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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that may influence support of public-private partnerships (PPPs) by government employees potentially involved in designing and implementing cross-sectoral collaborations.

Based on an original survey of government employees in the USA, this study explores the impact of individual, organizational and environmental factors on their support for PPPs by employing ordinary least squares regression.

Among the individual factors, involvement in PPPs and concerns for efficiency have been identified as factors having positive impact on government employees’ support for PPPs. Male government employees seem to be less supportive of PPPs than female government employees. Environmental factors such as public opinion and appointed agency heads positively influence government employees’ views of PPPs. No evidence for the significant impact of organizational factors on government employee perceptions of PPPs was found.

Factors influencing government employees’ attitudes may also have an effect on employees’ behaviors when involved in PPPs. Further studies may clarify how attitudes are translated into behaviors and how they influence the performance of PPPs. Investigations into government employees’ views of PPPs before and after their actual involvement in partnerships may allow for identifying changes in employees’ support for PPPs and their possible causes.

This study investigates the impacts of individual, organizational and environmental factors on government employees’ support for partnerships with the private sector that remain under-researched in the literature.

The aim of this study is to understand the effects of psychological social and financial perceptions of post-retirement life and demographic characteristics on retirement planning behaviour (RPB) of the employees from different occupational sectors.

The primary data from 400 employees in central government, state government and private sector is collected through a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised of 43 items to measure social and financial perceptions and RPB along with demographic information. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis are performed to find the significant variables of social and financial perceptions influencing the RPB.

The results of exploratory factor analysis revealed three principle components of social perceptions, four of financial perceptions and three of RPB. The role clarity, involvement, obligations, uncertainty and preparations have significant impact on RPB. This study found a moderate positive correlation between RPB and extracted factors of social and financial perceptions. The study confirms the significant effect of demographic variables such as age, marital status, occupational sector, income and education levels on RPB.

The study has number of implications for government and private sector organisations involved in offering the retirement planning solutions as well as to the employees. The stakeholders may take a note of the role of psychological social (role clarity and social involvement) and financial (financial obligations, uncertainty and preparation for post-retirement life) perceptions that influence RPB. The study also provides an insight to the policy makers for considering the demographic information such as age, education, marital status and income of the employees while designing/offering the choices of retirement plans to them. Further studies are recommended to validate the findings of this study in terms of testing the effect of psychological social and financial perceptions on retirement planning behaviour of the employees.

Comparative administrative study lacks agreed‐upon concepts for cross‐national analysis. This essay suggests “administrative culture” as a useful concept which has been overshadowed by two related concepts, “organizational culture” and “political culture.” The American experience is highlighted in its public personnel dimension and administrative sub‐cultures are introduced to characterize the enormous diversity of values, beliefs, and attitudes in the public sector. An evolutionary perspective is used to show change over time from the earliest “Government by Gentlemen” period to the current emphasis upon merit, modified by affirmative action and demands for accountability, flexibility, and entrepreneurial behavior. Sources of administrative culture are also discussed to reveal the unique origins of the system which, nevertheless, has been exported to numerous other nation‐states.

This book is a policy proposal aimed at the democratic left. It is concerned with gradual but radical reform of the socio‐economic system. An integrated policy of industrial and economic democracy, which centres around the establishment of a new sector of employee‐controlled enterprises, is presented. The proposal would retain the mix‐ed economy, but transform it into a much better “mixture”, with increased employee‐power in all sectors. While there is much of enduring value in our liberal western way of life, gross inequalities of wealth and power persist in our society.

Information and communications technology (ICT) offers enormous opportunities for individuals, businesses and society. The application of ICT is equally important to economic and non-economic activities. Researchers have increasingly focused on the adoption and use of ICT by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the economic development of a country is largely dependent on them. Following the success of ICT utilisation in SMEs in developed countries, many developing countries are looking to utilise the potential of the technology to develop SMEs. Past studies have shown that the contribution of ICT to the performance of SMEs is not clear and certain. Thus, it is crucial to determine the effectiveness of ICT in generating firm performance since this has implications for SMEs’ expenditure on the technology. This research examines the diffusion of ICT among SMEs with respect to the typical stages from innovation adoption to post-adoption, by analysing the actual usage of ICT and value creation. The mediating effects of integration and utilisation on SME performance are also studied. Grounded in the innovation diffusion literature, institutional theory and resource-based theory, this study has developed a comprehensive integrated research model focused on the research objectives. Following a positivist research paradigm, this study employs a mixed-method research approach. A preliminary conceptual framework is developed through an extensive literature review and is refined by results from an in-depth field study. During the field study, a total of 11 SME owners or decision-makers were interviewed. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using NVivo 10 to refine the model to develop the research hypotheses. The final research model is composed of 30 first-order and five higher-order constructs which involve both reflective and formative measures. Partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is employed to test the theoretical model with a cross-sectional data set of 282 SMEs in Bangladesh. Survey data were collected using a structured questionnaire issued to SMEs selected by applying a stratified random sampling technique. The structural equation modelling utilises a two-step procedure of data analysis. Prior to estimating the structural model, the measurement model is examined for construct validity of the study variables (i.e. convergent and discriminant validity).

The estimates show cognitive evaluation as an important antecedent for expectation which is shaped primarily by the entrepreneurs’ beliefs (perception) and also influenced by the owners’ innovativeness and culture. Culture further influences expectation. The study finds that facilitating condition, environmental pressure and country readiness are important antecedents of expectation and ICT use. The results also reveal that integration and the degree of ICT utilisation significantly affect SMEs’ performance. Surprisingly, the findings do not reveal any significant impact of ICT usage on performance which apparently suggests the possibility of the ICT productivity paradox. However, the analysis finally proves the non-existence of the paradox by demonstrating the mediating role of ICT integration and degree of utilisation explain the influence of information technology (IT) usage on firm performance which is consistent with the resource-based theory. The results suggest that the use of ICT can enhance SMEs’ performance if the technology is integrated and properly utilised. SME owners or managers, interested stakeholders and policy makers may follow the study’s outcomes and focus on ICT integration and degree of utilisation with a view to attaining superior organisational performance.

This study urges concerned business enterprises and government to look at the environmental and cultural factors with a view to achieving ICT usage success in terms of enhanced firm performance. In particular, improving organisational practices and procedures by eliminating the traditional power distance inside organisations and implementing necessary rules and regulations are important actions for managing environmental and cultural uncertainties. The application of a Bengali user interface may help to ensure the productivity of ICT use by SMEs in Bangladesh. Establishing a favourable national technology infrastructure and legal environment may contribute positively to improving the overall situation. This study also suggests some changes and modifications in the country’s existing policies and strategies. The government and policy makers should undertake mass promotional programs to disseminate information about the various uses of computers and their contribution in developing better organisational performance. Organising specialised training programs for SME capacity building may succeed in attaining the motivation for SMEs to use ICT. Ensuring easy access to the technology by providing loans, grants and subsidies is important. Various stakeholders, partners and related organisations should come forward to support government policies and priorities in order to ensure the productive use of ICT among SMEs which finally will help to foster Bangladesh’s economic development.

The subject of part‐time work is one which has become increasingly important in industrialised economies where it accounts for a substantial and growing proportion of total employment. It is estimated that in 1970, average annual hours worked per employee amounted to only 60% of those for 1870. Two major factors are attributed to explaining the underlying trend towards a reduction in working time: (a) the increase in the number of voluntary part‐time employees and (b) the decrease in average annual number of days worked per employee (Kok and de Neubourg, 1986). The authors noted that the growth rate of part‐time employment in many countries was greater than the corresponding rate of growth in full‐time employment.

In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.

Looks at the 2000 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference held at the University of Cardiff in Wales on 6/7 September 2000. Spotlights the 76 or so presentations within and shows that these are in many, differing, areas across management research from: retail finance; precarious jobs and decisions; methodological lessons from feminism; call centre experience and disability discrimination. These and all points east and west are covered and laid out in a simple, abstract style, including, where applicable, references, endnotes and bibliography in an easy‐to‐follow manner. Summarizes each paper and also gives conclusions where needed, in a comfortable modern format.

The study of international business has become increasingly important in recent years. So important that the American Assembly of the Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has called for the internationalisation of business curricula. In 1992 and beyond, successful business people will treat the entire world as their domain. No one country can operate in an economic vacuum. Any economic measures taken by one country can affect the global economy. This book is designed to challenge the reader to develop a global perspective of international business. Globalisation is by no means a new concept, but there are many new factors that have contributed to its recently accelerated growth. Among them, the new technologies in communication and transport that have resulted in major expansions of international trade and investment. In the future, the world market will become predominant. There are bound to be big changes in the world economy. For instance the changes in Eastern Europe and the European Community during the 1990s. With a strong knowledge base in international business, future managers will be better prepared for the new world market. This book introduces its readers to the exciting and rewarding field of international management and international corporations. It is written in contemporary, easy‐to‐understand language, avoiding abstract terminology; and is organised into five sections, each of which includes a number of chapters that cover a subject involving activities that cross national boundaries.