STATE-LEVEL BASIC WAGES IN AUSTRALIA DURING THE DEPRESSION, 1929–35: INSTITUTIONS AND POLITICS OVER MARKETS

State wage-fixation tribunals developed quite particular patterns of basic wage fixation during the Depression. They declined to follow the Commonwealth Court's 10 per cent wage cut, thereby confining its effect to about half the workforce and creating distinctly different State and Commonwealth basic wage patterns in each capital city. Further, tribunals' uneven patterns of basic wage adjustment to deflation meant that in some states, the real State basic wage increased. Patterns of state institutional behaviour and state politics therefore help explain the stickiness of real average wage levels during the Depression.     

The Efficiency of Public Employment Services: A Nonparametric Matching Function Analysis for Switzerland

This study develops a methodology for assessing the efficiency of job placement services based on the matching function. Unlike most previous estimates of the matching function, based on aggregate time-series regressions and parametric functional forms, this study employs micro cross-sectional data and uses nonparametric frontier estimation techniques (DEA). The methodology is applied to 126 regional placement offices operating in Switzerland in the period 1997–98. In contrast to time-series regressions, our results point to sizable increasing returns-to-scale. Our findings also suggest that counseling is more effective than other active labor market measures or disciplining actions in increasing matching efficiency.     

From Experience Dreams to Market: Crafting a Culture of Innovation

Do certain common principles guide uncommonly innovative companies down the risk-riddled road to value creation? Or do successful innovators break boldly through the barriers to new product development along pathways of their own unique making? Karen Anne Zien and Sheldon Buckler discern a strikingly consistent model of how companies craft and sustain cultures in which innovation is nurtured, rewarded, even demanded. An article by the authors in the September 1996 issue of JPIM recounts seminal tales from the cultures of innovation consciously nourished by 12 leading-edge corporations in the United States, Europe, and Japan. Gathered through an extensive series of interviews with key personnel in the management, technical, manufacturing, and marketing divisions of each firm, the stories revealed seven traits widely shared from one company to the next, irrespective of business focus, geography, or nationality. These traits, as discussed in this article, not only serve to reconcile the culturally contradictory demands of the three critical stages of innovation—the “fuzzy front end,” the product development process, and marketplace operations—but also condition the company as a whole to sustain its innovative capacity over time. The principles at work in highly innovative companies encompass corporate as well as individual attitudes and behaviors. On the one hand, company leaders demonstrate in every decision, action, and communication that innovation propels profitability. So, for the CD project at Sony, the R&D general manager heeded “a voice from above that does not question the possibilities and absolutely believes” in the potential of the enterprise. On the other hand, actively helping individuals create a linkage between their “work life” and longer term “life work” is a crucial step in generating an environment where innovation and high productivity flourish together. Thus, a divisional chief executive at ICI/Imperial Chemicals Industries recognizes the need to “create an environment where people will work at what they are best at doing and what they like doing best.” Although the trail to successful innovation inevitably follows the unique contours of any company's environment, some universal guideposts point the way.     

Responsible tourism

Tourism-related tragedies will likely increase as will the rapidity, detail and reach with which they are communicated to the public. There is a need for a conceptual model for evaluating the time course of travellers' post tragedy perceived risk and travel avoidance. The present communication proposes such a model.     

The impact of technology on the hotel industry

This article discusses applications of technology to the hospitality environment. Front office information processing systems such as reservations, guest accounting and room management systems are discussed, as well as their impact on the efficiency of operations. Effects of developments in telecommunications and, more recently, teleconferencing on the lodging (hotel) industry are discussed. Technology benefits, such as energy management and the safety and security of guests and their property, are discussed. This article also clarifies the issues that must be considered in the application of new technology and examines future trends.     

THE INTERNATIONAL LICENSING OF BRANDED FOOD PRODUCTS: A GAME-THEORETIC ANALYSIS

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the strategic motivation for food manufacturing firms to license their branded products to overseas firms. Using non-cooperative game theory, product licensing is modelled in the context of a simple market-entry game where licensing enters explicitly as a strategy that can be utilised by both a potential licensor and licensee. On the basis of this framework, possible licensing outcomes are derived that describe different motivations for food product licensing.     

Resident attitudes to tourism in North Wales

This article investigates residents' attitudes to tourism in North Wales, using factor analysis. The most important concerns are found to be a negative social impact, economic input, stereo-typing of visitors, purchasing of second homes by foreigners, cultural exchange, and the ecological impact of tourism. Lifelong residents and Welsh language speakers tend to be more sensitive to the impact of tourism on their culture and residents in high density tourist areas tend to appreciate the benefits and importance of tourism more than those who have less contact with tourists.