Estimation and policy implications of rental housing demand

The demand for rental housing using the Annual Housing Survey SMSA sample for 1977 is estimated. The principal determinants of rental housing demand, namely housing price and permanent/transitory income, are computed through spatially varying hedonic price techniques and instrumental variables methods (relating to human and nonhuman capital), respectively. Based on the demand estimation results, impacts of hypothetical cash and rent subsidy programs are analyzed in terms of “housing” and “welfare” effects. It is found that a rent subsidy achieves considerably larger effects than does a cash subsidy.     

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT

Adrian Wilkinson and his colleagues discuss the growing importance of quality management in the UK, outline the basic principles of TQM, and examine its implications for employee involvement. They suggest that there are contradictions between the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ sides of TQM. This can be exemplified in the relationship between TQM and employee involvement which has not been fully explored. Drawing on a major programme of research on employee involvement, three cases are analysed. They argue that the links between TQM and employee involvement are more complex than the TQM literature would have us believe and there are tensions between employee involvement and TQM. Finally, there is a wider discussion of the subject which analyses a number of constraints on the implementation of TQM in the UK. Adrian Wilkinson, Mick Marchington and John Goodman are respectively Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Professor in the School of Management at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. Peter Ackers is a Lecturer at Loughborough University Business School.     

A Meta-Analysis of the Relationship Between Procedural Justice and Distributive Justice: Implications for Justice Research

Although there are many studies that utilize the constructs of procedural and distributive justice, this research tends to ignore the implications of the bivariate relationship between the two constructs. The stronger the relationship between the two constructs, the more problematic ignoring this relationship becomes. Therefore, a meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the relationship between procedural and distributive justice. We also conducted an initial assessment of extent to which the relationship between procedural and distributive justice was context sensitive. Finally, a series of methodological moderators was evaluated. Results indicated that the relationship between procedural and distributive justice is strong (= .64) across all studies. However, this relationship was moderated by research context, and even within research context, there was substantial evidence of variability. The results of the meta-analysis were discussed in terms of implications for theory, research methods, and construct measurement in justice research.     

CORPORATE TAKEOVER BARRIERS: VALUATION AND FIRM PERFORMANCE

This study provides additional evidence on the share price effect of takeover barriers such as antitakeover charter amendments, dual classes of common stock, and poison pill plans. The share price reaction to the construction of takeover barriers is found to be negative but insignificant. However, when disaggregated by type, significant negative share price reactions are found on construction of poison pill plans. New evidence on the possible relationship between firm performance and takeover barrier construction is also presented. The results of this study suggest that management of 'efficiently-run' firms may construct takeover barriers to deter value-diminishing takeovers.     

Estimating a public school expenditure model under binding spending limitations

A model explaining desired expenditure on education is estimated for a sample of New Jersey school districts. Because the limit on annual increases in school spending is binding for a subsample of jurisdictions, the Tobit estimation procedure is used. We test for equality of the pre- and postlimitation structures and find substantial similarity. The cap on expenditure increases was part of a court-ordered reform of New Jersey school finance law. The results can be used to explain the failure of the existing school finance laws in lessening expenditure disparities at the lower end of the distribution.     

Lessons learned from the PMI case study: the community perspective

This summary report presents the lessons learned during the two-part qualitative case study on the efficacy of the Prevention Marketing Initiative (PMI) in its implementation of an HIV prevention program. About 179 community participants were included in the PMI program, which discussed topics ranging from organizing initial planning committees to financially sustaining federal demonstration programs. One of the successes observed was the development of rapport with schools and churches; however, during the course of its implementation, the program realized the necessity of 1) approaching the program as an ongoing process; 2) going beyond studying the target population through formative research; 3) changing the role of a community coalition as the project matures; 4) reexamining the composition of coalition in the light of the target audience; 5) advocating the project as a community resource that promotes collaboration; 6) attending the needs of coalition members; and 7) using the media in the campaign. Likewise, several lessons were also learned in the areas of youth involvement, intervention development, program implementation, and maintenance of PMI activities.     

Moving towards an Improved Microsimulation Model of the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme

Finding ways of curbing government expenditure on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) while maintaining social equity and access to ‘essential’ medicines is at the centre of ongoing public debate. This article describes a microsimulation model of the PBS that simulates current and future use and costs of PBS medicines under existing and different PBS policy settings, and estimates the distributional effects of policy changes. The article outlines future developments that will extend the current model to include health outcomes. Adding health outcomes will enable the debate on PBS sustainability to be advanced beyond the prevailing cost‐containment mentality to consider not only the costs of pharmaceutical use but also the benefits that result from the use of these medicines.     

Network position and identity: A language-based perspective on strategizing

This article explores processes of strategizing within business networks by showing how managers employ sensemaking to cope with network paradoxes. It takes the linguistic turn to analyze how participants discursively construct their organizations' identities and positions within a ‘designed’ network context. In doing so, the paper attempts to answer the research question posed so provocatively over a decade ago by Håkansson and Ford (2002): by exploring how companies interact in business networks. Our contribution is to show how firms interact by taking a language-based perspective on strategy to help understand the links between network, organizational and micro-levels of social construction. An in-depth discussion of a case study is presented, with particular emphasis on the identity-constructing processes affecting (and affected by) the positioning and strategizing of various network actors. We conclude by reflecting on the theoretical and practical contributions of our analysis, the latter focusing on tensions in Indigenous business development.     

Innovation network trajectories and changes in resource bundles

This paper reports on an investigation into how changes in network resource bundles influence the success of innovation networks and how they change trajectories over time. Innovation networks are complex adaptive systems, and this paper uses a fuzzy set theory simulation methodological approach to capture complexity. The findings indicate that the interdependencies between knowledge variables and financial resources are the greatest contributor to high performing innovation networks, whereas the loss of social capital and its interdependency with the environment are the largest contributors to declines in innovation network performance. The paper suggests a more nuanced role for social capital within innovation networks and, importantly, highlights the sequencing of knowledge contributions, which take low performing innovation networks to high performing innovation networks.