This is a study of the decline and collapse, in 1973, of the Birmingham Small Arms Company Ltd, primarily a motorcycle manufacturing company and pre-WW2 world market-leader. The study also integrates and extends several earlier investigations into the collapse that concentrated on events in the Motorcycle Division, rather than on the BSA Group, its directors and its overall strategy. The collapse of BSA was due to failures of strategy, direction and management by directors, who were not up to running one of Britain’s major industrial companies after it was exposed to global competition. While the charge, by Boston Consulting and others, that the directors sacrificed growth for short term profits was not proven, their failure to recognise the importance of motorcycle market share and their policy of segment retreat in response to Japanese competition, played a large part in the decline of the company. Their ill-fated diversification policy harmed the motorcycle business, but capital could have been raised in the 1950s to re-equip its manufacturing facilities, had the directors had the confidence to do so. The study also examined whether the ‘cultural critique’ of Barnett C, Wiener M.J. et al provides a valid alternative explanation for the collapse. While the hypothesis has some plausibility, too many variables and unresolved supplementary questions arise for this to contribute effectively to a rigorous account of the causes of the demise of the firm.

The economic problem of the tin industry is essentially the problem of price fluctuations, which lead to the instability of producers' income and employment. In the past, high prices did not meet with effective short-run reaction of the consumers, who were unorganised; but they caused, after a time-lag, a large increase in output. The consequent tendency for price to fall was precipitated during the general depression by a sharp decline in demand. Price then remained low for a long time, owing to the short-run price-inelasticities of both supply and demand. Producers were highly organised and had a propensity to combine. Low prices brought about a producers' restriction scheme, made possible by the governments who had strong interests in the tin industry. The restriction scheme succeeded in raising price but not in stabilising it. It created, in addition, a number of economic, social and moral problems. The present study covers the period from 1914-18 to the present day. The problem is stated in Chapter I. The next two chapters discuss consumption and the demand function. Production is described in Chapter IV; and the financial control of the industry and Governments' interests are analysed in Chapter V. Chapter VI makes an analytical study of costs. The next part of the work (Chs. VII to X) is devoted to the examination of the actions of the Producers and the States. In the last chapter, the prospect of tin control is discussed in the light of past experience, the I.T.O. Charter, the Wheat Agreement, Butfer Stock and other proposals. In the course of the study, the works of Rowe, Knorr, Eastham, Schut and other writers on the subject are critically examined.

This study examines how a critical high technology industry in China, the semiconductor industry, advanced from being an isolated, centrally planned industry in the mid 1980s to being an important participant in the competitive global semiconductor industry after 2000. The research examines the most important trends, projects, and enterprises in China, with attention to China's global partners and China's rapidly growing role in the world economy. In the 1990s, semiconductor enterprises in China proactively made key structural changes and global linkages that set the stage for the industry's growth after 2000. The study thus provides an industry level assessment of how reforms and technological upgrading occurred in contemporary China, including the degree and character of so-called state led development. This research also shows that the development of this high technology industry had direct and positive effects on China's larger business environment and trade policies. Finally, this study compares the development of the semiconductor industry in China with its development in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, identifying differences in national approaches and the effects of the global information revolution.

This thesis contains one literature review chapter and three self-contained empirical studies on different but closely related topics, domestic market integration, public spending, and strategic interactions in China. In Chapter 1, we describe the general background of the Chinese fiscal reforms in the 1980s. In particular we present how the open-door policies has resulted in China’s increasing participation in the global market while at the same time its domestic market seem to still suffer from prevalent border effects and local protectionism. Besides, we outline the nature and source of this fragmentation, which stems from the fiscal and administrative decentralisation, that the fiscal reforms brought about, and the existing political system. As such the fiscal and administrative system give strong incentives for local governments to actively participate in yardstick competition, which often takes the form of the so-called ‘tournament competition‘. Chapter 2 provides a general overview of the existing literature on measuring domestic market integration (DMI). It provides the theoretical underpinnings and empirical evidence of this literature, organising DMI into three main streams of the literature, which are factor-related approach, price-related approach and output and employment-related approach. Chapter 3 adopts a spatial border difference approach and a spatial border econometric approach to estimate the provincial border effects and thus infer the degree of domestic market integration in China. By using a dataset of 48 border counties and 28 2-digit industries in the Yangtze River Delta region over the time period 2005-2009, we find that border effects are present and significant and also varying across provinces and industries. On average Shanghai shows the highest level of local protectionism with its provincial border exerting greater influences on the industry patterns compared with the other two provinces. We also observe the provincial border effects are decreasing over time, albeit over a short time period, which indicates an ongoing process of deepening market integration. Moreover, we also find that Jiangsu exhibits a higher level of border effects against Shanghai and Zhejiang than that with its all surrounding neighbours. Chapter 4 looks into the role of domestic market integration and socio-economic globalisation play in the size and structure of the public sector in China. By employing a dataset of 27 Chinese provinces for the period of 1998-2006, we find that domestic market integration has negligible effects, only showing a small positive correlation with social aspects of spending. On the other hand, the results of international integration provide some support for the ‘efficiency’ hypothesis over the ‘compensation’ view. More specifically, economic integration contributes to the overall expansion of public sector and in particular it increases productive and non-social spending, while social integration results in a reduction in total spending and social spending. Chapter 5 investigates the relationship between strategic interactions and political tournament competition in China. By using the provincial-level data for 28 Chinese provinces over the period of 1998-2005, we provide strong evidence of the spatial autocorrelation in both total spending and its components, though we fail to find evidence supporting the ‘tournament competition’. Besides, the spending level in neighbouring provinces acts as a constraining effect on a local leader’s promotion. Moreover, we found that a higher level of total spending, productive spending and education spending compared with their contiguity neighbours, and a higher level of agriculture spending compared with their GDP-related neighbours would significantly increase the promotion opportunities of provincial governors. In contrast, the level of administration spending relative to local province’s GDP-related neighbours and the level of agency spending relative to geographic-related neighbours are negatively linked with the political turnover rate of provincial governors. Chapter 6 summarises the main findings of the thesis and outline the policy implications of our findings.

This thesis consists of three self-contained studies on technology and exporting of Indian firms in the post-liberalization era. In Chapter 1, we describe the background of Indian economic reforms, provide a general introduction and motivation, and give a brief outline of the thesis. Chapter 2 introduces the data, the variables used in the empirical estimations of the followed chapters, the sample selection steps, and presents some descriptive statistics. Chapter 3 studies regional and national productivity convergence among manufacturing firms in India, using a panel data over the period 1999 to 2010. We find that firms are converging to both their national and regional frontier, and they converge faster to their national frontier than to the regional frontier. We pay attention to the effects of globalisation on the speed of convergence, and find that both export and outward FDI facilitates firms’ productivity growth but slows down the convergence speed. Chapter 4 investigates the role of financing sources on the joint decision to invest in technology and to export, for both manufacturing and service firms in India. We find that firms with higher internal financing are more likely to engage in technology investment and exporting, and this pattern is consistent between manufacturing and service firms. The effects of external financing sources are not statistically significant for manufacturing firms, but show a significant and positive effect on service firms’ decision to undertake technology investments. We further investigate the impact of financial reforms in India for the manufacturing firms, and find a weak effect of the financial reforms in reducing the effects of internal sources on exporting. Chapter 5 summarises the main findings and implications of the thesis, and provides a short discussion of future research directions.

In recent years many countries have introduced fiscal rules with the purpose of reducing the incentives for local governments to accumulate public debt and run deficits. Despite wide adoption, there is not enough evidence about the consequences of fiscal rules for the quality of the political process. In this PhD dissertation, exploiting panel data on Italian municipalities and an institutional framework which mandates the application of fiscal rules only for municipalities above 5000 inhabitants, I study how fiscal rules affect the quality of the political process. In particular, in Chapter 1, using a Difference-in-Discontinuity (Diff-in-Disc) design, I study how fiscal rules affect the quality of the political class, and in particular the level of education of politicians. In Chapter 2, using Regression Discontinuity Design and Propensity-Score Matching, I study whether politicians characterized by different levels of education make different choices in terms of fiscal policies and whether they have different political career goals. Finally, in Chapter 3, I study how political parties can discipline politicians by affecting their career concerns. In particular, using Regression Discontinuity Design, I show that national parties can act as a substitute for fiscal rules in constraining politicians.

The main aim of this thesis is to investigate the relationship between absorptive capacity (ACAP) and organizational performance. The thesis addresses the following research questions: 1) why are some firms better at managing their potential and realized absorptive capacity than others? 2) what is the link between ACAP and organizational performance? The empirical analysis using multi-level modelling technique is drawn on data obtained from 200 managers of the banking sector in Turkey. The thesis contributes to the progress of ACAP research in three ways. First, it provides a systematic review of the fragmented literature concerning the relationship between ACAP and organizational outcomes. It identifies and analyses 214 papers on ACAP and performance published between 1990 and 2015 in high impact business and management journals. The aim is to review, organize and synthesise the relationship between ACAP and organizational performance according to research approaches used and theories applied to understand the ACAP-organizational performance link. The review moves the literature review forward by highlighting the causes of inconsistencies, providing remedies and suggesting an agenda for future research. Second, the thesis examines the antecedents of a firm’s absorptive capacity. The two components of potential absorptive capacity (PACAP) and realized absorptive capacity (RACAP), are treated separately, in order to assess the moderating effects of market-sensing and responsiveness capabilities. The findings from multi-level analyses, show that while coordination facilitates the development of potential absorptive capacity, systems and socialization enhance the firm’s realized absorptive capacity. Further, market sensing capability moderates the relationship between coordination and PACAP, and market responsiveness capability moderates the relationship between socialization and RACAP. Also, market responsiveness capability moderates the relationship between systems and RACAP. Drawing on these findings, this study contributes to ACAP research by elucidating that market sensing and responsiveness are prerequisite capabilities for effective acquisition and exploitation of knowledge. Third, this research assesses how ACAP’s two components, PACAP and RACAP, separately and jointly affect organizational performance. The findings indicate that the combined effect of potential and realized absorptive capacities on organizational performance is greater than the separate effect of the two components. Further, this study reports that the combined effect becomes stronger when organizations operate at a low level of environmental dynamism, and possess a high level of network size. Drawing on these results, the study stresses that potential and realized absorptive capacities are complementary in enhancing superior performance, and indeed this relationship is context dependent.

This thesis includes three empirical essays which cover different topics. Before moving to the main chapters, I would like to briefly discuss the research question and main findings of each project. Chapter 1 Black-White Wage Convergence in the United States This paper explores whether there is a pattern of heterogeneous wage convergence between black and white workers in the Southern US relative to the Non-Southern US during the post-Civil Rights era. Heterogeneity in relation to the South may be plausibly associated with a range of determinants: the region’s historical experience of slavery, different observable factors, or changing political and social institutions. My evidence from US Census data for 1980, 1990 and 2000 indicates that a strong pattern of “black-black” and “black-white” wage convergence exists between Southern born and Non-Southern born individuals. This wage convergence pattern, particularly amongst black workers, is similar across Southern states associated with different historical intensities of slavery, but it is stronger and more persistent for the low wage groups in the South. In addition, the wage convergence is mainly from the low wage quartile groups. My assessment of the impact of institutional changes as a driver of wage convergence suggests that the changes associated with rising political competition from 1960 to 1980 contributed to rising black wages. Chapter 2 Hate Crime and Victory of Obama This paper examines whether Obama’s 2008 electoral victory affected hate crimes. Hate crime data from 2005 to 2012 indicate that anti-black and total hate crimes declined significantly in Blue States after Obama won the election, relative to Red States. The drop is even more significant in States that supported the Democratic presidential candidates in the 2004 and 2008 elections. Moreover, this decline is highly associated with the decreasing education gap between black people and white people. These findings suggest that Obama’s victory played a role in reducing the number of hate crimes in the US. Chapter 3 The Long-Run Labor Market Consequences of Being Born in A Bad Economy Recent studies have shown that an economic or environmental shock at an early stage of life can have a negative long-term impact on health status as well as educational and labour market outcomes. In this study, I examine whether being born during an economic recession affects later-life earnings. By utilising 2000 US Census data, I find that males born between 1965 and 1979 experienced a 1 percent of earning loss with every one unit increase in the unemployment rate at year of birth. The effect is similar in those with and without college education. Moreover, the effect is stronger in the low wage quartile groups. These findings suggest that the labour market consequences of being born in a recession are negative and persistent.

This thesis consists of three chapters, which address different but related research questions, using original data collected during extensive field work in Bangladesh. Chapter one studies the impact of training in stress management on firm outcomes in Bangladesh. 310 female owners were recruited and one-half was randomly offered a 10-week training based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, the current best practice treatment for chronic stress. The other half was assigned to an active control group and received empathetic listening. Initially, CBT reduces stress levels but does not affect profits and sales. For owners in sectors with a high concentration of women, predominantly clothing and handicrafts shops, the effect of CBT on stress dissipates within six months and it has no effect on profits and sales. For owners in sectors with a lower concentration of women, such as electronics or interior design, the effect of CBT on stress persists six months after the treatment, and profits and sales grow over time. Chapter two uses a reverse Becker-DeGroot-Marschak (BDM) mechanism to elicit the willingness to accept a one-time subsidy to try formal childcare in 17 low-income communities in Bangladesh. We visited 635 households with preschool-age children and invited the 415 that were not using childcare to participate in the BDM. The median and modal amounts demanded to try the service are 500 Bangladeshi Taka, approximately 6 US dollars. Households where the head owns a business or does not work demand significantly lower subsidies, compared to those where the head is in wage employment. Respondents living in low-quality dwellings, or in communities where daycare use is low, also demand smaller subsidies. One month after receiving the subsidy, only 17 parents had visited the centre and 9 enrolled their child. These results suggest that a single cash transfer might not be an effective policy for increasing preschool enrollment and regular attendance in low-income urban areas. Chapter three studies correlations between physical and mental health outcomes, employment and household infrastructure in a sample of 1,778 low-income households in Greater Dhaka, Bangladesh. Women and urban dwellers have lower well-being levels than men and residents of peri-urban areas, even after controlling for occupation, consumption and household infrastructure. Participation in paid employment is associated with higher levels of stress for women, but the effects are concentrated on women who own a business or work as domestic helpers. Female garment workers, the largest occupational group among women, fare no worse than women who do not work. Proximity to central Dhaka is associated with higher access to improved sanitation but worse health. Peri-urban dwellers spend less days sick and with fever than those living in the city.

As digital innovation increasingly pushes heterogeneous actors to connect with each other across multiple organizational and community boundaries, a doubly distributed innovation network may emerge, leading to the knowledge being too fragmented and heterogeneous. Facing this problem, I place an emphasis on material artefacts and social network structures in the cultural context of Chinese digital innovators. On the one hand, as innovation is increasingly mediated by material artefacts, I focus on epistemic objects and activity objects, which are able to motivate the process of innovation. On the other hand, as innovation transforms the network actors’ social space, I focus on the role of “guanxi” (i.e. a system of influential relationships in Chinese culture) and structural holes (i.e. the absence of a connection between two contacts) in digital innovation networks. At the same time, as the literature recognizes knowledge orchestration as a useful starting point to address the knowledge fragmentation and heterogeneity, I identify five activities as knowledge orchestration: knowledge mobilization, knowledge coordination, knowledge sharing, knowledge acquisition and knowledge integration. As traditional tools used to support knowledge management can no longer handle the fragmented and heterogeneous knowledge, there is limited studies contributing to our understanding of how the Chinese innovators use objects and social network structures to orchestrate knowledge in their innovation networks. With these paucities of research in mind, this thesis explores how the material objects and the social network structures orchestrate knowledge for coordinating the fragmented and heterogeneous knowledge in Chinese digital innovation networks. From the perspective of material artefacts, my first study explores how epistemic objects affect the acquisition, integration and sharing of knowledge among collaborative organizations during their IT innovation alliances. My second study explores how activity objects affect the sharing, acquisition and integration of knowledge for crowdsourced digital innovation. From a social perspective, my third study explores how guanxi and structural holes affect the mobilization and coordination of knowledge among Chinese digital entrepreneurs in their innovation networks. Following the three studies, I show my key contributions, and discuss my theoretical and practical implications.