James Langenfeld and Brad Noffsker
In a number of recent multi-billion dollar cases brought against cigarette manufacturers, plaintiffs have in part alleged that the cigarette manufacturers (1) conspired not to…
Abstract
In a number of recent multi-billion dollar cases brought against cigarette manufacturers, plaintiffs have in part alleged that the cigarette manufacturers (1) conspired not to compete on the basis of health claims or the introduction of potentially safer cigarettes since the 1950s, and (2) engaged in fraudulent advertising by making implied health claims in advertisements selling ‘low tar’/‘light’ cigarettes. In this type of litigation, defendants’ actions could be due to alleged illegal behaviour as asserted by plaintiffs, or be the result of market forces that may have nothing to do with allegedly inappropriate acts. We examine the economic evidence relating to these allegations, taking into account some of the major influences on cigarette company behaviour. In particular, our analyses show that much of the cigarette manufactures’ behaviour can be explained by Federal Trade Commission and related government actions, rather than conspiracy or fraudulent acts. We find the economic evidence is inconsistent with an effective conspiracy to suppress information on either smoking and health or the development and marketing of potentially safer cigarettes. Regarding ‘lower tar’ and ‘light’ cigarettes, the economic evidence indicates that the cigarette manufacturers responded to government and public health initiatives, and that disclosing more information on smoking compensation earlier than the cigarette companies did would not have had any significant impact on smoking behaviour.
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M.L. Emiliani and P.J. Seymour
The purpose of this paper is to introduce management historians to the long‐forgotten work of Frank George Woollard (1883‐1957), who in the mid‐1920s established flow production…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce management historians to the long‐forgotten work of Frank George Woollard (1883‐1957), who in the mid‐1920s established flow production in the British motor industry, and its remarkable similarity to current‐day production principles and practices used by Toyota Motor Corporation, also known as lean production.
Design/methodology/approach
Overview of Frank Woollard's life and work obtained from newly discovered journal papers, his 1954 book, Principles of Mass and Flow Production, newly discovered archives, and new first‐hand testimony from a close friend and from a long‐time family friend.
Findings
Frank Woollard was a pioneer in the establishment of flow production in the British motor industry in the mid‐1920s and the principal developer of automatic transfer machinery. His accomplishments are comparable to Taiichi Ohno, regarded as the architect of Toyota's production system.
Research limitations/implications
Woollard's accomplishments in flow production are a fruitful area for future research given the speed and completeness with which flow production was established at Morris Motors Ltd, Engines Branch. Newly discovered papers describing his flow production system have yet to be studied in detail by academics.
Practical implications
Woollard's application of flow production beginning in 1923 means that timelines for discoveries and attributions of key accomplishments in lean management must be reexamined and revised.
Originality/value
Woollard's work fills important gaps in the literature on the history of flow production generally and in the British motor industry in particular. His work constitutes an early application of current‐day lean principles and practices, and is therefore noteworthy and relevant to management historians and the operations and production management community. It is hoped that this paper will inspire management historians to study Woollard's work and place him in the context of other early twentieth‐century pioneers in industrial management and flow production.
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Barrie O. Pettman and Richard Dobbins
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.
Abstract
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.
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Qabas Jarmooka, Richard Glenn Fulford, Robyn Morris and Llandis Barratt-Pugh
National and organizational innovation is currently at the forefront of media discussion and is viewed as critical to economic development. While the argument for investment is…
Abstract
Purpose
National and organizational innovation is currently at the forefront of media discussion and is viewed as critical to economic development. While the argument for investment is universal, how it should be orchestrated is uncertain. The purpose of this paper is to bring together the three major related components of information and communication technology (ICT), knowledge management processes (KMP) and innovation, to explore empirically the constituents of ICT and KMP that improve innovation within Australian enterprises.
Design/methodology/approach
The method is a quantitative survey of 148 industry managers. The data was refined through confirmatory factor analysis. The hypotheses were evaluated by regression equations and parameter estimates. The findings were identified by the magnitude of the effect sizes.
Findings
The study’s evidence illuminated how specific components of ICT and KMP impact on particular aspects of innovation. The findings indicate key emerging relationships and then propose a conceptual model validated by the analysis of the survey evidence. The study identifies that investment in ICT and KMP has a positive impact on innovation performance. A particular finding is that information or data capture technologies have the most significant positive consequence for innovation.
Practical implications
The modeling can be used by managers as a guide to mapping ICT and KMP to specific innovation outcomes. In a modified form, it could be applied as a self-assessment instrument for managers in organizations.
Originality/value
This is a valuable addition to current literature, as it is unique in bringing these three key components together, confirming their instrumental impact, and indicating the differentiated investment strategies that can be implemented to achieve specific and unique innovation agendas. In addition, some refined constructs, which were developed as part of this study, provide a pre-tested, validated survey instrument for further research.
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After some years in which industrial policy was frowned upon, it is now widely considered to be a legitimate arena for policy formulation. The danger is that policymakers will…
Abstract
Purpose
After some years in which industrial policy was frowned upon, it is now widely considered to be a legitimate arena for policy formulation. The danger is that policymakers will seek to return to previously implemented policies. However many elements of this historic policy agenda are not replicable because of changes in global governance regulations. But changing framing conditions in the global economy also mean that the historic agenda is no longer optimal.
Methodology/approach
This chapter discusses four disruptive structural changes which affect the industrial policy agenda – the changing manufactures-commodities terms of trade, the centrality of global value chains in world industrial production, the growth of environmental externalities which affect growth and development, and the need to develop more inclusive patterns of growth.
Findings
The key findings are that there is scope for industrial policies to successfully confront these challenges, but that this will be contextual and may require a mix of policies designed to meet multiple objectives.
Value/originality
Significantly, industrial policy should be seen as a process aligning the operations of key stakeholders and subject to change as conditions alter, rather than as an industrial policy roadmap of the sort which frequently characterised policy in the past.
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Julie Jomeen, Colin Robert Martin and Patricia Mary Jarrett
Perinatal mental health (PMH) is acknowledged as a significant public health issue associated with significant personal, family, social and economic burden. Research demonstrates…
Abstract
Purpose
Perinatal mental health (PMH) is acknowledged as a significant public health issue associated with significant personal, family, social and economic burden. Research demonstrates that healthcare practitioners lack knowledge and confidence in this area but there is likely to be a complexity of factors that may influence practitioner behaviours, including negative attitudes towards people with mental health and inaccurate illness perceptions. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Perinatal Illness Perceptions Scale (PIPS), a conceptual derivation of the Illness Perception Questionnaire – Revised.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional and exploratory instrument development design, using exploratory factor analysis, was employed.
Findings
The scale demonstrated good psychometric properties revealing three sub-scales: causes, consequences (mother); consequences (baby).
Originality/value
The findings implicate the PIPS as the first robust psychometric measure, which can be used to in the assessment of practitioner knowledge of the causes and consequences of PMH. The PIPS could offer the opportunity to assess these domains within both educational and training context and identify practitioner attitudes which may affect clinical decision making and referral decisions.
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Micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) sectors have a strong influence on the Egyptian economy. Yet, effective formulation of integrated cluster along the value chain…
Abstract
Micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) sectors have a strong influence on the Egyptian economy. Yet, effective formulation of integrated cluster along the value chain can lead MSMEs to become international actors in export-oriented activities. An Agro-Industrial Park is an integrated cluster taking into consideration synergetic agglomeration of agribusiness MSMEs assisting in decreasing deprivation of rural territories. This research aims to present the needs of agriculture MSMEs in Egypt, to describe challenges faced by this specific sector, and to set guidelines for a business model integrating small farmers and producers into an integrated agribusiness cluster. The researcher followed purposive/nonprobability sampling technique of 100 MSMEs research participants. A combination of questionnaires and open-ended interviews were the research instruments of choice along with secondary data. This research focused on agribusiness only and specifically MSMEs in Egypt. There is no agribusiness-integrated cluster in Egypt, even though the agricultural land increased significantly in the past 5 years, leading us to believe that it is imperative to develop agribusiness-integrated clusters in the coming few years.