This book seeks to analyse the development of the European Union (EU), which was founded upon the principle of the free movement of capital, goods, services and people in 1957. Its central thesis is that, from a practical and theoretical point of view, such a basis is fundamentally at odds with the creation of an interventionist regime that the construction of a social Europe would require.

This paper examines trade union networking and community-oriented activity through the recent development of learning strategies in relation to migrant workers. The paper locates the discussion on learning in relation to union attempts to develop a broader urban and community-based view of the union as an organisation. It assesses the innovative ways trade unions deploy their learning strategies given the challenges associated with a liberal market economy, in particular, in relation to poor levels of co-ordination amongst key social organisations and low levels of state commitment to the area of training. The paper draws on five empirical case studies of such innovative union approaches and concludes that many of these learning initiatives represent a significant intervention by unions in local urban and community-based contexts. However, it also notes that these appear to be disconnected from stable and consistent forms of local community-based organisation and, in part, remain enveloped in a marketised project-based approach which is piecemeal and in many aspects financially dependent on the state.

The article examines how and why a new independent trade union was established in McDonald’s Japan in 2006. We discuss these developments both within the McDonald’s ‘system’ and the broader context of the growth of community unions in the Japanese employment system. The findings suggest that the ‘McUnion’ could be seen as a new form of trade union organizing in Japan; unlike an enterprise union it is independent of the employer and recruits ‘non-regular’ workers, yet unlike most community unions is established in one large employer, on a national rather than regional basis, has largely retained its membership and was established and operates with the direct involvement of the main Japanese Trade Union Confederation, Rengo.

This paper argues that the technology life cycle literature is confused and incomplete. This literature is first reviewed with consideration of the related concepts of the life cycles for industries and products. By exploring the inter-relationships between these, an integrated view of the technology life cycle is produced. A new conceptualization of the technology life cycle is then proposed. This is represented as a model that incorporates three different levels for technology application, paradigm and generation. The model shows how separate paradigms emerge over time to achieve a given application. It traces the eras of ferment and incremental change and shows how technology generations evolve within these. It also depicts how the eras are separated by the emergence of a dominant design, and how paradigms are replaced at a technological discontinuity. By adopting this structure, the model can demarcate the evolution of technologies at varying levels of granularity from the specific products in which they may be manifest to the industries in which they are exploited. By taking technology as the unit of analysis the model departs from previous work, which has adopted a product-based perspective predominantly. The paper discusses the managerial and research implications associated with the technology life cycle, and indicates how these inform future research directions. As well as contributing to academic knowledge, the results of this research are of value to those who make decisions about the development, exploitation and use of technology including technology developers, engineers, technologists, R & D managers, and designers.

Controversial industry sectors, such as alcohol, gambling, and tobacco, though long-established, suffer organizational legitimacy problems. The authors consider various strategies used to seek organizational legitimacy in the U.K. casino gambling market. The findings are based on a detailed, multistakeholder case study pertaining to a failed bid for a regional supercasino. They suggest four generic strategies for seeking organizational legitimacy in this highly complex context: construing, earning, bargaining, and capturing, as well as pathways that combine these strategies. The case analysis and proposed bidimensional model of generic legitimacy-seeking strategies contribute to limited literature on organizational legitimacy in controversial industry sectors. In addition, beyond organizations active in controversial contexts, this study and its implications are useful for individuals and organizations supporting or opposing the organizational legitimacy of organizations in controversial industries.

Purpose: The aim of this research is to investigate how local company web sites can contribute towards the value and characteristics of city brands online, particularly where post-industrial cities are concerned, and to establish a predictive model for this. Design/methodology/approach: Interviews were conducted to gain an understanding of how post-industrial city brands can be influenced by local companies, leading to the notion of a 'constructed' city brand. An overarching brand model was developed based on the works of Christodoulides et al. and Merrilees and Fry and a survey of company web sites conducted. Structural equation modelling was then fitted to these data. Findings: Trustworthiness, responsiveness, online experience and emotional connection were confirmed as dimensions of company online brand value. It was further shown that company brand and constructed city brand are influenced by customer perceptions of brand value. Company brand was not, however, related to constructed city brand for the case study of Bradford, UK, which has a pervading negative reputation. Originality/value: A model incorporating company brand and city brand has been developed and validated for a typical post-industrial city that is in decline. The influence that local companies can exert on these brands via their web sites and behaviours was established. It is further demonstrated that company brands become disassociated from a city if it has a negative brand image.

Under the public-private partnership (PPP) programme, private sector finance, management expertise and innovation are used in ‘partnership’ to modernize public services. However, advocates fail to account for the differing aims and responsibilities of the public and private sectors, in that private companies plan to make a profit out of non-profit public sector organizations. There is a paucity of critical empirical research into new ‘partnership’ forms of privatization and the implications that these have for employment and work. This article will examine the PPP of National Savings and Investments (NS&I) and some of the initiatives introduced and problems encountered, which resulted in the creation of a multi-tier workforce, together with the insourcing, outsourcing and the first ever offshoring of UK Government work to India.

This article presents a vivid account of the day to day reality of a female manager in a busy UK city centre food retail store. Insights into some of the transformations in retail work are illuminated, namely restricted store budgets, lean staffing and a long-hours culture. The combination of these factors has resulted in increasing workplace demands and time pressures, with health and well-being consequences. This unique account enhances understandings of the twin challenges for managers in attempting to accommodate work-life balance for their staff and themselves personally. Despite these workplace pressures, the narrative is peppered with instances of practical and emotional concern and support.

This study examines the impact of FTSE 100 index revisions on the informational efficiency of the underlying stocks. Our study spans the 1986–2009 period. We estimate the speed of price adjustment and price inefficiency from the partial adjustment with noise model of Amihud and Mendelson (1987). We report a significant improvement (no change) in the informational efficiency of the stocks added to (deleted from) the FTSE 100 index. The asymmetric effect of additions and deletions on informational efficiency can be attributed, at least partly, to certain aspects of liquidity and other fundamental characteristics, which improve following additions but do not diminish after deletions. Cross-sectional analysis also indicates that stocks with low pre-addition market quality benefit more from joining the index.

Using a two-stage quantile regression framework, we uncover significant asymmetries across quantiles for all coefficients in an otherwise standard New Keynesian Phillips Curve (NKPC) for the euro area. A pure NKPC specification accurately captures inflation dynamics at high inflation quantiles.