Knowledge Matters: Technology,Innovation, and Entrepreneurship in Innovation Networks and Knowledge ClustersEdited by Elias G. Carayannis and Piero Formica . Hampshire,UK: Palgrave MacMillan, 2008. 267 + xix pages. US$90.00.

Books reviewed in this issue:

• Knowledge Matters: Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship in Innovation Networks and Knowledge Clusters
• Future Search: Getting the Whole System in the Room for Vision, Commitment, and Action
• Take Charge Product Management: Time‐Tested Tips, Tactics, and Tools for the New or Improved Product Manager

     

X-Teams: How To Build Teams That Lead, Innovate, and Succeed by Deborah Ancona and Henrik Bresman

I am retiring from the profession and from this position as your book review editor; the very capable Donovan Hardenbrook will be your next editor. I think we have worked out a seamless transition, but Donovan will doubtless bring his energy and innovation to the position. These nearly five years as editor have been a lot of work but a great deal of satisfaction too. This position is the best one in the world for keeping on top of the newest thinking in product development, for being able to see the latest books as—or even before—they are published, and for learning by editing the work of knowledgeable reviewers critically. Some statistics: In nearly five years, we received 560 books for review, reviewed 144 of them, processed 659 review drafts, and discarded about 430 books (mostly to The Prisoners Literature Project). A more modern metric: I received 3,372 e‐mails about book reviews (and probably sent a similar number). Of course, I've had much help, which I would like to acknowledge. Tony Di Benedetto, the journal editor, was a constant source of encouragement and support, and Beebe Nelson, the former book review editor, backed me up. Our 41 active reviewers did the real work, and some of them are prolific reviewers: Mark Hart, George Castellion, Ruediger Klein, and Gerald Mulenburg each reviewed 10 or more books. Kristi Bennett, our copyeditor, has done a wonderful job of ensuring the consistency of these offerings. Finally, we are indebted to about 70 book publishers (technically, imprints) that supplied the review copies gratis. Books reviewed in this issue:

• ? X‐Teams: How To Build Teams That Lead, Innovate, and Succeed
• ? Edison on Innovation: 102 Lessons in Creativity for Business and Beyond
• ? Something Really New: Three Simple Steps to Creating Truly Innovative Products
• ? Smart Isn't Enough: Lessons from a Work Performance Coach
• ? The Power of Mobility: How Your Business Can Compete and Win in the Next Technology Revolution

     

Build an Industry Hot Rod: The Nuts and Bolts of Leaving Competitors in the Dust by Marvin L. Patterson

Books reviewed in this issue:

• ? Build an Industry Hot Rod: The Nuts and Bolts of Leaving Competitors in the Dust
• ? Innovating at the Top: How Global CEOs Drive Innovation for Growth and Profit
• ? Determinants of Innovative Behaviour: A Firm's Internal Practices and Its External Environment

     

Hot Spots: Why Some Teams,Workplaces and Organizations Buzz with Energy—and Others Don't by Lynda Gratton

Books reviewed in this issue:

• ? Hot Spots: Why Some Teams, Workplaces and Organizations Buzz with Energy—and Others Don't
• ? Cracking the Ad Code
• ? Innovation Tournaments: Creating and Selecting Exceptional Opportunities

     

The Innovation Manual: Integrated Strategies and Practical Tools for Bringing Value Innovation to the Market by David Midgley

Books reviewed in this issue:

• ? The Innovation Manual: Integrated Strategies and Practical Tools for Bringing Value Innovation to the Market
• ? Sensory Marketing
• ? Agile Product Management with Scrum: Creating Products that Customers Love

     

The Product Manager's Desk Reference by Steven Haines

Books reviewed in this issue:

• ? The Product Manager's Desk Reference
• ? How We Decide
• ? Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness
• ? The Handbook of High‐Performance Virtual Teams: A Toolkit for Collaborating across Boundaries

     

The Global Brain by Satish Nambisan and Mohanbir Sawney

Books reviewed in this issue:

• ? The Global Brain
• ? Do It Wrong Quickly: How the Web Changes the Old Marketing Rules
• ? Reinventing Project Management: The Diamond Approach to Successful Growth and Innovation
• ? Selling Blue Elephants: How to Make Great Products that People Want before They Even Know They Want Them

     

The New Age of Innovation: Driving Cocreated Value through Global Networks by C. K. Prahalad and M. S. Krishnan

Books reviewed in this issue:

• ? The New Age of Innovation: Driving Cocreated Value through Global Networks.
• ? Generation Blend: Managing across the Technology Age Gap
• ? Conquering Innovation Fatigue: Overcoming the Barriers to Personal and Corporate Success

     

Guidelines for hazard evaluation procedures: Second edition

This article presents an abstract of important additions and revisions to the Guidelines for Hazard Evaluation Procedures published by CCPS in 1985. It includes:

• An outline of the background and purpose of the project
• An overview of the importance of hazard identification and evaluation studies, including benefits and limitations
• An overview of the new chapters
• Discussion of Hazard Identification Methods and results

     

Guidance on developing safety performance indicators

This article summarizes a process for developing safety performance indicators. This is a topic of great importance for the measurement of the effectiveness of our PSM systems. The PSM is the OSHA regulation that covers companies in the United States that was issued in the year 1992. Since that time companies in the process industries have made great strides in implementing PSM systems. An important question is “How much progress have we made in actually reducing the number and severity of process events?” Other countries were also concerned about the effectiveness of their programs to address chemical accidents. In response to these concerns, the OECD published the documents described in this article. One of these documents sets out a safety performance indicator process that allows a company to:

• assess whether it is implementing appropriate chemical safety programs and policies,
• evaluate whether these programs and policies are achieving their desired objectives, and
• help determine the extent to which such programs and policies are making a difference.

This will allow a company to identify whether there is appropriate emphasis on different aspects of safety management and provide insights needed for setting priorities for future investment of resources. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog 2009     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed in this article: Tito Boeri, Agar Brugiavini and Lars Calmfors (eds), with Alison Booth, Michael Burda, Daniele Checchi, Bernhard Ebbinghaus, Richard Freeman, Pietro Garibaldi, Bertil Holmlund, Robin Naylor, Martin Schludi, Thierry Verdier and Jelle Visser, The Role of Unions in the Twenty–First Century: A Study for the Fondazione Rodolfo Debenedetti Robert Cherry and William M. Rodgers III (eds), Prosperity for All? The Economic Boom and African Americans Hugh Collins, Paul Davies and Roger Rideout, Legal Regulation of the Employment Relation Jon Erik Dølvik (ed), At Your Service? Comparative Perspectives on Employment and Labour Relations in the European Private Sector Services Lonnie Golden and Deborah M. Figart (eds), Working Time: International Trends and Policy Perspectives Jaap de Koning and Hugh Mosley (eds), Labour Market Policy and Unemployment: Impact and Process Evaluations in Selected European Countries Michael H. Belzer, Sweatshops on Wheels: Winners and Losers in Trucking Deregulation Stephen Crowley and David Ost (eds), Workers after Workers’ States: Labor and Politics in Postcommunist Eastern Europe Hans–Peter Blossfeld and Sonja Drobnic (eds), Careers of Couples in Contemporary Society: From Male Breadwinner to Dual Earner Families Anne McBride, Gender Democracy in Trade Unions Stephen Dobson and John Goddard, The Economics of Football Stephen Eric Bronner, Socialism Unbound     

Erratum: Multipoint competition,strategic similarity and entry into geographic markets L. Fuentelsaz,J. Gómez. Strategic Management Journal, 2006; 27; 477–499

The original article to which this Erratum refers was published in Strategic Management Journal Vol. 27, No. 5, pp 477–499, 2006. DOI: 10.1002/smj.529 A paragraph in Spanish on page 481 of the Strategic Management Journal Vol. 27, No. 5, pp 477‐499, 2006, DOI: 10.1002/smj529 was incorrectly included. The publisher apologises for this error.     

Japanese <Emphasis Type="Italic">keiretsu</Emphasis>: Past,present, future

This article reviews major theoretical and empirical work on vertical and horizontal Japanese keiretsu. We first outline the history, characteristics, and strategic and performance implications of each type of business group. We then discuss changes in the Japanese economy during the post-1992 Japanese economic decline and their implications for the persistence and continued benefits of each form of inter-corporate grouping followed by a discussion of empirical findings regarding the continued role of keiretsu in the Japanese economy. The review concludes by exploring areas of future research into the evolution of keiretsu ties and their implications.

Mitigation systems

The workshop was organized through the presentations in an attempt to achieve the following goals:

• Review the state-of-the-art of mitigation techniques.
• Establish a preference order for mitigation systems.
• Define the tools available to determine the relative benefit of various mitigation systems.
• Identify future research needs to enhance or improve mitigation systems.

     

An overview of exposures and exposure control in the ethylene oxide producer and ethoxylation industries

This paper presents the results of an industry survey that was sponsored by the Ethylene Oxide Industry Council (EOIC). The EOIC operates as a special program of the Chemical Manufacturers Association. The members of EOIC account for over 85 percent of domestic production of EtO and cover a broad range of EtO users, including ethoxylators and sterilizers. The survey was done to collect current information in anticipation of responding to a proposed OSHA rulemaking for a short-term exposure limit for EtO. Specifically, the study was designed to collect information on the following:

• 1. History of the establishment of company EtO exposure guidelines.
• 2. Current EtO workplace exposure monitoring practices, capabilities and methods.
• 3. Current workplace exposure levels: Eight hour and short-term.
• 4. Engineering control, respirator, and ancillary costs for compliance with the 1.0 Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) and projected costs for compliance with a 5.0 ppm or 10.0 ppm Short–term Exposure Limit (STEL).

     

The Oxford Handbook of Work & Organization – Edited by Stephen Ackroyd,Rosemary Batt,Paul Thompson and Pamela S.

Books reviewed: The Oxford Handbook of Work & Organization edited by Stephen Ackroyd, Rosemary Batt, Paul Thompson and Pamela S. Tolbert. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005, xiii + 655 pp., ISBN 0 19 926992 0, £75.00.     

Work and Life Integration: Organizational,Cultural, and Individual Perspectives – Edited by Ellen Ernst Kossek and Susan J. Lambert Work‐Life Balance in the 21st Century – Edited by Diane M. Houston

Books reviewed: Work and Life Integration: Organizational, Cultural, and Individual Perspectives edited by Ellen Ernst Kossek and Susan J. Lambert. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ and London, 2005, xxviii + 570 pp., ISBN 0 8058 4616 6, $42.50, paper. Work‐Life Balance in the 21st Century edited by Diane M. Houston. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, UK, 2005, xv + 271 pp., ISBN 1 4039 2062 1, £50.00.     

Technology Education in Ontario: Evolution, Achievements, Critiques and Challenges. Part 1: The Context

This article, in seven sections, describes the evolution of technological education in the Canadian province of Ontario. The first section clarifies the meanings of the terms technology and technological education. The second outlines significant events in the history of technical education in the province. The third examines some of the societal factors that have created a climate for change during the past two decades, while the fourth describes the broader context of recent curriculum developments. The fifth reports on the introduction in 1995 of The Common Curriculum and the publication of Broad-based Technological Education. The sixth provides a few case studies illustrating the variety of ways in which technology education is currently implemented. The seventh section offers an evaluation and critique of some aspects of provincial curriculum policy and practice. The article is published in two parts. Part 1, in this issue, contains the first five sections, which describe the current curriculum offerings and their evolution. Part 2, containing the remaining two sections and all references, will be published in the next issue. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Firm‐specific human capital,organizational incentives,and agency costs: Evidence from retail banking

This paper explores conflicting implications of firm‐specific human capital (FSHC) for firm performance. Existing theory predicts a productivity effect that can be enhanced with strong incentives. We propose an offsetting agency effect: FSHC may facilitate more‐sophisticated ‘gaming’ of incentives, to the detriment of firm performance. Using a unique dataset from a multiunit retail bank, we document both effects and estimate their net impact. Managers with superior FSHC are more productive in selling loans but are also more likely to manipulate loan terms to increase incentive payouts. We find that resulting profits are two percentage points lower for high‐FSHC managers. Finally, profit losses increase more rapidly for high‐FSHC managers, indicating adverse learning. Our results suggest that FSHC can create agency costs that outweigh its productive benefits. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Law of the Labour Market — Industrialization,Employment, and Legal Evolution – Simon Deakin and Frank Wilkinson

Books reviewed: The Law of the Labour Market — Industrialization, Employment, and Legal Evolution by Simon Deakin and Frank Wilkinson. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005, xxv + 380 pp., ISBN 0 19 8152817, £60.00.