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This paper aims to investigate “corporate governance” of the English East India Company (EIC) in the late 17th century through a case study of the Tonkin factory (1672–1697).

The paper draws upon British primary materials relating to the Tonkin factory to examine and analyze the EIC’s style of management in Tonkin (Vietnam) and Bantam (Java). Qualitative and comparative methods are applied to the analysis of reports, records and letters written by EIC staff.

The paper finds that the EIC faced principal-agent problems as it had difficulties administering its distant agents and subsidiaries in the 17th century. London was strategically weakened, both by the limiting power of regional headquarters and by its use of experienced factors. Before 1682, London failed to temper the Bantam Council’s influence, and there were serious internal conflicts and power struggles between English Tonkin employees seeking to improve their positions. After 1686, London successfully forced Madras to adopt a noninterventionist stance in Tonkin’s business, but it faced the problem of “adverse selection.”

This paper provides evidence from the Tonkin factory (1672–1697) to show the EIC’s governance in the perspective of the agency theory.

Amidst offshoring and reshoring trends, the purpose of this paper is to explore why business practitioners, especially from the labour-intensive clothing industry, choose to manufacture some products in proximity to the high-cost European market. Moreover, the rise of sustainability concerns led us to further explore whether these reasons relate to triple bottom line (TBL): business, environment and society.

The content analysis was adopted for within-case and cross-case analysis of data from semi-structured interviews of managers from 12 clothing companies.

Within-case analysis showed enablers and barriers (factors) of proximity manufacturing within each company’s characteristics under TBL. Cross-case analysis showed the most-mentioned enablers (high-quality suppliers, short lead-time and fast replenishment) and barriers (expensive production cost and lack of industrial set-up and seamstresses). The findings revealed both common and different factors from existing studies.

Besides being motives for companies to bring manufacturing back to Europe, the results can be used by researchers and companies to develop criteria and performance measures of manufacturing locations for enhancing the TBL sustainability. Future research may explore different locations and industries for possibilities of proximity–manufacturing generalisation.

Findings show that governments could focus on eliminating barriers of proximity manufacturing and creating favourable institutional infrastructure for the European clothing industry and sustainability.

This paper highlights updated proximity–manufacturing factors from practices in relation to TBL sustainability, including support for proximity manufacturing as a practice for TBL enhancement.

Research work describes in‐transit distribution strategy by determining and analyzing key principles of it as well as by illustrating its application in practice. Emphasis on in‐transit distribution strategy is to turn transportation pipeline as a mobile inventory holding place, and actively dispatching goods to a destination, where there is a predicted demand before any customer orders are actually received. The use of this strategy is supported by current trade flows: emerging market trade has increased considerably, but simultaneously Swedish export prices, for example, have significantly decreased. The paper aims to address this issue.

In‐transit strategy is examined through a multiple case study from industrial companies having main factory operations in Sweden as well as using a system dynamics simulation model, and Monte Carlo analysis. These are supported by the second hand data of trade flows between Sweden, and India and China.

In order to be successful with in‐transit strategy, the case studies show that excellent planning, working closely with customers, first‐class market knowledge, and an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that is able to support the process sufficiently are required. Other highlighted requirements of this strategy are low variation in demand, and predictable distribution lead‐time. Simulation study of one hypothetical product group verified case study findings, but the authors find it interesting that manufacturing output variance especially is very sensitive regarding to the overall results. If variation increases, then in‐transit strategy is not able to deliver for customers with the necessary accuracy. Also increasing average customer demand, and longer transportation delays lead to undesired outcomes (e.g. too much inventory or out of stock situations).

The case study and second hand analysis is limited to one country, and further evidence is needed from other European, and possibly North American companies, to verify these findings.

There has been a rather limited amount of research works completed from the use of in‐transit strategy, even if increased trade activity and lower price of exported items is that of the old west in their exports to emerging markets, and continues to be so in the future (was even strong to China during credit crunch year 2009). Our research is seminal in terms of a developed system dynamics simulation model.

There exists insufficient literature on classification and taxonomy of tea leaves supply chain (TLSC), so the purpose of this paper is to study the existing TLSCs and classify them accordingly. Apart from this, the paper also focuses on identification of key decisions issues in the supply chains (SC) and developing a TLSC decision framework for the state of Assam in India.

The paper is based on a two-year detailed study on TLSC in Assam which encompasses 22 Tea Estates, 41 Small Tea Gardens (STGs) and a Research Institute (Tocklai Tea Research Institute). Secondary data were collected from relevant websites of various government organizations of India, company’s websites, annual reports, official statements from the companies, tea market reports, annual reports of the Indian Tea Association, the Tea Board of India, Tea Research Institute and published reports, etc.

The “point of origin” of TLSC is a tea garden, “point of consumption” is considered as a tea factory and green tea leaves (GTLs) forms the basic raw material. This SC includes mainly three players: Tea leaves growers, manufacturers of made tea and tea leaves agents. This study identifies the three types of TLSCs existing in Assam: TLSC1, TLSC2 and TLSC3. Among them, only TLSC1 is both responsive as well as an efficient chain, while the rest are only responsive chains. Later two SCs can be made efficient with the proposed TLSC4.

There is an insufficient literature on classification and taxonomy of TLSC, therefore the study (considerably the classification and taxonomy of TLSC) was developed from the primary data which were collected from the 22 Tea Estates and 41 STGs of four districts of Assam, because of limited time (two years). The study should have involved more tea estates and small tea gardens for better classification and taxonomy.

The proposed model suggests that small tea growers may create a co-operative whereby smaller tea gardens (STGs) (members of the co-operative) unite to act as a single large garden, set up their own co-operative factory and recruit permanent tea plucking laborers. This up-gradation of TLSC2 and TLSC3 to TLSC4 may enable a group of STGs to work in a manner similar to a Tea Estate.

To the best of authors’ knowledge this is one of the first studies to classify the TLSC in Assam.

This paper aims to examine the processes through which accounting calculations are formed and developed in a Japanese manufacturing company.

The paper is based on an in-depth longitudinal case study. Actor network theory is used to analyze the empirics and to trace the historical translation process where the calculations were formed and developed as inscriptions.

The empirics show that an accounting calculation (called PPH) was formed and developed as a flag to rally around to involve different interests at different times. It translated changing external social and economic contexts as well as internal managerial and shop-floor interests into its calculations at different stages of the company's development. The processes were inscribed in the form of an accounting calculation and these inscriptions were accumulated, rather than replaced or abandoned, to create growth rings of accounting calculations as chronological network effects.

The case in this paper demonstrates that keiei-rinen (management philosophy) control can be more bottom-up than implied in the extant literature. Shop-floor workers and non-accounting experts participate in (re)shaping processes of accounting calculations. In these processes, “stability” is the key for the calculations to remain at the centre of translation attracting various interests and linking different demands over time.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relevance and contradictions of development aid in crafting governance responses for enabling long term social upgrading in global garment value chains. Since governance responses are multilevel, we propose to analyse the interrelation between the global and the local level through the case study of a private regulatory initiative of a new type: the Accord on Fire and Building Security in Bangladesh, operationally run like a development aid programme. We aim at explaining the reasons why it has been banned from operating in the country.

We use the framework of the Global Value Chain (GVC) approach since it is operationally used in development aid and has broadened its focus to investigating the link between economic and social upgrading. It further helps to understand multilevel and multiactor governance responses. Using multiple secondary sources we describe the context in which the Accord emerged, explore its provisions and operations, and analyse the contestation pertaining to its termination. We analyse the Accord both as a global governance tool and a field-level development aid actor that addresses social issues in GVCs.

As an ILO led operational programme, the Accord, since its inception, has proven globally effective at improving workplace safety for many workers. However it has been resented for being hegemonic and, as a governance tool, it has neither succeeded in addressing the flaws of private regulatory initiatives nor changed existing power relationships in GVCs.

The early termination of the Accord has not yet been analysed. In light of this, we propose new insights on the rising role of development aid in private governance responses.

The largest business unit is no longer the multinational corporation but rather, cooperating networks of globally connected organizations and firms. The principal focus of this chapter is to identify trends which have come to a head in the last two decades in the world economy and have fostered interorganizational cooperation on an unprecedented scale. The technological, political, spatial and cultural complexities of global operations are becoming simply too great in many areas to be encompassed by a single company or agency. It is impossible to build a technologically complex global civilization without interorganizational cooperation, any more than a multicellular organism could survive without cooperation between its distinct but specialized constituents. The chapter reviews the evolutionary basis for cooperation, describes recent economic forces that have shaped interorganizational cooperation and describes why planetary economic cooperation is our “manifest destiny.”

Should allowance for fatigue be made in Rating? The orthodox answer to this is that it should not.

AT the moment of writing this country is suffering — we had almost added “as always!” — from a plethora of strikes continuing, strikes near settlement, and new strikes pending. In some sector or other there appears to be continuing conflict in industry. Peace, when eventually it comes, is fragile and fleeting.

Describes the positioning of a major brand in a niche market in a relatively new retailing environment. Suggests that the use of trend examination, consumer behaviour and product benefits to develop heuristic devices and position the product in this market are essential, and that the analysis of the company and competition were of essence.