Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to describe the impediments to information technology (IT) adoption and possible solutions in the context of business relationships by drawing on case studies conducted in both Australia and Finland in the heavy manufacturing sector....

The business environment in Malaysia has changed rapidly over recent decades, andcontinues to change. Globalization has brought new technology and made thebusiness environment in Malaysia open to greater competition. Central Governmenteconomic policy relating to ‘knowledge economy...

Selected for managerial, professional practitioner and economic research interest in manufacturing sectors exploring currentpractice and experience. Draws upon large scale survey and case data in a challenging area. It has significant impact onpractice in commercial organisations and economic...

This paper uses panel data on british manufacturing industries between 1973 and 1985 to examine the relationship between productivity and labour organization. It is shown that the relationship between unions and productivity levels is sensitive to the econometric specification. The evidence...

Purpose – To empirically investigate the relationships among critical TQM factors and business results.Design/methodology/approach – Twenty-three hypotheses regarding the relationships among TQM factors and business results have been developed through literature review and tested using...

Full-text of this article is not available in this e-prints service. This article was originally published following peer-review in Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, published by and copyright Emerald.

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine the issues relating to recruiting highly skilled managerial and professional staff experienced by multinational companies (MNCs) manufacturing in six Asian countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand....

In pursuing sustainable competitive advantage, firms undertake a range of strategic initiatives such as innovation, customer relationship management, entering new markets overseas, and competitive actions within current marketplaces. Studies that examine these initiatives generally study the...

B2B e-marketplaces leverage the internet?s capabilities to efficiently connect buyers and sellers, resulting in lower transactional costs and improved communications. Academic research into the effect of e-marketplaces on the buying decision is limited. This case study used an adapted version of...

To maintain or achieve competitiveness and profitability, a manufacturing firm or enterprise must respond to a range of challenges, including rapid improvements in technology, declining employment and output, globalisation of markets and environmental requirements. In addition, substantial...