Economic Imperialism and the Political Economy of Sudan: The case of the Sudan Plantations Syndicate, 1899-1956

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The Free-Standing Company : a 'zombie' theory of international business history?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to decompose the historical and conceptual basis of the Free-Standing Company (FSC) in international business history. This is used to critique the FSC concept. The paper then provides a new framework to explain the lifecycle of these firms in a theoretically sensitive way.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is conceptual. The argument is developed through a critical reading of the existing literature.FindingsThe central argument presented is that the FSC concept is ahistorical and cannot fully explain the firms it considers over time. An alternative approach is proposed.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper does not present new (archival) historical evidence.Originality/valueThe central contribution/ambition of the paper is to advance the theoretical understanding of international firms of considerable historical importance. The ambition of the paper is to help renew research into this important historical organizational form that speaks directly to the ability of historical research to help advance international business theory.</jats:sec

Taxis for neoliberalism! Surveillance and resistance in post-industrial Philadelphia

As a consequence of neoliberalism, employment has become increasingly precarious and informal, sitting outside of traditional organizational contexts. There is a need to better understand how these structures emerge and, importantly, how workers can also adapt to challenge these shifts. This article is a study of a labour dispute between Philadelphia taxicab drivers and the governmental regulatory body. The dispute was centred around the implementation of surveillance technologies to regulate and control the industry and the drivers’ working practices which they considered to be de-professionalizing and an infringement of their liberty. The drivers resisted through traditional organizing, legal challenges and creating unconventional alliances. We argue that this labour dispute should be seen in the wider context of how a neoliberal political economy emerges and is maintained – in this case not by capital, but by the state. The article is a longitudinal case study covering the period from 2004 to 2011. As such, it is a prologue to later technologically driven transformations in the taxicab industry (such as ride-hailing apps) that have further exacerbated precarity among the workforce

Donald Trump and Trumpism:Leadership, ideology and narrative of the business executive turned politician

In this article, Donald Trump and the emerging ideology of ‘Trumpism’ are interpreted by drawing on perspectives from management and organization studies and related fields. The article begins by exploring key themes that emerge from a critical interpretation of Trump’s business career. Beginning as a real estate entrepreneur in the 1970s and 1980s, Trump experienced a period of mixed fortune in the 1990s, before eventually becoming a popular celebrity via the reality TV show The Apprentice. This portrayed Trump as a decisive and successful business leader. Trump’s approach to business leadership is critiqued. Emphasis is placed on seeking opportunity in economic decline, a zero-sum or negative-sum approach to profit-making and economic value, often benefitting at the expense of counter-parties. The article then explores how this approach to business was combined with previously marginal right-wing conservative ideas to project Trump as both critic and solution to bleak and troubling perceptions of American politics, economy and society. In turn this has led to a radical conservative agenda in office

Learning Sustainable Development: Chimeneas de la Esperanza

Social inequality and environmental degradation are motivating informed young people into action and connecting impoverished regions of the world with students in more developed nations. This Social Sciences senior project is to analyze an alternative development model designed by a group of Californian university students. The project, named Chimeneas de la Esperanza, is designed to help impoverished Nicaraguan women start a ceramics business. The major hurdle of this mission is to establish a market for the ceramics product. Energy efficient ceramic stoves and smoke ventilating chimneys would benefit the community and avoid an impacted crafts market. The project encompasses ideas of cultural, social and environmental sustainability. In order to be holistically integrated, alternative development strategies focus on using local approaches to help the people empower themselves. This project resulted in the students gaining a greater sense of empathy and an increased interest in participating in volunteer tourism