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The paper seeks to use the concept of net social capital to help explain the behaviour of a business constellation, a group of entrepreneurial firms in different businesses that cooperate to their mutual benefit.

The paper takes the form of an in‐depth case study of the Canadian Groupement Quebecoise.

The members of the group create and maintain net social capital among themselves in a variety of ways both social and economic and in turn use that net social capital outside the group in dealings with other organisations, profit and non‐profit.

The findings suggest ways in which firms can work with other non‐competing firms.

The concept of net social capital is novel and the study is the first of its kind that investigates such a tightly knit and productive business constellation.

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.

We have before us the recently‐issued Annual Report of the Local Government Board on the work done by the Local Authorities under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts. While preserving the general form and arrangement of its predecessors, it shows that not only the Board itself, but the local authorities also, are coming to an increasing realisation of the importance of the subject. Six years ago we had occasion to point out some of the defects attaching to these reports, and to suggest various improvements that might be made in them. We felt, and expressed at the time our belief, that the Board was much handicapped by the form of quarterly reports imposed on the Public Analyst by the Food and Drugs Acts, and by the non‐existence of any machinery by which it could get together and collate the vast amount of information which those reports ought to, but do not, yield. Until the law is altered the present system must continue, but it is striking evidence of the lack of serious study spent on the matter that for want of effective coordination and control more than one‐half of what may be considered the real and permanent value of the Public Analyst's work goes into the waste‐paper basket. The work done by most Public Analysts as individuals is limited to some few hundreds of samples of any one article of food, but the combined expeperience of them all would in most cases — assuming it could be accurately ascertained—go far towards settling in a single year many of the thorny questions relative to standards and limits which are fought out at such great length and still greater cost to the community in the courts of law.

The first statutory meeting of the Pure Food and Health Society of Great Britain was held on October 16 at the registered offices of the Society, 20, Hanover Square, W. LORD CAMOYS, Chairman of the Executive Committee, presided. In opening the meeting LORD CAMOYS said:—

It has been stated, and not without some cause, that no branch of our law is in a more uncertain condition than that relating to warranties under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts, for during the past twenty‐three years various decisions have been given on what constitutes a warranty within those statutes, and at first sight it appears somewhat difficult to extract therefrom any settled principles. We propose, however, to examine shortly the leading cases on this important subject, and to see how far they are consistent with one another and lay down rules for general guidance.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how social networks evolve as small business enterprises transition across the organizational lifecycle. It aims to give attention to how social identities of small business owners impact social networks and whether social networks improve organizational performance in small firms.

A sample of small to medium‐sized enterprise (SME) owners employing less than 500 employees was drawn from the local directory of businesses in two Indian cities. A total of 297 SME owners participated in the study, for a response rate of 85.6 percent.

The findings show that social networks for small businesses change as firms transition from startup to growth and beyond. Personal networks were most important during startup, with other social networks growing in contact frequency and importance over time. The findings also show that small business owners can be classified along network preferences and that social networks lead superior performance.

The study focused on a limited set of performance indices. Future research should assess a wider set of organizational metrics and should investigate granular aspects of transitional networks.

The findings suggest that small business owners cannot adhere to the status quo and must instead be willing to change business practices as their organizations evolve across the organizational lifecycle.

The study provides evidence that small business owners use different types of social networks and that the range and value of the strategic advice that they receive differ as their organization unfolds over time. The research contributes to the literature by showing that social networks and entrepreneurial learning practices are not static, and instead must be viewed in terms of dynamic decision making needs and processes.

The decision of the Wolverhampton Stipendiary in the case of “Skim‐milk Cheese” is, at any rate, clearly put. It is a trial case, and, like most trial cases, the reasons for the judgment have to be based upon first principles of common‐sense, occasionally aided, but more often complicated, by already existing laws, which apply more or less to the case under discussion. The weak point in this particular case is the law which has just come into force, in which cheese is defined as the substance “usually known as cheese” by the public and any others interested in cheese. This reliance upon the popular fancy reads almost like our Government's war policy and “the man in the street,” and is a shining example of a trustful belief in the average common‐sense. Unfortunately, the general public have no direct voice in a police court, and so the “usually known as cheese” phrase is translated according to the fancy and taste of the officials and defending solicitors who may happen to be concerned with any particular case. Not having the general public to consult, the officials in this case had a war of dictionaries which would have gladdened the heart of Dr. JOHNSON; and the outcome of much travail was the following definition: cheese is “ coagulated milk or curd pressed into a solid mass.” So far so good, but immediately a second definition question cropped up—namely, What is “milk?”—and it is at this point that the mistake occurred. There is no legal definition of new milk, but it has been decided, and is accepted without dispute, that the single word “milk” means an article of well‐recognised general properties, and which has a lower limit of composition below which it ceases to be correctly described by the one word “milk,” and has to be called “skim‐milk,” “separated milk,” “ milk and water,” or other distinguishing names. The lower limits of fat and solids‐not‐fat are recognised universally by reputable public analysts, but there has been no upper limit of fat fixed. Therefore, by the very definition quoted by the stipendiary, an article made from “skim‐milk” is not cheese, for “skim‐milk” is not “milk.” The argument that Stilton cheese is not cheese because there is too much fat would not hold, for there is no legal upper limit for fat; but if it did hold, it does not matter, for it can be, and is, sold as “Stilton” cheese, without any hardship to anyone. The last suggestion made by the stipendiary would, if carried out, afford some protection to the general public against their being cheated when they buy cheese. This suggestion is that the Board of Agriculture, who by the Act of 1899 have the legal power, should determine a lower limit of fat which can be present in cheese made from milk; but, as we have repeatedly pointed out, it is by the adoption of the Control system that such questions can alone be settled to the advantage of the producer of genuine articles and to that of the public.

Less than half a century ago almost the entire population of the United States lived upon food that was home‐grown and home‐prepared. With the exception of a few articles requiring a different climate than our own for their production, such as coffee, tea, sugar, spices, and chocolate, the inhabitants of the country lived exclusively upon food of their own producing, while the dealers of the city were supplied with the products of the neighbouring farms. Provisions of all kinds were supplied in an unprepared condition, and their preservation or preparation for the table was accomplished at the home.

At a meeting of the Council of the Royal Borough of Kensington, on November 22, Councillor J. BROOKE‐LITTLE, Chairman of the Public Health Committee, brought up a report as follows:—