Industry clusters: An antidote for knowledge sharing and collaborative innovation?

This paper will focus on Industry Clusters and a rationale for why they may be considered an Antidote for Knowledge Sharing and Collaborative Innovation.The paper draws on data gathered during the course of research undertaken in Dubai

Akubras to Hard Hats: Easing Skill Shortages through Labour Harmonisation Strategies

This article examines skill and labour shortages within rural agricultural industries in Western Australia. It draws on primary and secondary data, including 600 survey respondents in the sector. It is determined that there may be a shortage of farm workers during the busy seasons, while they are unemployed during the low seasons. Consequently, it is proposed that a human capability framework is utilised to encourage farm owners and (or) workers to consider the potential for labour-harmonisation strategies which would allow workers to transit between working on the land during the busy seasons and in mining during the low seasons. The outcomes of the study are considered in relation to indicators of precarious work illustrating that LH could enable an easing of labour shortages for both the farming and mining sectors, while providing benefits for the respective workers, employers, and the region in general

Do Holistic Human Resource Management Practices Make a Difference to Fly-in Fly-out Workers’ Job Quality? An Exploratory Investigation

In common with ongoing research into human resource management (HRM), there are attributes of jobs that are associated with job quality, which are considered important in attracting and retaining employees. To date, however, analysis has omitted the fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workforce. It is important to consider whether it is possible to develop a strategic HRM approach for FIFO workers where commuting arrangements deviate from the norm. This article fills a gap in the literature by using a four-dimensional job-quality (JO) framework to analyse factors associated with job quality and HRM. The research was undertaken at two FIFO-dependent workplaces in Western Australia. The findings show that one workplace was using bundles of HR practices that spanned all four JO dimensions; the other concentrated mainly on two dimensions, a consequence which is the potential to lead to suboptimal outcomes for the organisation and their FIFO employees

Constraints, Compromises and Choice: Comparing Three Qualitative Research Studies

Although a number of texts explore social research strategies and methods, most are limited to a basic discussion of such methods and their associated advantages and disadvantages. Few if any, evaluate and compare methods in the context of actual research experiences. This paper endeavours to bridge that gap by reporting the experiences of three researchers working on three separate qualitative studies. All three studies were concerned with investigating the social milieu within organizations. While the research questions were different in each case, all the researchers shared a common goal - to develop explanations for complex social phenomena manifest both internally and externally to each organization. The research strategies, methods and data analyses employed are assessed through the personal evaluations of the researchers. Thus, a singular opportunity is offered for other researchers to benefit from the practical insights and lessons learned. The collective experiences of all three researchers suggest that the contextual conditions and constraints of each study force certain compromises, but which importantly, do not compromise qualitative research studies

Gender wage gaps in Australian workplaces: are policy responses working?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the implications of the gender wage gap in Australia, before considering policy responses and their effectiveness at both the government and workplace levels. Design/methodology/approach – The method concerns an extensive literature review and an examination of secondary data and reports relating to workplace gender equality and data. Findings – While the gender wage gap in most OECD countries has decreased over time, in Australia the gap has increased, with the largest contributory factor identified as gender discrimination. Consequently it is proposed that current policy responses supporting women in the workplace appear to be ineffective in closing gender wage gaps. Research limitations/implications – Further research is recommended to identify the impact of gender equality policies on hiring decisions and whether such decisions include an unwillingness to hire or promote women. As findings were based on secondary data, it is recommended that future research include workplace surveys and case studies. Practical implications – It is suggested that articles such as this one can assist in guiding public policy and workplace decisions on gender wage equality issues, in addition to providing human resource leaders with the information to make better decisions relating to gender equality. Originality/value – This paper suggests that current policy responses may not only be ineffective in closing the gender wage gap, but may even exacerbate it as employers may avoid hiring women or continue to pay them less than men, due to costs incurred when attempting to meet policy directives

Learning from the Past : The Women Writers Project and Thirty Years of Humanities Text Encoding

In recent years, intensified attention in the humanities has been paid to data: to data modeling, data visualization, ?big data?. The Women Writers Project has dedicated significant effort over the past thirty years to creating what Christoph Schöch calls ?smart clean data?: a moderate-sized collection of early modern women?s writing, carefully transcribed and corrected, with detailed digital text encoding that has evolved in response to research and changing standards for text representation. But that data?whether considered as a publication through Women Writers Online, or as a proof of the viability of text encoding approaches like those expressed in the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) Guidelines?is only the most visible part of a much larger ecology. That ecology includes complex human systems, evolving sets of tools, and a massive apparatus of documentation and organizational memory that have made it possible for the project to work coherently over such a long period of time. In this article we examine the WWP?s information systems in relation to the project?s larger scholarly goals, with the aim of showing where they may generalize to the needs of other projects

Theorising creative industry management: rebooting the woolly mammoth

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight the paradox inherent in the term “Creative Industry Management”. The challenges of applying creative industry experiences within a managerial context are explored through a careful selection of papers that identify linkages between creative industry practice and management theories. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is a narrative commentary using the Jurassic Park franchise to highlight the potential application of management theory to explain the success or failure of a creative venture. The analogy of filmmaking and the creation of blockbuster movie sequels is useful in determining the tensions between creative production and management of a profitable franchise. Findings – This paper identifies opportunities for theory building at the meso level in the management domain, born of the experiences of those in the creative industries. The papers presented add to the continuing discovery of ways of applying management theory in the creative industries. However, there remain opportunities for a cross-pollination of theory from the creative industry to management domains. Research limitations/implications – It is not possible to claim more than observation and exploratory inference from the selection of papers presented. The special issue has only uncovered one half of the theoretical perspective, namely management theory that can be applied in the creative industries. Originality/value – The approach taken to liken the challenge of managing creativity to the production of creative works in moviemaking is novel and highlights the dearth of creative industry experiences that currently influence management theory

Business engagement in a civil society: Transitioning towards a dementia-friendly visitor economy

Dementia is a growing global health condition primarily, though not exclusively, associated with ageing populations. This paper examines dementia awareness and the perspectives of businesses and organisations in the visitor economy, given that people with the early stages of dementia remain consumers of leisure and tourism experiences. It adopts the concept of the civil society where people are treated in a fair and equitable manner irrespective of their abilities and state of health to promote equality of opportunity. As an exploratory study, it evaluates the awareness, perception and experience of businesses in developing a dementia-friendly visitor economy. It focuses on dementia as a ‘hidden condition’ with a focus on the attractions sector to develop a greater understanding of how to embrace dementia as part of a civil society. The research highlights the implications for the wider visitor economy with dementia set to grow globally in scale and significance