This paper examines a profound paradox in current thinking on the process of globalisation. The paradox is this: many commentators, particularly those living in Anglo-Saxon countries, see one of the main likely outcomes of globalisation as being the triumph of the Ango-Saxon business model of...

This paper considers whether listed companies with dispersed ownership invest less in training than do other firms, as part of a short-termist stance caused by pressure from the stock market. An analytical framework that supports the proposition involves three factors: high agency costs between...

The paper introduces new dimensions of Information Systems evaluation. Sustainability issues have increasing importance and their influence is compared with the Internet revolution. Customers, policymakers and business partners increasingly require the monitoring and reporting of the impact of...

The paper presents the results of a doctoral research related to Information Systems evaluation in context. The authors propose changes in the context, the new level of contextual analysis was added: the system context located between the internal and external context. The system context...

This paper presents results of a pilot study completed as part of the BestLog (Best Practices in Logistics) project. BestLog (www.bestlog.org) is a research project initiated by the European Commission (EC) and financed from the 6th Framework Programme. One of the project goals is to identify...

The introduction of competition between service providers in industries with some sort of network - such as telecommunications, but also gas and electricity - has created the regulatory problem of access pricing. Where a service provider requires access to a network owned by another firm, how...

Labour market flexibility is often portrayed as a key to the competitive success of the UK and US economies. We surveyed several hundred firms in the UK, and using the resulting data (on over 200 manufacturing firms) this paper investigates the relationships between firms' use of flexible work...

Changes in public policy and corporate strategy have enhanced the role of contracts as mechanisms of economic governance. The understanding that norms, standards and other forms of regulatory mechanism can affect the structure of incentives and the quality of contractual outcomes has helped to...

The relationship between technology, productivity and employment is a complex one. Increased productivity can lead not just to increased market share, but through falling relative prices can help expand markets, and through product innovation can develop new markets. On the other hand, if demand...

There is increasing emphasis being put on the need to be 'internationally competitive'. This imperative is being driven, it is argued, by the globalization of economic and corporate life. This 'globalization' is the subject of a burgeoning academic literature. To achieve and maintain the...