The Limits of Organizational Change

The paper builds on the Marxist concept of exploitation to explore the meaning of the Post Keynesian notion of uncertainty. Uncertainty is mediated by institutions and is distributed unevenly among different social groups. As different historical social formations entail different institutional structures, the distribution and nature of uncertainty will also differ. The social configurations between class relations and uncertainty are analyzed for the capitalist, feudal and slave modes of production. It is demonstrated that modes of production do not only imply specific exploitative relations but also different relative distributions of uncertainty amongst classes. The joining of Marxian and Post Keynesian approaches allows for a richer understanding of exploitive relations and illuminates the full societal impact of uncertainty. It is shown that only in capitalism is the exploited class exposed to a substantial degree of economic uncertainty.     

From innovation to market entry: a strategic management model for new technologies

In this paper, we introduce a new framework that generates a list of strategic actions to support successful management of the innovation process as new technologies are taken to market. The framework links different stakeholders inside and outside the organisation to obtain an holistic view of the requirements necessary to develop the new technology. It integrates and synthesises existing frameworks into an inclusive set of guidelines. The framework is then tested in a case study located in a mid-size semiconductor organisation currently seeking new business opportunities in the emerging photovoltaic market. We conclude by reflecting on the usefulness of the model. Theoretically, the paper contributes to the literature on the management of the introduction of new technologies; practically, the framework provides a normative tool for practising managers.     

Old technology meets new technology: complementarities,similarities, and alliance formation

Alliance formation is commonplace in many high‐technology industries experiencing radical technological change, where established firms use alliances with new entrants to adapt to technological change, while new entrants benefit from the ability of established players to commercialize the new technology. Despite the prevalence of these alliances, we know little about how these firms choose to ally with specific firms given the range of possible partners they may choose from. This study explores factors that lead to alliance formation between pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. We focus on the alliance tie as the unit of analysis and argue that dyadic complementarities and similarities directly influence alliance formation. We then introduce a contingency model in which the positive effect of complementarities and similarities on alliance formation is moderated by the age of the new technology firm. We draw theoretical attention to the intersection between levels of analysis, in particular, the intersection between dyadic and firm‐level constructs. We find that a pharmaceutical and a biotechnology firm are more likely to enter an alliance based on complementarities when the biotechnology firm is younger. Another noteworthy finding is that proxies for broad capabilities appear to be at least as effective, if not more so, in predicting alliance formation compared to fine‐grained science and technology‐related indicators, like patent cross‐citations or patent common citations. We conclude by suggesting that future studies on alliance formation need to take into account interactions across levels; for example, how dyadic capabilities interact with firm‐level factors, and the advantages and disadvantages of more or less fine‐grained measures of organizational capabilities. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

In‐house asset management in the Australian superannuation industry

We examine how executives from the Australian superannuation industry perceive and approach the choice between managing assets in‐house, versus outsourcing to external investment managers. We find that decision frameworks, as well as the perceived benefits and challenges of in‐house management, can be described in terms of four elements: costs, capabilities, alignment and governance. Industry participants address these four elements in diverse ways. This is reflected in a variety of decision approaches, aspects that are considered and emphasised in decision‐making, and implementation structures.     

GOVERNMENT BOND YIELDS AT THE EFFECTIVE LOWER BOUND: INTERNATIONAL EVIDENCE

Empirical evidence on the potential impact of central bank policies on government bond yields at the effective lower bound (ELB) is presented for nine economies. We quantify the content of central bank communications and consider international policy spillovers. Yields at the medium‐to‐longer end of the yield curve remain responsive to news for a few years after the ELB is reached. Yields become more sensitive to the content central bank communication at the ELB. Our results provide further evidence that central bank communication is an important element of monetary policy making when the interest rate tool loses efficacy. (JEL E52, E58, G12, F42)     

Changes in the productive efficiency of U.S. flour mills in the late nineteenth century: an input-distance-function approach

Journal of Productivity Analysis - The productive efficiency of the U.S. flour milling industry increased substantially between 1850 and 1880. Specifically, a typical flour mill in 1880 was able to...     

MRO parts service in the machine tool industry

This article examines the post purchase Parts servicing of Machine Tools. Survey results outline the policies and criteria that influence the degree to which replacement parts will be provided for old machines. The survey indicates that the policies of some American manufacturers leave service gaps that can be exploited by foreign as well as domestic competitors.