Export behaviour of SMEs in transition countries

Melitz’s dynamic model of export participation is the basis of our empirical specification that accounts for a wide range of internal and external factors affecting the export behaviour of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Transition Countries (TCs). Using firm-level data, our estimates highlight the particular importance of the human and technology-related factors to the export behaviour of SMEs in TCs. Other important factors for SME exporting activities are productivity-enhancing spillovers from industry—especially vertical—linkages, firm size, ownership type, type of activity, the availability of external finance, networking through business associations, and market share. In addition, significant period and country differences are identified. This paper contributes to the transition literature by filling an important gap in the understanding of the SME internationalisation process and by identifying a comprehensive set of variables to explain firms’ export behaviour in TCs.     

Distillery marketing and the visitor experience: a case study of Scottish malt whisky distilleries

Since the 1960s, visitor tours of Scottish malt whisky distilleries have been used by whisky companies to promote their products. The original concept of the visitor as passive observer has evolved to include the notion of visitor as VIP guest in three special interest attractions—connoisseur tours, whisky schools and the Classic Malts Cruise. A value‐attainment construct based on a means–end chain progression is used to illustrate the linkage between distillery attributes and the enhancement of higher values in visitors in the three attractions. Service quality is suggested as a key component of the attractions' success. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Labour-managed firms and monopsony power

Monopsony power in the labour market is shown to have important consequences for comparisons between an Illyrian labour-managed firm (LMF) and a profit-maximising capitalist firm (CF) operating in the same markets with the same technology. If the CF earns positive profits then workers earn more in the LMF than in the CF, and the level of employment in the LMF may be higher or lower than in the CF. Monopsony power is also seen to have interesting implications for models of membership contraction in LMFs.     

Food,peace — and the pursuit of arms

‘Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in a final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed from those who are cold and are not clothed.’ So said President Eisenhower 20 years ago. ¹ Today the world spends over $350 000 million a year on military and armaments — money lost to world development     

Corporate Philanthropy in the U.K. 1985–2000 Some Empirical Findings

This paper briefly reviews the theories that seek to explain the phenomenon of corporate charitable donations and then provides a review of the empirical issues that have arisen in previous studies in this area. The findings of an analysis of charitable donations data from the entire U.K. FTSE index for the years 1985–2000 are then reported. These findings include the observation of a time-related increase in charitable donations, which is compared with an earlier study to give a 24 year history of charitable donations in the U.K. The findings note little responsiveness of the monetary value of charitable donations to the economic performance of firms. An international comparison over time against U.S. trends is also reported and shows how U.S. corporations have traditionally been more generous than U.K. firms, but that the trend in the U.S. is downwards. Membership of a U.K.-based "tithing" club (the PerCent Club) is shown to be associated with higher profit performance against non-members. Members' charitable contributions against profit are shown to be higher than the FTSE mean although short of the 0.5% target figure in "cash" terms. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of these findings in relation to the theoretical positions advanced for corporate philanthropy.     

The Impact of Recession on Adult Training: Evidence from the United Kingdom in 2008–2009

Analysis of longitudinal data from Employers Skills Updating Surveys in the United Kingdom suggests that in many establishments training plans were blown off course by the 2008–2009 recession, with reduced coverage of adult training and especially of off‐the‐job training. The effects of such cutbacks on skill levels have been partially alleviated by more precise targeting of on‐the‐job training on meeting skills improvement needs. However, in a sizeable proportion of establishments, future productivity and competitiveness are likely to be impaired by failure to upgrade adult workers' skills to standards which employers themselves perceived as necessary prior to the recession.