The Governance of Networks and Economic Power: The Nature and Impact of Subcontracting Relationships

Abstract.  Current debate on networking focuses on network structures and firm strategies. In this perspective, theoretical analysis has been concerned with allocative issues. This essay proposes a different interpretation. Starting from the existing theoretical framework, we emphasise the nature and the implications of different types of networks with respect to socio‐economic development from a distributional point of view. Within this context, we develop the analysis of subcontracting starting from the concept of economic power. We then provide an analysis of governance in production by considering the attitudes and the nature of the actors involved. The externalisation of activities by large transnationals, which characterises current corporate restructuring, is often related to the search for greater flexibility, but also for greater power over governments, labour, and subcontractors. Differently, networks based on the mutual dependence of actors, which are not necessarily built around a large firm, could – under particular conditions – reach large production scales or more complex scopes without breaking the links with territorial systems, thus including local objectives in the strategic decision‐making process. Our conclusion is that the impact of subcontracting networks varies enormously. This is crucial to an understanding of future trends and possibilities. Not least, firms and public policy agencies need to understand the implications of different forms of subcontracting network and how those forms actually differ in practice.     

Culture in the Rise of Tiger Economies: Scottish Expatriates in Dublin and the ‘Creative Class’ Thesis

This article evaluates the contributions which Richard Florida's seminal ‘creative class’ thesis might make to ongoing efforts to re‐inscribe ‘culture’ back into political economy explanations of the rise of Tiger economies. It reflects upon the value of reconsidering both the role of skilled migrants in Tiger states and the factors which attract skilled migrants to these economies in the first instance. Based upon analyses of a series of focus groups conducted with Scottish expatriates currently working in Dublin, the article specifically attempts to gauge how far the creative class thesis can be stretched to account for the locational preferences of talented migrants. Whilst Florida's work undoubtedly sheds light on aspects of expatriate existence which might not otherwise have been obvious, its ability to account for the relationships which have existed between technology, talent and tolerance in the Celtic Tiger must be questioned. Moreover, if political economy and Floridian readings are to do more than simply inform one another, there will be a need to establish more clearly the complex ways in which developmental states intersect with skill flows and cosmopolitan cultural agendas.     

配电网的规模经济：一个理论与实证分析框架

配电网的规模经济性是一个重要的理论命题,其研究对电力体制改革具有重要指导意义。现有配电网规模经济的文献对一些重要的理论问题,特别是配电网的多产品产出和成本结构,至今没有给出很好的回答,这导致了实证研究方法的混乱。本文从理论上说明,如何确定配电网的多产出性质、设定成本函数,并在分析相关实证问题的基础上,建立了一套比较完整的分析框架。     

Bourgeoisie Out, Expertoisie In: The New Political Economies at Loggerheads

Part I of our paper pinpoints the “political” in the new political economies: first, the distinction between political, public, and civic economies that are almost invariably confused; second, the role of power politics, force, and fraud in determining income differentials in the name of market forces. Part II pinpoints the “new” in twentieth‐century political economies: first, the emergence of a fourth factor of production in addition to labor, capital, and land, whether identified with organization, knowledge, headwork, education, brainpower, management, or information; second, the subordination of capital to this new factor; third, the formation of a new social class based on its ownership; fourth, the struggle between the owners of capital and the new class for control over decision making and for the lion's share in distribution; fifth, the reliance on government to protect and advance the interests of the new class of professionals; and sixth, the eclipse of the old class struggle between bourgeoisie and proletarians by a new class struggle between managers and managed, executives and executants, “knows” and “know‐nots.” Part III pinpoints the “loggerheads” or sources of dissension between the “human capital” and post‐capitalist variants of the new political economies: first, over whether the expertoisie constitute a new social class or a fraction of the bourgeoisie; second, over whether the new economic order constitutes an advanced stage of capitalism or the advent of a post‐capitalist society; and third, whether the “knows” exploit the “know‐nots” through their monopoly of economic and political power. Why “political,” why “new,” and why “at loggerheads”? Our essay divides into three parts our tentative answers to these questions.     

Household Economies of Scale and Changes In the Distribution of Income

A bstract A household's position in the distribution of income depends not only on the household's disposable income but aldo on the degree to which economies of scale in operating a bousehold exist Since the magnitude of these 'scale effects'has never been definitively measured, three sets of assumptions about equivalent household sizes are used to construct three income distributions for 1980 and 1986 Fconomies of scale in operating a household are assumed to be strong, weak, and non existent In given vear, as these scale effects are reduced, the size of the middle segment declines It is also observed that over time, with each set of assumptions, the size of the middle segment declines Moreover, the sizes of the households found in each tail of the distribution are very sensitive to the assumption relating to economies of scale in operating a household     

Networks In Open Systems Of Governance

Abstract

This article focuses on an abortive attempt to co-ordinate a local governance network in the domain of older persons' care in England. It locates a key source of failure in pressures in the policy context. Exogenous factors are analysed using a tiered (macro-/meso-/micro-) model linking context and agents. People occupy specific positions in the policy system and can respond differently to erratic contextual prompts. This putative autonomy imposes limits on the assumed trajectory and ontology of whole-networks in socially contested arenas and delimits the strategic space for network governance. Networks are thus as often effects as causes of social change.     

Bringing Networks In: A model of organizational socialization in the public sector

Abstract

Integrating new employees so that they perform well, fit in well and are committed to the agency is a salient concern for public managers. Organizational socialization is the process by which new employees learn the knowledge, skills and values required to become organizational members. This article develops a model of organizational socialization grounded in newcomer social networks and set within a context of public service identity. Social network theory and methods offer a means for examining and interpreting patterns of interactions between newcomers and organizational members. This article concludes with propositions for future studies of organizational socialization and social networks.     

新华美通“老虎”领跑

“我们就像一只丛林中的老虎,一直在前面领路,后面有追随者,但只能远远地跟在后面。而且我们的模仿者也仅仅是在模仿一些表面化的东西。”     

Management Development In Europe: A Study In Cultural Contrast

Peter Lawrence is Professor of Comparative Management at Loughborough University and a member of the Human Resource and Change Management Research Unit. He argues that management development is less formalised and explicit in the countries of Continental Europe than it is in the Anglo-Saxon world. Using France and Germany as the main examples, he shows how their very different ways of making managers are shaped by cultural factors. Lawrence goes further by suggesting that these countries have a different conception of what management ‘is all about’. He implies that much of the recent talk of ‘internationalism’ is, in consequence, premature.     

首都财经类成人高校发展需求浅论

时代和社会对成人高等教育有着旺盛的需求。而首都商业经济的发展 ,也对财经类成人高等教育提出了新的需求 ,具体表现为 :巨大的市场需求 ;高、精、尖、实的教育内容需求 ;流通企业与成人高校“软件”发展的需求等方面。总之 ,财经类成人高等教育正面临着新的发展契机 ,具有广阔的市场前景     

EPC工程总承包项目“区域分包模式”的管理实践

当前,我国许多传统设计研究院正致力于向国际型工程公司的转型,这一转型过程中的一项重大挑战就是对分包商的管理,本文通过中铝国际区域分包模式的管理实践以及效果的分析,对EPC模式下的分包管理模式进行了探讨。     

城镇贫困:结构成因与文化发展

贫困成因分析主要有两个理论取向 :结构性和文化性。我国城镇贫困是在社会转型的基础上发展起来的结构性贫困。但是随着时间的推移 ,贫困者的境况若得不到改善 ,就可能向文化性贫困发展 ,影响的可能是几代人。反贫困政策应当立足长远 ,注重制定战略性的反贫困措施与方案 ,以防范“贫困文化”的产生。     

The Role of Networks In the Diffusion of Technological Innovation*

This research considers the diffusion of computer-aided production management (CAPM) technology in the UK manufacturing sector during the mid to late 1980s, focusing on the role of inter-organizational networks in the diffusion process. Research on innovation diffusion has tended to adopt a ‘pro-innovation bias’ such that adoption of prescribed best practice technologies is always considered to be the best policy. In the UK, one particular form of CAPM (MRP/MRPII) has been heavily promoted by technology suppliers as best practice. However, the notion of ‘best practice’ de-emphasizes the importance of decisions about technology design when users attempt to develop firm-specific solutions. Crucial to these decisions are the inter-organizational networks through which potential adopters learn about relevant technologies. Using three case companies, where the introduction of CAPM occurred at approximately the same time, decisions regarding adoption, design and subsequent implementation, are explored in order to establish the influence of inter-organizational networks on the diffusion and subsequent appropriation of CAPM technologies. These cases revealed that potential adopters engaged in a range of inter-organizational networks through which they learned about new technologies. However, the knowledge diffused through many of these networks was shaped by technology suppliers who were promoting similar ideas about best practice. Thus, while involvement in inter-organizational networks gave potential adopters access to information about new technology, this information tended to reinforce supplier images of best practice and did not always lead these firms to develop appropriate technological solutions. Problematic relationships between the suppliers of the technology and the users was seen here to limit the redesign and further diffusion of CAPM.     

Subcontracting and occupational health and safety in the residential building industry

This article examines the relationship between subcontracting and occupational health and safety in the Australian and UK residential building industry. It is argued that poorer OHS is an important consequence of subcontracting. This finding has implications for theories of injury causation and analysing the impact of outsourcing on industrial relations.     

中国区域经济协调发展中的地方官员治理研究

本文主要分析了中国区域经济协调发展中的地方官员治理.为了提高地方官员的协调性努力水平,必须对地方官员进行适当的治理.从区域经济协调发展的视角来看,在对地方官员的治理上我们需要注意两个方面:一方面,我们可以努力降低地方官员付出协调性努力的成本,并且从这个角度出发寻找合适的制度安排;另一方面,我们可以努力提高地方官员付出协调性努力时获得的收益,并且从这个角度出发寻找合适的制度安排.降低成本或提高收益的不同着眼点会使得地方官员治理安排不尽相同.不管是哪一个视角来寻找相应的制度安排,都需要在总体性原则的指导下进行具体的探索,在积极探索中逐渐找到促进区域经济协调发展的合适的地方官员治理安排.     

The Effect of Urbanization and Industrialization on Energy Use in Emerging Economies: Implications for Sustainable Development

This article investigates the impact of two important socio‐economic variables—urbanization and industrialization—on energy consumption in a panel of emerging economies. The results indicate that income increases energy consumption in both the long run and the short run. In the long run, urbanization decreases energy consumption, while industrialization increases it. Long‐run dynamics are important as evidenced by the estimated coefficient on the error correction term. These results have implications for sustainable development. Economic growth policies designed to increase income and industrialization will increase energy consumption. Since most energy needs in emerging economies are currently met by the burning of fossil fuels, economic growth and industrialization policies will be at odds with sustainable development.