EXAMINATION OF A PATH MODEL RELATING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE WITH FIRM PERFORMANCE

This article draws on the resource‐based view of the firm to investigate the mechanisms through which information technology (IT) impacts firm performance. Research suggests that the relationship between IT and firm performance may be both direct and indirect. In this study, a path model is tested that proposes a firm's IT infrastructure resources as having both a direct impact on organizational performance, as well as an indirect effect that is propagated through its impact on an intermediate organizational resource, a firm's logistics information system (LIS). The results suggest that positive firm performance may be derived directly from an organization's superior IT infrastructure, as well as indirectly, through its enabling impact on LIS's. These findings contribute to our understanding of the nature of the relationship between IT and firm performance by exploring the value of IT at both the process and organizational levels.     

How global is the Global Compact?

Launched by the United Nations in 2000, the Global Compact (GC) promotes private sector compliance with 10 basic principles covering human rights, labour standards, the environment, and anti-corruption. Its sponsors aim to establish a global corporate social responsibility (CSR) network based on a pledge to observe the 10 principles adopted by companies across the range of company size and regional origin, backed by a modest reporting system and collaborative programmes. The author analyzes the GC's progress toward building a global network from its launch through 2006 and finds that, while the GC's nominal membership base of nearly 3000 companies makes it the largest system among collective action institutions (CAIs) for corporate responsibility, the GC has not reached 'critical mass'. Deficiencies in its nascent global network include limited market penetration among the largest corporations, a membership heavily weighted toward Western European companies, and major weaknesses in compliance with its reporting system. The author concludes that the GC must improve both penetration and compliance if it is to succeed in building a global standard for CSR.     

Can Nature Drive Economic Growth?

The conditions that lead to successful economic development are diverse and place sensitive. Recent research supports the notion that there is a correlation between the presence of natural amenities and rural economic development. This case explores the situation of a rural county that is faced with constrained development options as a result of a significant federal footprint on the county's land area. The actions of the federal agencies managing the resources impact the economic vitality of the region. Two issues currently under review challenge the county to think critically about its potential for using nature as an economic development tool.     

New Institutional Economics' contribution to strategic groups analysis

Rather than consider the two broad strands of strategic group research—performance‐based and behavior‐based studies—as competing approaches, we argue that they relate to complementary levels of analysis. We present a four‐level framework for analyzing structures within industries drawn from New Institutional Economics (NIE) which covers different approaches to strategic group formation from institutional isomorphism and embeddedness through to the firm‐level effects of certain resource deployments. We apply an institutional approach to a case study of the Australian banking industry and supplement this with a quantitative approach based around key strategic variables. This analysis suggests that distinct groups have emerged due to the institutional environment and the different regulatory environments experienced by various banks in the industry. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rescaling and reforming the state under NAFTA: implications for subnational authority

The new free trade agreements are rescaling governance in ways that have critical implications for subnational governments. The nation state is not simply being hollowed out; rather, a new governance nexus is forming — of nation states, multinational corporations and international agreements — which explicitly excludes subnational and local government voice. This article describes the new governance features of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and illustrates how they work out at the national, subnational and local scales using cases from the United States and Mexico. NAFTA provides the template for other free trade agreements including the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and a growing number of bilateral agreements. We show how NAFTA's governance structure is undermining subnational and local government authority in legislative and judicial arenas. Designed to advance privatization of public services, these agreements undermine the very ability of local governments to use markets for public goods by defining traditional state and local governance mechanisms as ‘non‐tariff barriers to trade’. Contradictions between private profit and public interest appear at the subnational level but their resolution is engaged at the global level between private investors and the nation state. Recognition of this rescaling requires attention to the reforming state and its implications for subnational authority and democratic representation and voice. Les nouveaux accords de libre‐échange ré‐échelonne la gouvernance selon des modalités aux implications critiques pour les gouvernements infra‐nationaux. L'État‐nation n'est pas seulement en train d'êvidé de son contenu, mais une nouvelle sphère de gouvernance se forme —à partir d'États‐nations, de groupes multinationaux et d'ententes internationales —, excluant explicitement toute voix de gouvernements locaux ou infra‐nationaux. Cet article décrit les nouvelles caractéristiques de la gouvernance selon l'Accord de Libre‐Échange Nord‐Américain (ALENA) et illustre, avec les cas des Etats‐Unis et du Mexique, comment elles opèrent aux échelons national, infra‐national et local. L'ALENA fournit un modèle pour d'autres accords de libre‐échange, comme la Zone de Libre‐Échange des Amériques (ZLEA) et un nombre croissant de conventions bilatérales. L'article montre comment la structure de gouvernance de l'ALENA mine l'autorité des gouvernements locaux et infra‐nationaux dans les domaines législatif et judiciaire. Destinés à favoriser la privatisation des services publics, ces accords sapent l'aptitude même des gouvernements locaux à recourir aux marchés pour les marchandises publiques, puisqu'ils définissent les mécanismes de gouvernance locale et étatique traditionnels comme des ‘barrières commerciales non‐douanières’. Les contradictions entre profit privé et intérêt public apparaissent au niveau infra‐national, mais leur résolution est entreprise au niveau mondial entre investisseurs privés et État‐nation. La reconnaissance de ce décalage d'échelon appelle à s'intéresser à l'État réformateur et aux implications pour toute autorité infra‐nationale et représentation ou voix démocratique.