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1 – 10 of 755Analyses the evolution of China’s telephone and cable systems, in terms of the public interest, discussing current bureaucratic conflicts and policy debates over convergence, and…
Abstract
Analyses the evolution of China’s telephone and cable systems, in terms of the public interest, discussing current bureaucratic conflicts and policy debates over convergence, and construction of an independent broadband cable network. Looks in depth at China’s problems and the different problems for its citizens with regard to poverty levels and access to the Web.
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Caroline Yeoh, Wilfred How and Victor Sim
The exportability of Singapore’s industrial‐development model to other Asian environments has been one of the hallmarks of the city‐state’s regionalization program, together with…
Abstract
The exportability of Singapore’s industrial‐development model to other Asian environments has been one of the hallmarks of the city‐state’s regionalization program, together with the state‐led, market‐driven intervention that has underscored the citystate’s development strategies. The paper presents an empirical analysis on the portability of this transborder industrialization strategy, and contributes new insights to the discourse on state‐enterprise networks in promulgating transnational entrepreneurial ventures. Empirical evidence from on‐site surveys and interviews in Indonesia, China, Vietnam and India will be presented. Our study concludes that, while the calculated, schematised efforts have been remarkable, this attempt at re‐engineering economic space beyond the city‐state has not fully accounted for the intricacies of either economic, or socio‐political, realities in the host environments.
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D. Wayne Taylor and Allan A. Warrack
Government’s continuum of policy instrument choices historically has included nationalization of enterprise. Today, the additional choice exists of the privatization of state…
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Government’s continuum of policy instrument choices historically has included nationalization of enterprise. Today, the additional choice exists of the privatization of state enterprises. Canada is examined as a country in the process of switching from growing state enterprises (Crown corporation) to privatizing them. Although ideology, accountability, efficiency and/or financing were all reasons for creating state enterprise ‐ financing is the most prevalent driver of privatization.
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Inger Johanne Pettersen and Kari Nyland
The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the process of the accounting system change as a part of a larger reform initiative taking place in Norway. The research…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the process of the accounting system change as a part of a larger reform initiative taking place in Norway. The research context is the national network of hospital enterprises.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses an archival‐based case approach of official documents (between 2000 and 2009) to study the formal layers of accounting practices.
Findings
The accrual accounting information signalled major management control problems, but the hospital owner, the state, did not take action to solve these problems during this period. The contracts between the state and hospital enterprises were characterised as principal‐agent relationships. However, different accounting techniques were mixed in the contracts between the parties, indicating hybridisation of accounting systems.
Research limitations/implications
The authors did not study the perceptions and practices of key actors and this is a limitation of the study.
Practical implications
The findings are likely to be useful for practitioners and researchers to gain knowledge on the implementation of management reforms in public sector service organisations.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to our understanding of the diverse processes within which public sector reforms are taking place. The main contribution is a discussion of the diversity in accounting system changes.
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Lluís Medir Tejado and Esther Pano
Given the spread of multi-level governance tools, interaction between local and regional governments has become an important mechanism for service delivery and the implementation…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the spread of multi-level governance tools, interaction between local and regional governments has become an important mechanism for service delivery and the implementation of public policies. The purpose of this paper is to empirically test a model of cooperative relations affecting local governments and thus having impact on local autonomy and dependence.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper takes previous typologies as a starting point to theoretically build and empirically test a model of cooperative relations based on two selected indicators: the degree of autonomy-dependence and the degree of rigidity-flexibility of the cooperative system. In a second step, the authors stimulate the model numerically to match real data on it coming from South European local governments to assess the functioning of the theory in a concrete space and time.
Findings
The combination of the aforementioned concepts, creates a four-option theoretical model that describes four possible situations where cooperative intergovernmental relations can be empirically placed.
Originality/value
This paper points out the need to incorporate empirical studies to trace the characteristics and evolution of the cooperative relations between local governments and upper tiers. This is particularly relevant if the authors are referring to mechanisms that can vary through time. In the current big and open data era, this empirical process will become easier and more affordable. In this context, local government studies benefit from particular features that improve the operation of this kind of analysis: large “N” configuration (a large number of units to be included) and a reasonable equivalence in concepts and bodies that allows comparability.
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The shift in trading power which brings the economies of SoutheastAsia more in balance with the Atlantic Rim societies brings challengesto business and industrial marketers in the…
Abstract
The shift in trading power which brings the economies of Southeast Asia more in balance with the Atlantic Rim societies brings challenges to business and industrial marketers in the region and elsewhere. Part of this includes the shift of the previous command economies into the world trading system: as exampled by Vietnam in a 1993 study. Because this has entailed a major policy shift from the command system network to the networks of the neo‐market, explains the concepts of industrial network research as a marketing tool. Presents the results of a multi‐unit embedded case study of the domain of eight Hanoi enterprises in production, service, and collaborative networks – in the state and private sectors. Reports on network time, mode of operation, products, clients and territory and describes the command network and the space of network relationships. This is part of a series of Southeast Asian Strategic Networks Studies.
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This article evaluates contemporary Cuban economic policy and development prospects after a decade of market experimentation in a socialist context. An introductory historical…
Abstract
This article evaluates contemporary Cuban economic policy and development prospects after a decade of market experimentation in a socialist context. An introductory historical review assesses the successes and failures of Cuban development policy in the 1970s and 1980s and describes the staggering dimensions of the economic crisis triggered by the abrupt disruption of Cuba's relations with the Soviet bloc in 1989–1991. The next section, “To the market in the 1990s,” examines Cuban efforts to stabilize the economy in the early 1990s while maintaining a strong social safety net. The historic policy shift toward limited market liberalization within a state-dominated economy is analyzed and the key market concessions described. The economic turnaround of the late 1990s and Cuban macroeconomic and industrial performance over the past decade are then examined. The final part of the article evaluates the coherence and sustainability of Cuba's emerging economic model and assesses prospects for the survival of some form of Cuban socialism.
The descriptions of economic policy reforms and performance in the Baltic States and Russia are based on adapted statistical material collected by the World Bank and the…
Abstract
The descriptions of economic policy reforms and performance in the Baltic States and Russia are based on adapted statistical material collected by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Bon-Gang Hwang, Xianbo Zhao and Eileen Wei Yan Chin
The purposes of this paper is twofold: first, to assess the risks associated with the international construction joint ventures (ICJVs) between Singapore and developing countries…
Abstract
Purpose
The purposes of this paper is twofold: first, to assess the risks associated with the international construction joint ventures (ICJVs) between Singapore and developing countries and second, to investigate the risk allocation preferences in these ICJVs.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire survey was conducted and responses were received from 38 firms that had participated in ICJVs with developing countries. A risk criticality (RC) index was adopted to evaluate the criticality of each risk.
Findings
The survey results reported “political instability” as the most critical risk and market-level risks were less critical than country and project-level risks. Additionally, the results showed agreement on the risk ranking between building and infrastructure ICJVs, despite significant differences in the criticalities of five risks. Furthermore, five risks were preferably allocated to host and foreign partners, respectively, while 13 risks could be shared among partners.
Research limitations/implications
First, due to the sample size, one should be cautious when interpreting and generalizing the results. Second, the RC index proposed in this study was subjective as it was influenced by the individual experience and risk attitude of the respondents. Also, the RC values were calculated without considering the weights of the respondents. Lastly, the questionnaire survey, which has been widely used in identifying risk allocation preferences, may not identify the insights of practitioners into the risk allocation practices.
Practical implications
This study provides a clear understanding of the risks associated with forming ICJVs with developing countries and the preferred risk allocation. Although, this study is focused on the risks faced by the Singapore-developing country ICJVs, the identification of the potential risks allows companies from other countries to customize their risk profile and assess the risks before they form ICJVs with developing countries.
Originality/value
As few studies have explored the risk allocation preferences in ICJVs, this study expands the literature and provides practitioners with important information for preparing joint venture contracts or agreements. Thus, this study can contribute to the literature relating to ICJVs.
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Presents a unique view of informality within the government of Tatarstan which challenges the notion that these forms can be dismissed as simply corruption. Focuses on interviews…
Abstract
Presents a unique view of informality within the government of Tatarstan which challenges the notion that these forms can be dismissed as simply corruption. Focuses on interviews with investors and businessmen, showing how informality can be an important factor in the reproduction of elite classes. Limits the article to the unique dynamics of the transition from command economy to free market economy but provides resonance with the experiences of those who have worked in many third‐world societies.
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