Although the impact of IT-enabled information on firm performance has been well documented in the business value of IT literature, our understanding of how adopting GPS can transform operational decision-making and foster differential firm performance is limited. Moreover, price and service quality have been highlighted as key determinants of industrial customer satisfaction, yet there is little understanding of how IT-enabled information utilisation influences these relationships. In response, I employ two-phase research. In the first phase, I conduct an exploratory comparative case study of three transport firms that have implemented GPS in their operations. The results show that increased use of GPS-enabled information enhances information quality and makes operational decision-making more fact-based and collaborative. I also find that such transformations in operational decision-making can have differential performance impacts. However, I warn scholars and practitioners that a firm’s information management capability and organisational factors can facilitate the effective use of GPS-enabled information in operational decision-making and, thus, moderate the differential performance benefits of adopting GPS. In the second phase, I carry out a quantitative study with transport firms’ customers. The findings make two contributions. First, I find that the more an industrial firm utilises IT-enabled information in the service process, the less emphasis its customers place on prices when it comes to determining their satisfaction. Drawing on equity theory, I theorise that information utilisation in the service process may mobilise perceptions of fairness and transparency, thereby suppressing the relative impact of price on the formation of industrial customer satisfaction. Second, I find that industrial customers view the utilisation of IT-enabled information in the service process as a value-adding capability that boosts their service quality perceptions. Interestingly, although I had expected that the utilisation of IT-enabled information would also increase the importance of service quality in forming customer satisfaction, the results suggested that this was not the case.

In this thesis, a new framework has been proposed, designed and developed for creating efficient and cost effective logistics chains for long items within the building industry. The building industry handles many long items such as pipes, profiles and so on. The handling of these long items is quite complicated and difficult because they are bulky, unstable and heavy. So it is not cost effective and efficient to handle them manually. Existing planning frameworks ignore these special requirements of such goods and are not planned for handling these goods. That leads to that many additional manual handling steps are currently required to handle long items. Therefore, it is very important to develop a new framework for creating the efficient and cost-effective logistics chain for long items. To propose such a new framework, the expert interviews were conducted to gain the fully understanding about the customer requirements. The experts from all stages of the building industry supply chain were interviewed. The data collected from the expert interviews has been analysed and the meaningful findings about the customer requirements have been applied as the valuable inputs for the proposition of the new framework. To have fully knowledge about current practices, all existing planning frameworks have been analysed and evaluated using SWOT analysis. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the current planning frameworks have been comparatively analysed and evaluated. The findings from SWOT analysis have been used for proposing, designing and developing the new framework. The great efforts have been made during the implementation stage. The six different key parameters for a successful implementation have been identified. They are: • Improvement Process with Employees • Control of the Improvements • Gifts/Money for the Improvements and Additional Work • KAIZEN Workshops • Motivation of the Employees for Improvements • Presentation of the Results Among these six parameters, it has been found that KAIZEN workshops is a very effective way for creating an efficient and cost-effective logistics chain for long items. It is believed that the new framework can be theoretically used for the planning of logistics that handle long items and commercial goods. This framework can also be used to plan all kinds of in-house logistics processes from the incoming goods, storage, picking, delivery combination areas and through to the outgoing goods area. The achievements of this project are as follows (1) the new framework for creating efficient and cost-effective logistics chains for long items, (2) the data collection and the data evaluation at the preliminary planning, (3) the decision for one planning variant already at the end of the structure planning, (4) the analysis and evaluation of customer requirements, (5) the consideration and implementation of the customer requirements in the new framework, (6) the creation of figures and tables as planning guideline, (7) the research and further development of Minomi with regards to long items, (8) the research on the information flow, (9) the classification of the improvements and the improvement handling at the implementation, (10) the identification of key parameters for a successful implementation of the planning framework. This framework has been evaluated both theoretically and through a case study of a logistics system planning for handling long items and commercial goods. It has been found that the new framework is theoretically sound and practically valuable. It can be applied to creating the logistics system for long items, especially for building industry.

This thesis investigates the degree to which our everyday conceptions of 'place' have changed in contemporary society, especially in relation to the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs). The empirical evidence is a case study of 20 low-income families who live in Santiago, Chile. These families had just moved to a new social housing estate from the shantytowns and/or situations of extreme overcrowding. The first section of the thesis examines how their conceptions of 'place' have changed as a result of the move. On the one hand, it is difficult for them to perceive the housing estate as a 'place' with the same characteristics as their former home environments (close social networks, common history, etc.) due to a difficult and still incomplete adaptation. On the other hand, their social exclusion, especially demonstrated in terms of their limited spatial mobility, means that their everyday life still unfolds in a limited and relatively static number of places. In these circumstances they develop a minimal concept of place based not on an emotional attachment to a space, but rather on particular practices located in certain time and space. This concept of place is labelled here as 'localities of practices'. The second part of the thesis examines how these 'localities of practices' are becoming increasingly 'mediated,' or the increasing degree to which the use of ICTs permeates the conceptions of place of the members of these families through an analysis of practices related to the use of three particular technologies. The first study shows how the home is a project that has to be constructed in a constant competitive interplay with the place created by television use. The second analyses how the noise produced by hi-fi technologies at very high volumes is used to redefine the spaces of the housing estate against the background of their quite limited material surroundings. The third shows how the use of mobile phones, and the 'media space' created by them, reconstitutes and gives a new meaning to the limitations that these families face when moving through the urban environment of Santiago. As a result of these continual processes of mediation the thesis concludes that along with the physical environment of the housing estate, the spatial environments created by the use of media technologies are key to the construction of 'place' to such a degree that is almost impossible to consider one without the other. They, together, are their "machines for living in"; the setting in which their everyday lives unfold.

Recent years have witnessed a continuing growth of developments in knowledge management systems to capture the information flows within organisations and tum them into exploitable management databases. Examples to this are such as the Total Quality Management and the Business Process Reengineedng models. There is no doubt, that during the last few years there has been a broad interest of exploiting knowledge. However, traditional Knowledge Management (KM) systems and frameworks do not necessarily take into account the specific nature of the telecommunication industry, particularly those related to capturing, sharing and exploiting unconventional data flows that occur between the personnel on the move such as technicians and engineers. Thus, a large amount of these data is lost and will never be able to benefit the organisation or its employees in any way. Therefore, this research addresses the development of a new KM framework to fill in this gap and provide the telecommunication organisations in general and the General Post and Telecommunication Company(GPITC) in Ubya in particular with a solid base where bulk and rough data will become exploitable and manageable in a concise and intelligent way. The main questions being posed by this research are as follow: Could the Existing Knowledge Management Systems help the GPTC in Libya in particular and the telecommunication industry in general to better manage their data flows and turn them into an exploitable knowledge base? and How a strategic Knowledge Management Framework (KMF) could contribute to establishing adequate guidelines and policies in such telecommunicatioenn vironment? In this regard, the investigations in this research will stress on the Identification of the broad range of issues that are preventing the adoption of KM systems within the GPTC or any given telecommunication organisation rather than trying to focus on a specific and unique question about the exploitation of KM. This approach is justified by the fact that no specific KMS appear to be developed for such Industry. Furthermore, the various parameters are described under this common framework which is expected to benefit the telecommunication sector as a whole.

Maritime historians have not followed the trend set by other disciplines towards regional studies which has become an established practice over the past ten years. Some excellent work has been done on individual ports but no one has attempted to establish the relationship between the sea trade and the land based economy on a regional basis. This thesis corrects the omission for the region of the North West of England. A study of the coastwise trade and the trade with Ireland in the late eighteenth century, it provides evidence which argues for the existence of an integrated maritime economy in the Irish Sea region in the period 1750-1810. Altogether, it demonstrates that a complex regional trade existed alongside increasing overseas trade. The sources to identify coastal trading activity in this period are scarce. With few exceptions, records of the King’s Remembrancer Exchequer Port Books are no longer available, while the run of records of the Customs Bills of Entry has not started. One of the challenges, therefore, was to identify alternative sources from which the necessary information could be drawn. Shipping lists published in local newspapers were the principal source used. Other key sources included trade directories, trade reports and business papers. The study of ownership uses the shipping registers from 1786 and examines ownership and relationships with the local economies in greater detail than has been undertaken previously. Research into local sources assisted in identifying the specific business interests of owners, particularly those designated as ‘merchant’ and ‘gentleman’ in the registers. A key finding is that a complex shipping investment pattern existed within the region related to the characteristics of the local economies. Case studies based on surviving business records give insight into the business practices underpinning regional maritime commerce, particularly the use of information networks, methods of payment and the roles of the merchants. The importance of the trust in business relationships is the most prominent characteristic to emerge from these case studies.

Inter-organisational cost management and control (IOCM and control) is generally defined as a means whereby independent organisations protect their interests and coordinate resources to create value from their inter-organisational relationships (IORs). While research in IOCM and control has been informed by a variety of theoretical perspectives, there is little which has employed structuration theory (examples are Free, 2008; Seal et al., 2004; Sydow & Windeler, 1998). Here, it is argued that Rob Stones’ recent work is a development of the theory which shows good promise for research in this area. A field study at a Greek shipping organisation reveals the processes and dynamics of IOCM and control in practice. Despite public proclamations of long-term relationships with suppliers and buyers, the research uncovered a network of asymmetrically dependent relationships, which produced and reproduced predominantly arm’s-length practices. Distrust and paternalism within the organisation spilled over to the management of its inter-organisational domain, while the structural influences of environmental institutions reinforced organisational agents’ perspectives of IOCM and control and limited consideration of alternatives. Finally, this study argues that the notion of multiple and overlapping social systems as well as of learning and change can emphasise a role for certain theoretical constructs to implicate the skilful deployment of resources, which is central to economic phenomena. Such constructs refer to dialectics of control, path dependency, isomorphism, contradiction and praxis. It is proposed that future research in IOCM and control employing Stones’ version of structuration, would benefit from explicit use of these constructs.

This thesis is a response to the growing recognition that the workings of the financial sphere significantly affect the value of social production, its distribution, and the magnitude of income poverty. The thesis extends a general equilibrium single-country model targeted to a developing economy (the IFPRI Standard Model) to account for the workings of the financial sphere and 'money in the production function', in the tradition begun by Milton Friedman (1969). The models are calibrated and their workings are analysed. It is found that the inclusion of 'money in the production function' by itself only causes financial outcomes to significantly affect the overall level of production and the unemployment rate in the presence of strong wage rigidities. This is explained in terms of the model parameters. The extended model is employed in a stylised static way to identify the short-run stresses generated by current and capital account liberalisation in Argentina during its Currency Board Regime, adopted over 1991-2001, with the finding that in the short-run the volatility of capital flows was transmitted to employment and activity levels. The model is then linked in a sequential way to a behavioural microsimulations model, separating out the different transmission channels involved. It is found that the significant capital outflows witnessed by the country surrounding the end of its Currency Board Regime worsened poverty and inequality indicators in the country, and that the main transmission channel through which the capital outflow had the most distributional impact was the selectivity of labour market rationing.

Not only is there an increase in the use of contract workers in some of today's workplaces, but a qualitative shift has also taken place in the nature of labour contracting, as the operation of labour intermediaries has expanded from peripheral services to the main production activities of companies. This new phenomenon implies the greater integration of labour contracting into the production process, together with changes in employment practices and the rights of workers. This thesis aims to better understand how the changing nature of labour contracting affects employment relationships by undertaking an empirical investigation of in-house contracting arrangements in the South Korean automobile industry. In so doing, it examines roles and relationships between workplace actors involved in labour contracting; namely, user firm management, contractors, labour organisations, user firm employees, contract workers and the state. This analysis sheds light on the process of change in labour contracting and the consequences of increased labour contracting in the workplace. The thesis argues that the coordination of workplace changes brought about by increased flexibility attained through the use of contract workers is fraught with tension, which influences the ways in which employment relationships are shaped in the context of any particular firm. The essence of such tension lies in the pursuit of organisational flexibility and quality control in the production process, both of which are considered to be necessary to ensuring the performance of firms. Contradictions arise from the attempts of user firms to avoid employment-related responsibility for the labour force, while at the same time exerting managerial control over contract workers. Such tensions and paradoxes are associated with conflicts of interest, and compromise between and within workplace actors. A case study of the Korean automobile industry is provided that explores the contradictory nature of the labour contracting system, as contract workers with fewer employment entitlements are brought into core production processes; and investigates the manner in which inherent tensions play out in shaping employment relationships and the orientation of labour contracting practices. The findings of this thesis could help in the further understanding of the implications of change in labour contracting practices, and contribute to overcoming the current limits of thinking with regard to labour flexibility and employment relationships in the context of in-house contracting.

The urban renaissance seems to present a win-win scenario for social policy, promising greater social inclusion along with lower levels of car ownership and use. This thesis aims to evaluate the extent to which an urban renaissance might reduce levels of car ownership without inhibiting social inclusion and assess the potential for de-coupling rising family incomes from increasing levels of car ownership and use. A sequential mixed-methods research design is used to investigate the relationships between social inclusion and mobility within an urban context from two perspectives: the first phase of the research uses bivariate analysis and multiple logistic regression to test the relative importance of social inclusion, demographic determinants and spatial factors as a means of understanding household car ownership; the results of these analyses inform the second phase of the research, which adopts a case study approach in order to understand the role of social inclusion and urban form in modulating driver behaviour. A hybrid narrative/semi-structured interview technique allows longitudinal insights into the perspectives of residents from four urban areas, varying by density and centrality. Quantitative analysis, sampling the general population of Great Britain, indicates that inclusion on the dimensions of civic and social interaction is independent of level of car ownership. Furthermore it is shown that the impact of household income on levels of car ownership is mediated by urbanisation on three spatial tiers: settlement, neighbourhood and property levels. The qualitative phase confirms different patterns of car use as well as of car ownership across different urban areas, demonstrating that radical (and unplanned) changes in modal choice can follow relocation to more dense and central urban environments. The size and perceived quality of residential properties, along with the presence of greenspace and local shops, can build place attachment to relatively dense urban environments; increased levels of walking and consequent familiarity with other local residents were found to be core components of this process.

For most rural populations in developing countries, travel to access basic needs is considered a burden, in terms of wastage of their daily time and efforts. Lack of adequate access to health, education and market centres is found to be responsible for problems like high mortality rate and low literacy rate and high sense of isolation. Recent research has recommended that time constraints should be incorporated in attempting to model rural travel behaviour. The research reported in this thesis integrates household accessibility analysis within an activity-based framework to model travel demand. The conceptual development recognised the derived nature of travel. The household access needs are transformed into individual activities through household role allocation. The spatial and temporal constraints on the activities along with monetary, cultural and social constraints on individuals determine accessibility of the activities to the individuals. Probabilistic behavioural models have been developed to model individual activity choice and the resulting travel. Household data collected from representative rural areas of Pakistan were used to analyse rural activity-travel behaviour. Household activities analysed were Work, Education, Market, Health and Leisure. The results indicated the varying nature of these activities and that of individuals responsible for carrying out the activities. It was found that Household Heads are responsible for carrying out most out-of-home activities required to fulfil household needs. Models developed were applied to various situations. The models in general were found to validate the concepts developed in the research. Prediction results for activities Work and Education were in agreement to the observed data. Results for activities Market, Health and Leisure showed that a time horizon must be considered to recognise the nondaily nature of these activities. Models addressing time horizon decision showed better agreement between predicted and observed travel demand.