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The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and ideology of the FTC’s leaders, developments in the field of economics, and the tenor of the times. The over-riding current role is to provide well considered, unbiased economic advice regarding antitrust and consumer protection law enforcement cases to the legal staff and the Commission. The second role, which long ago was primary, is to provide reports on investigations of various industries to the public and public officials. This role was more recently called research or “policy R&D”. A third role is to advocate for competition and markets both domestically and internationally. As a practical matter, the provision of economic advice to the FTC and to the legal staff has required that the economists wear “two hats,” helping the legal staff investigate cases and provide evidence to support law enforcement cases while also providing advice to the legal bureaus and to the Commission on which cases to pursue (thus providing “a second set of eyes” to evaluate cases). There is sometimes a tension in those functions because building a case is not the same as evaluating a case. Economists and the Bureau of Economics have provided such services to the FTC for over 100 years proving that a sub-organization can survive while playing roles that sometimes conflict. Such a life is not, however, always easy or fun.

The objective of this study is to investigate how country risk, different political actions from the government and bureaucratic behavior influence the activities in industry supply chains (SCs) in emerging markets. The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence of these external stakeholders’ elements to the demand-side and supply-side drivers and barriers for improving competitiveness of Ready-Made Garment (RMG) industry in the way of analyzing supply chain. Considering the phenomenon of recent change in the RMG business environment and the competitiveness issues this study uses the principles of stakeholder and resource dependence theory and aims to find out some factors which influence to make an efficient supply chain for improving competitiveness. The RMG industry of Bangladesh is the case application of this study. Following a positivist paradigm, this study adopts a two phase sequential mixed-method research design consisting of qualitative and quantitative approaches. A tentative research model is developed first based on extensive literature review. Qualitative field study is then carried out to fine tune the initial research model. Findings from the qualitative method are also used to develop measures and instruments for the next phase of quantitative method. A survey is carried out with sample of top and middle level executives of different garment companies of Dhaka city in Bangladesh and the collected quantitative data are analyzed by partial least square-based structural equation modeling. The findings support eight hypotheses. From the analysis the external stakeholders’ elements like bureaucratic behavior and country risk have significant influence to the barriers. From the internal stakeholders’ point of view the manufacturers’ and buyers’ drivers have significant influence on the competitiveness. Therefore, stakeholders need to take proper action to reduce the barriers and increase the drivers, as the drivers have positive influence to improve competitiveness.

This study has both theoretical and practical contributions. This study represents an important contribution to the theory by integrating two theoretical perceptions to identify factors of the RMG industry’s SC that affect the competitiveness of the RMG industry. This research study contributes to the understanding of both external and internal stakeholders of national and international perspectives in the RMG (textile and clothing) business. It combines the insights of stakeholder and resource dependence theories along with the concept of the SC in improving effectiveness. In a practical sense, this study certainly contributes to the Bangladeshi RMG industry. In accordance with the desire of the RMG manufacturers, the research has shown that some influential constructs of the RMG industry’s SC affect the competitiveness of the RMG industry. The outcome of the study is useful for various stakeholders of the Bangladeshi RMG industry sector ranging from the government to various private organizations. The applications of this study are extendable through further adaptation in other industries and various geographic contexts.

This study seeks to evaluate the stability of financial ratios across industry and over time. The sample comprises companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Singapore from 1980 to 1991 over six industry groupings. A set of 29 most commonly used ratios was selected for the study. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis and analysis of variance were performed. From the factor analysis results, eight representative ratios were identified. Analysis of variance and multiple comparisons were subsequently performed for each representative ratio to test if it is significantly different across industry and over time. The results indicate that financial ratio averages of the various industries are significantly different. This implies that the appropriate benchmark for evaluating company performance and position should be industry‐specific instead of economy based. Also, five of the representative ratios are significantly different over time and not all the industrial averages move consistently over time (i.e., interaction effects of industry and time exist). Thus, industry averages are not necessarily appropriate benchmarks for setting and evaluating performance through time.

Presents a case study demonstrating financial statement ratio analysis (FSRA). This analysis matches company to industry data and builds sales forecasting models. FSRA imputes forecast standards of sales and costs, and applies them to a budgeted financial statement variance analysis for the EE (electronic and electrical) industry. Develops the concept of industry base standards, integrating them into the more traditional statistical and accounting concepts of quality control standards. Provides an implementation example, and reviews possible improvements to the current methodology and approach. Uses a similar methodology to forecast the stock market value with some exceptions. Models sales and costs of an individual company and an industry based largely on aggregate industry databases. For this purpose, uses a multivariate linear trend regression analysis for the sales forecasting model. Defines and tests related hypotheses and evaluates their significance and confidence levels. For an illustration uses the EE industry and the APM company. Also demonstrates a microcomputer‐based FSRA software that speeds, facilitates, and helps to accomplish the stated objectives. The FSRA software uses industry financial statement databases, computes financial ratios and builds forecasting models.

The purpose of this paper is to provide practitioners and students a practical yet comprehensive set of templates for applying Michael Porter's five forces framework for industry analysis.

Based on experiences with practicing managers, small business owners, industry analysts, academics, and students, a set of industry analysis templates that systematically guides an analyst through a comprehensive assessment of the five forces is presented with the following: copies of the templates themselves, descriptions of their structure and use, an example of a completed template (spectator sports industry), and a discussion of possible modifications and extensions.

The industry analysis templates described in this paper retain the comprehensiveness of Porter's framework but in a format much more student/manager-oriented using graphics, visual cues, a uniform structure, and straightforward descriptions of concepts. Template users show evidence of deeper strategic insights and have a sophisticated tool for future analysis.

Managers, analysts, students, and others wanting robust industry analysis are provided with a comprehensive, structured, and practical set of templates to use in assessing an industry using the five forces framework.

Leading strategic management texts and other sources provide no comprehensive, systematic, and robust format for conducting a five forces analysis of an industry. The set of industry analysis templates described in this paper provides a visually compelling, user-friendly format that can assist those analyzing industries gain important strategic insights not only into industry drivers, but also important competitive advantages for individual firms.

The revolution experienced in the banking industry over the last decade has led to a constant series of changes with banks attempting to adjust their internal organisation to suit the ever‐changing external environment. The author includes edited extracts from his research into this process of strategic formulation and the translation of marketing and planning concepts to meet the needs and character of the corporate market in Britain. Major issues influencing the development of a competitive strategy are examined, topics of strategic formulation, differentiation and the nature of transactions between banks and their customers are discussed, and the findings of market and industry analysis, outlining the practical use to which research findings have been put, is illustrated. Findings reveal that banks have been forced to identify the profitability and content of the constituent parts of their total business, and market segmentation is now seen as a necessary discipline. The current economic environment requires not only a more rapid adjustment to change, but to be effective must create within the organisation a culture which induces managers to act as agents of change.

This paper aims to construct a process model of business founding in the biotech industry.

An inductive method is used, and five case studies analyzed. Data are coded by applying Gioia’s method.

Aspirant entrepreneurs conduct resource analysis and industry analysis to formulate research and development targets. They perform transactions and networks because they require resources, and they then deploy and coordinate these resources. Such coordination generates activities with social and financial impacts.

The results are specific to the biotech industry. A future study could examine business founding processes in other industries (e.g. entertainment, fashion, public utilities and sport). Additionally, the paper argues that during the founding process entrepreneurs show little concern for knowledge-sharing risk, as they want to collaborate to implement their ideas. Quantitative papers could test the consequences of such behavior.

The process model provides insights into aspirant founders on how to start a business in the biotech industry.

The paper shows: the differences between the founding process in the biotech industry versus other industries; and the shape of the Bower–Burgelman model in the context of biotech business founding. The paper delineates how private companies discover competencies in the public sector; a model of technology transfer from public to private sector; entrepreneurs’ absence of risk perceptions regarding knowledge-sharing during founding; and how conferences can serve as vehicles for benchmarking in networking.

We contribute to the emerging literature on strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its antecedents by undertaking a systematic analysis of the effect of rivalry on firm and industry CSR. We deal with the codetermination of competition and CSR by using instrumental variables in the firm-level analysis and by modeling it directly in the industry-level analysis. We find that higher intensity of rivalry and CSR of competitors increase firm CSR, ceteris paribus; however, in a more dynamic setting when firms can change their production output, more competition in fact decreases aggregate industry CSR. While seemingly contradictory, these findings suggest interesting implications for both managers and public policy makers.