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Since the 1980s the economic development of countries in East Asia has had a marked impact on the world port community, particularly in container transport. This paper analyses changes in the competitive environment of the world container port sector using some standard tools of market concentration. Initially, this paper reviews the competitive position of world container port system and then examines the East Asian economic environment. Both ordinal and cardinal measures of port system inequality are used to demonstrate both the rankings and levels of container throughput have been diverging in the world's major economic blocs. Conversely, East Asian countries during the 1990s have shown a trend towards convergence. Measures of dispersion suggest that ports in East Asian countries have become more competitive in their levels of container throughput.

The purpose of this study is to fill a gap in the literature by examining a medium-sized firm. Most modern economies are characterized by a significant group of middle-sized firms, still owner-managed, but with multimillion naira turnovers. Many of these remain family companies and constitute an important reservoir of business initiative. One such family business is the focus of this research. The results of the study suggest that neither the existing typologies of small firm approaches to marketing nor the formal models of marketing attributed to big companies necessarily characterize the marketing planning and management of family business in Nigeria.

In this study we confirm the often assumed but largely untested belief that entrepreneurs think and behave differently than others. We examine a group of more than 700 nascent entrepreneurs and 400 nonentrepreneurs. We determine the entrepreneurs’ cognitive style propensity for problem solving (Innovator versus Adaptor); we compare their expectations; and, we examine the outcomes (performance and start-up) of their ventures. We find that nascent entrepreneurs are more likely to be overly optimistic Innovators, most people are Adaptors, and oneʼs cognitive style can indeed play a role in the initial development and outcome for the venture, but not always as expected.

One way that firms attempt to innovate is through investment in R&D activity. However, there is much heterogeneity in innovations among firms making comparable R&D investments. This article explores employee ownershipʼs moderating effect on the relationship between R&D intensity and innovative output. The basis for the moderation is that ownership increases motivation and commitment to the innovation agenda of the company, and retains employeesʼ entrepreneurial efforts for internal opportunities. Using hierarchical regression, the data support the hypothesis that employee stock ownership positively moderates the relationship between R&D intensity and innovative output. Implications for future research and practice are addressed.

A nonemployer business is one that has no paid employees.The number and revenues of nonemployer businesses are increasing at a faster rate than other businesses, and they are an increasingly important alternative to other forms of entrepreneurship.Yet very little is known about these businesses. This study uses a survey of 1,600 MBA alumni to compare the entrepreneurial motivations of nonemployer entrepreneurs to conventional entrepreneurs and no entrepreneurs. The findings indicate that nonemployer entrepreneurs differ in important ways, and future research is needed to understand more fully this large and important group of entrepreneurs.