We investigate the empirical usefulness of a new measure of the degree of competition in a market, proposed by Boone (2000). This measure is based on the reduction in profits that firms experience as a result of cost inefficiencies. We compare this with measures commonly used by policy makers...

This paper considers the impact that information and communication technology (ICT) has on firms' choices over organisational form. In particular, the decision over whether to produce in-house or outsource services, and the decision over the location of activity. ICT reduces the transaction and...

We examine whether discretionary government grants influence the location of new plants. Grants have a small effect in attracting plants to specific geographic areas, but their effectiveness increases with agglomeration externalities, measured by the number of other plants in that location in...

Despite its importance as a potential source of variation within industries, little is currently known about the antecedents of new business ideas in large, established firms. While a number of organization and management literatures address, tangentially, issues pertaining to this topic, none...

While scholarly research has produced a great deal of useful knowledge about various forms of innovation, there has been very little attention given to the dynamics of management innovation - the implementation of a new management practice, process or structure that significantly alters the way...

This paper exploits a quasi-experimental setting to estimate the impact that a multi-dimensional group incentive scheme had on branch performance in a large distribution firm. The scheme, which is based on the Balanced Scorecard, was implemented in all branches in one division, but not in...

Recent attention has focused on the UK's productivity gap in the retail sector. A recent paper by Reynolds et al (2005) emphasises that a more thorough understanding of what drives productivity in the retail sector requires a better understanding of the 'complex mix of urban characteristics,...

This paper investigates the relationship between product market competition and innovation. It uses the radical policy reforms in the UK as instruments for changes in product market competition, and finds a robust inverted-U relationship between competition and patenting. It then develops an...

Many papers have documented wide variations in productivity even in narrowly defined industries. Some have argued that this primarily reflects measurement problems due to, for example, comparing across different products. Others argue this reflects persistent differences in performance due, for...