There is a growing literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and gender issues, which draws upon a range of feminist theory and perspectives. However,research in this field appears to have been somewhat hampered by a lack of systematic engagement with ‘gendered organizations’ studies (GOS), and with a broad range of CSR theory, in particular that related to governance. This thesis sets out to address these gaps in the literature. It opens up new dialogue between the fields of GOS and CSR. Through a review of the GOS literature this study notes a number of organizational change strategies identified by feminist scholars. With reference to these it develops a set of research questions with which to investigate the possible contribution of CSR to organizational change with regard to gender equality. These are then employed in an exploration of CSR practice, focusing on CSR reporting and stakeholder relations. Through this analysis the thesis identifies several ways in which CSR might contribute to advancing the feminist organizational change agenda. Particular attention is paid to recent developments in political theories of CSR, which regard CSR as a governance process involving business, government and civil society. Thus, the thesis addresses organizational change and gender equality in the context of new governance, and particularly CSR, and by extending the literature both empirically and conceptually produces insights for feminist studies relating to CSR theory and practice. Noting that the private sector is playing an increasingly important role in employment, and more broadly in societal governance in many parts of the world, and the growth of CSR, research in this thesis critically engages with CSR literature and practice from a feminist perspective. The research presented assesses the importance of CSR for organizational change on gender equality through an investigation of two related questions, namely how gender equality issues are addressed within CSR practice, and how CSR might help advance organizational change on this agenda. These questions are explored through the use of nine secondary research questions in three studies involving document analysis of company reports, and semi-structured interviews with corporate managers, and with leaders of women’s NGOs. The thesis thus updates our knowledge of CSR reporting on gender equality issues, and explores the views of corporate managers about CSR and gender equality. It also investigates the views of leaders in women’s NGOs on private sector accountability for gender equality, and the field of CSR more broadly, thus engaging with a group of stakeholders not normally included in the CSR literature. The research suggests that, despite its limitations, CSR can contribute to the gender organizational change agenda in several ways, which revolve around the new governance systems which CSR presages. These include new organizational rhetoric and practices, new external drivers of change within business, and new kinds of regulation. The three studies are informed by, and contextualised with reference to the CSR literature on governance, and are ultimately brought together in a discussion of CSR as a governance process from a feminist perspective. From this vantage point the potential of CSR to facilitate organizational change suggested in this thesis appears to be underdeveloped at the present time. While recognizing many important critiques of the field, with reference to the research outcomes the thesis frames CSR as a political opportunity with regard to gender equality. The aim here is therefore to contribute not only to knowledge but also perhaps to feminist action.

Recent studies highlight the importance of improving corporate governance practices in order to reduce the impact of financial crises on the economy. However, doing so requires consideration of exactly what forms corporate governance, particularly in a national context. Such consideration necessitates some focus on institutions, an area which has been largely neglected by previous research. As such, this research primarily focuses on understanding a range of institutions in a non-Western, emerging society. Attention will be paid to the influence of such institutions on the emergence and development of corporate governance regimes from an institutional theory perspective, as perceived by significant social actors. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews with corporate governance managers in Saudi Arabia. Findings suggest that the emergence of corporate governance regimes in a non-Western, emerging society (Saudi Arabia) is influenced by family, kinship, bureaucratic state, and religion institutions. Family and kinship institutions appear to negatively impact on the emergence and development of corporate governance in this non-Western, emerging society in terms of issues surrounding control, abuse, and conflict of interest. The bureaucratic state and religion appear to positively influence the development of corporate governance in the Saudi Arabian non-Western, emerging society in terms of issues centred on implementation, compliance, and supporting roles. This research provides a new understanding of the impact of, and role played by, institutions in the formation of corporate governance in a non-Western, emerging society which is an under-researched context. Implications, such as how to reduce negative institutional impacts and take advantage of more positive ones, are discussed. Finally, suggestions for further research are offered. Such research might focus on exploring the impact of institutions from extended standpoints of institutional theory, for example institutional logics and institutional work perspectives.

By drawing on the hegemony of politics over the administration and social policy in the Kurdistan Region, researching the implementation of social security programmes is critically important for understanding the outlook of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) towards social policy. This research broadly examines policy implementation theories within the context of this politically underdeveloped region, taking into account the social security programmes of the KRG as a case study. Primary questions could be asked here, such as what are the critical factors in the implementation of social security in the KRG? Why has the KRG not adopted and implemented an effective social policy with its developmental programmes since its relative economic growth in 2001? My focused question in the current research is: why has the KRG implemented its two main social cash transfers (‘Rights and Privileges to Families of Martyrs and Genocide Survivors’ and ‘Social Safety Net’) differently? Exploring these cases would favour understanding of the extent to which the political conditions of the Kurdistan Region have influenced the implementation of social benefit schemes of the KRG. Experiencing its national struggle in the past, intra-Kurdish civil war during the 1990s and partisanship afterwards has formed the KRG. As for the theoretical framework of this research, I have used two sets of literature: policy implementation and clientelism. Having employed qualitative semi-structured interviews with forty-six individuals and six focus groups from implementers of the aforementioned programmes in the region, this research discusses the critical factors in the implementation process of social security programmes in the KRG. In contrast to almost all policy implementation theories and models, which lay emphasis on the role of top officials (top-down approach), bureaucrats and implementers (bottom-up approach), I argue that the political character of the programme and its beneficiaries is potentially a determinant actor in the policy implementation success. The KRG deals with social cash transfers in accordance with the profile and socio-political status of beneficiaries. In this regard two types of clients could be distinguished: high value clients treated within a preferred programme (RPFMGS) and low-value clients treated within a neglected programme (SSN). The profile and status of beneficiaries of social security schemes play a decisive role in the salience given to the social programme, and in the effectiveness of its implementation. Both aforementioned social security programmes are implemented at a ministerial level. However, the performance of the two programmes appears to be complicated and evidently different. The main difference between both programmes is that the first programme, RPFMGS, serves a population who are characterised as ‘political victims’, while the second programme, SPF, covers ‘socio-economic victims’. Labelling beneficiaries based on their socio-political status will primarily explain the reason why the KRG deals with each social security programme very differently. The first programme is highly prioritised politically, while the second is neglected politically.

Subsidiaries act as both creators and contributors of knowledge and innovation within the Multinational Enterprise (MNE), (Ghoshal and Bartlett, 1983; Birkinshaw, 1995, 2000; Almeida and Phene, 2004; Cantwell and Mudambi, 2005; Andersson et al., 2008; Phene and Almeida, 2008), but according to the literature, how this occurs, and how this contributes to a differentiated role for the subsidiary within the MNE, demands attention (Frost, 2001; Cantwell and Mudambi, 2005; Figueiredo, 2011). This study seeks to address this research gap. Specifically, the research examines whether, how, and under what conditions, subsidiaries develop innovative capabilities through innovations and/or initiatives, within their internal and external multinational networks, and if, and how this innovative activity can contribute to role evolution for the subsidiary within the MNE. Drawing upon the theoretical lenses of both a network and a resource-based perspective, and additionally incorporating resource dependency theory, the study contributes to an understanding of the development of capabilities within the subsidiary. Recognising the value to the wider MNE of subsidiary innovation, the study unlocks the ‘black box’ of the subsidiary’s innovation activities, by illuminating the various activities and the processes that link them (Birkinshaw et al., 1998), to establish new insights into how the internal and external networks of the subsidiary influence subsidiary innovative capability. The literature has tended to assume that subsidiaries automatically benefit from linkages in its network environment, but the role of subsidiary management initiative in the entrepreneurial tapping of new resources has not been considered sufficiently (Stahl, 2004). So, whilst the internal network, the external network (and related embeddedness and linkage factors) impact the innovative capability of the subsidiary, the headquarters, the munificence of the local environment, but also the autonomous choices of the subsidiary itself, drive innovation and capability development within the subsidiary. The study therefore examines how innovative initiative activity, alongside the network linkages of the subsidiary, and through the exercise of autonomy shapes and influences subsidiary role evolution. Ireland, as a highly developed and globalised economy, has achieved much success in attracting key MNE subsidiary players into knowledge-intensive sectors, and these subsidiaries are evolving into high value R&D units, undertaking key innovations for the entire MNE. The success story of Irelands’ FDI model makes it a particularly insightful context in which to study innovative activity in multinational subsidiaries. Five case-studies of high-technology subsidiaries which are located in close geographic proximity at the sub national level provide the empirical basis for the study’s agenda, with senior managers with key functional roles as the key respondents. The study contributes to the study of subsidiary innovation and innovative capability development in a number of ways. First, the study provides insight into how subsidiaries generate innovation through the mechanism of proactive and self-determined subsidiary initiatives. In particular, subsidiaries, through these innovations, initiate and develop meaningful linkages with key actors in the local external environment, which creates credibility and legitimacy for future initiative-taking. This suggests that a subsidiary choice perspective and initiative may be a valid perspective to adopt when considering subsidiary innovations and capability enhancement in MNEs. Subsidiaries develop few but important linkages in both their internal and external networks. To a large extent, the evolution of linkages and relationship is not automatic but the linkages are initiated and shaped by the deliberate strategies of the subsidiaries which, by corollary, means that the environment is reflected in the strategies and interests of the subsidiary. The study also sheds light on the controversies surrounding the exercise of, and role of, autonomy, and its relevance to innovative capability within the subsidiary. To note, all subsidiaries have strategically advanced roles in terms of R&D capability, and to varying degrees the subsidiaries act as pivots for R&D development within the global MNE. Whilst the autonomy of the subsidiary is both assumed and revealed in the actual initiatives pursued by the subsidiaries, interestingly, the study finds that due to increasing technological specialisation of the subsidiaries, autonomy is not something that is ‘fought for’, rather integration and contribution to the MNE is deemed valuable for future role development. As regards role change of the subsidiary within the MNE, the findings are more indeterminate. Clearly, role change may take many years to actually surface. However, it is clear that subsidiaries are becoming more specialised in their mandate focus, through purposefully outsourcing manufacturing, progressively upgrading R&D capabilities, and further strengthening collaborative linkages for technological innovation. As an ‘insider in two systems’ (Collinson and Wang, 2012), the study shows that generating innovations within subsidiaries is a path-dependent process, building on proven capabilities and the credibility of the subsidiary. Innovation capability is not only the result of the overall ‘entrepreneurial orientation’ or initiative-taking capability of the subsidiary in tight networks, but also in the ability of the subsidiaries to combine and recombine resources from its linkages in both internal and external networks for differential contribution to an ever more integrative MNE. Finally, the findings are synthesised into a new model capturing how and under what conditions innovative capabilities develop within the subsidiary, within the MNE. The study deepens and extends the analysis of the situated nature of knowledge and competence development to an understanding of the subsidiary’s own strategies in the generation of new knowledge for subsidiary-specific advantage, and illustrates some of the reasons as to why not all subsidiaries are equal.

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The aim of the thesis is to provide an analysis of the British steel industry's attempts to deal with the reform of industrial relations in the period 1964-74, and to evaluate the contribution of productivity bargaining to that process. After a first introductory chapter, Chapters Two to Four are concerned with outlining the industry's problems, the employer's response, and with the negotiation of industry-wide productivity agreements. The contribution of productivity bargaining is evaluated in Chapters Five to Eight in which industrial relations at Corby and Ravenscraig Works are examined. The methods of investigation include the use of primary sources such as private letters, minutes, reports and statistical data, and also published material; this was possible through the author being employed at Ravenscraig during 1965-70. Other data was gathered through interviews with union officials and managers at various levels, the interview programme being carried out while the author was employed at the Steel Industry Management College, 1971-75. In addition, employee attitude surveys conducted at both Corby and Ravenscraig provided relevant material. The thesis tries to improve understanding of the collective bargaining process by a detailed examination of bargaining structures, by tracing the reaction and interactions of management, unions and work groups to changes in the awareness of their interests as they either react to a structural change or introduce a new one which thereby alters behaviour. The principal arguments are contained in three sequential but integrated hypotheses which identify the key explanatory variables and the nature of their interaction. The main contribution of the thesis is to refine and make more precise the application of both systems theory and job regulation theory to the factory level reform process. The conclusions follow from the testing of the hypotheses and are as follows: (i) The collective bargaining structure is a major variable explaining industrial relations behaviour. (ii) A major weakness of both systems and job regulation theories is the one directional nature of their causal sequence and the thesis illustrates a systematic process of two way interaction between the key structural factors and the behavioural response. (iii) The more centralised, standardised and formalised the key structural variables (that is, the collective bargaining arrangements, management and union organisations) the greater the power of leaders to assist or resist reform. Conversely, the more structures are fragmented with power devolved the weaker the leaderships' influence. (iv) The adherence to a definite causal sequence of key variable interaction increases the probability of a successful outcome. The hypotheses are tested and the conclusions validated in Chapters Five to Eight of the thesis.

Using the results of postal surveys of teachers and trainees as well as case studies the provision for the Youth Training Scheme (YTS) during 1983/4 made by a representative sample of Further Education colleges is examined. The policy intentions of governmental and quasi-government bodies are placed in their political context, focussing on the curricular policies of the Manpower Services Commission (MSC) and the Further Education Unit (FEU). The policy of the government and the MSC to change the image of youth training measures from that of a short-term social support measures (current under the Youth Opportunities Programme) to one of a permanent national training scheme is judged to have had a large measure of success. YTS in the year concerned was integrated with existing examination and apprenticeship structures. However, a streaming process according to educational level is identified, whereby lower stream trainees on college based courses receive a student-centred curriculum to a greater degree than trainees on employer based YTS courses. The influence of the FEU, struggling to preserve a liberal educational philosophy in vocational preparation, is judged to have more relevance for the (minority) lower stream courses. It is suggested that if the FEU wishes to extend its influence to the rest of YTS it will have to examine how its educational philosophy may be reconciled with the teaching style associated with traditional examination courses in FE, which have generally been adapted for YTS by teachers. The views of trainees lend justification to the MSC policy of promoting work-based learning, since trainees bring to YTS a perspective that places great value on experiences that seem like, or may lead to, real work. However, several aspects of MSC policy designed to promote work-based learning are judged to have failed, and an examination of employers' provision is recommended.

Dry pet foods are composed of cereal, proteins, fats, fibres and other minor components. The manufacturing process comprises a first step where the dry ingredients are ground to a suitable particle size and blended, a second step where the dry powder is mixed with water and steam in a preconditioner and then extruded and a final step where the product is dried and coated. The aim of this work was to study the effects of the unit operations prior to thermos mechanical extrusion in the dry pet food process. The study focuses especially on the structure of the final product therefore, after studying a typical pet food recipe, a model system using cereal only or cereals and fats was considered. The grinding process was shown to impact on the physicochemical characteristics of a pet food premix by affecting the degree of starch damage, the water absorption and water solubility properties or the total charge of the mix. The grinding method was also found to be critical as grinding ingredients together and multiple pass grinding produced more starch damage. The resulting premixes from different grinding methods were affecting the extrusion process and the extrudates characteristics. Extruded mixes with the lowest starch damage, obtained by single pass grinding presented higher expansion than mixes produced by two pass grinding. Few studies have reported the effect of preconditioning on extrusion, therefore, a model preconditioning apparatus was first built to analyse the effect of residence time and initial moisture on maize grits physicochemical characteristics. The results of this study showed that limited precooking occurs at the preconditioner stage (0 to 80% loss in crystallinity). This precooking reduces water self diffusion coefficient in the particle, as measured by pulse field gradient NMR, decreases powder bulk density and increases powder compressibility. At the highest moisture contents (33% wb) and the highest residence time (240s), maize grits can lose its hydrated powder state and form a viscous paste. The different particle sizes used (from 240 to 476 µm modal diameter) did not show different behaviours. The effect of preconditioning on extrusion was also studied using the model preconditioner. Results showed that prehydration and pre-heating increased homogeneity of the material entering the extruder and reduced the specific mechanical energy (SME). This increased in homogeneity allows a more homogeneous starch conversion in the extruder as no remnant native starch granule was found in the preconditioned sample for 240s. The results from the model system were then partially confirmed using a pilot plant double-shafted Buhler preconditioner on maize grits of various particle size (330 to 1365 µm modal diameter). The results showed that preconditioning decreases SME but also allows a higher expansion. The SME was negatively correlated with the temperature of the mix immediately after preconditioning (at the extruder inlet) and the compressibility of the preconditioned material. The crystallinity of starch in the end product (Vh or Eh and Vh) was also dependant on the preconditioning treatment. Pre-heating reduced the Eh pattern of the extrudates. Finally, the interactions between fats and starch during extrusion have also been studied. It has been shown that the levels of free fatty acids in fats commonly used in the dry pet food industry (sunflower oil, beef tallow and poultry fat) can affect markedly the expansion, foam structure and pasting characteristics of extrudates. This was especially correlated to the formation of crystalline complexes between amylose and free fatty acids.

This thesis analyses foreign intervention in oil-rich African states which have contributed to the resource curse problem in the latter. It concentrates on the role of former colonial powers-France and Britain-as well as new players-the United States, China and multinational agencies who have deployed policies and carried out practices in securing Africa’s oil resources. This study argues that ‘Foreign intervention contributes to the likelihood of the resource curse through both political and economic means,’ based mainly on the resource curse theory and concept of neo-colonialism. Apart from factors addressed by the existing literature on the resource curse, namely, economic malfunctions, government policies, social foundations, resource types, country size and initial conditions, this research hypothesizes that foreign interventions display a strong linkage to the resource curse. African countries have experienced poverty and conflicts even if they have had the greatest dosages of foreign interventions from the slave trade through to the present date, as explained by neocolonialism. This is contrast to the neo-liberal economists which promote foreign interventions and resource exploitation which they argue are necessary for African economic and political development. This study includes two theoretical approaches which address the relationship between continuing foreign intervention and the resource curse in Africa: neo-Marxism and realism. Marxist dialectical materialism allows us to look back over the history of the relations between Africa and foreign powers both materially and in regard to how these relations, time and again, affect and shape Africa’s structure. By discussing the ‘world order’ in terms of production structure that leads to exploitation, oppression, enslavement and the struggles of the lower social classes in weaker states, Marxist perspectives shed light on the relationship between foreign interventions and Africa’s underperformance. With realist main assumptions of power and profits maximization, this study explains that foreign interventions in African oil-rich countries will be maintained and will intensify as global situations surrounding oil become more hostile. I offer to use these theories to explain specific policies and practices of foreign interventions with relation to the African oil industries. The foreign powers involved in the interventions for Africa’s oil, the mechanism through which they are carried out and the outcomes of these actions are neither addressed nor evaluated in these theories. Although the abovementioned Marxist strands indicate that neo-colonialism will contribute to poor performance in Africa, it does not relate to the resource curse discussion which mainly assumes that resource-rich countries are doomed to fail. This is the gap which this study has filled by linking these theories to real-world practices. By applying the concept of neo-colonialism, this study compiles the empirical evidence of continuing interventions by former colonial powers and new powers as they seek oil security in African states. The result of this study is that oil-related foreign intervention is linked to the resource curse discussion. In effect, the resource curse theory is refined by stating that a foreign intervention variable must be included into its discussion and policy considerations. This study records oil-related incidents of foreign interventions in Africa and systematically categorizes oil-related foreign interventions using political and economic approaches. Foreign political interventions include the balkanization of Africa, the use of state policies, political meddling and military involvement. Economic approaches used by foreign players to secure African oil are categorized into two central themes: financial involvement and business conduct. The former refers to the following practices: neo-liberal policies, petrodollar monetary order, economic sanctions, financial support and money corruption. With regards to business conduct, the following practices will be investigated: circumventing environmental standards, enclave oil operations and unsuitable philanthropic projects. This study examines these interventions from the first scramble in Africa during the colonial era, through to the second scramble during the Cold War and the current scramble of Africa’s resources. The study displays these occurrences in any oil-rich African countries including Angola, Sudan, Libya, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. A specific case study is devoted for Nigeria which is the biggest oil-rich African countries but paradoxically experiences endemic poverty and conflicts. Primary data and interviews conducted in the Niger Delta, Lagos, Cape Town, and London are used extensively.

The objective of this thesis is to examine the effect of pension system design on saving. Chapter II analyses the relationship analytically, in a two-period two-generation partial equilibrium Samuelson-type of OLG model in the logarithmic format, augmented by design of the public pension system and by the mandatory funded pension programme with the displacement coefficient. The model predicts higher household saving for countries with a lower contribution rate, higher redistribution within the public system and greater importance of private pension savings, i.e. systems that could be classified as ‘Beveridge’. Partial derivatives of the model are numerically simulated. Chapter III first deals with the measurement issue, defining the set of ‘pension design indicators’ that will be used later for the empirical analysis. Then it tests the ‘convergence hypothesis’ of pension models using several methods. The results unambiguously suggest that, despite a convergence in pension policy goals, convergence of pension models has not occurred i.e. the pension systems around the world are still influenced by their historical paths. Chapter IV empirically investigates the effect of pension system design on saving rates. The first part of the analysis closely follows work in Disney (2005), with somewhat differently calculated public pension design variables and with data for the 2000s. I also tested the impact of private pension component on household saving. The overall pension system design was estimated using principal components composite indices. The results obtained using a number of estimation methods have not confirmed the predictions of the theoretical model, and are actually counter-intuitive. In addition to methodological issues related to household saving data, a possible explanation for this could be the complexity of household saving behaviour that needs to be adequately controlled for. The final chapter summarizes the findings, discusses limitations of empirical investigation and sets forth directions for future research.