Inward Investment and Technical Progress in the United Kingdom Manufacturing Sector

This paper investigates the impact of direct investment by foreign‐owned companies on technical progress and hence labour productivity in the UK manufacturing sector. Using an industry‐level panel data set we find that foreign‐owned firms have a significant positive effect on the level of technical efficiency in domestic firms. There is evidence of significant intra‐industry and inter‐industry spillovers from inward investment. These findings remain robust even when other factors such as imports and domestic R&D expenditures are allowed for. Inward investment appears to be a much more important source of technical progress than foreign trade.     

Sexuality and holiday choices: conversations with gay and lesbian tourists

This paper is an exploratory investigation of the travel motivations of gay and lesbian tourists. Based on in-depth interviews and focus groups, it investigates the interrelationships between sexuality, tourism behaviour and tourism spaces. Given that public space is controlled and heterosexualized, the paper suggests that whilst gay and lesbian people are motivated to travel for a range of reasons, such is the power of the dominant heterosexual milieu that their sexuality has a critical impact on their tourism choices. The need for safety, to feel comfortable with like-minded people, and to escape from heterosexism – often to specifically gay spaces – emerge as key influences on their choice of holiday.     

Determinants of inward investment in the UK,a panel analysis

This paper develops an inter-industry model of inward investment, using a fixed effects approach. This demonstrates that when inward investment is investigated in such a framework, previous findings, relating to the specification of measures of location advantage and ownership advantages no longer hold. This also shows that there are some industries that have attracted significant inward investment over time, and continue to do so, while others are noticeably less successful. Reasons for this, and potential policy measures are briefly discussed.     

Customer satisfaction measurement and management: A processual analysis

Customer satisfaction (CS) measurement has been widely advocated as central to the pursuit of market orientation, total quality management, and competitive advantage by allowing management to monitor and improve performance in the terms most significant to customers. However, relatively little analytical attention has been devoted to the processual issues implicit in the adoption of CS measurement systems by organizations. This paper presents executive workshop data and new survey evidence to support the contention that both research and managerial agenda should be extended to recognize the multi‐dimensionality of organizational process, and the implications of that characteristic for the adoption and use of CS measurement systems.     

Using Signals to Initiate Importer-Exporter Relationships: Evidence from Vietnamese Importers

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Realizing the existence of information asymmetry in export markets and the use of signals to distinguish high-qualified sellers from low-qualified sellers, this study investigates the effects of signal consistency and signal clarity on exporter credibility, and subsequently, importer relationship intention.

Methodology: Using a survey data set collected from a systematic sample of 418 Vietnamese importers, the authors tested a model hypothesizing the impact of signal consistency and signal clarity on exporter credibility, and subsequently, on importer relationship intention.

Findings: The authors found that signal consistency and clarity have a positive impact on exporter credibility. Signal consistency also enhances the level of signal clarity. They also found that exporter credibility underlies importer relationship intension.

Research Implications: Under the condition of information asymmetry, importers face difficulties in identifying and evaluating the best supplier among available suppliers in order to make the most appropriate selection decision. The findings confirm that signal clarity and consistency can help exporters to overcome such problems. Exporters should ensure that all signals sent to importers are clear and consistent over time to encourage importers to build long-term business relationships with them.

Contributions: The findings of this study add to the literature on signaling in exporter–importer relationships and can serve as an initiation for further research in the area in transitioning economies.     

The scope, motivation and dynamic of Guest Engineering

The exchange of technical personnel between organizational actors in a supply network has become known as Guest Engineering (GE). Despite increasing popularity as an inter‐organisational arrangement (especially in the automotive sector) it has generated relatively little academic research and therefore this paper seeks to extend our understanding of GE by exploring how its scope is determined, what motivates the participants and how the relationships evolve. The paper draws on extant GE, supply networks and Resource‐Based View (RBV) literature to derive research propositions that are used to analyse empirical work carried out with four automotive suppliers and four automotive OEMs. A number of preliminary conclusions are drawn. At a micro‐project level, the criticality of the individual 'playing the GE role' is highlighted, as are related concerns that collaborative team structures often fail to address broader social/cultural characteristics. At a macro‐project level, the study argues that difficulties and mistrust will often characterise integrated and competitively successful GE relationships. Finally, at a strategic level, GE needs to be understood as a process of resource transfer and transformation, and therefore the management of interdependency and power asymmetry are core considerations in effective adoption. The paper concludes with recommendations for further critical and practical work.     

Management of the change process in hotel companies: An investigation at unit level

The management of change has become an organisational necessity in the 1990s and will continue to be a major factor in the management of hotel companies in the future. This article investigates and evaluates management of the change process at unit level in hotel firms. The data was gathered through in-depth semi-structured interviews with ten hotel managers in the UK. Lewin's three-stage model was found to be of limited use in practice. A five-stage model of the change process emerges from the research findings. This model reflects a more practical view of the management of change as an on-going, continuous process. Finally, the limitations of the research are discussed and further research areas identified.