Reviews

Regenerating town centres. Evans, R. 1997: REGENERATING TOWN CENTRES. Manchester: Manchester University Press, £30.00 cased.

Privatised utilities. Marvin, S., Graham, S. and Guy, S. 1996: PRIVATISED UTILITIES AND REGIONAL MANAGEMENT. Harlow: SEEDS (South East Economic Development Strategy), £25.00 plus £3.50 postage and packing.

Women returners. Chisholm, L. (ed) 1997: GETTING IN, CLIMBING UP AND BREAKING THROUGH. London: The Policy Press, £15.25 paper.

Regionalism. John, P. and Whitehead, A. (eds) 1997: POLICY AND POLITICS VOL 25 NO. 1 SPECIAL ISSUE. REGIONALISM IN ENGLAND: CURRENT TRENDS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS. Policy Press.

Socially regulated labour markets. Peck, J. 1996: WORK-PLACE. THE SOCIAL REGULATION OF LABOUR MARKETS. New York and London: The Guilford Press, £16.99 paper £35.00 cased.

Private delivery — public goods. Arnold-Forster, J., Lee, M. and McLeod, J. 1997: HAND IN GLOVE: PRIVATE SECTOR DELIVERING PUBLIC GOODS. London: Fabian Society, supported by Generale des Eaux, £15.00 paper.

Bio-tech. Milhell, D., Kingham, D. and Stott, M. 1997: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BIOTECHNOLOGY SECTOR IN OXFORDSHIRE: IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC POLICY. Oxford: Oxford Innovation Limited, £5.00 paper.     

Employment in the EC,EFTA, and the EEA: A regional analysis

This study examines free trade zones from a regional perspective. These trade agreements are an attempt to create a large functional and administrative region that can improve the competitive position of member countries. With this in mind, techniques commonly used in regional economics can be employed to study the competitive effects of free trade zones. This paper develops the application of shift-share analysis to free trade zones. More specifically, the paper conducts a shift-share analysis of Europe over two time periods to asses the competitive advantages from belonging to the European Common Market.     

Volume and skewness in international equity markets

We examine the relation between trading volume and skewness in 11 international stock markets using daily and monthly data from January 1980 to August 2004. We construct single equation and VAR models of the relation between the first three moments of market returns and trading volumes. Our results show hitherto unrecognised channels of influence, and support the investor heterogeneity approach to explaining return asymmetries.     

Managerial discretion and internal alignment under regulatory constraints and change

This paper investigates the effects of regulatory constraints and their relaxation on managerial discretion and internal fit in the context of the U.S. airline industry. Our results suggest that when managers' discretion is limited in one realm of choice, they compensate by using their greater level of discretion in some other arena to achieve internal fit. We show that the pursuit of fit matters, in the sense of having measurable efficiency consequences, and that fit trumps ‘best practice,’ at least in this context. In this respect, our findings provide a validation of the contingency perspective on internal fit. The ability to achieve fit under changing conditions may express a dynamic managerial capability necessary for adaptive organizational change. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Capturing the Minds of a Lost and Lonely Generation

UNICEF states that in 88 countries studied ‘more than 13 million children currently under the age of 15 have lost both parents to Aids, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa’ (UNICEF 2002). The impact of this Aids pandemic cannot be overstated. Indeed the long-term impact of such statistics is scarcely imaginable and has not been experienced in the world to date. Sustainable, indigenous technology may be a way of providing a meaningful educational experience for such marginalised young people. However the concept of sustainable, indigenous technology is not always clearly defined. This paper seeks to discuss this concept in relation to education and in particular considers the impact of the HIV/AIDs pandemic in Tanzania. The paper will outline:

Driving-market or market-driven? A case study analysis of the new product development practices of Chinese business-to-business firms

Our current understanding of NPD processes among Chinese firms is limited. Early evidence suggests that the drivers of new product success in the PRC might be different to those in the West. Much of the more recent (Western) literature implicitly identifies the importance of both driving-market and market-driven approaches to NPD success, although what this translates into in practice is less clear. Drawing on multiple case studies, we identify four types of NPD practice in Chinese B2B firms and explore the reasons for variation in performance between the four. Critically, the most successful firms were found to be those characterised by a driving-market approach, rather than those relying solely on relationships and reacting to changing market phenomena.     

Judgements about Computer Ethics: Do Individual, Co-worker, and Company Judgements Differ? Do Company Codes Make a Difference

When faced with an ambiguous ethical situation related to computer technology (CT), the individual's course of action is influenced by personal experiences and opinions, consideration of what co-workers would do in the same situation, and an expectation of what the organization might sanction. In this article, the judgement of over three-hundred Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP) members concerning the actions taken in a series of CT ethical scenarios are examined. Respondents expressed their personal judgement, as well as their perception of their co-workers' judgement, and their understanding of the organization's judgement of the actions described in the scenarios. The findings show that there are differences in respondents' judgements for self, co-workers, and organization. Definitive patterns were also found between groups with and without organizational codes related to CT.     

Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility to Internal Stakeholders: Walking the Walk or Just Talking the Talk?

As organizations recognize the need to engage in CSR and sustainability initiatives, it is integral to success to communicate that they are doing so. However, the research focus is more often on communicating with external stakeholders to draw attention to corporate responsibility initiatives. Internal stakeholders as employees are not researched as often, despite their integral role in communicating the organization's CSR vision and sustainability as they interact with external stakeholders. In order to explore employee perceptions of CSR communication, a two‐phase mixed‐method study was undertaken, including semi‐structured interviews with 20 CSR managers in NZ organizations to provide content to inform an online questionnaire survey to seek feedback from employees in these same organizations. This paper contributes to research on internal stakeholders in revealing the influence of the perceived value congruence between managers and employees in influencing internal stakeholder perceptions of CSR and sustainability initiatives. The findings have implications for public policy, enhancing organizational communication, the need for authenticity and managerial recognition of their role in facilitating employee commitment to CSR initiatives. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment