CHALLENGES IN RESEARCHING CORPORATE RESTRUCTURING*

This article reviews research on corporate restructuring by examining representative studies of acquisitions, divestitures and management buyouts. Theoretical arguments used in prior research on these aspects of restructuring are presented and the empirical evidence is reviewed. Three challenges in researching corporate restructuring are identified: trading off theoretical abstraction for institutional detail, defining strategically meaningful research questions, and the pursuit of partial models versus development of a comprehensive theory of restructuring. the conclusion is that theoretical and methodological pluralism are essential for advancement of research on this topic. the article concludes with a call for more research involving institutional detail and linking modes of restructuring to performance.     

FEMALE ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN EARLY ISLAM

The absence of female leaders in business and public life is conspicuous in Islamic societies. One explanation may be that Islam imposes legal and social inequality on men and women. However, a comparison of female entrepreneurship in pre‐Islamic society and in Mohammed's era shows that women occupied leadership roles before and after the establishment of Islam. Mohammed's wives were commercially astute, and Mohammed and his contemporaries respected the rights of women to make decisions regarding finances, matrimony and religious affiliation. The right of women to assume public leadership roles is compatible with Islam.     

中小制药企业必须“对症下药”研究开发新产品

在科技生产飞速发展的21世纪,我国的中小制药企业已积极地参与到激烈的国际竞争之中.对充满机遇和挑战的未来--我国已经加入世界贸易组织(WTO),又意味着我国中小制药企业面临的国际竞争将越来越激烈.     

联合利华靠研发淘金

最近,中国市场上出现了一种在外包装上印上了可洗净的各种污渍名称的洗衣粉.这是由联合利华为中国市场"量身定做"的"奥妙99".与各种洗衣粉品牌单纯宣传"洗净力"不同,联合利华对这种新产品采用的是把99种污渍全部公示于众,让消费者进行检验.这其中蕴含着跨国公司对中国市场的了解和对中国消费者心态的把握,更是对产品的自信.联合利华中国研究所所长蔡亚博士在接受记者的专访时,向记者展示了联合利华以新产品挑战洗衣粉行业的实力.     

MANAGING METROPOLITAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN ASIA*

This paper examines selected problems of managing growth in large Asian cities. Managing the national urban system presents difficult problems because of the very high capital costs associated with absorbing population in the very large metropolitan areas. Cost savings from promoting a decentralized settlement pattern are small compared with reductions in nationwide infrastructure standards and other non-spatial strategies. Asian cities have not managed spatial decentralization very well. A sound approach may involve more intervention in some spheres (e.g. accelerating the supply of basic services to newly developed residential neighborhoods) and less intervention in others (e.g. prior selection of subcenters, large-scale land acquisition and other land use controls). Urban service delivery strategies have been hampered by the lack of resources, timidity in the introduction of cost recovery systems, and inadequate operations and maintenance.     

ONLINE FREE MARKETS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE MUSLIM WORLD

For centuries, networks of free exchange enabled populations of the Islamic world to thrive. Today, by contrast, the largest Muslim countries lag in international measures of economic freedom. At this critical time, hundreds of online markets for 'telework' are bringing global business opportunities within reach of many in the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds alike. Individuals with internet access can directly engage in the global online economy without having to wait for the results of domestic policy liberalisation or needing to relocate in search of higher wages.     

THE EVOLUTION PROCESS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP STUDIES IN THE 21ST CENTURY: RESEARCH INSIGHTS FROM TOP BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS JOURNALS

The present study involves a literature survey of 1710 entrepreneurship papers published in 28 top business and economics journals in 12 research disciplines. This paper finds that despite increased recognition of the importance of entrepreneurship, the research literature on entrepreneurship remains fragmented. Studies of entrepreneurship processes have been the dominant theme, but new issues of entrepreneurship are emerging. Based on the entrepreneurship reviewed, this paper summarizes potential research directions.     

GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY APPROACHES TO ORGANIZATIONS: SOME PROBLEMS IN APPLICATION

Abstract : General Systems Theory appears to have been uncritically accepted as the leading paradigm within administrative theory. This paper examines systems formulations and concludes that they overemphasize growth and show little appreciation for intra-organizational conflict, diversity of values, and political processes within organizations. Neglect of these factors pose limitations for realistic system design, integration, and adaptation. However, the limitations of G.S.T. formulations within administrative theory seem to be more due to the users of G.S.T. than to weaknesses inherent in G.S.T.     

THE LOW-TRUST ROUTE TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: INTER-FIRM RELATIONS IN THE UK ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN THE 1980S AND 1990S*

There is a growing body of literature that suggests that advanced economies are experiencing an economic restructuring such that the engines of economic development are smaller, more independent, firms acting in an increasingly cooperative manner. In assessing whether the UK economy is actually experiencing such a shift in inter-firm relations, the paper firstly assesses the existing evidence. This evidence suggests the continued dominance of large firms and only limited and uneven movements away from a low-trust system. Secondly, the paper presents evidence on the nature of inter-firm relations in the UK engineering construction industry in the 1980s and 1990s. the research shows considerable improvement in performance against schedule associated with the emergence of management contractors. Management contractors can improve performance either by adopting a high-trust route in which they seek to make overall efficiency gains by integrating design and construction, or by adopting a low-trust route in which they seek to reduce scope for opportunism by rigidifying design, and by passing on risk. Evidence is presented which shows that management contractors in the UK have so far predominantly adopted the low-trust route to improved performance. Cumulatively, the evidence suggests the dominance of the ‘top down’ control of inter-firm relations in the UK.     

易居 务实度势成就跨越发展

2009年,易居成为中国代理行业首家一手房销售面积破千万平方米大关的标杆企业。这种突破,得益于审时度势与脚踏实地的管理理念。     

RECRUITMENT MODE AS A FACTOR AFFECTING INFORMANT RESPONSE IN ORGANIZATIONAL RESEARCH*

Hear my words carefully. Some are spoken not by me, but by a man in my position. Norman MacCaig (1969)