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Book part
Publication date: 4 July 2019

Martin Kenney and John Zysman

The emergence of the platform economy is reorganizing work, employment, and value creation. The authors argue that the digital platforms are fracturing work itself as the places…

Abstract

The emergence of the platform economy is reorganizing work, employment, and value creation. The authors argue that the digital platforms are fracturing work itself as the places and types of work are being reorganized into a myriad of platform organized work arrangements with workplaces being potentially anywhere with Internet connectivity. The authors differ from most traditional narratives that focus solely upon either work displacement, a single type of platform-organized value-creating activity, or David Weil’s concentration solely upon the workplace. The authors recognize that even as some work is replaced, other work is being transformed; new work and old work in new arrangements is being created and recreated. The taxonomy begins with the workers employed directly by the platform and its contractors. The authors then introduce the category, platform-mediated work, which we divide into three groups: marketplaces such as Amazon; in-person service provision such as Uber and Airbnb; and remote service provision such as Upwork. The next category, “platform-mediated content creation,” is complex. The authors identify three groups of activities: consignment content creators that include services such as the app stores, YouTube, and Amazon Self-Publishing; non-platform organization content producers, which refers to the enormous number of workers occupied with creating and maintaining websites; and user-generated content which is the non-compensated value creation that ranges from content uploaded to Facebook, Instagram, etc. to reviews on sites such as Yelp. It is only when work and value creation is considered in all of these platform-based manifestations that we can understand the ultimate dimensions of the platform economy and comprehensively understand its implications for work.

Details

Work and Labor in the Digital Age
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78973-585-7

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 10 December 2018

Kai Jia, Martin Kenney and John Zysman

The recent emergence of Chinese digital platform firms, whose size rivals that of the US platform giants, has attracted much popular interest. Given the size and increasing…

Abstract

The recent emergence of Chinese digital platform firms, whose size rivals that of the US platform giants, has attracted much popular interest. Given the size and increasing technical sophistication of these firms, there has been increasing interest in whether they have developed sufficient capacities and resources to become global-class competitors for the reigning US platform giants. The authors assembled a database of all overseas operations of the Chinese platform firms. Nine of them have foreign operations, with Tencent and Alibaba being the most important offshore investors. The authors describe the globalization patterns of these firms and analyze the strengths and obstacles to their globalization. Their globalization has proceeded on a number of vectors: first, these firms, with a few exceptions, when they have global strategies, have largely invested in firms with useful technology or content. One common strategy has been to follow Chinese customers abroad. Second, Chinese firms have made equity investments in a number of foreign Internet firms. And yet, in nearly all foreign markets, Chinese websites and apps still trail the US firms in market share and salience. Finally, Chinese investments are concentrated in proximate countries. Chinese platform firms, while having some state-of-the-art technologies, have a far smaller foreign presence than their US competitors do. Finally, the authors consider the implications of their research for discussions of whether emerging nation multinational firms require new theories for explaining their globalization.

Details

International Business in the Information and Digital Age
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-326-1

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1998

Martin S. Kenney

People seek to accumulate, maintain and protect wealth. The trust relation is among the most popular and flexible legal models available in furtherance of these ends, particularly…

Abstract

People seek to accumulate, maintain and protect wealth. The trust relation is among the most popular and flexible legal models available in furtherance of these ends, particularly in the offshore world.

Details

Journal of Financial Crime, vol. 6 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-0790

Article
Publication date: 3 June 2014

Timo Seppälä, Martin Kenney and Jyrki Ali-Yrkkö

The purpose of this paper is to integrate the issue of transfer pricing and logistics costs to understand trade statistics and the operation of supply chains by using…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to integrate the issue of transfer pricing and logistics costs to understand trade statistics and the operation of supply chains by using invoice-level data for a single globally sourced product of a multinational firm.Supply chains are central to understanding wealth creation and capture in an increasingly globalized production system. The increasing disaggregation and dispersal of supply chains is profoundly affecting the geographical distribution of value added, input costs and profits of multinational firms. This suggests that understanding supply chains and where the activities and accounting for these activities take place is crucial for understanding the causes and consequences of contemporary globalization.

Design/methodology/approach

By using a case study of a single product and invoice-level data, it was possible to capture the actual costs incurred by a firm using a relatively simple global supply chain. The authors show how corporate intra-firm transfer pricing determines which business unit and location captures profits. A single firm provided the core data in this paper, including product- and firm-level information on intermediate product prices and input costs for all internal transfers.

Findings

This paper advances interesting insights into trade in value added and shows that, though not often considered significant, transfer pricing is a critical issue for understanding the geographical distribution of value added. The authors conclude with some observations about the nature of global supply chains, the value of international trade statistics and a hidden advantage of an integrated firm operating on a global scale the ability to somewhat arbitrarily select the activities to which profits should be allocated. For nation states, as supply chains become more international and complex, critical measures, such as gross domestic product, worker productivity, etc., are becoming ever more imprecise. The economic geography of cost of inputs and profits continue to separate as multinational enterprises drive the disaggregation of value creation and value capture.

Research limitations/implications

The case study facilitates an understanding of complex supply chain issues, thereby extending and deepening findings from previous research. This case study of transfer pricing in supply chains will assist other scholars in better formulating testable propositions for their studies and sensitize them to the internal complexities corporate managers face when making operationalizing decisions.

Originality/value

The case study suggests that understanding the configuration of and accounting in supply chains is vital for accurately measuring any national economic statistics. This case study provides some bottom-up evidence that national accounts and international trade economics undertaken without a deep understanding of supply chain organization is likely to generate misleading results. The methodology of using invoice-level data can provide a more granular understanding of how supply chains are organized and where the value is added and captured. For practitioners, the data suggest that firms should think very carefully about which of their activities generate the most value, and value those accordingly.

Details

Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, vol. 19 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-8546

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Work and Labor in the Digital Age
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78973-585-7

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2000

Martin S. Kenney and Elizabeth O'Brien

The answer to this rhetorical question is not something that is immediately apparent in the majority of cases, the intent of the settlor being the determining, if not only…

Abstract

The answer to this rhetorical question is not something that is immediately apparent in the majority of cases, the intent of the settlor being the determining, if not only, factor. The determination of whether a trust is being used as a cloak for fraud or abuse, or is a sham, will be aided by reference to the doctrine of substance over form. Where a trust has but the appearance of legal effectiveness (and where the settlor either reserves the power to direct the trustee, or where such power is conferred upon the beneficiaries, such that the settlement is not intended to have any legal effect), the trust may be described as a bare trust. The essential characteristics of a bare trust are that either the settlor or the beneficiary has real, dispositive control over capital and interest (such that the whole of the equitable ownership of the trust property remains in the settlor), notwithstanding the existence of a trust instrument designating a trustee and beneficiary.

Details

Journal of Financial Crime, vol. 8 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-0790

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1999

Martin S. Kenney

Although people talk of a new world order and the globalisation of market economies, the problem presented by serious fraud has, until recently, been left largely to be addressed…

Abstract

Although people talk of a new world order and the globalisation of market economies, the problem presented by serious fraud has, until recently, been left largely to be addressed by countries independently, despite the fact that much of the problem is global in scope and breadth. The response to fraud has been largely fragmented and reactive — with countries initiating change as they intuitively perceive the threat posed by fraud, primarily to their economy but also to national integrity, public confidence and in some cases to national security. As individual governments have moved to tackle the problem presented by fraud within the confines of their own boundaries, the experienced fraudster has recognised the need for expansion beyond these boundaries. This need for geographical expansion coupled with the innate adaptability of the experienced white‐collar criminal has resulted in the increased internationalisation of white‐collar crime. The proliferation of legally protected bank secrecy laws has reinforced this motive to be nomadic — to fragment both primary and secondary criminal conduct across international boundaries. In response to this new and expanded threat, countries and organisations have come together in an attempt to address the issue, and in some cases have undertaken significant efforts of international and regional cooperation to control globalised fraud.

Details

Journal of Financial Crime, vol. 7 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-0790

Book part
Publication date: 27 August 2014

Amalya L. Oliver and Noam Frank

Israel, characterized by various knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial firms, provides an interesting case study for examining sector-based differences and “small country” regional…

Abstract

Israel, characterized by various knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial firms, provides an interesting case study for examining sector-based differences and “small country” regional patterns. This chapter has a dual goal of exploring sector and regional differences of knowledge-intensive firms in Israel. The first goal is to depict similarities and differences between firms in three knowledge-intensive sectors: Life Sciences, information technology, and Cleantech. The second goal questions whether the geographical distribution of these firms across regions is associated with different levels of knowledge concentration and organizational homogeneity. Regional and sector-based differences were measured by firm-level network structures, funding patterns, and innovation proxies. One way analysis of variance tests were conducted for attaining these research goals. The main findings show that while most regions exhibit similar patterns of firm and network characteristics, many differences exist on the sector level that are associated with sector-specific attributes. These findings support the notion of a “small country inter-regional homogeneity effect.”

Details

Understanding the Relationship Between Networks and Technology, Creativity and Innovation
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-489-3

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 February 2018

Karina Goransson and Anna-Sara Fagerholm

The purpose of this paper is to explore how a visual perspective can be applied to strategic communication research. First, the term visual communication will be examined from…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how a visual perspective can be applied to strategic communication research. First, the term visual communication will be examined from various perspectives with an attempt to develop a foundation for this new academic territory. Second, this study summarises how visual approaches are applied in strategic communication research during 2005-2015, this is done by a literature review including an overall content analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to explore how visual approaches can be applied to strategic communication research, the study started with a literature review by examining the term visual communication from various perspectives. The second step was to do a brief content analysis in order to provide a detailed pattern of theoretical visual approaches in strategic communication research published in scientific journals in the field of strategic communication 2005-2015. A qualitative coding scheme was developed based on the classification of visual approaches in communication research by Barnhurst et al. (2004) and Martin (2011).

Findings

The findings of this study not only support previous research indicating that visual approaches in communication research are increasing; the study also points in the direction of that visual approaches in the research field of strategic communication has slightly emerged during 2005-2015.

Research limitations/implications

This study summarises how visual approaches are applied in strategic communication research during 2005-2015.

Originality/value

This study can provide important knowledge about an innovative visual perspective in strategic communication research.

Details

Journal of Communication Management, vol. 22 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-254X

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Cryptomarkets: A Research Companion
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-030-6

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