Global supply chains of high value low volume products

Imperial Users onl

Information Society, Work and the Generation of New Forms of Social Exclusion (SOWING): National Report (Portugal)

The choice over the Portuguese case studies was based on the sample constructed for the application of the firm questionnaires, during the second year of the SOWING project, 1999. This sample was fulfilled of firms among several activity sectors: textile, manufacturing, electronics, transports and software industry, based on NACE – codes (2 – digit level). Thus, we agreed to include in a new database the remaining questionnaires and construct a sample with 113 observations. Concerning the organisational change we make a distinction of three categories of change. First we analyse changes taking place at the inter-firm level (outsourcing, subcontracting, geographic relocation), followed by changes at the organisational level (deconcentration/decentralisation, reduction of hierarchical levels, introduction of cost and profit centres). The third kind of changes analysed will be those taking place at the workplace level (job enlargement/enrichment, changing character of work, work load). The Portuguese studied companies presents a relative uniform pattern considering the variables social competencies, practical knowledge, responsibility and specialized professional qualifications.industry; information technologies; qualification; organisation; work

Modelling the occupational assimilation of immigrants by ancestry, age group and generational differences in Australia:a random effects approach to a large table of counts

A novel exploratory approach is developed to the analysis of a large table of counts. It uses random-effects models where the cells of the table (representing types of individuals) form the higher level in a multilevel model. The model includes Poisson variation and an offset to model the ratio of observed to expected values thereby permitting the analysis of relative rates. The model is estimated as a Bayesian model through MCMC procedures and the estimates are precision-weighted so that unreliable rates are down-weighted in the analysis. Once reliable rates have been obtained graphical and tabular analysis can be deployed. The analysis is illustrated through a study of the occupational class distribution for people of different age, birthplace-origin and generation in Australia. The case is also made that even where there is a full census there is a need to move beyond a descriptive analysis to a proper inferential and modelling framework. We also discuss the relative merits of Full and Empirical Bayes approaches to model estimation.21 page(s

Sydney's Housing Markets During the Global Financial Crisis: How was globalisation mediated?

In the five years since the GFC began, Australia has experienced very different housing market impacts than most other Anglo economies. Housing prices did not crash, and homeowners remain relatively stable. Nevertheless, there were significant consequences. The effects of temporary stimulus measures, of changing patterns (and regulation) of foreign investment, and changes in the availability of credit, have different implications for the affordability of homeownership and rental, and have affected different types of owners and renters in distinctive ways. The spatial outcomes of these changes are particularly interesting, and help explain some of the development barriers that Sydney has faced over the period. The paper defines different segments of Sydneys housing markets, and investigates how home prices and rents varied across those markets. The conclusion reflects on the housing market outcomes of Sydneys changing global integration

Mapping local productivity advantages in Italy: industrial districts, cities or both?

We compare the magnitude of local productivity advantages associated with two different spatial concentration patterns in Italy – urban areas and industrial districts. The former have high population density and host a wide range of economic activities, while the latter are marked by a high concentration of small firms producing relatively homogenous goods. Using data from a large sample of Italian manufacturing firms observed over the 1995-2006 period, we detect local productivity advantages for both urban areas and industrial districts. However, firms located in urban areas reap a larger productivity premium than those operating within districts. The advantages of industrial districts have declined over time; those of urban areas have remained stable. Differences in the composition of firm employees between white- and blue-collars explain a small fraction of the urban productivity premium. The quantile regressions show how more productive firms gain larger benefits by locating in urban areas. Our analysis raises the question of whether Italian industrial districts are less fit than urban areas to prosper in a world characterized by advancing globalization and the growing use of ICT.urban areas, industrial districts, agglomeration economies, productivity, white- and blue-collars, Italian economy

Facility Location Decision for Global Entrepreneurial Small-to-Medium Enterprises Using Similarity Coefficient-based Clustering Algorithms

Decisions on location selection are critical for the survival of small-to-medium entrepreneurial organizations from the time they are established until later stages of operation and expansion. The selection of location for small and medium entrepreneurial businesses requires a selection strategy that incorporates relevant factors, quantifies these factors and develops a methodology that analyzes data for better decision-making. In the era of globalization where borders have become easier to transcend, many small ventures tend to choose more attractive international markets as a potential location for their operations where they can obtain higher returns on their investment. Thus, significant changes in the location decision process of the small and medium entrepreneurial companies have received great attention in the literature about small firms with global orientation as a response to the international entrepreneurship phenomenon. Therefore, consideration should be given to factors and attributes that reinforce the appeal of the international market to new businesses. These factors and attributes will provide the decision maker with an effective methodology for data analysis that will provide a framework for decision-making in the selection of locations for the entrepreneurial organization. In this research, the most frequent and critical attributes to select the best location for the entrepreneurial firms (globally) are extracted from relevant literature. Then, a similarity-based cluster analysis approach is introduced to quantify these attributes based on the existing data of economic metrics, such as technological advancement, expenditures on education, expenditures on research and development, the quality of the labor force, unemployment rates, domestic competitiveness, etc. Subsequently, the resulting outcomes are used to identify groups of prospective sites that fit the needs of the entrepreneurial firm. Last, the validity of the adopted methodology will be tested via numerical examples