Some 'real' problems of 'virtual' organisation

This paper presents an ethnographic study of organisational change in a retail bank considering issues surrounding the supposed emergence of the 'virtual organisation'. It outlines emerging problems in organisational work as a consequence of the shift toward 'virtuality' and questions the explanatory value of such theoretical stances.     

The Flemish customer contact centre for public information from a marketing and management perspective

This paper describes the Flemish customer contact centre for government information (‘the Flemish Infoline’) as an example of marketing in the public sector. First it defines the term ‘customer contact centre’ and describes the objectives and main characteristics of the Flemish Infoline. It then identifies the three reasons for setting up the Flemish Infoline in 1999: the complicated Belgian institutional landscape; the unprofessional telephone traffic handling and service; and the lack of knowledge about citizens' information needs. Finally, the paper applies Kotler's 4 Ps concept to the case, and puts the relevant stages from Lees‐Marsh‐ment's political marketing orientations into one integrated scheme in order to understand the functioning of the Flemish Infoline. Based on the literature and on an in‐depth interview with the project head of the Flemish Infoline, the authors demonstrate that marketing techniques can be used in contact centres for public information, but they also illustrate some important differences from those in the forprofit sector, such as the available amount of customers' personal data, the level of call operators' skills and the degree of heterogeneity of the questions. Further research on information needs and contact centres, and providing one ‘umbrella’ contact centre for government information in Belgium are recommended. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications     

卡尔加里--一座充满智慧的城市

卡尔加里是加拿大西部一座充满活力和适于创业的城市。我们这座城市因靠近RockyMountain山脉和拥有著名的CalgaryStampede而享誉世界 ,同时我们也是加拿大经济运行最好的城市。我们拥有平均年龄最低、教育素质最高的市民。除了石油及天然气 ,农业和旅游业等传统产业外 ,我们在高新技术产业领域也有很强的实力。令我们引以为豪的是 ,卡尔加里已成为加拿大计算机应用最普及的城市之一 ,也是国际互联网应用最普及并且通过应用这一技术受益最多的城市之一。82 %的卡尔加里人是国际互联网的用户 ,70 %多的市民在家里上网。尽管我们在应用先进技…     

Implementing continuous improvement in the North American mining industry

This study identifies key factors required to successfully change a mining organization's culture to that mandated by a continuous improvement (CI) philosophy. Guided by a change-oriented model of CI implementation and the Malcolm Baldridge criteria, a survey was conducted involving mining firms operating in North America with annual revenues over $100 million. Twenty-four firms participated and resulted in 268 usable questionnaires. A principal component factor analysis followed by linear regression revealed that four factors accounted for success in implementing CI; employee involvement was the most important one. This dominant factor proved to be complex and had elements of the context of change (e.g., acceptance of company goals), the content of change (teamwork, new ways of working, and supportive HRM policies), and the process of change (leadership and access to information). Other predictors included, in order of importance, corporate presence, customer-oriented strategy, and adoption of practical goals. The article concludes with a discussion of employee involvement and the trend toward a productivity gap, with firms pursuing CI in the lead.     

The stability of generalised stackelberg equilibria in heterogeneous oligopoly

Conclusions In this paper we have derived sufficient conditions for the stability of the G. S. E. These conditions follow from the condition on the stability of the G. C. E., given by Okuguchi (1978).When the conditions for asymptotic stability are fulfilled, the existence of the G. S. E. may be demonstrated in the same way as the existence of the G. C. E. has been demonstrated by Okuguchi (1978), that is: the G. S. E. is the fixpoint of a contracting mapping. In the case of linear demand functions and quadratic cost functions we have found the rather strong result that the sufficient conditions for (asymptotic) stability of the G. C. E. imply the (asymptotic) stability of the G. S. E. as well.This conclusion may be surprising to followers of Stackelberg. Mostly the outcome of a Stackelberg oligopoly is considered as adisequilibrium.In this paper we have made clear that a firm maximizing expected profit and using a generalised Stackelberg strategy, like a firm using a generalised Cournot strategy, only correctly predicts inequilibrium the price of the other firms. (See also on this point Heertje and Furth (1979)).When the outcome of a G. S. E. gives one or more firms less profit than in a G. C. E. then they expect, any price change, under-taken by them, will lower their expected profit even more.I would like to thank Prof. Dr. A. Heertje and an anonymous referee for their useful comments on earlier drafts of this paper and D. Weatherall for his remarks on the english of the text.     

Academic application is not an oxymoron

Commentary on “A Performance‐Based, Minimalist Human Resource Management Approach in Business Schools”     

Price leadership in a duopoly with capacity constraints and product differentiation

This paper analyzes Stackelberg price leadership in a duopoly in which firms are capacity constrained and products are imperfect substitutes. Assuming symmetric substitutes, linear demand, and efficient rationing, we characterize the equilibria with an exogenously specified leader. Using the equilibrium profits derived from these games, we argue that over certain ranges of asymmetric capacities an endogenous price leader will emerge. When endogenous leadership does arise, it is the large capacity firm which is the leader. We thus provide a game theoretic model of dominant firm price leadership.Dave Furth's research has been undertaken as a part of the project Competition and Cooperation. Dan Kovenock has benefited from financial support from Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Krannert School of Management, and the Jay N. Ross Young Faculty Research Fellowship. We are grateful to Tom Faith for valuable research assistance. We have benefited from the comments of the editor, two anonymous referees, and participants at the European meetings of the Econometric Society in September 1989 and the North American Winter Meetings of the Econometric Society in December 1989.     

Self‐Determination Theory and Word of Mouth about Energy‐Saving Behaviors: An Online Experiment

The growing community concern for the environment, and rising energy costs to consumers, has led many power utility companies to adopt strategies aimed at reducing energy consumption in the home and workplace. These strategies have typically been based on extrinsically regulated pricing mechanisms. Although more intrinsically driven interventions have been examined, they are often complex and expensive to implement due in part to the high level of human interaction involved. This two‐part study suggests simpler more cost‐efficient alternatives to enhancing energy saving. It does this via two separate but related studies that examined the application of self‐determination theory (SDT) and word of mouth (WOM) within online communities. The findings suggest a significant increase in reported energy‐saving behaviors over time supporting the role of SDT. There was also evidence that positive WOM increases satisfaction of the three psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, further enhancing energy‐saving behavior. These findings have important implications for marketers in terms of behavior change.     

A Structural Model of Leisure Constraints Negotiation in Outdoor Recreation

A conceptual model tested the leisure constraints negotiation process of outdoor recreation: motivation and the constraints to participate likely influenced by negotiation efforts. Higher motivation to participate encourages using negotiation strategies and resources to overcome constraints. Experiencing constraints was thought to trigger negotiation efforts. Drawing from social cognitive theory, negotiation-efficacy was proposed to encourage motivation, diminish the perception of constraints and promote negotiation efforts, which indirectly influenced positive participation. The model tested used data collected from a random sample of Arizona residents through hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Results support the conceptual model and suggest the constraints negotiation process is a dynamic interaction of influences promoting outdoor recreation participation.