Constructing trident, reinforcing the network

This paper draws upon the traditions of social construction of technology and actol-net work theory, in an attempt to show that just as these approaches have been used to expose the contingent nature of 'technical' change, they can also be adapted to show the contingency of the 'social' aspects of technology, such as redundancy and technological unemployment, which have in recent years assumed an almost unassailable sense of inevitability. This process is begun when technology is viewed as a social network. Then focusing on the production phase in the life cycle of a technical system, it is argued here that the,jettisoning of both people and technical resources from the network may get presented as part of technology's 'natural' trajectoly, but is often part of the (socio-technical) 'heterogenous engineering' necessary for the stabilization of that technology. and consequently need not be seen as inevitable.     

Significant developments and emerging issues in human resource management

A review of over 100 papers concerned with human resource management (HRM) in five leading hospitality journals during 2002 and 2003, finds that the research agenda mirrors what is seen in mainstream HR research and theory, focusing around general HRM, employee resourcing, employee development and employee relations. Given that some mainstream HR academics have ‘highjacked’ topics such as emotional labour, emotional intelligence and HRM in service work as new and innovative, hospitality researchers need to reclaim their territory, push forward the boundaries of theory making and propose theory that is hospitality specific, relevant and useful.     

Diverging Measures of Capacity Utilization: An Explanation

In the wake of the recent recovery in manufacturing production, the capacity utilization rates published by the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) have rebounded much more slowly than those published by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). As a result, some observers have speculated that the manufacturing sector may have considerably less slack than is indicated by the FRB measures. Our view is that the two characterizations of manufacturing slack are not as incongruent as they first appear. This paper discusses the practical and conceptual differences between these measures of capacity utilization, and concludes that the recent divergence simply reflects the character of the latest business cycle. JEL Classification E220     

Control of SO2 emissions from power plants: A case of induced technological innovation in the U.S.

This paper investigates how the details of government actions induce innovation—the overlapping activities of invention, adoption and diffusion, and learning by doing—in “environmental technology,” products and processes that either control pollutant emissions or prevent emissions altogether. It applies multiple quantitative and qualitative measures of innovation to a case subject to several “technology-push” and “demand-pull” instruments: sulfur dioxide control technology for power plants. The study employs analyses of public R&D funding, patents, expert interviews, learning curves, conference proceedings, and experience curves. Results indicate that: regulation and the anticipation of regulation stimulate invention; technology-push instruments appear to be less effective at prompting invention than demand-pull instruments; and regulatory stringency focuses inventive activity along certain technology pathways. Increased diffusion of the technology results in significant and predictable operating cost reductions in existing systems, as well as notable efficiency improvements and capital cost reductions in new systems. Government plays an important role in fostering knowledge transfer via technical conferences, as well as affecting the pattern of collaborative relationships within the technical research community via regulatory changes that affect the market for the technology. Finally, the case provides little evidence for the claim that cap-and-trade instruments induce innovation more effectively than other instruments.     

Conjectures, firm characteristics, and market structure : An empirical assessment

This paper makes use of a unique data set to investigate how firms in the Vancouver, British Columbia retail-gasoline market view their rivals and how consumers in turn view these firms. Own- and rival-price elasticities of demand, conjectural variations, and Lerner indices are estimated for thirteen service stations in a submarket of Vancouver. These variables are then related to firm characteristics such as type of ownership, degree of horizontal and vertical integration, and type of service. In this way, systematic patterns in seller behavior and in buyer attitudes are revealed.     

The role of firm characteristics in pharmaceutical product launches

I examine the determinants of new pharmaceutical launches since 1980 in G7 nations. Both market and firm characteristics, and their interaction, are important in explaining entry. New drugs are 1.5 times more likely to be launched in markets that share a border or a language of a drug company's country of headquarters. The effect of competition depends on the characteristics of both the potential entrant and incumbents: domestic entrants prefer to compete with domestic incumbents. Despite the potential for licensing and low transportation costs, the match between the innovating firm and market conditions remains an important determinant of entry.