E-commerce creates opportunities for companies to implement internal and external connections. This establishes new capabilities to meet market needs and changes the way business can be conducted through the redefinition of rules and roles in the extended enterprise. The literature suggests that the emergence of Internet / Web based communities of common interest accelerates this shift towards the concept of the extended enterprise by enabling enterprises to align within a series of 'value networks' against other groups of enterprises. A collaborative approach and shared benefits are among the crucial factors which bind these value networks of closely integrated business communities. This study investigates the cultural and organisational context of implementing e-commerce to support business to business collaborative relationships. Using primarily qualitative and exploratory methods, various interrelationships are explored through two in depth case studies. The research approach is structured by underpinning theories, predominantly transaction cost economics, and informed by key findings from the literature search of the topic domain. The research itself is based on the assumption that collaborative e-commerce cannot be considered in a vacuum and that a holistic perspective is required, particularly in considering the socio-political and relational aspects of such inter-organisational systems. The work undertaken therefore seeks to identify the interrelationships between the IT, organisational and business aspects of collaborative business to business relationships. The research concludes that a number of interdependent factors are key in implementing e-commerce to support collaborative relationships. Foremost among these are the redesign of processes and practices, common information interchange standards and support, a consultative approach based on mutual trust, the sharing of benefits and a willingness to learn and to adopt a 'network' perspective. The findings are encapsulated into an e-commerce/collaborative relationship framework developed by incorporating key findings from the case studies, as well as themes from the literature. This framework may be a useful tool for analysis in other case studies and could be refined and enhanced by further such research.

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The success of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in industrialised countries has led to the increasing recognition of their role in exports, and in transition economies, this is driven by private-sector-led economic growth. The objective of this thesis is to determine major factors influencing export propensity of Polish SMEs in an expanded European Union (EU). All investigated enterprises are located in the Gdansk province. This study employs the Logit model to explain why some SMEs are exporters (their export propensity) in Poland. The second contribution of this thesis is to find out why some Polish SMEs are non-exporters and will not even engage in future export activities (export aversion). The results of the study indicate that the essential sources of an enterprise's finance, the perception about major problems with respect to export operations and the actions taken to prepare for the accession of Poland to the EU are very important drivers of export propensity and export aversion. More importantly, the results show that the information about special foreign credit available for Polish SMEs and the number of competing firms in domestic market have a positive influence on their export propensity. A strong relationship has been observed between the extent of use of IT tools in distribution-marketing and export propensity. Our results also illustrate that the propensity to export is dependent on the capital of the firm and on profitability of the firm in the domestic market. However, our findings reveal that legal status of firms, the branch of economic activity of the enterprise, the firms with less attractiveness and modernity of products, the firms with little knowledge of EU members' markets and the firms with low technological levels are the factors influencing export aversion of Polish SMEs. Our results demonstrate that the domestic share of the market of the firm is significant in explaining export propensity and aversion. Our empirical results should contribute to policy makers' designing effective assistance programmes to encourage Polish SMEs in their exporting.

This research examines how front line managers (FLMs) in a NHS Mental Health Trust responded when Electronic Rostering technology was introduced into their wards, with intentions of improving efficiency, transparency, fairness, skill matching, and safety, and potentially increasing control from above. The study applied a theoretical framework developed from previous research to investigate relationships between the organisational context and FLMs’ characteristics, change management processes and technology efficacy, and analyse their impact upon FLMs’ responses to E-Rostering adoption and consequent outcomes. The research questions focused upon the influences of organisational background and the change management process. The research strategy was an in-depth case study with data collection through semi-structured interviews with managers at ward, service/general, project and senior levels, observation of meetings and training, examination of system records and Trust documents. The theoretical framework was used to design interview guides to help researcher and subjects investigate perceptions of salient factors and FLMs’ responses, and help structure analysis. Cross referencing of data supported reliability and validity of interpretations. The FLMs were ward managers perceiving themselves as professional clinical leaders and operational managers, running wards semi-autonomously. Control of deployment was vital to their authority. They showed power to resist pressures to adopt technology which threatened their control and to resist changes not congruent with their priorities. They negotiated with the project team and adapted practices to produce locally acceptable rosters. Although electronic staff records helped administration, automatic rostering was not efficacious. Rosters needed considerable manual adjustment, meaning ward managers recovered control of deployment and maintained local customs. The study confirms the importance of organisational structure and culture and of political and change management processes, in explaining responses to IT innovation. Change leaders should investigate operational practices, unit cultures and contexts to prepare for technology adoption because these factors will strongly influence FLMs’ responses.

Stakeholder involvement in securing service standards, priorities and effectiveness was made a requirement of the Local Government Act 1999, England and Wales. This legislation built upon the 1998 White Paper, Modern Local Government in Touch with the People which formed part of the incoming 1997 Labour government's key principles as described in the Labour Party's 1997 Manifesto. This agenda replaced the implicit 'lowest price principle' of the Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT) legislation of the outgoing Conservative administration. Stakeholder theory and practice is central to this change agenda. Furthermore, it was applied to public service management without adaptation to the complexity and nature of the governance of local authorities. This research examines 3 case studies of local authorities to explore whether and how the implementation and impact of the necessity for local authorities to identify, consult with and involve stakeholders in setting standards has been enacted. It considers the impact of these requirements on stakeholder theory, stakeholders, political and managerial relationships. The literature review critiques stakeholder theory as described by Freeman (1984) and particular aspects of stakeholder management: engagement (Arnstein, 1969); salience (Mitchell, Agle and Wood, 1997); normative and instrumental behaviours (Donaldson and Preston, 1995); and moral enlightenment (Kohlberg, 1981). Government agencies explicitly or implicitly advocated those constructs for their usefulness when planning for and consulting stakeholders. The conclusion is that stakeholder theory as described is insensitive to the complexity of local authorities' political, managerial and stakeholders' agendas. Furthermore, that it requires further development to ensure that it is relevant to the nature and the style of local authorities' responsibilities. It establishes that the distinction between consulting and engaging with stakeholders is fraught with confusion. Finally, the relationship between power, legitimacy and urgency of stakeholder claims results in political and managerial pragmatism and is consistent with those aspects of stakeholder theory described by Mitchell, Agle and Wood, (1997). This research identified issues of managerial concern. Of particular importance is the different use and understanding of language by stakeholders, managers and politicians. This is an under-reported aspect of Freeman (1984). Furthermore, the contribution of unrepresentative stakeholders in shaping council policy challenges the democratic process and is of concern to senior managers and politicians. This in turn undermines the requirement for stakeholder inclusiveness and involvement. Finally, it is established that policy at the point of implementation is often a result of local contextual adaptation, 'bricolage', on the part of the manager. The research makes a distinct contribution by identifying 'how' and 'why' stakeholder theory is too insensitive for direct useful application to local authorities. It finds that policy advice from government agencies concerning stakeholder consultation for best value has mostly been ignored, although many themes identified in the theory and advice were identified in the data collected. Finally, this research has provided the first empirical data on this subject and increases understanding of 'how' and 'why' stakeholder consultation has been undertaken in the parks and greenspace sector. In so doing, it contributes to an understanding of practice in action and the amending of behaviour that constitute implementation of strategic stakeholder theory and managerial policy, thereby creating an agenda for future research.

Understanding knowledge management is critical for organisations because the persons concerned are not trained adequately to access, use and benefit from this knowledge effectively. The main problem is that the workers themselves do not understand how to organize and manage a huge amount of knowledge capital has, and the importance of this to improve organizational performance. This research is based on understanding the importance of knowledge management practices and policies within an organisation. This is based on research to understand the importance of knowledge management practices and policies within the organization. This research focuses on building a framework based on the knowledge of social issues within the organization and its impact on business. This research will explore strategies that can be used for organizations in order to integrate this knowledge into their business social benefit from social ontology. To enable this framework, a business organization knowledge management integrated social ontology framework (BOKMISOf) was built with a focus on telecommunications industry in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. In order to understand the social aspects of an organisation, a social ontology was developed which was incorporated into the knowledge management framework. The BOKMISO framework was evaluated with case studies, within telecommunication companies, in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. The employees of these companies contributed in data collection activity via questionnaire, whereas the managers of these companies contributed via semi-structured interview. Results that were gathered from data collection showed that BOKMISO framework was valid, appropriate, useful and added value to an organisation. Further work can be done to apply the BOKMISOf within other telecommunications companies in Saudi Arabia.

The purpose of this study is to examine how corporate performance influences Chief Executive Officer (CEO) pay in UK public listed companies. Specifically it is to identify evidence of relative performance evaluation in CEO pay, following the recommendation in the Combined Code (2003) to link long-term incentive compensation to relative firm performance. The major and a novel contribution of this study is the focus on the payments received by CEOs from performance-based long-term incentive schemes. The pay-for-performance relationship is investigated in a longitudinal setting using random and fixed-effect panel data estimation methods. An unbalanced panel of CEOs is drawn from 204 of the largest, nonfinancial UK companies, between 2003 and 2007. From a principal-agent theory perspective it is hypothesised that firm performance is positively associated with chief executive pay and from a relative performance evaluation theory perspective it is hypothesised that, whilst controlling for actual firm performance, peer group performance is negatively associated with chief executive pay. The CEO compensation data are hand collected exclusively for this study and provides a level of detail not previously found in the literature. The findings demonstrate that it is crucial to distinguish between the different elements of pay and the different performance conditions that attach to those elements in order to establish a comprehensive understanding of the pay-for-performance relationship. New and convincing evidence shows that actual bonus pay is determined relative to annual FTSE-350 market performance and actual long-term pay is determined relative to three-year FTSE-350 sector performance. These findings provide robust evidence that is consistent with the principal-agent framework of executive pay and corporate performance. This study may alleviate the concerns held by some stakeholder groups that pay is not clearly linked to corporate performance. These findings will be of particula r practical importance to investors who expect the interests of executives to be aligned with those of the company shareholders, via an incentive contract that rewards executives for enhanced corporate performance and consequently shareholder wealth maximisation. The findings also confirm that changes introduced to improve corporate governance practice in the field of executive pay are working to the benefit of shareholders.

The discovery of oil has been identified as both a blessing and a curse for Nigeria. While oil revenue has been a blessing to the country, the failure of oil companies to be socially responsible to their host communities has been a source of numerous crises in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria. Earlier studies have enriched our knowledge on how corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be used to benefit host communities, but how corporate social responsibility and the stakeholder approach can be used to prevent these crises have received little attention in the literature. Thus, this study contributes to knowledge by investigating the effect of corporate social responsibility and stakeholder management on corporate social performance. This research adopted a quantitative approach method, and survey was developed based on the existing scales of corporate social responsibility measurement. Two different sets of questionnaires were administered to 160 employees of the big four multinational oil companies in Nigeria and 225 members of the host communities in the Niger-Delta area. A hundred and forty-six questionnaires were returned from each of the two sets of respondents. These questionnaires were analysed using Partial Least Square and descriptive statistics. The results of the analyses revealed that a strong relationship exists between compliance to industry standards and environmental performance evidence from employees of multinational oil companies. While the results showed that a weak relationship exists between compliance to industry standards and environmental performance based on the response from the host communities. The results also showed that a strong relationship exists between corporate legitimacy and community relations from both the employees of multinational oil companies and host communities. Furthermore, the results revealed that a strong relationship exists between corporate legitimacy and community perception from both stakeholders. In addition, there is also a strong relationship between regulatory infractions and environmental performance from the results of the two main stakeholders. The results also indicated that a strong relationship exists between CSR initiatives and community relations for the two main stakeholders. However, the results revealed that a weak relationship exists between CSR initiatives and community perception from both groups of stakeholders. Another contribution of this stufy to knowledge is the corporate social responsibility and corporate social performance measures used in this research. While existing measurements of corporate social responsibility in the literature have combined all the variables, this study separated them into various dimensions, to ensure easier adaptability for other studies. This study is a set of possible ideals, practicable and feasible concerns corporate social responsibility (CSR) measures. In addition, this study is a response to a prolonged and contested problem of appropriate measurement of corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, this gap in the literature led to development of a more robust conceptual model of a reflective construct of corporate social responsibility and corporate social performance that in some respects differ from existing conceptual model of corporate social responsibility. Therefore, this research recognised the attempt by previous studies on development of corporate social responsibility measurement model. Still, this study proposed agenda and scope of corporate social responsibility, as well as the measures used to implement corporate social responsibility via the reflective construct for the oil companies' operationalisation in Nigeria.

The BRICS (Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa) economies, as the major emerging markets, continue to influence the transformation of the global structure. Their role within the global governance and global economy is increasing day by day. This study is an analysis of the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) in a panel of bilateral FOI data from thirty-two the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (DECO) countries in the BRICS countries for the period of 1992 to 2010. Applying the extended gravity model with the home country push factors and the host country pull factors, the empirical findings of this study confirms that market size, distance, common culture, trade openness, privatisation, relative labor cost, research and development (R&D), relative exchange rate, infrastructure and institutional factors are the key determinants of FDI in the BRICS countries. Furthermore, bilateral investment treaties (BITs) are significant at 10% level for FDI flows. The home country corporate tax rate and bilateral export are inconclusive. In this aspect, there are evidences to accept that the motive of FDI in the BRICS economies is principally are market seeking, natural resource seeking and partly efficiency seeking type of FDI. Employing a standard gravity model, within limited scope this study also attempts to examine the impact of the 2008 global financial crisis on the BRICS countries' exports. The author use a panel data of BRICS countries' bilateral exports to the top ten major destination countries for the period of 2000 to 2011 by including a dummy variable to measure the impact of the global financial crisis. The result confirms that the coefficient estimate for the crisis dummy variable is positive and statistically significant at 1% level for fixed effects (FE) model. The result specifies that during the global financial crisis periods, the BRICS countries' exports growth rate increased relative to the non-financial crisis period. Furthermore, model approves that GOP growth rate and population are an also important factor that affects the value of the BRICS countries' exports.