Competition,Strategy, Technology and People: The Challenges Facing PR

A recent survey of leading UK PR practitioners has identified a dynamic, swiftly evolving environment for the public relations industry. Heightened competition, wide-ranging new opportunities and threats stemming from the perceived need to internationalize, the desire for more influence in clients' business strategy formulation, training and recruitment dilemmas, ever-changing technology and an increasing requirement to evaluate the worth of PR are only some of the most pressing issues. This article reviews the survey's findings—revealing a complex and swiftly evolving marketplace—before drawing out some of the principal implications. There are interesting parallels with events in advertising.     

Not Featherbedding,but Feathering the Nest: Human Resource Management and Investments in Information Technology

This study draws on employment relations and management theory, claiming that certain innovative employment practices and work structures pave the way for organizational innovation, namely investments in information technology (IT). It then finds support for the theory in a cross‐section of UK workplaces. The findings suggest that firms slow to adopt IT realize that their conventional employment model hinders their ability to make optimal use of new technologies. Therefore, the paper advances the literature beyond studies of unionization's impact on business investment to a broader set of issues on the employment relations features that make organizations ripe for innovation.     

Financial integration and the term structure of interest rates

This paper presents a model of the term structure for an open economy. A flexible VAR approach is used to model macroeconomic growth, inflation, short rate and the yield spread. Then the term structure is built given restrictions implied by the no-arbitrage condition. Contrary to previously proposed macrofinance models of the term structure, the model suggested here explicitly accounts for financial and real spillovers between economies. As documented in the paper, foreign macroeconomic factors contain a lot of information about the domestic term structure of yields. Put to data, the model explains the dynamics of yields very well. It provides better out-of-sample forecasting results than the closed economy models. Openness induces more variability in the estimated term premia of yields with shorter maturities.     

Live Broadcasting,Gate Revenue,and Football Club Performance: Some Evidence

This paper presents new evidence concerning the main argument of the English Premier League for collective arrangements in selling television broadcast rights. Matches that are broadcast live on television can be considered as a substitute for watching at the stadium. New panel-data show that broadcasting live has a small negative effect on gate revenue for the best performing clubs and a much larger effect for the worst performing clubs. However, the marginal cost is outweighed by the marginal revenue, concluding that restrictions on quantity stemming from collective arrangements are detrimental to the consumers, broadcasters, and clubs themselves.     

A productivity study of the Norwegian building industry

Slow productivity growth in the building and construction industry is often put forward as the cause of rising building costs. In view of the importance of the building sector in the national economy, factual empirical knowledge is hard to come by. The few studies found are usually carried out on a sectoral level and based on time-series data. However, to come to grips with the real causes for slow productivity growth, one has to analyze at the microlevel of actual decision making. Our study is based on establishment data for 1986. The method of analysis is the deterministic frontier approach. The efficiency distributions show large variations with average structural efficiency about 20 percent. Thus, there is significant scope for productivity improvement if average performance can catch up with best practice.The refereeing process of this article was handled through T.G. Cowing.     

Understanding evolutionary processes in non-manufacturing industries: Empirical insights from the shakeout in pharmaceutical wholesaling

Although the empirical pattern of industry shakeout has been documented for many manufacturing industries, we know little about the processes by which market structure evolves in non-manufacturing service industries. This paper establishes detailed empirical observations about the consolidation of a single non-manufacturing industry, the wholesale distribution of pharmaceuticals. These observations are used to explore differences between manufacturing and wholesaling in both the patterns and explanations for consolidation and analyze the explanatory power of theories that link consolidation to technological change. The analysis demonstrates that theories developed to explain consolidation in new manufacturing industries have varying degrees of applicability to the consolidation of drug wholesaling. The observed patterns of exit, innovation, and growth suggest important modifications to evolutionary theories of market structure.     

Usage‐based insurance and its acceptance: An empirical approach

This study aims to explore the motor insurance market's attitude towards usage‐based insurance (UBI), and thus its readiness for a launch in the near future. Data on client perception was collected using a structured questionnaire. On the basis of this, an initial selection of factors, other than income, that could influence the declared attitude of drivers was demonstrated showing that it is primarily dependent on certain demographic characteristics like their age, sex, or place of residence. A strong relationship was also demonstrated with respect to the intensity of the vehicle's use, to the amount of the insurance premium they have paid, and to the self‐assessment of the respondents' driving skills. Clients are likely to accept the concept of UBI once implemented, but that they are not ready yet to give up the traditionally used methods of premium calculation. Their attachment to discounts granted can be very strong in particular to the no‐claims bonus.     

The new local economics: A reply to John Benington

Attempts are being made to construct a “new local economics” and important claims are being made on its behalf. In present circumstances, its contribution, though with some valuable achievements as John Benington has shown, must nevertheless be marginal. The task is to gain the maximum leverage from minimal resources, and this article suggests that the key priorities should be to use local authorities' influence as purchasers, employers and investors.