Although accountability standards (e.g., the Global Reporting Initiative and SA 8000) have made their way onto the agendas of managers and researchers, a model to compare and analyze these tools in a systematic way is a conspicuous omission. This article aims to develop such a model. First, we...

This paper examines euro preparations by U.K. SMEs with trading links with the euro currency area. It suggests, notwithstanding the U.K.'s decision not to join the euro in the first wave, that SMEs with euro area trade links are particularly likely to have had to make some adjustments for the...

Business-to-business relationships are characterized by an exchange between two or more parties. Research has identified several factors that enhance marketing and management in business relationships, mainly with a focus on large manufacturing firms. However, less is known about how service...

The increasing pace and cost associated with the development and exploitation of new technologies is making it prohibitive for organizations to work on their own. Supply chain companies are expected to share the risks of developing technologies, without necessarily being offered long-term...

While Six Sigma programs have delivered many millions of dollars in savings to large multinationals, application of the philosophy in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) remains rare. As a consequence of relative resource disparities, these smaller organizations find it difficult to adopt...

Drawing on Pepper's World Hypotheses we describe four different approaches to obtaining formal knowledge in management studies. These approaches are: formism, mechanism, contextualism, and organicism. All of them are valid ways of refining common sense that resist synthesis. Applying Pepper's...

Recent interest in the growth of subcontracting, as part of a broader trend towards greater 'flexibility' in forms of employment relationship, has not as yet been matched by a full consideration of its organizational and managerial implications. In particular, the question of whether or not...

This article concerns the determination of executive pay in the UK and Germany. These economies have very different corporate governance structures and we examine whether this has implications for executive pay outcomes. Our research shows that average pay in the UK was about pound 391,000 in...

To understand the management of strategic change, organizations must be situated in their broader institutional contexts. This article focuses on 'state-political firms', companies owned or heavily influenced by the state and operating in state-dominated business systems, and explores the...

Science Parks (adjacent to universities) provide an important resource network for technology-based firms. To ascertain the 'added value' of a Science Park location the innovativeness (with regard to a variety of 'input' as well as 'output' measures) of independent technology-based Science Park...