Economic frameworks for policy-relevant analysis of the software industry in Scotland

This report is the outcome of a study undertaken for Scottish Enterprise, to explore the feasibility of constructing a Software Satellite Account for Scotland. The project was directed by Professor Iain McNicoll working with Ursula Kelly of the University of Strathclyde and ran from March - May 2003. The study was undertaken to assist Scottish Enterprise in the formulation of a new vision for the Scottish Softwareindustry, by providing a new approach to ways of measuring the economic significance of the Scottish Software industry

Diversification in the international construction business

Economic globalization has created an interdependent market that allows companies to transcend traditional national boundaries to conduct business overseas. In the international construction market, companies often adopt diversification as a strategy for growth, for risk management or for both. However, the diversification patterns of international construction companies (ICCs) as a group are barely clear. The primary aim of this research is to cover this knowledge void by mapping ICCs’ diversification patterns in both business sectors and geographical dispersal. It starts from a literature review of diversification theories. Based on the review, a series of hypotheses relating to ICCs’ diversification are proposed. Data are gleaned from Engineering News-Record, i.e. Bloomberg and Capital IQ, ranging from 2001 to 2015. By testing the hypotheses, it is found that larger ICCs prefer to diversify than their smaller counterparts. Most of the ICCs tend to diversify to geographical markets with similar cultural or institutional environment. Market demands drive ICCs to diversify to different geographical markets while they are more prudential in venturing into new business sectors. The research provides not only valuable insights into diversification patterns of ICCs, but also a solid point of departure for future theoretical and empirical studies

An In-Depth Examination of the Implementation of the Disability Equality Duty in England: Report for the Office for Disability Issues

This seven-month study examined the implementation of the Disability Equality Duty (DED) in England. The DED, introduced through the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, applies to public authorities in England, Wales and Scotland. The DED comprises a general duty and specific duties. The general duty requires public authorities to carry out their functions with due regard to the need to promote equality between disabled and non-disabled people. The specific duties require public authorities to publish a Disability Equality Scheme (DES) setting out how they intend to fulfil their general duty and specific duties. In addition, certain Secretaries of State must publish an overarching report for their policy sectors every three years. A Code of Practice1 to assist authorities with implementing the Duty was published by the then Disability Rights Commission

An in-depth examination of the implementation of the Disability Equality Duty in England

This seven-month study examined the implementation of the Disability Equality Duty (DED) in England. The DED, introduced through the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, applies to public authorities in England, Wales and Scotland

Ethnic minority business: policy and practice review

Part of a series produced to support a ESRC/CRE/DTI/emda workshop on ethnic minority entrepreneurship. This paper identifies the key problems in addressing racism and ethnicity in extant cross-governmental policy and practice relating to entrepreneurship

Perceptions of knowledge sharing among small family firm leaders: a structural equation model

Small family firms have many unique relational qualities with implications for how knowledge is passed between individuals. Extant literature posits leadership approach as important in explaining differences in knowledge-sharing climate from one firm to another. This study investigates how leadership approaches interact with family influence to inform perceptions of knowledge sharing. We utilize survey data (n = 110) from owner-managers of knowledge-intensive small family firms in Scotland. Our findings present a choice in leadership intention, contrasting organization-focused participation against family-influenced guidance. Insight is offered on the implications of this leadership choice at both organizational and familial level

The London Creative Industries

This lecture draws from the Creative Industries Observatory research on the London creative industries and in particular provides some initial insights into the networks and relationships which exist including organisational structure, size, and location. Consideration has been given to clustering and markets. In particular attention has been paid to the levels of creativity found in the London creative industries and the possible implications for public policy intervention. These findings are based on a shared definitional framework, and can be compared with other cities

The Future of Work In Cities

The latest report in our City of the Future series examines societal shifts and advancements in technology that are impacting the rapidly changing American workforce. The report outlines solutions to help city leaders plan for the fast-approaching future, while forecasting the economic viability of two distinct sectors – retail and office administration – in which a quarter of Americans are currently employed

Corporate responsibility and financial performance : the role of intangible resources.

This paper examines the effects of a firm’s intangible resources in mediating the relationship between corporate responsibility and financial performance. We hypothesize that previous empirical findings of a positive relationship between social and financial performance may be spurious because the researchers failed to account for the mediating effects of intangible resources. Our results indicate that there is no direct relationship between corporate responsibility and financial performance—merely an indirect relationship that relies on the mediating effect of a firm’s intangible resources. We demonstrate our theoretical contention with the use of a database comprising 599 companies from 28 countries.