The Corporate Elite Community Structure of Global Capitalism

A key debate on the merits and consequences of globalisation asks to what extent we have moved to a multipolar global political economy. Here we investigate this issue through the properties and topologies of corporate elite networks and ask: what is the community structure of the global corporate elite? In order to answer this question, we analyse how the largest one million firms in the world are interconnected at the level of corporate governance through interlocking directorates. Community detection through modularity maximisation reveals that regional clusters play a fundamental role in the network architecture of the global political economy. Transatlantic connections remain particularly strong: Europe and North America remain interconnected in a dense network of shared directors. A distinct Asian cluster stands apart as separate and oriented more towards itself. While it develops and gains economic and political power, Asia remains by and large outside the scope of the networks of the incumbent global (that is, North Atlantic) corporate elite. We see this as a sign of the rise of competing corporate elites. But the corporate elites from the traditional core countries still form a powerful opponent for any competing faction in the global corporate elite.     

An adapted TPB approach to consumers’ acceptance of service-delivery drones

Organisations and marketers have long debated the consumer–brand relationship. Theorising related to this debate led to self-service technologies, which were implemented to both reduce costs and increase productivity by turning customers into co-producers of services or merely to keep up with technological developments. With the emergence of disruptive technologies, it is imperative to discuss the potential shift from a customer co-created value to a customer–technology relationship that could disrupt the value-based relationship model. In line with advancements in service-delivery drones, and based on the theory of planned behaviour framework, this paper pioneers the discussion on consumers’ intention to accept their use based on their related perceived risks, potential functional benefits, and relational attributes, leading to a new type of relationship with the brand – namely, the customer–drone relationship. This discussion opens a new direction for retailers and academics alike to reflect on during the coming years.     

The Bali Bombings: Tourism Crisis Management and Conflict Avoidance

The combination of the bombings, SARS, the Iraq War and bird flu has brought about an acute decline in tourism in Bali, but despite widespread unemployment and a collapse in living standards the island has not experienced widespread strife. Despite severe provocation from the alleged Bali bombers, all of whom are Muslim, Hindu Balinese did not seek retribution by persecuting the island’s minorities. Bali’s politicians and opinion leaders appreciated the potential volatility of the situation and called for restraint using all available media and Bali’s network of village councils and urban wards. Various cultural and religious strategies, such as inter-religious worship and village security capacity building, were adopted to help manage the crisis. Rumours of ‘ethnic cleansing’ and the forced repatriation of non-Balinese, especially Muslim Javanese, appear to be unfounded. The widespread adoption of measures designed to avoid conflict appears to have helped restore confidence in Bali’s tourism industry. Some Balinese responses to the bombings are probably culturally specific, but this example of crisis management may have wider applications within the context of tourism.     

The Role of China in the Global Strategy of Multinational Enterprises

This paper moves from the general to the particular. First, it examines the differential speed of globalization in different types of market – specifically markets in finance, goods and services, and finally labour markets. It then analyses the location and ownership strategies of multinational enterprises (MNEs), both as regards individual national markets and then in terms of the interaction between national markets (the ‘local/global’ spectrum). This analytical framework is applied to the place of China in the global strategy of MNEs. This application illuminates the role of DFI (direct foreign investment) in China and illustrates the peculiarities of China's place in the global system. The distortions in China's domestic system interact with the global strategies of MNEs to produce several interesting results, including: (1) the importance of MNEs’ ownership strategy; (2) non-optimal location decisions; (3) the ‘excessive internalization’ of activities in China; and (4) the growing importance of China as a location for DFI and, in future, the potential for growth of outward DFI from China.     

New new technologies: the future and the present of work in information and communication technology

This paper outlines a selection of technological and organisational developments in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector and analyses their likely challenges for workers and trade unions around the globe. It addresses the convergence of telecommunications and information technology, the related developments of ubiquitous computing, ‘clouds’ and ‘big data’, and the possibilities of crowdsourcing and relates these technologies to the last decades' patterns of value chain restructuring. The paper is based on desk research of European and international sources, on sector analyses and technology forecasts by, for instance, the European Union and Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development, and some national actors. These prognoses are analysed through the lens of recent research into ICT working environments and ICT value chains, identifying upcoming and ongoing challenges for both workers and unions, and outlining possible research perspectives.     

Giovanni Arrighi: Systemic Cycles of Accumulation,Hegemonic Transitions,and the Rise of China

This article surveys and critically assesses the life work of Giovanni Arrighi, a renowned historical sociologist and world-systems scholar who passed away in 2009. In a trilogy of books published between 1994 and 2007 Arrighi develops the master concept of his theoretical legacy, systemic cycles of accumulation, and advances an original reading of the history and dynamics of world capitalism as a succession of hegemonic episodes, each one more expansive than the previous and culminating in crises and chaotic transitions. He anticipated the rise of a Chinese-led East Asia as the emergent twenty-first century centre of a reorganised world economy and society. Arrighi is faulted for failing to develop any theory of politics, the state and collective agency in his construct, for his lack of attention to social forces from below, and for his dismissal of recent theorising on globalization.     

The Protected Area Visitor Impact Management (PAVIM) Framework: A Simplified Process for Making Management Decisions

Ecotourism and protected area visitation in Central and South America have resulted in ecological impacts, which some protected areas managers have addressed by employing visitor impact management frameworks. In this paper, we propose the Protected Area Visitor Impact Management (PAVIM) framework as an alternative to carrying capacity and other frameworks such as Limits of Acceptable Change. We use a set of evaluation criteria to compare the relative positive and negative attributes of carrying capacity, other decision-making frameworks and the new framework, within the context of their actual and potential use in Central and South America. Positive attributes of PAVIM include simplicity, flexibility, cost effectiveness, timeliness and incorporating input from stakeholders and local residents. Negative attributes include diminished objectivity and cultural sensitivity issues. Further research and application of PAVIM are recommended.     

Spanning the Globe: The Rise of Global Communications Systems and the First Globalisation

After postulating the relevance of information for trade costs we outline the rise of international communication networks (mail, telegraph, telephone) during the first globalisation of the long nineteenth century. In this period, global communications systems for the first time in history provided universal access to affordable and reliable means of communication. Using a new set of internationally comparable data on global postal flows, we analyse basic determinants of international information exchange and conclude by outlining a research agenda that links these to international trade patterns and knowledge transfer between countries.     

Globalisation,taxation and inequality

Today's tax systems, in which value-added taxes and payroll taxes play a prominent role, are largely creations of the 1950s. We need to invent modern tax systems adapted to the reality of the 21^st century: the growing importance of capital and the rise of inequality. This article reviews some of the challenges involved with increasing the progressivity of tax systems in a globalised world and discusses how these challenges could be overcome. I make the case for new and more ambitious forms of international cooperation and for modern forms of wealth taxation.     

Globalisation,airline alliances and tourism: A strategic perspective

The forces driving globalisation have impelled the majority of international airlines to enter into strategic alliance arrangements. Strategic alliances have enabled airlines to work around structural problems of the industry, particularly foreign ownership restrictions, national regulatory constraints and constraints on building up networks. The history of alliances, to date, shows them to be changing and unstable. Alliances will probably continue to be a feature of the international airline industry, but the forms and membership of alliances may well change further in the future. Further deregulation and liberalisation of the industry could mean that alliances become less important in the future, if deregulation allows mergers and acquisitions of airlines across national borders. Two scenarios of possible futures are presented, with an assessment of their impacts on tourism, as an aid to strategic analysis.