Developing breakthrough products: challenges and options for market assessment

Competitive pressures and market forces are augmenting the importance of product innovation as a source of competitive advantage. Key drivers underpinning market success have the capacity to develop the “right” products for the “right” customers, using the “right” channels, with a shorter development cycle than competitors. But when breakthrough products (BTPs) are involved, how do we sort out what is “right”? How do we identify customers' future requirements when the technology platforms are still unfolding, products are still in development and customers lack experience with the product? Traditional product development market research techniques are problematic since they assume the customer has historical experience with products similar to those being created. The objective of this paper is to raise the awareness of the OM community with the strengths and weaknesses of existing methodologies for developing and introducing innovative products to market. Further, it suggests promising future directions for both practice and research when BTPs are involved. This is important because of the central role OM plays in managing the success of the BTP development process.     

Agricultural decline and sustainable development on mountain areas in Greece: Sustainability assessment of future scenarios

Agricultural decline may pose an important threat to mountain biodiversity but it also constitutes a driving force of socio-economic transformation. The aim of this study is to investigate the implications of alternative agricultural policy scenarios on the sustainable development of Greek mountain areas using a case study approach (Zagori region, Greece). Two agricultural policy scenarios were explored and assessed against a list of sustainability objectives. Causal relationships among drivers of changes and sustainability objectives were explored using Network Analysis. Our analysis has shown that agricultural liberalisation is expected to have devastating effects on the development of the area and it was strongly opposed as an alternative future by the local stakeholders. The analysis of the driver's causal relationship has also revealed that in order to ensure the sustainable development of the area it is necessary to sustain low input extensive farming, to promote mild tourism development and to enhance the operational efficiency of the National Park. Moreover, in order to reconcile agricultural decline, biodiversity and sustainable development, policy-management recommendations must be drawn at multiple administrative levels and complementary policy interventions within and between levels are required. It is thus, important that EU agricultural policies are complemented by national-regional interventions in order to regulate the fragile balance between agriculture and tourism. Finally, this study has shown that the combination of scenario analysis and sustainability assessment can provide an efficient tool to inform management strategies for sustainable development.     

Economic restructuring and state intervention in Holdenist suburbia: understanding urban poverty in Australia

From the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s a particular conjuncture of capital-state relations formed in Australia, leading to the development of a distinctive urban form —‘Holdenist suburbia’: built by government; of a large scale and uniform appearance; constructed of poor quality, cheap materials; home to relatively high percentages of public renters; comprised of predominantly working-class families; adjacent to manufacturing employment; and stigmatized. An examination of one such Holdenist suburban estate in 1966 and 1991 illustrates how certain aspects of economic restructuring and state intervention have forged such spaces as sites of urban poverty. With the broad aim of connecting Australian urban studies to ongoing international debates about the nature of contemporary urban poverty, it is noted that distinctive characteristics of Australian urban and welfare state development render the application of concepts derived from different cultural settings problematic. This paper makes two points. First, a ‘finer-combed’ interpretation of Australian postwar suburban development is required to delineate the role of the state in shaping a particular urban form during this period — the Holdenist suburban form. Second, this delineation is particularly important to understanding contemporary urban poverty in Australia, for the social provisions of state policy have, in contradictory fashion, both prevented the full development of outcast ghettos (Marcuse, 1996) and, in conjunction with the processes of economic restructuring, forged sites of urban poverty.     

Focus on Economic Sociology A Principal-Agent Analysis of the Family: Implications for the Welfare State

This paper suggests that a principal-agent perspective may be one of several useful ways of analyzing the family. The principal-agent literature has so far ignored an important set of cases where the principal is incapable of defining and defending her own interests, and so is assigned an agent by law or custom. This paper applies principal-agent analysis to one such case, the family, where the child is taken as the principal and the parent is her agent. The principal-agent problem within families creates a prima facie case for certain state interventions to protect the interests of child-principals. The principal-agent perspective on the family sheds new light on two old debates: about provision of state welfare services in cash or in kind, and about user fees for social services.     

Opening doors as well as banging on tables: an assessment of UNISON/employer partnerships on learning in the UK public sector

The academic debate on partnerships has so far mainly focused on whether there are mutual gains for both unions and employers and whether they support or undermine branch organisation. This debate is here assessed in relation to learning partnerships, which are considered to be a distinctive form of partnership and represent a process of institution‐building.     

Female Entrepreneurs,Work–Family Conflict,and Venture Performance: New Insights into the Work–Family Interface*

Existing theory is extended to predict the effectiveness of strategies for structurally reducing work–family conflict by manipulating roles, given the salience of work and family roles and resources available to the female entrepreneur. A conceptual framework based on the constructs of role involvement and role conflict is used to examine whether high‐growth female entrepreneurs choose more appropriate strategies for reducing work–family conflict than their less successful counterparts. Three basic strategies for manipulating roles are discussed: (1) role elimination; (2) role reduction; and (3) role‐sharing. The following propositions are advanced: (1) work–family management strategies are a significant determinant of venture growth; (2) women who develop high‐growth businesses more effectively reduce work–family conflict by choosing strategies better matched with their internal needs and access to external resources than less successful women; and (3) role‐sharing strategies are preferred because they allow women to enjoy the enhancement of both work and family roles while reducing the level of inter‐role conflict. As a result, the high prevalence of team‐building and participative management practices observed in women‐owned businesses may be driven by the need for female entrepreneurs to manage work–family conflicts as well as genetics or socialization.     

THE DYNAMICS OF UK NATIONAL AND REGIONAL HOUSE PRICES

In this paper, the Johansen cointegration technique is applied to modeling the dynamics of national and regional house prices. It is concluded that household income, real mortgage rate and housing completions are significant factors influencing house price changes at the national level. The underlying structure of the national market is investigated, showing that while price trends in some regions of the UK are strongly related by causal processes, others are relatively independent     

Zimbabwe’s Agricultural Recovery Programme in the 1990s: an evaluation using household survey data

During the 1990s, the Government of Zimbabwe implemented an Agricultural Recovery Programme to help smallholder farmers recover from repeated severe droughts. The programme aimed to provide drought-affected smallholders with crop packs (free seeds and fertiliser) and mechanised tillage services. This article evaluates the coverage, poverty-sensitivity and impact of the programme using a more in-depth analysis of household survey data than has been done to date. The programme’s tillage component was unsuccessful, repeatedly reaching less than 5% of its target group; the crop pack component, however, reached four-fifths or more of its target group. Most of the poorer households received crop packs, but richer households were slightly more likely to get them. Those who did receive crop packs planted larger areas under staple crops, regardless of their poverty status. These findings are generally robust for a range of poverty proxies. Unfortunately, there is no clear evidence on the impact, if any, of crop packs on grain yields. Crop packs—properly attuned to local agro-ecological conditions—may serve a useful role in post-drought recovery. Steps must be taken, however, to ensure that all the poor receive crop packs. Attempts by government to provide mechanised tillage to hundreds of thousands of smallholder households are not recommended.