Local Systems of Production in Late Modern and Contemporary Europe: the Case of Firearms Production in Gardone Val Trompia in a Historical-Comparative Perspective

The dissertation \u201cLocal Systems of Production in Late Modern and Contemporary Europe: the Case of Firearms Production in Gardone Val Trompia in a Historical-Comparative Perspective\u201d aims to provide a contribution to the reconstruction of the events that characterized the specialization in the production of firearms in Val Trompia and the remaining Brescia area in the Late Modern and Contemporary periods. The work is presented in the form of a collection of essays and consists of four macro sections: preface, four scientific papers, eight appendices, references. The essays are based on an analytical historical study which presupposes that phenomena are determined and shaped by specific conditions of space and time: the research was carried out following the critical-historical method. The first essay is a review of the existing literature on industrial districts and, more generally, production systems based on a network of small and medium-sized enterprises. Its objective is to highlight the main areas of research on the topic in question that stemmed from economic history. The second paper includes a further review of the literature. It is a historiographical essay through which the case study analyzed in the dissertation is introduced. The paper adopts a long-term perspective which, in light of the concepts and research themes analyzed in the first essay, retraces the origins and development of the production specialization in question. The second paper ends by highlighting some specific aspects of firearms production in Brescia, worthy of further in-depth analysis, which can be found in the two following empirical essays drawing on material from the archives. The third paper notes the lack of a detailed analysis of the local production system in the second half of the 20th century. Several scholars have indicated that firearms production developed around Gardone as an industrial district, but several aspects have yet to be addressed. In particular, the essay focuses on the geographical borders, the internal structure, the relations between enterprises and the intermediate institutions of the industrial district. The fourth paper considers another gap in the literature: there is no study of the contribution from the state and the factory system to the evolution of the local production in the second half of the 19th century. This study adopts a comparative perspective viewing Brescia-Gardone against the background of other firearm production systems in Belgium, France, England and Spain. At the same time (around 1850), the American System of Manufacturing started to spread throughout Europe following the intervention of various national governments. The study highlights the difficulties in attempting to overcome traditional European production methods and the decisive role played by public authorities, forward-looking entrepreneurs and their factories

Governance of diversified strategic business units: the case of a large chinese chemical company

JEL:L22,M12Building upon previous research of domesticand overseas modern corporate governance, this study is focussed on state-owned enterprises with diversified operations. The case of the chemical firm Luzhou North Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., illustrates the general operation types and the management and control model adopted by a large industrial group, covering institutional, structural and resources governance. Based on the background and reality of diversified strategic business units (SBUs) of Luzhou North Chemical Industry Co. Ltd., this study discusses the challengesbrought about by diversified SBU strategic development. Following this analysis, the studyproposes a management and control model in the cellulose derivative industrial and organosilicon industrial value chains.Com base na anterior investigação, nacional e internacional sobre a moderna governação empresarial, este estudo está centrado em empresas estatais com actividades diversificadas. O caso da empresa química Luzhou North Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., ilustra os vários tipos de operações e modelo de controlo adoptado por umgrande grupo industrial, incluindo dimensões de governação institucionais, estruturais e de recursos. Com base na análise da experiência e realidade das SBU (unidades estratégicas de negócio)da Luzhou North Chemical Industry Co. Ltd., este estudo discute os desafios colocadospelo desenvolvimento estratégico de SBUs diversificadas. Na sequência desta análise, este estudo propõe um modelo de gestão e controlo das cadeias de valor industriais dos derivados de celulose e de compostos de silício orgânico

Research on evolution process of EMFs’ international expansion strategy

JEL： M1Under the background of globalization, international expansion of emerging market firms (EMFs) has become an emerging research front in international business research. Based on the Springboard Theory, LLL model and Uppsala internationalization process model, the thesis describes the bidirectional dependency between EMFs technologies and market resources using methods such as event path analysis, multi-case study and process analysis, and establishes an internationalization behavior framework which is based on the two motivations and the two dependable forces. The result shows that: (1) EMFs' two kinds of strategic behaviors of assets-seeking and opportunities-seeking continue to evolve with the development of the enterprise. In the first stage, There is no obvious difference. In the second stage, assets-seeking and opportunities-seeking are alternative dominant. In the third stage, opportunities-seeking are dominant. (2) EMFs' assets-seeking strategies are mainly driven by internal forces, and opportunities-seeking strategies are mainly driven by both internal and external forces; (3) EMFs leveraging international assets and opportunities through external linkage, and balancing their assets and opportunities through alternative domination strategic. (4) The internationalization process of EMFs is an enterprise‘s learning process under repeated linkage and leverage effect. The main contributions of this paper are: (1) to discuss the evolution rules and action mechanism of the two strategic motivations and dependable forces of EMFs in the internationalization process and help to establish clear external decision-making situation and logic for the internationalization of domestic enterprises; (2) to find out the features of EMFs to establish international chains to acquire the external assets and opportunities, and alternate domination features of the two strategies in the internationalization process, and help to better guide the implementation of internationalization strategies of domestic enterprises; (3) to establish an internationalization process model based on repeated linkage and alternate domination, uncover the nature of EMFs‘ internationalization process from the point of resource dependence, explain how to achieve the objective of globalization strategy for EMFS represented by China under late-developing disadvantages, expand the current EMFs-related theoretical boundary, and provide more scientific decision basis for "Going Out" of domestic enterprisesNo contexto da globalização, a expansão internacionalizada da empresa do mercado nascente(EMFs) já se tornou uma frente de investigação nascente na área de investigação do comércio internacional. No processo de internacionalização, devido à desvantagem da competição congênita, EMFs não segue totalmente o caminho internacional de empresa multinacional dos países desenvolvidos. Para isto, o Luo e o Tung propôs teoria de trampolim. Eles acham que EMFs obte ativos-chave das empresas do país desenvolvido através de uma série das expansões internacionalizadas radicais para compensar e superar sua desvantagem retardatária. Sobre a proposição da teoria de trampolim, a deficiência, que o incrementalismo internacionalizado não pode bem explicar os comportamentos internacionalizados de EMFs, foi compensada. No entanto, ainda existe muitos limites na investigação atual e a teoria atual falta das investigações para o mecanismo, regra e caraterística da evolução estratégica do processo da internacionalização de EMFs. À base da teoria de trampolim, modelo LLL e o incrementalismo internacionalizado Uppsala, este texto usa análise de caminho de evento, estudo de casos múltiplos, análise de processo e outros métodos, caracterizando o cenário de dependência dupla de tenologia de EMFs e de recurso de mercado, também estabelecendo o quadro de comportamento de internacionalização com base nos dois motivos e duas forças dependetens. O resultado apresenta que: (1) Os dois comportamentos estratégicos de busca de ativos e de busca de oportunidades de EMFs mudam continuamente com o desenvolvimento das fases de empresa. Na primeira fase, não houve diferença distinta; na segunda fase, as duas buscas de ativo e de oportunidade conduzem por sua vez; na terceira fase, tem a busca de oportunidade como o principal; (2) A estratégia de busca de ativos de EMFs é promovida por força inteira da empresa, mas a estratégia de busca de oportunidade é promovida juntamente pelas forças inteira e exterior da empresa; (3) EMFs alavanca ativos e oportunidades internacionalizadas pelo link externo e balança ativos e oportunidades através de alternação de comportamento de clideração; (4) A internacionalização de EMFs é um processo de aprendizagem organizacional sob o elo de link e a liderança alternada. As contribuições principais deste texto são: (1) Descobriu a regra de evolução e o mecanismo de função no processo de internacionalização dos dois motivos estratégicos e a força dependente, ajudando a estabelecer o cenário e a lógica de tomada de decisão externos claros para a internacionalização das empresas do nosso país; (2) Revelou a característica que a EMFs alavanca ativos e oportunidades externos através de estabelecimento de link de internacionalização e a característica de liderança alterna das duas estratégia, ajudando a lidar melhor a execução da estratégia de internacionalização das empresas do nosso país; (3) Estabeleceu um modelo do processo de internacionalização com base na elo de link e liderança alterna e relevou a natureza do processo de internacionalização de EMFs do ponto de vista da dependência de recursos, explicando como o EMFs caracterizala pela China realizou o objetivo de estratégia de globalização sob a condição de desvantagem retardatário e expandiu os limites teóricos existentes de EMFs, e ofereceu os bases da decisão mais científicos às empresas domésticas para "Vai globalmente"

Workers, Managers, Productivity

This open access book provides a glimpse into the Japanese management technique known as “Kaizen,” and the ways it has been disseminated around the developing world. The novelty of this book is three-fold: it provides a contextualized view of the mechanisms of initiatives implementing Kaizen in developing countries; compared with productivity studies, it places the relationship between workers and managers at the center of inquiry, reflecting the intent of SDG8 concerning decent work and economic growth; and it provides an overview of the heterogeneity of Kaizen in terms of geography and firm size. This book explores how improving management techniques can support firms’ productivity and quality. Given its wide range of case studies from across Africa, Asia and Latin America, this book will be of value to scholars, policymakers and advocates of sustainable development alike

Workers, Managers, Productivity

This open access book provides a glimpse into the Japanese management technique known as “Kaizen,” and the ways it has been disseminated around the developing world. The novelty of this book is three-fold: it provides a contextualized view of the mechanisms of initiatives implementing Kaizen in developing countries; compared with productivity studies, it places the relationship between workers and managers at the center of inquiry, reflecting the intent of SDG8 concerning decent work and economic growth; and it provides an overview of the heterogeneity of Kaizen in terms of geography and firm size. This book explores how improving management techniques can support firms’ productivity and quality. Given its wide range of case studies from across Africa, Asia and Latin America, this book will be of value to scholars, policymakers and advocates of sustainable development alike

Regional Government Competition

This monograph provides a coherent and systematic explanation of China’s regional economic development from the perspective of regional government competition. It gives an almost unknown exposition of the mechanisms of China's regional economic development, with numerous supporting cases drawn from both China and elsewhere. This book is an invaluable resource for anyone interested to learn more particularly the development and transformation of China’s regional economy from both the Chinese and global perspectives