The Quality Circle programme is used increasingly in all sectors of the US economy. The need is for investigative empirical research into the variables influencing participation in Quality Circles. A study at a major US aerospace company is described in which the major influences turn out to be...

Many 1980s western managers, stressed by global changes in resource costs, competitive pressures, and technological imperatives, strive to emulate Japanese management models and practices, such as Quality Circles (QCs). The implementation and cultural‐motivational barriers to an effective QC...

Japan's adoption (and adaption) of QC circles 10 years earlier than most of the rest of the world, and the role this has played in Japan's advancement as an industrialised nation, is examined. The growth of circles in Japan is charted, and a consideration is given of the implementation of QC...

The concept of measurement quality assurance (MQA) as embodied in National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) programs is not generally used within European programs for testing or accreditation. Although the essential elements of quality control and quality assurance are in the...

Taxation data have been used to create long-run series for the distribution of top incomes in quite a number of countries. Most of these studies have focused on the national experience of individual countries, but we can also learn from cross-country comparisons. Comparative analysis is...

This study empirically examines the development of the high-yield segment of the corporate bond market in the United States, as a pioneer country, and the United Kingdom and the euro area, as later adopting countries. Estimated diffusion models show for the United States a significant pioneer...