C.G. Elstone, D.F. Ball and A.W. Pearson
The article looks at one aspect of a study of the R&D/marketing interface in six projects drawn from three companies in the pharmaceutical industry.
Abstract
The article looks at one aspect of a study of the R&D/marketing interface in six projects drawn from three companies in the pharmaceutical industry.
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Eric Monroe Olson, Rebecca Duray, Cary Cooper and Kai Monroe Olson
Prior research has argued that business practices within English football clubs are amateurish and outdated due to the comparatively small size of clubs and the restrictive nature…
Abstract
Purpose
Prior research has argued that business practices within English football clubs are amateurish and outdated due to the comparatively small size of clubs and the restrictive nature of the cartel-like industry they compete in. But is this true for large EPL clubs (i.e. those with high market valuation and large number of employees)? Do these clubs have the ability to pursue alternative business strategies, and if so, do their organizational structures, cultures, and behavioral norms support the strategic directions they have chosen to pursue? The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper evaluates survey responses from 35 executives and business managers within three large EPL clubs. The study utilizes previously validated scales to examine issues of organizational structure, culture, and behavioral norms.
Findings
Despite operating within a closed industry, large EPL clubs are not all pursuing identical business strategies. Consistent with contingency theory, the organizational structure, culture, and behavioral norms of large EPL clubs are, for the most part, in line with what the authors would expect to find in successful, large conventional product or service businesses. However, all of the clubs included in this study appear to be following hybrid models each demonstrating characteristics of several alternative competitive strategies simultaneously.
Research limitations/implications
This initial study is limited to responses from 35 business executives and managers within three EPL clubs.
Practical implications
Although EPL clubs operate within a cartel-like industry, this study shows that business managers within these clubs do have a degree of latitude in choosing between alternative competitive strategies. In order to successfully implement a chosen strategy, business managers must insure that the organizational structure, culture, and behavioral norms within the club’s business group are aligned with the overarching objectives of that strategic choice.
Originality/value
Grounded in open systems and contingency theory, the authors challenge the conventional wisdom that because large clubs are in the business of sport they are somehow fundamentally different from other large businesses.
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Erling Rasmussen, Barry Foster and Deirdre Farr
The purpose of this paper is to place empirical research on New Zealand employers’ attitudes to collective bargaining and legislative change within the context of the long running…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to place empirical research on New Zealand employers’ attitudes to collective bargaining and legislative change within the context of the long running debate of flexibility.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional survey design using a self-administered postal questionnaire, covering private sector employers with ten or more staff and including employers within all 17 standard industry classification. To explore particular issues, an additional in-depth interviews were conducted of 25 employers participating in the survey.
Findings
It is found that employers support overwhelmingly recent legislative changes though there are variations across industries and firm sizes. There is also considerable variation in terms of which legislative changes are applied in the workplace. Despite fewer constraints on employer-determined flexibility, there was a rather puzzling finding that most employers still think that employment legislation is even balanced or favouring employees.
Originality/value
Cross-sectional survey findings of New Zealand employer attitudes to legislative changes are few and provide valuable data for policy makers, unions, employers and employment relations researchers. The paper also contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of pressures to increase employer-determined flexibility in many western countries.
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Socio‐economic decline in rural areas is a pervasive and debilitating phenomenon in terms of regional development, particularly when former models of economic growth which once…
Abstract
Purpose
Socio‐economic decline in rural areas is a pervasive and debilitating phenomenon in terms of regional development, particularly when former models of economic growth which once stimulated business generation and regeneration can no longer be counted on to do so. In these austere times, models of social and community enterprise are becoming more important. This corresponds to the emergence of theories of community‐based entrepreneurship and social enterprise as explanatory variables. Such theories are used to label enterprising behaviour enacted within our communities, even when the theoretical arguments underpinning these re‐conceptualisations require to be stretched to permit this. Often the resultant explanations are not entirely convincing. The purpose of this paper is to challenge existing conceptualisations of community‐based entrepreneurship and social enterprise.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a case study methodology, the paper reports on the activities of the Buchan Development Partnership (BDP) – a community‐based project situated in the Buchan area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland – demonstrating how individual and community enterprise can be utilized to develop enterprising individuals and communities by growing enterprises organically. The case articulates this process, as it occurred in a rural development partnership using a narrative‐based case study methodology to examine activities and growth strategies.
Findings
The case bridges issues of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial process, community and regional development and tells a story of community regeneration through the process of “Community Animateurship”.
Research limitations/implications
Research, practical and social implications are discussed but in particular the need to adopt a more holistic “bottom up” approach.
Originality/value
This case challenges existing conceptualisations of community‐based entrepreneurship and social enterprise.