Globalization has brought about a major shift in our understanding of how companies organize themselves and how they compete. The fragmentation of firms in their scope and structure, the vertical disintegration of firms through greater outsourcing, and the rise of global supply and value chains...

The branding image of commercial streets can be an important factor for inviting new shops and attracting customers and visitors to the area. It can also contribute to changing the image of declining downtown shopping streets and regain tenants and customers. The images of commercial streets...

This thesis focuses on the concept of Collective Economics and develops a set of recommendations by which groups with common interests can effectively utilize their purchasing power for collective benefits. Working with Lawrence Community Works (LCW), the thesis provides an economic profile of...

Ever since the late 1950s, planners have lured large firms to lagging regions with the expectation that they will trigger local industrial activity. According to the literatures on unbalanced growth, growth poles, foreign direct investment, and global commodity chains, large firms can dynamize...

This research study examines the role that workforce intermediaries within Boston play in creating career pathways for economically disadvantaged, under-skilled residents in the local health care industry. Using a case study analysis, this study compares the outcomes of two workforce...

For the past three decades, rising skill requirements, increased income inequality, and the growth of suburbs as employment centers have altered the dynamics of urban labor markets. Have labor matching processes also changed in this time? And are these processes the same regardless of location?...