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This paper aims to conduct a historical study using both primary (archival data) and secondary sources to evaluate the social conditions of the community of employees at Hawthorne Works between 1907 and 1933.

This paper evaluates the historical and social context of the 1915 Eastland disaster, specifically, the effects of the Eastland disaster on the community and the company to improve understanding of the contextual background and conditions which influenced the Hawthorne studies. This will also serve as a case study of crisis management.

The findings of the paper argue that the Eastland disaster likely contributed to the expansion of welfare capitalism practices by Western Electric in the 1920s–1930s and established the social and communal conditions which made the Hawthorne studies (1924–1933) possible.

Rather than evaluating the Hawthorne studies themselves, this paper focuses on social factors which made the Hawthorne Works plant site and the community serving it an ideal locale to host the famous studies as part of Western Electric’s practice of welfare capitalism and a distraction from the traumatic event which scarred the community and urged the Western Electric company to react. This study also provides an early example of crisis management.

As China emerges as a centre of manufacturing of the world, more and more small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) start to outsource their production and related supply chain management in China. But it is very difficult to effectively manage the international outsourcing and supply chain mainly because their limited size and resources. International outsourcing agents emerge as a potential solution pursued by many western companies. Currently it has very limited information from both practical and theoretical aspects to understand the agents and their characteristics. This paper, based on four case studies of agents in three major industrial sectors in China, introduces business models and growth paths of the international manufacturing outsourcing agents, and establishes a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) for evaluation. The paper seeks to help western SMEs and hightech startups recognize the Chinese maturing and an ideal system for implementation, and to provide theoretical insights about the agents role and characteristics in international supply networks.

Over the last 20 years there has been increasing interest by Western companies in Japanese management practices (JMPs). Interest in these methods has grown as a result of the large performance gaps which apparently exist between Japanese manufacturers and their Western counterparts, in terms of both productivity and quality. Looks at a number of studies in an effort to determine whether Japanese practices can be successfully transferred abroad or whether they are culturally bound. This is followed by a look at the conditions under which Japanese management practices have been successfully utilised by Western companies. It is argued that Western managers must avoid just blindly copying Japanese practices and should be encouraged to become aware of why certain Japanese approaches have been successful. Finally, consideration needs to be given to the underlying factors of that success which are necessary and appropriate to their own company’s advancement.

This paper compares quality management practices in manufacturing companies in the East and the West. It uses data collected from three countries in the East, namely Japan, Korea and Taiwan and compares these with data collected from four countries in the West, namely Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Australia. Twenty‐five Japanese companies, 105 Korean companies, 48 Taiwanese companies, 65 Danish companies, 88 Swedish companies, 18 Finnish companies and 62 companies from Australia responded to the questionnaire. Comparison between the East and the West is carried out on the following: formulation and communication of a quality policy; education and training of employees in quality management; top management participation in quality activities, quality motivation and suggestions; and the use of quality tools and methods. The comparison shows that quality management practices are relatively more widespread in the Eastern companies than in the Western companies. The key differences between the East and the West are identified and suggestions made to close the gap.

The presented study pinpoints transformation of business models of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the food and beverage sector depending on their sustainability strategy. This paper makes a novel contribution to understanding various instruments of sustainability implementation in SMEs’ business models operating in the food and beverage industry of well-developed Western European countries versus less-developed Central–Eastern European countries.

The empirical basis is a survey of 770 European SMEs, of which 369 operate in Western European countries (including Great Britain, Germany and Spain) and 401 in Central and Eastern Europe (including Poland, Croatia and Russia). The nonparametric U Mann–Whitney test was used to examine the significance of the differences between the two groups of companies.

The study empirically confirmed that despite self-declared lack of skills and knowledge in managerial impacts of sustainability, it shapes business models of SME in both country groups in food and drink industry. At the same time, the motivation grounds for business models transformation toward sustainable models vary between mostly economic factors in Eastern Europe and social and cultural factors in Western Europe. The economic factor is formed due to smaller integration into social investments at the SME-level Eastern European countries, while Western European SMEs invest more in a variety of sustainability supporting instruments (R&D, new equipment).

This comparative study is the novel empirical research study on the implementation of sustainability into business models of food and beverage SMEs operating in two groups of Western and Central–Eastern European countries, which has not been previously observed in such a setting.

The purposes of this paper are: to examine the adoption of corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies related to environment protection by Chinese state oil companies; and to analyze the effects of global competitions and cooperation on the CSR adoption processes.

Based on a content analysis of 58 corporate reports and three interviews with senior managers from Chinese-Western joint ventures, the authors analyzed the environmentally-related CSR adoption strategies and the effects of global competition and cooperation in Chinese state oil companies.

The findings suggest that more cooperative CSR strategies related to environment protection have been adopted by Chinese state oil companies in the past decade. The main reasons are: the force of international and local environmental regulations; the pressures from partners of western oil companies and the desire to increase the global competitive advantage of the Chinese state oil companies.

Given that this study is based only on the analysis of corporate reports and three interviews, the authors' conclusions should be considered preliminary and inconclusive. Future studies should be done to collect more primary data by interviewing and surveying by questionnaire a significant number of managers from these companies to validate these conclusions.

This paper highlights the adoption of CSR strategies by three Chinese state oil companies and the effects of global operations which have been little studied academically so far.

The study of international business has become increasingly important in recent years. So important that the American Assembly of the Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has called for the internationalisation of business curricula. In 1992 and beyond, successful business people will treat the entire world as their domain. No one country can operate in an economic vacuum. Any economic measures taken by one country can affect the global economy. This book is designed to challenge the reader to develop a global perspective of international business. Globalisation is by no means a new concept, but there are many new factors that have contributed to its recently accelerated growth. Among them, the new technologies in communication and transport that have resulted in major expansions of international trade and investment. In the future, the world market will become predominant. There are bound to be big changes in the world economy. For instance the changes in Eastern Europe and the European Community during the 1990s. With a strong knowledge base in international business, future managers will be better prepared for the new world market. This book introduces its readers to the exciting and rewarding field of international management and international corporations. It is written in contemporary, easy‐to‐understand language, avoiding abstract terminology; and is organised into five sections, each of which includes a number of chapters that cover a subject involving activities that cross national boundaries.

Adopting the concept of sustainable development is connected with the necessity of redefining marketing strategies and, as a consequence, should also be reflected in the policies adopted for the individual tools. In this chapter, the sustainability marketing mix is considered with regard to five instruments: product, price, place, promotion and people (5P). The aim of the chapter is to investigate the current state of knowledge in this matter as well as the scope for the implementation of the sustainability marketing concept in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in the food and drink sector from an international perspective. The international approach has been adopted to try and find out whether in more highly developed countries sustainability marketing activities are comprehensive and include all the marketing tools; and, on the other hand, whether in less-developed markets sustainability marketing activities are limited to the tools for which the concept of sustainable development can theoretically be implemented the most easily, namely, promotional activities and those targeted at a company’s own employees.

Each of the analysed instruments was described from two angles: in terms of the results obtained for the whole research sample, indicating the countries whose respondents had the highest and lowest values for the specific variables defining each marketing mix instrument and in terms of a comparison of two groups of countries, indicating similarities and differences in the opinions of managers on the use of marketing mix instruments in a sustainable way. The chapter concludes with the results obtained through factor analysis, which made it possible to identify the ways in which SME managers in the food and drink sector define the individual sustainability marketing tools.

Briefly reviews previous literature by the author before presenting an original 12 step system integration protocol designed to ensure the success of companies or countries in their efforts to develop and market new products. Looks at the issues from different strategic levels such as corporate, international, military and economic. Presents 31 case studies, including the success of Japan in microchips to the failure of Xerox to sell its invention of the Alto personal computer 3 years before Apple: from the success in DNA and Superconductor research to the success of Sunbeam in inventing and marketing food processors: and from the daring invention and production of atomic energy for survival to the successes of sewing machine inventor Howe in co‐operating on patents to compete in markets. Includes 306 questions and answers in order to qualify concepts introduced.

The purpose of this paper is to identify critical success factors for the management of change in transition economies.

Four longitudinal case studies of Russian oil companies covering a ten‐year period from 1995, based on 71 in‐depth interviews. Examines organisational change from a resource‐based and organisational learning perspective.

Explains how top managers firstly, break with administrative heritage to increase absorptive capacity and secondly, leverage administrative heritage for rapid implementation of change. Intra‐ and cross‐case analyses demonstrate that absorptive capacity increases and organisational change occurs where the top management team has radically different skills and mindsets from the dominant logic of the post‐Soviet organisation, an entrepreneurial orientation and the capability to drive through change due to a top‐down management style.

The research is restricted to four case studies. However, the critical success factors identified could apply to any large, conservative and bureaucratic organisation undergoing change. This represents an interesting avenue for research on organisational turnaround in the West.

An understanding of the critical success factors for dealing with administrative heritage will assist managers in transition economies and in turnaround situations in the West.

The speed of change in the Russian oil industry provided a unique setting for research into organisational change in transition economies. On the basis of cross‐case analyses, a new theoretical framework was developed to explain the change process.