Studies on globalisation suggest that a factor in the growth of nonstandard employment in developed economies has been the growing capacity of multinational corporations to arbitrage wage differentials across countries. This analysis applies in particular to industries subject to direct import...

Collaboration literally means working together. Collaborative improvement is an extension of continuous improvement and can be defined as a purposeful inter-company interactive process that focuses on continuous incremental innovation aimed at enhancing the collaboration's overall performance....

This study examines long term changes in the industrial and workforce structure of the Australian construction industry and their effect on the capacity of the industry to invest in training. The study finds that restructuring has raised the barriers to employer investment in vocational training...

This article examines contemporary management strategy in the area of effective utilisation of human resources in the retail industry. The focus of the industrial relations system has shifted from the national level to the enterprise level, and like many other industries, retail employers are...

This paper examines a sample of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) firms in Australia drawn from a wide range of product and service providers in the Sydney region. It researches the sources of information and ideas that firms utilize to sustain their competitive position through...

This paper discusses results from an international study of continuous improvement in product innovation. The empirical research is based upon a theoretical model of continuous product innovation (CPI) that identifies contingencies, behaviours, levers and performances relevant to improving...

This paper examines the responses of the Australian Retailers' Association to the deregulation of industrial relations. The acceptance of enterprise bargaining both by employers and trade unions in Australia calls into question the ongoing role of employers' associations. This question is...

Innovative narratives are represented, at times almost prescribed, in the management literature. While the key to developing competencies is fundamentally linked to many innovative practices and processes, the fundamentals of innovation cannot be separated from values, from learning, from...

Innovation requires change, and in the business environment, resistance to change is deleterious to organisations. The ability to continuously adapt to change enables firms to achieve sustainable value creation and competitive advantage (Innovation Management Incorporated, 1999). Major...

This paper explores qualitative research in general and the case study approach in particular as used in Operations Management (OM) theory-building research. It discusses the relative strengths and weaknesses of qualitative approaches used in OM research as against their quantitative...