Economic and Social Power in Spain: corporate networks of banks,utilities and other large companies (1917–2009)

The evolution trend of the Spanish network has not differed essentially from the path of other Western European corporate networks, but the configuration and factors that explain it have a specific pattern in accordance with their economic and social characteristics. The exchange of directors among the largest banks and utilities in Spain was one of the instruments used to consolidate its hegemonic position and to limit competition in other sectors. Network analysis confirms the existence of a crony capitalism, created in a context of institutional weakness and dominance of undemocratic political systems. The extractive elite used the network boards to restrict competition in key economic sectors, at the expense of the economic development of the country, until the liberalisation of the domestic market and its integration into the global economy.     

British corporate networks, 1976–2010: Extending the study of finance–industry relationships

Abstract

Using an extensive and unique data set that has been created to record the composition of the boards of directors of the top 250 British firms between 1904 and 2010, this article builds upon a previous study by the authors on the corporate network to 1976 by extending the study to 2010. The analysis revolves around three key observations: the nature and depth of the corporate network; the distinct stages in corporate connectivity between 1976 and 2010; and the 1980s watershed in the relationship between financial and other sectors, following which financial institutions withdrew from the corporate network. The article concludes with an analysis of how the data set has changed our perceptions of British corporate networks, wider changes in British business, and a discussion of implications for future research.     

Business and State in the development of the steel industry in Spain and Italy (c.1880–1929)

In the mid-nineteenth century, the Spanish and Italian steel industries were significantly less developed than those of the more advanced countries in Europe. From the mid-1880s, heavy industry in these two countries experienced considerable growth, particularly the steel sector, due to two very different strategies. In the case of Italy, state intervention was so frequent and significant that it has even been referred to as an early state capitalism. In Spain, on the other hand, the sector’s development was based principally on the private initiative. This article seeks to shed light on the interaction between government institutions and business organisations in the implementation of the development strategies of the two countries.     

Strategy–organization configurations in corporate venture units: Impact on performance and survival

We develop a typology of corporate venture units, based on their strategic role in the corporation, and specifically on (a) their relative emphasis on exploration versus exploitation and (b) the internal versus external locus of opportunity they pursue. Following configurations logic, we argue that the structures and systems used by venture units will be a function of their strategic role, and that their performance will be higher when internal elements are aligned. We also argue that exploitation-oriented units will survive for longer than exploration-oriented units. Using primary data collected on 95 venture units during 2001–2003, we use configurational analyses to test and find support for our hypotheses.     

Financial institutions and corporate strategy: David Alliance and the transformation of British textiles,c.1950–c.1990

This article introduces and assesses a conceptual model of institutional and corporate change. In particular it seeks to integrate strategic choice and associated corporate structure with the role of the market for corporate control (MCC) as a governance mechanism. The model is illustrated using longitudinal case studies from the British textile industry with particular reference to the acquisition policy of David Alliance as he built up the Spirella Group and then used this as a vehicle to acquire, in turn, Vantona, Carrington Viyella, Nottingham Manufacturing Company and Coats Patons. These policies are contrasted with the acquisition strategies of the Lancashire Cotton Corporation (LCC) and Courtaulds and Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). The evidence indicates that there was no relationship between the depth of the MCC and restructuring success, but to the extent that the market lacked depth, abnormal profits accrued to market-making entrepreneurs such as Alliance. There is evidence that decentralized market-led strategies were more successful than strategies based on the integration of production for the achievement of scale economies. Successful adoption of these strategies was also based on the acquisition of financial resources through appropriate network connections and associated political lobbying channels.     

State intervention and economic growth in Southern Italy: the rise and fall of the ‘Cassa per il Mezzogiorno’ (1950–1986)

In the second half of the twentieth century, the Italian government carried out a massive regional policy in southern Italy, through the State-owned agency ‘Cassa per il Mezzogiorno’ (1950–1986). The article reconstructs the activities of this agency, making use of its yearly reports and of national and local archives. The Cassa was effective in the first two decades, thanks to substantial technical autonomy and, in the 1960s, to a strong focus on industrial development; however, from the 1970s it progressively became an instrument of waste and misallocation. At the local level, we find significant differences between the southern regions, and correspondence between the quality of state intervention and the regional patterns of GDP and productivity.     

The impact of war: New business networks and small-scale contractors in Britain, 1739–1770

Abstract

This article argues that the resources and skills of military contractors were a crucial component of the war-making capacity of the British state in the mid-eighteenth century. Contractors used product knowledge, access to capital and credit, market intelligence, and personal and professional connections to perform contracts effectively, and by doing so contributed towards operational capability and combat readiness. Contracting not only reveals the diversity of the domestic economy but also the degree of connectivity between different sectors. Problems of scale, cost, and risk were overcome by harnessing and channelling broad expertise across different sectors. If modern states were highly innovative in fiscal-military terms, contractors were no less so in managing extensive supply operations.     

Unlocking the padlock: Retail and public policy in Belgium (1930–1961)

Abstract

During the inter-war and post-war decades, until the dawn of the 1960s, the Belgian retail sector remained very traditional and overcrowded. In that context literature usually points to the Belgian law of 1936/1937 restricting the expansion of department stores. This article outlines the history of this so-called Padlock Law (Loi de Cadenas/Grendelwet), and evaluates its effectiveness and impact. It tries to answer the question as to why the public debate on retailing in Belgium was caught in a deadlock and, specifically, why prohibitive measures against big distribution remained intact for such a long period. It demonstrates how the political dossier of the Padlock was interlinked with a much broader societal debate, that of the survival of the independent classes moyennes/middenstand. The Padlock became a highly symbolic issue, pitting small, family enterprises against big, capitalistic businesses, with all this linked to powerful social perceptions and powered by the dichotomy of modernity versus tradition. In the highly segmented and pillarised Belgian society, reaching a consensus on the modernisation of retailing was only possible after clearly incorporating small independent enterprises into the post-war neo-corporatist welfare state and into its structures of collective bargaining.     

Extreme internal–external industrial-service flexibilities and interfirm cooperative networks in high-technology machine manufacturing

Most interfirm studies focus only on the strategies of strategic partnerships, such as joint ventures, technology transferring agreements, licensing agreements; the study here provides interfirm-network knowledge protocols for designing interfirm-service processes in the high-technology machinery industry (HTMI) by small-and-medium enterprise (SME) networks from the perspectives of extremely-rapid industrial-service flexibility (X-ISF). Based on the decision system analysis (DSA) method, this study constructs an X-ISF research model consisting of major variables of extremely-rapid internal ISF (X-I ISF), extremely-rapid external ISF (X-E ISF), and cooperative networks. This study applies a mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) research design to understand interfirm-network decision-making and the influence of the antecedent conditions of internal and external X-ISF and cooperative upstream-to-downstream networks on firms' X-ISF performance. The study finds that the mutual relationships between X-I ISF and X-E ISF are substantially unbalanced — the impact on firm X-ISF performance by the external-to-internal (X-in) ISF is substantially greater than the impact from the internal-to-external (X-out) ISF. Recognize the need to lead with external-to-internal X-ISF to sustain the adoption-implementation of superior high-technology is the principal take-away strategy implication.     

Enterprises,incentives and networks: The formative years of the electrical network in Portugal, 1920–1947

Path-dependence, the formation of technological irreversibilities and ownership patterns, have recently been salient aspects in the study of historical networks. This article analyses the formative years of public utilities in a period where the advantages of co-ordination, interconnection or integration between enterprises was still incipient. The purpose is to understand what happens when the competition to expand the physical extensions of nodes and links is suddenly blocked, and the enterprises can only compete to increase supply. The theme is thus of network enterprises operating without some of the standard incentives to economies of scale. The allocational and distributional consequences of this particular situation are exposed through an examination of the case study of Portuguese electrification in the first half of the twentieth century.     

Are you in the book?: Hotel attributes bundles and corporate travel departments

Price is a significant factor in corporate travel managers' choices of acceptable hotels. But it is by no means the only factor, and corporate travel offices may be willing to make tradeoffs.     

Global strategies,differing experiences. Electricity companies in two late-industrialising countries: Spain and Argentina, 1890–1950

The article compares the performance and profitability rates of electric utility firms in Spain and Argentina from the early period of global electrification to the period following World War 2. It aims to analyse the relationship between the investment strategies of international electricity companies and local conditions in two late-industrialising countries, and evaluate its impact on the structure and development of both electric utility systems. The study finds similar long-term trends in profitability as a result of the global strategies of multinational holding companies; nonetheless profitability rates varied greatly from one country to another. Rates were higher in Argentina as foreign firms controlled large systems in most dynamic urban areas. In contrast, the increasing investment of local firms in electric utilities paved the way to a less profitable but more equitable electricity system in Spain.     

Research in information systems in China (1999–2005) and international comparisons1

The purpose of this study is to review the research activities in information systems (IS) in the mainland of China. We reviewed and analyzed a total of 859 research papers in information systems published in 18 leading academic journals in business and management in the mainland from 1999 to 2005. Applying the content analysis method, we first categorized the papers by their reference disciplines, research topics, research methods, and the units of analysis. The data were then compared with the results of similar Western studies. Results show that, among the published IS research papers in the mainland of China, IS research itself represents the primary theoretical reference discipline; organizational and system/software issues are the main topics of the focus; non-empirical studies were the dominant research method; and the majority of studies were conducted at the organizational and/or system level. Compared with the West, IS research in China demonstrates its own characteristics in theoretical foundations, research focuses, and research methods, and there are a number of areas that need to be improved.     

Moral Issues and Gender Differences in Ethical Judgment using Reidenbach and Robin’s (1990) Multidimensional Ethics Scale: Implications in Teaching of Business Ethics

In this study, we examined moral issues and gender differences in ethical judgment using Reidenbach and Robin’s [Journal of Business Ethics 9 (1990) 639) multidimensional ethics scale (MES). A total of 340 undergraduate students were asked to provide ethical judgment by rating three moral issues in the MES labeled: ‚sales’, ‚auto’, and ‚retail’ using three ethics theories: moral equity, relativism, and contractualism. We found that female students’ ratings of ethical judgment were consistently higher than that of male students across two out of three moral issues examined (i.e., sales and retails) and ethics theories; providing support for Eagly’s [1987, Sex Differences in Social Behavior: A Social-role Interpretation. (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc, Hillsdale, NJ, England)] social role theory. After controlling for moral issues, women’s higher ratings of ethical judgment over men’s became statistically non-significant. Theoretical and practical implications based on the study’s findings are provided. Nhung T. Nguyen, assistant professor of human resource management at Towson University, received her Ph.D. in management from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2001. Her research focuses on the use of situational judgement and personality tests in personnel selection, ethics in management education, and the application of meta-analysis and structural equations modeling in organizational research. Her research has appeared in the Journal of Applied Psychology, the International Journal of Selection and Assessment, Applied H.R.M. Research, and Journal of Applied Social Psychology among others. M. Tom Basuray, Professor of Management at Towson University, received his Ph.D. in Business Administration in 1974 from University of Oklahoma. His research interests are in areas of organizational effectiveness, leadership and development. His articles have appeared in Journal of Organizational Change Management, Education & Psychological Measurement, International Journal of Management, Leadership and Organizational Development Journal, and Journal of Experiential Learning and Simulation. He has consulted with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Public Broadcasting Corporation, and various state and municipal government agencies both in Maryland and North Dakota. William P.Smith, Associate Professor of Management in the College of Business and Economics at Towson University, received his Ph.D. in Business Administration from Arizona State University in 1982. His research interests include business ethics, privacy in the workplace and the role of social activism in corporate governance. Donald Kopka, an Assistant Professor at Towson University, received his Ph.D., in International Business from George Washington University in 1995. He teaches Business Strategy, Management Principles, and Entrepreneurship and Small Business, and was Director of the Cornerstone-Professional Experience Program in the College of Business and Economics from 1999–2003. In 2004 he was a Fulbright Scholar in Vietnam where he taught entrepreneurship and business strategy, worked on curriculum development, and conducted ongoing research on supporting industries. Information on his Fulbright experience can be found at his website . His research interests include entrepreneurship, business development, and teaching pedagogy. He formerly ran a property management business, was a program manager at the U.S. Small Business Administration, and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines. Donald N. McCulloh, Lecturer in Management at Towson University, received his M.S. degree in Financial Management from The George Washington Unversity in 1968. He teaches Management Principles and has also taught Leadership. He served as Vice President for Administration and Finance at Towson University until his retirement in 1997, since then he has been a full-time member of the Management faculty. He has also served in the United States Air Force, and worked in several manufacturing industries and the automotive industry. He was Executive Director of a non-profit community development corporation.     

Technological networks and industrial research in Britain: The London,Midland & Scottish Railway, 1926–47

Large and complex firms combining service and manufacturing functions such as the railways offer an interesting test of the claim that between the world wars British industry sometimes successfully prosecuted industrial research in ways that do not fit the Chandlerian paradigm. In particular, the largest of the inter-war railway companies relied on networks of external technological experts as well as developing its own in-house capability, thereby reducing uncertainties and transaction costs at minimal risk to itself. The chief disadvantage to this approach was the tension generated between the technological community of ‘scientific’ researchers and the engineers who were traditionally responsible for technological innovation.     

European market integration and the political economy of corporate adjustment: OTE and Telecom Italia, 1949–2009

Despite the common challenges posed by European market integration and liberalisation, the behaviour of telecommunications operators across Europe suggests a variety of modes of adjustment and paths to privatisation. The article examines the puzzle of divergent responses to liberalisation by OTE and Telecom Italia (TI), casting light on their distinct paths to privatisation and internationalisation. The cases are considered in the context of the Varieties of Capitalism frame, which challenges the perspective that global market integration will lead to convergence in strategies and structures. Thus, the article suggests that the observed differences are largely explained by the domestic actors' preferences, and to a much lesser extent attributed to the globalising forces of technological change and competition.