Reviews

Regions. ERA 1998: 21st CENTURY REGIONS. London: Economic & regional analysis, 23. Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6LB, £30 + £1 p&p paper.

Environmental management standards. Krut, R. and Gleckman, H. 1998: ISO 14001: A MISSED OPPORTUNITY FOR SUSTAINABLE GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT. London: Earthscan Publications Ltd, £14.95 paper.

Environmental jobs. Hale, M. and Lachowicz, M. 1998: THE ENVIRONMENT, EMPLOYMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. London: Routledge, £17.99 paper.

Sustainability and regeneration. Carley, M. and Kirk, K. 1998: SUSTAINABLE BY 2020? A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO URBAN REGENERATION FOR BRITAIN'S CITIES. Bristol: The Policy Press, £11.95 paper.

Gambling. Frey, J.H. (ed) 1998: GAMBLING: SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS AND PUBLIC POLICY. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. London: Sage Publications, £14.99 paper.

Informal employment. Williams, C. C. and Windebank, J. 1998: INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT IN THE ADVANCED ECONOMIES: IMPLICATIONS FOR WORK AND WELFARE. London: Routledge, £15.99 paper.

TECS. Jones, M. 1999: NEW INSTITUTIONAL SPACES: TECS AND THE REMAKING OF ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE. London: Regional Studies Association, £27.50 paper.

The New Regional Agenda. Dungey, J. and Newman, I. 1999: THE NEW REGIONAL AGENDA. London: Local Government Information Unit, £15.00 paper.

Mutual aid and self-help. Burne, Danny and Taylor, Marilyn, 1998: MUTUAL AID AND SELF-HELP: COPING STRATEGIES FOR EXCLUDED COMMUNITIES. Bristol: The Policy Press, £10.95.     

Environmental priorities in strategic product development

This paper reports some results from a major research project on the integration of environmental issues into design in the electrical and electronic industry. Product development practice and ecodesign methods were examined along with qualitative data from 19 manufacturers, using interviews and an action research methodology. A four‐stage framework for ecodesign practice resulted: first, to make an environmental assessment from a life cycle viewpoint; then to communicate the analysis and collect feedback; thirdly to prioritize the environmental issues and finally to complete the design using relevant tools and methods. This ‘ARPI’ framework (analyse, report, prioritize, improve) applies to both strategic and operational levels. Initial testing of the framework in collaborating companies highlighted difficulties with communication with design teams; the role of ‘ecodesign champions’ is explained. Other challenges are the development of customized tools and the training of designers. The study concludes that the prioritization step is critical, as it simplifies and clarifies the tasks in design that take place after formulation of the specification. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment     

Organizational response to environmental regulation: punctuated change or autogenesis?

Theory predicts that when faced with threatening new conditions, managers often attempt to preserve the status quo by creating a buffer between the organization and the outside world. This paper presents evidence that in response to new water pollution regulation, managers indeed created buffers of technology and personnel, but in some organizations this very equipment and personnel initiated a process of incremental change that led to better environmental protection, more efficient production, and in a few cases, entirely new product and production strategies. For public policy, this research suggests that environmental regulators should allow companies time and flexibility to learn and experiment. For organizational theory, this research suggests a link between punctuated‐equilibrium models of organizational dynamics ( Tushman and Romanelli, 1985 ) and theories of self‐organizing systems ( Drazin and Sandelands, 1992 ). That is, management may respond to external changes by attempting to preserve the status quo, but in so doing influence internal deep structures that then cause organizations to gradually evolve to different behaviours and shapes. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment     

A Model of Spatial Arbitrage with Transport Capacity Constraints and Endogenous Transport Prices

This article solves a high-frequency model of price arbitrage incorporating storage and trade when the amount of trade is limited by transport capacity constraints. In equilibrium there is considerable variation in transport prices because transport prices rise when the demand to ship goods exceeds the capacity limit. This variation is necessary to attract shipping capacity into the industry. In turn, prices in different locations differ by a time varying amount. Thus while the law of one price holds, it holds because of endogenous variation in transport prices.     

Would African Countries Benefit from the Termination of Kenya’s Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU? An Analysis of EU Demand for Imported Roses

This paper assesses the impact of Kenya’s preferential status on EU demand for imported roses by country. Import demand equations were estimated using a production version of the Rotterdam model in an Armington framework. With the expiration of the Lomé Convention, tariffs (up to 24%) on Kenyan roses were likely if an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) was not signed by January 2008. Roses from African countries not subject to tariffs were expected to displace Kenya’s exports in the future. However, results of this study showed that roses from African countries were complements in the EU market and those exports from Zimbabwe and Other African countries would have been negatively impacted if a Kenya–EU EPA was unsuccessful. Given the maximum import duty on Kenyan roses, EU imports from Kenya would decrease by 9.1% and imports from Zimbabwe and Other African countries would decrease by 6% and 4%, respectively.     

Assigned versus assumed: Towards a contemporary,detailed understanding of subsidiary autonomy

This paper critically documents the rise of autonomy in subsidiary management literature, and develops an agenda for future research in this key area. Integrating and updating the seminal works of Paterson and Brock (2002) and Young and Tavares (2004), the paper begins with a critical review of subsidiary autonomy within the streams of subsidiary management literature. This leads to an assessment of the key contemporary issues requiring further investigation. These issues center around two key types of autonomy: assigned and assumed. We argue these types represent a more accurate, in-depth conceptualization of subsidiary autonomy, and also have significant implications for key related topics, including subsidiary development. This is depicted in an integrative model that draws upon agency theory, the network model of the MNE, the decision process perspective and the bundling model in presenting a revised view of subsidiary autonomy, and offers a basis for further research within the field.     

Managing knowledge work in Asia Pacific contexts: case studies of Hong Kong SMEs

This study explores how knowledge creation and sharing practices are fostered in a sample of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Hong Kong. Our analysis indicates that three types of managerial interventions – initiating intervention, reinforcing intervention and aligning intervention – are particularly useful to promote knowledge management activities among employees. Such findings provide insights into researchers and managers on the important role of managerial interventions in knowledge management (KM) as well as the idiosyncrasies of KM in SMEs in Chinese societies.     

Alpha- and beta-characteristic functions in cooperative non-sidepayment games: An experimental test

This article investigates theories of payoff allocation in cooperative non-sidepayment games, that is, games where players can form coalitions and coordinate strategies but cannot redistribute payoffs via sidepayments. A labotatory experiment was conducted with 4-person, 3-strategy non-sidepayment games. The goal of this experiment was to ascertain which characteristic function, V_α(S) or V_β(S), provides the more accurate basis for payoff predictions from solution concepts. Predictions from each of three solution concepts (core, stable set, imputation set) were computed on the basis of both V_α(S) and V_β(S), making a total of six theories under test. The results showed two basic findings. First, for each of the three solutions, the prediction computed on the basis of V_α(S) was more accurate than the prediction computed from V_α(S). Second, the β-core was the most accurate of the six theories tested. Overall, these results support the view that V_β(S) is superior to V_α(S) as a basis for payoff predictions in cooperative non-sidepayment games.