In an attempt to increase both efficiency and service quality, more and more companies are outsourcing to third-party suppliers some key business processes, such as human resources, information technology and procurement. The universe of potential suppliers is diverse and growing, made up of...

This paper examines the extent to which the remuneration levels of non-owner managers employed by UK small and medium size enterprises (SME) can be explained empirically by a number of firm specific, human capital and job history characteristics. The UK SME sector is very heterogeneous and we...

The internet has been credited as an important advertising and direct marketing channel, which has the potential to revolutionise the branding of products and services. Yet, several studies have been forecasting the end of traditional brand management in today's e-markets. At the same time,...

Despite a pervasive belief that the world's largest firms compete globally, the vast majority have most of their sales in their home regions. Of the top 500 firms for which regional sales data are available, 118 are from Europe, and they compete predominantly within the European region. On...

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to develop an analytical model for assessing the performance of supplier relationships (SRs). The majority of performance measurement models incorporate hard quantitative measures that are not appropriate for the soft features of business relationships. As...

This paper examines the problems inherent in assessing the role of venture creation programmes. It suggests that there are, in particular, two areas to be considered. First, any assessment is contingent upon the evaluation context. In other words, not only are the objectives of any particular...

This paper reports on an international comparison of three organisations established to promote new business start-ups in the USA, UK and Canada. A 'knowledge-based' approach is adopted to examine how networks of would-be entrepreneurs interact with networks of experienced entrepreneurs and...

Is branding important in industrial markets? To answer this question, the authors synthesize previous research in branding and related areas to develop a new conceptual model of industrial brand value to the customer. Expected brand value consists of four components: product performance,...

This paper introduces a framework for analyzing technology-based organizational action. It presents the concept of 'value programs', to represent the complex, pluralistic nature of organizational action around the application of IT systems. The nature of IT based organizational functioning and...

This paper examines euro preparations by U.K. SMEs with trading links with the euro currency area. It suggests, notwithstanding the U.K.'s decision not to join the euro in the first wave, that SMEs with euro area trade links are particularly likely to have had to make some adjustments for the...