Corporate Social Responsibility in the Blogosphere

This paper uses social network analysis to examine the interaction between corporate blogs devoted to sustainability issues and the blogosphere, a clustered online network of collaborative actors. By analyzing the structural embeddedness of a prototypical blog in a virtual community, we show the potential of online platforms to document corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and to engage with an increasingly socially and ecologically aware stakeholder base. The results of this study show that stakeholder involvement via sustainability blogs is a valuable new practice for CSR communications and stakeholder engagement. It also opens new horizons for communicating CSR issues to key constituencies online.     

Pflege meets Physiotherapie

Patientenbetreuung in der Thoraxchirurgie - Eine Lungenoperation ist eine extreme Belastung für den Patienten. über ihren Erfolg entscheidet jedoch auch eine gute Zusammenarbeit zwischen Physiotherapie und Pflege. Schon im Vorfeld des Eingriffs sollten beide Professionen Hand in Hand arbeiten.     

The limits of branding: the World Trade Center,fiscal crisis and the marketing of recovery

This article investigates the branding of New York's World Trade Center, and the city itself, as both financial center and entertainment destination between the 1960s and 1990s. After addressing the symbolic as well as material damage caused by the terrorist attacks of September 11th, the article traces the history behind the towers' design and ultimate use in marketing. It first examines the early motivations behind the project, and the forces leading to its controversial construction in the 1960s–70s. Then, in the wake of the city's 1975 fiscal crisis, the Twin Towers and Downtown skyline were branded through campaigns like ‘I ? NY’ to represent a resurgent, global New York. With the recession of 1989–92, and the scaling back of public‐sector marketing, this new brand was used by a host of private‐sector media and marketing firms then establishing global headquarters in New York. In the current period, the site of the towers, and the city as a whole, are being ‘re‐branded’ as a patriotic destination. Building on content analysis and archival research, the article critically analyzes how such marketing became central to New York City's overall economic development strategy. Cet article étudie la stratégie de marque qui a étiqueté le World Trade Center de New York et la ville elle‐mäme, en tant que centre financier et destination de loisirs des années 1960 à 1990. Après avoir traité les préjudices symboliques et matériels liés aux attaques terroristes du 11 septembre, l'article retrace l'histoire de la conception des tours et leur exträme utilisation en marketing. Il examine d'abord les premières motivations du projet et les forces qui ont conduità sa construction controversée dans les années 1960–70. Suite à la crise fiscale de la ville en 1975, les Tours jumelles et la silhouette des immeubles du centre ont ensuite été choisies dans le cadre de campagnes comme ‘I ? NY’ (J'aime New York) afin de représenter un New York ressuscité et mondialisé. Après la récession de 1989–92, et la réduction du marketing public, cette nouvelle ‘étiquette’ a servi à une foule d'entreprises privées de médias et marketing qui ont alors installé leur siège international à New York. Actuellement, le site des tours, et la ville dans son ensemble, sont en train d'ätre ‘ré‐étiquetés’ comme destination patriotique. A partir d'une analyse de contenu et de recherches d'archives, l'article scrute la façon dont ce marketing est devenu essentiel à la stratégie de développement économique globale de la ville de New York.     

The “Dominos” that Need to Fall into Place for a Reunification of Korea: Making Sense of a United Korea

With the death of North Korea leader Kim Jong-il, the level of uncertainty will dramatically escalate in an already highly uncertain market. The question becomes, is there a market opportunity for Western organizations, and when should Western organizations attempt to enter North Korea? In addition, there is a large question looming over the potential changes in the country, that being, if and when reunification with South Korea will occur. This article examines the potential of a unified market on the Korean peninsula.     

Women caring for pre-school children in the USA*

Les mesures prises aux USA pour les enfants d'âge préscolaire et leurs parents, surtout les mères, font l'objet de cette étude. Les mesures sociales, pédagogiques et fiscales qui ont été, soit débattues, soit développées par le gouvernement fédéral dans les deux dernières décennies, y sont discutées. Elles montrent les présomptions qui étayent la politique de l'état vis-à-vis des femmes dans une société capitaliste avancée. La division sexuelle et sociale du travail, qui est une des clefs de l'économie capitaliste, se voit renforcée par des mesures en faveur de la ‘famille’ et en particulier des femmes qui doivent s'occuper d'enfants d'âge préscolaire. Néanmoins, à tout moment, les femmes peuvent se voir attribuer différents rôles, à la fois au sein du système économique et â la maison, selon les besoins en main-d'?uvre de l'économie. Elles peuvent donc être encouragées à prendre un travail rémunéré, ou au contraire sanctionnées. Durant la période étudiée, les femmes des classes moyennes étaient pourvues, mais celles de la classe ouvrière, et surtout les mères seules, sans source de support financier, ont été forcées de trouver du travail. En même temps, les femmes sont restées les gardiennes principales des enfants d'âge préscolaire.     

Development and government policies of the shrimp farming industry in Thailand in relation to mangrove ecosystems

Intensive shrimp farming arrived in Thailand during the 1980s and developed virtually unregulated until 1987. Subsidised by the government, it quickly became an important export industry and Thailand has been the world's largest producer of tiger shrimp since 1991. However, the development of the shrimp farming industry in Thailand over the last 20 years in relation to its use of mangrove ecosystems is an example of sequential exploitation of natural resources witnessed through the shift in farm development from one region to another. This sequential exploitation has caused widespread degradation of mangrove ecosystems, and the benefits of the industry may be less than perceived as a result of subsidies and environmental and social impacts. This study follows the development of shrimp farming in Thailand from the 1940s to 1997 and studies national legislation and associated government policy as examples of driving forces behind this development. From our findings it appears that the development of legislation has not followed the same pace as the development of the industry, neither temporally, nor in content nor implementation, and contradictory policies have arisen.     

Cross-border mergers and acquisitions and the role of trade costs

Cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have increased dramatically over the last two decades. This paper analyses the role of trade costs in explaining the increase in the number of cross-border M&As. In particular, we distinguish horizontal and non-horizontal M&As and investigate whether trade costs affect these two types of mergers differently. We analyse this question using industry data for 23 OECD countries for the period 1990-2001. Our findings suggest that while in the aggregate trade costs affect cross-border merger activity negatively its impact differs importantly across horizontal and non-horizontal mergers. The impact of trade costs is less negative for horizontal mergers, which is consistent with the tariff-jumping argument.