Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often have difficulty competing in the global economy unless they collaborate with domestic or foreign partners or with public sector organizations. This book addresses the resource leverage and innovation challenges that increased global trade...

This volume contains country studies of the historical development of human resource management (HRM) in seventeen different nations. The nations span all regions of the world and each chapter is written by a national expert. Primary attention is given to HRM developments in industry, but...

This important book is about the origins and diffusion of innovation, in theory and in practice. The practice draws on a variety of industries, from electronics to eyewear, from furniture to mechatronics, in a range of economies including Europe, the USA and China.

In the last two decades, the auto industry has shown a steady increase of vehicle development outsourcing and a shift of both product development tasks and knowledge from carmakers to suppliers. This trend has increased the interest toward product modularity as a tool to ease the integration of...

<i> I distretti industriali come economie della conoscenza </i> (di Arnaldo Camuffo, Roberto Grandinetti) - ABSTRACT: From a knowledge-based perspective, an industrial district operates as a meta-context with a high density of knowledge production sites (firm contexts), and a high density of knowledge...

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate how small and medium sized subcontracting firms evolve. Design/methodology/approach – A cluster analysis was applied to a sample of 417 North East Italian subcontractors to explore if (and to what extent) Italian subcontractors differ and...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate routes towards supplier and production network internationalisation. Design/methodology/approach – Multiple case‐study analysis has been applied to a sample of 11 Italian footwear and apparel companies with headquarters located in the...

Purpose – Adopting a knowledge-based perspective, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the roll-out process of lean production systems and explores the dimensions that might enhance or hinder its performance. It develops a framework to understand and design lean roll-out processes,...

Purpose – This study aims to explore how the amount and the nature of learning accrued during an MBA – measured in terms of competency development – impact on career advancement and compensation. Design/methodology/approach – Applying nonparametric statistical analysis on data from...