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The purpose of this paper is to analyze some of the unseen negative effects of the post‐Katrina government policies dealing with housing in New Orleans.

Since Hurricane Katrina, the government, along with private for profit and not‐for‐profit organizations, has worked to rebuild the city of New Orleans. This effort is most evident in the response to the housing crisis that followed the storm. The government has spent billions of dollars and brought thousands of people in to rebuild homes and other infrastructure in the long run and to provide stopgap measures in the short run. The approximately 120,000 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) trailers in the region are one of the most visible examples of government efforts.

The paper finds that while the trailers did provide benefits to those who received them, it could be argued that the government's policies aimed toward solving the housing crisis suffer from Frédéric Bastiat's broken window fallacy. FEMA trailers and the multitude of workers brought in are examples of what is seen, and, as Bastiat showed, we must also look at what is unseen.

The paper is of value in showing that the trailer problem, among many others, has weakened the relief effort.

F. A. Hayek's contribution to economic science is broadly remembered as relating to the “use of knowledge in society” but his contribution to economics of knowledge are often summarized differently. We emphasize the contextual nature of the knowledge. Hayek says the market economy is capable of eliciting and utilizing in the process of coordinating economic activities. There is, however, a double meaning of context that we explore. Hayek developed his argument about the use of knowledge in the context of the socialist calculation debate, and the aspect of knowledge he came to focus on was the contextual nature of knowledge in human action in markets, politics, law, and society. This paper traces out the development of Hayek's focus on the epistemic foundations of the complex coordination in an advanced market economy and shows that his critique of classical and market socialism led to a refined, subtle approach to understanding spontaneous order. Furthermore, it is precisely Hayek's focus on the role of institutions in creating the conditions for the utilization and transference of knowledge through the price system that continues to shape the progressive research programs in economic science and public policy analysis that is his legacy.

Previous studies have shown that small- and medium-sized manufacturing firms make a substantial contribution to national economies in terms of job and wealth creation (Daly & McCann, 1992; Schreyer, 1996). However, many smaller firms face unprecedented change arising from the increasingly competitive and changing environment in which they operate (Coopers and Lybrand, 1997; D’Aveni, 1994). Much of this competition often emanates from larger firms with greater resource capabilities. Firms of all sizes are increasingly turning to strategy as a means of achieving competitive advantage. Strategy research is mainly directed towards examining why firms differ in performance (Barnett & Burgelman, 1996; Schendel, 1996). Strategy has ‘undergone, in the 1990s, a major shift in focus regarding the sources of sustainable competitive advantage: from industry to firm specific effects’ (Spanos & Lioukas, 2001). This involves more than strategy formulation — it is about making choices based on competing alternatives and implementing the chosen direction using the organisational processes and systems (Shaw, Gupta, & Delery, 2002; Stopford, 2001). Other writers, such as Pettigrew and Fenton (2000), acknowledge that ‘soft’ aspects are an integral part of the evolutionary nature of strategy, and include cultural influences (Chakravarthy & Doz, 1992) and leadership (McNulty & Pettigrew, 1999).

To present the main findings of a study conducted in manufacturing firms in the UK to determine the applicability of generic strategies to small and medium sized firms (SMEs).

The Miles and Snow strategic orientation typology was used to examine the emphasis on the factors used to craft strategy and its subsequent impact on organizational performance. The study examined its applicability in two contrasting sectors: engineering and electronics.

Based on the responses obtained from 194 SMEs, the findings indicate that the main strategic orientation types present in this study are associated with different environment types; prospectors tend to perceive their environment as “dynamic” whereas defenders perceive their environment as “stable”. Distinct differences were found in relation to the emphasis of both orientation types on leadership, culture, strategy, and performance outcomes. Finally, the findings indicate that “prospectors” perform better than “defenders” and are twice as likely to be high performing. Smaller firms are more likely to be “prospectors” compared with firms employing over 100 staff.

The study confirms the applicability of the Miles and Snow typology to SMEs – a domain neglected in previous studies. The findings also depict the association between the attributes of the operating environment, organizational culture, leadership and strategy on both defenders and prospectors and the path to either high or low performance.

To investigate the role and impact of strategic orientation and environmental perceptions on innovation and supporting mechanisms such as process technologies and management practices, in SMEs.

A quantitative approach based on a random sampling methodology of 1,000 SMEs. Construct validity was tested in the qualitative phase of the research.

SMEs can be categorised as either prospectors or defenders. This polarisation was confirmed in this study. For example, prospectors are more likely to engage in new product development, whereas defenders are five times more likely to modify an existing product than introduce a newly patented product. Prospector‐type firms tend to deploy more new process technologies and leading management practices compared with defender type firms, particularly in a turbulent operating environment. Defenders recognise the need to “catch up” and indicate that they intend to introduce process technologies over the next two years. Firms tend to place a greater emphasis on innovation in turbulent operating environments.

The study was restricted to two different sector types: engineering and electronics. Future studies should examine other sectors and their sub sectors, possibly augmented by qualitative in‐depth case studies or an ethnographic approach.

The practical implications of the study are outlined in the paper. Chief executives are encouraged to align their strategic orientation with their innovation strategy. In addition, defender type firms should consider the greater use of process technologies and management practices.

This paper contributes to the integration of strategic orientation and innovation.

The deadhead subculture – centered around the band Grateful Dead – has been active for 50+ years. Despite its longevity, academic work is sparse compared to other music subcultures. Given its durability and resilience, this subculture offers an opportunity to explore subcultural development and maintenance. I employ a contemporary, symbolic interactionist approach to trace the development of deadhead subculture and subcultural identity. Although identity is a basic concept in subculture research, it is not well defined: I suggest that the co-creation and maintenance of subcultural identity can be seen as a dialectic between collective identity and symbolic interactionist conceptions of individual role-identity.

The chapter defines social capital and explains its relationship to the broader concept of traffic safety culture. It lays out the conceptual case for a causal connection between social capital and positive traffic safety outcomes and describes recent work that has examined that connection. Implications for the practitioner include current policy options based on existing research results and promising new directions that require further exploration.

With proper design and work planning, falls through fragile skylights are preventable. Skylights pose a hazard to workers when their work tasks for operations, maintenance and repair require them to be on roofs. The National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety produced guidelines and special alerts to address the dangers that are present around skylights, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations have prescriptive requirements for work performed around skylights, and yet incidents still occur. The purpose of this study is to investigate and raise awareness for the causality of the incidents involving skylights in the USA.

The authors investigated and analyzed 204 incidents involving skylights recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to characterize their nature and to determine any correlation with the roof environment or the nature of the work performed. Using Google Earth and Google Maps roof geometry, proximity of skylights to roof edge and rooftop mechanical equipment was determined.

The majority of falls through skylights occur during roof maintenance and repair activities. Falls through skylights are underreported. Because of a general lack of good design to reduce or eliminate the risk of falling through skylights, facility managers carry the burden to properly assess work and access on roofs where fragile skylights are present.

The phenomenon of falling through skylights was made aware on a national level in the USA in 1989; however, little has been done from a design and planning perspective to reduce these incidents. This paper presents a unique perspective on the role of facility managers in understanding the hazards associated with roof maintenance near skylights.

The purpose of the study is to develop knowledge on the implementation of Hoshin Kanri (HK) in small manufacturing companies. Two research questions are addressed: (1) what factors influence the implementation of HK in small manufacturing companies? (2) How do the factors influence the implementation of HK in small manufacturing companies?

The research presented in this paper is based on an extensive literature review and data from the implementation process in five small manufacturing companies. In the literature review, factors influencing the implementation of HK, lean production and total quality management (TQM) in small manufacturing firms are identified. Thereafter, five implementation cases are analyzed. Findings from the cases are then contrasted with the factors identified in the literature and further theorized.

Seven factors were found to either enable or hamper HK implementation in small manufacturing companies. Management involvement was identified as a critical factor. Management involvement can be typologized as collaborative or demanding, and the types of involvement is decisive in implementation processes within the small manufacturing company context.

In this paper, the authors focus on small manufacturing companies as the starting point and relate theoretical and practical results to the implementation processes in this defined target group. Conceptualizing implementation as a learning process, this research contributes to this emerging perspective on small firm development.