Digital technology and governance in transition: The case of the British Library

Comment on the organizational consequences of the new information and communications technologies (ICTs) is pervaded by a powerful imagery of disaggregation and a tendency for ?virtual? forms of production to be seen as synonymous with the ?end? of bureaucracy. This paper questions the underlying assumptions of the ?virtual organization?, highlighting the historically enduring, diversified character of the bureaucratic form. The paper then presents case study findings on the web-based access to information resources now being provided by the British Library (BL). The case study evidence produces two main findings. First, radically decentralised virtual forms of service delivery are heavily dependent on new forms of capacity-building and information aggregation. Second, digital technology is embedded in an inherently contested and contradictory context of institutional change. Current developments in the management and control of digital rights are consistent with the commodification of the public sphere. However, the evidence also suggests that scholarly access to information resources is being significantly influenced by the ?information society? objectives of the BL and other institutional players within the network of UK research libraries

The relationship between HRM practices and service behaviour in South African service organizations

This paper reports on findings from research conducted in South African service organizations that frontline employees' perceptions of HRM practices have a direct influence on their service behaviour. Specific HRM practices have more impact than others and this was attributed to the influence of external factors such as the socio-political situation and national culture and to internal factors linked to the way managers implemented the HRM practices in the organization. Organizational commitment was found to play a mediating role in the relationship between frontline employees' perceptions of HRM and their service behaviour

Global R&D networks

The pharmaceutical industry is of considerable interest because of the significance of R&D and marketing expenditures in securing competitive advantage. The vast costs and risks entailed in new product development have spawned an international network of cooperative alliances between large pharmaceutical companies and small biotechnology companies, creating a complex web of inter-organisa-tional linkages spanning the globe. Without formal acknowledgment, this essentially cooperative network pools the resources of cash and expertise required to bring radically new technologies, products and processes to the market, in an atmosphere of fierce global competition between the major companies. The paper examines the case of Merck and its carefully constructed AIDS programme, which balances in-house development with longterm alliances forged with smaller firms and sometimes with competitors.