimates are provided for the years 1750, 1800, 1850, and 1900. The results show a gradual growth in inequality as early as the mid‐eighteenth century, with the sharpest rise in the late nineteenth century. Whereas the early growth in inequality was connected to changes in the countryside and in agriculture, the later growth was related to industrialization encompassing both compositional effects and strong wealth accumulation among the richest. The level of inequality in Sweden in 1750 was lower than for other western European countries, but by 1900 Sweden was just as unequal.     

Disruption,dissolution and reconstruction: A dialectical view on inter-organizational relationship development

This paper contributes to research on inter-organizational relationship dynamics by applying a dialectical approach. We analyze a situation where the relationship parties have divergent understandings of business exchange, and use a longitudinal, in-depth single case study method to investigate their interaction process. The case study focuses on the relationship between a customer and a supplier in the ferrochrome industry, using the acquisition of the supplier as the trigger of the relationship change process. The paper contributes to studies on relationship dynamics by showing how dynamics of inter-organizational relationships may result from struggles when parties’ interests and goals do not align with existing relationship arrangements. In particular, we focus on the process of (re)construction of the relationship and its linkage to the structural properties of the relationship.