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Negotiable instruments by means of which large sums of money are transferred between banks have long been a source of fascination to the more sophisticated fraudsman. Careful study of the instruments and their conventional usage, combined with the exercise of imagination and knowledge of psychology have produced an innovative and audacious strain of fraud which continues to develop, and which has been dramatically successful.

This study aims to demonstrate empirically the varied mechanisms through which supply chain practices of indigenous Chinese companies are influenced by foreign‐owned multinational companies (MNCs) operating within China. It also provides empirical evidence of how the foreign‐owned MNCs are influenced by the coercive pressures arising from the local cultural norms and begins an exploration of the mechanisms through which isomorphic pressures operate between industries.

The study adopts a multi‐disciplinary approach by applying institutional theory from the field of organisational studies. The study is based on 27 in‐depth interviews in matched pairs of firms consisting of an indigenous Chinese firm and a foreign‐owned MNC in three industries. The interviews also include suppliers and third‐party logistics providers and hence the study extends beyond the dyad.

The findings show a “startling homogeneity” between the SCM practices of the paired firms and across the three industries studied. They also provide empirical evidence of the rich and varied mechanisms through which isomorphic pressures operate, and demonstrate that the pressures affect the foreign‐owned MNCs as well as the Chinese firms.

The study identifies a wide range of mechanisms that firms can use to model their SCM practices on those of other firms. The study also identifies a range of implications for policy.

To the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to explore empirically the rich and varied mechanisms through which isomorphic pressures operate.

British production companies continue to be prolific in their output of new films and other audio visual programmes for training purposes. As the annual British Sponsored Film Festival, just held in Birmingham, has testified, films for training, accident prevention and other human relations purposes are not just being made in large numbers—they are also being produced to really high creative and technical standards. And by good “technical” standards, I mean both cinematographically and in terms of their training content.