Management Decision: Volume 40 Issue 7

Strategic reorientation in former public utilities: the example of UK electricity

Abby Ghobadian, Howard Viney

Much current discussion of strategic content focuses upon the elaboration and refinement of existing strategies, rather than upon the demands of strategic reorientation. This lack…

The comparative attractiveness of international business locations: the role of labor law

Kerstin Pull

At a time of intensifying uncertainty, managerial flexibility to adapt to changes in the economic environment is increasingly important. Different business locations, it is…

Supply side short‐circuiting in design and build projects

A.D. Knight, A. Griffith, A.P. King

Design and build is becoming an increasingly adopted procurement solution for construction projects. Characterised by its integrated team approach, it allows the construction…

Effective strategic planning in small and medium sized firms

Nicholas O’Regan, Abby Ghobadian

Little attention has been paid to the strategy‐making processes of small and medium‐sized firms (SMEs), or to the effectiveness of strategic planning in the SME sector. Planning…

Successfully increasing technological control through minimizing workplace resistance: understanding the willingness to telework

David Wicks

Technological change has permitted organizations to design jobs in different ways and control work performed in remote locations. This article examines how telework can be used to…

On the incentive for price‐taking behavior

Weihong Huang

Price‐taking has long been mistakenly regarded as an inferior firm behavior in an imperfectly competitive market. This scenario is challenged when a “Naiver’s Paradox” is shown to…

Service quality in the Thai telecommunication industry: a tool for achieving a sustainable competitive advantage

William C. Johnson, Anuchit Sirikit

The objectives of this paper are to provide an overview of service quality and discuss its potential for offering a competitive advantage; to test several research propositions…

The development of Russian e‐commerce: the case of Ozon

Stephen Hawk

E‐commerce in Russia is in an early phase of development. The online bookseller, Ozon, is one of the earliest and best‐known examples of business‐to‐customer e‐commerce in Russia…

Managing international trade: an analysis of South African SMEs and regional exports

W. Soontiëns

Although South African small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) are supported by various initiatives from the government, only a limited number (3 per cent) of firms enter the…

Global ethics and the Alien Tort Claims Act: a summary of three cases within the oil and gas industry

Janeen E. Olsen

Three recent cases within the oil and gas industry point to the trend to prosecute companies in the USA for alleged human rights and environmental degradation abroad. The Alien…