BPR as 'IT-enabled organizational change': an assessment

This article examines the emergence of BPR from the literature on the strategic use of IT. Two case studies of BPR are then presented. Analysis of this material suggests that there is a tension between strategic re-orientation and cost-saving in many BPR projects which is difficult to resolve. This tension is explored further using a historical analysis of 'frameworks' of computing.     

Strategic Interaction amongst Australia's East Coast Ports

Australia's principal container ports, located in its state capitals, are owned and operated by state authorities that largely return profits from port operations to state governments. Since they govern the volumes of trade in most merchandise, they command immense influence over the openness and flexibility of the national economy. In this study, we estimate the elasticities of substitution between container services of ports in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. We also examine the pricing of port services to estimate the extent of their interaction, from which we derive conjectural variations parameters to assess the actual and potential levels of price collusion. The results confirm the conventional wisdom that the degree of substitution between the major east coast ports is small. While this highlights the possibility that these ports possess substantial market power, actual mark ups are considerably smaller than the predicted mark ups, suggesting that the ports' localised monopoly power is constrained by factors other than price competition.     

Exclusions and the Demand for Property Insurance

The paper examines property insurance contracts in which consumers choose the upper limit on coverage. Exclusions are of two types, and both reduce the demand for insurance of the included perils. A practical implication is that an insurer can raise the demand for fire insurance by offering an earthquake rider, and profit from the rider even when the premia are ceded in such a way that the rider does not raise profit directly. The results do not require assumptions about correlations between included and excluded losses, which is interesting because correlations are decisive in most of the other literature on background risk.     

Openness, Technological Change and Labour Demand in Pre-Crisis Indonesia

This paper examines the impact of export orientation, import competition, foreign ownership and the rate of capital accumulation on the relative demand for skilled and unskilled labour in pre-crisis Indonesia. Estimates from an interrelated factor demand analysis indicate that openness and foreign ownership, by themselves, acted to raise the relative demand for unskilled workers in the pre-crisis period, while the newness of capital was associated with increased relative demand for skilled workers. Overall, the relative demand for unskilled workers increased yet their relative wage position weakened. These contrasting relative employment and wage changes are consistent with the examined demand shocks and the greater elasticity of supply of Indonesian unskilled relative to skilled labour.     

Sorry,could you repeat the question? Exploring video‐interview recruitment practice in HRM

HRM has embraced video interviewing through verbal computer‐mediated communication (VCMC) technology. However, empirical research in recruitment remains scant. Drawing on communication theories to analyse data from three studies, we present a conceptual framework explaining VCMC adoption and practice. We argue that VCMC technology has a larger effect on recruitment and selection outcomes than presumed. We broaden signalling theory to video recruitment and posit that interaction effects due to characteristics of the technology and a candidate's personality may affect recruitment outcomes. We also broaden media richness theory by uncovering memory effects arising from multiple interview modes. HR managers should be mindful of these and others limitations highlighted in the study before fully embracing this technology.     

Hysteresis and Emu

We consider how differences between the way firms react to a common monetary policy affect the performance of a monetary union. A model is presented in which heterogeneous firms respond discontinuously to monetary shocks. The implication is that the level of economic activity has a selective memory of the extremum values of the shocks experienced, and depends on the distribution of switching values for entry and exit.     

Comparing the impact of management on public and private sector nurses in the UK,Italy, and Australia

The research examined the impact of management upon employee outcomes (perceptions of discretionary power, well-being, engagement, and affective commitment), comparing public and private sector nurses in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Italy. Overall, 1,945 nurses participated in a self-report survey within these core- and laggard-New Public Management countries. While management influenced employee outcomes for each country, there were significant differences between the public and private sectors, with private sector nurses reporting higher perceptions of outcomes. Importantly, nurses’ engagement was affected by management practice for each country. This study raises important implications for nurse managers, especially public sector managers, described within.