The thesis develops themes around eight published works and as such the thesis encompasses a coherent caucus of work within the petrochemicals industry in the UK. The thesis provides evidence which confirms the widespread use of a strategy of flexibility but challenges the conception of strategy as a deliberate formal plan, and the rational economism of Transaction Cost Economics. It also casts doubt on the existence of distinct strategic levels. The multinationals in the industry have been exposed as not using a sophisticated rationale to underpin their strategy, relying instead on institutional ideologies or mimetic isomorphism. The thesis also challenges exiting conceptions of the role of Human Resources in the pursuit of strategy by showing the importance of the generic HR function in line management as opposed to an HR department.

This study explores the marketing dynamics of the Fairtrade Towns movement in the United Kingdom and presents unique, empirical insights and understandings of its place-based marketing dynamics. It recognises that Fairtrade Towns, despite their rapid growth and recognition as a major contributor to Fairtrade marketing, still remain significantly under-researched. It also argues that the activities of Fairtrade Towns need to be considered through a marketing lens and presents a comprehensive application of grounded theory, to empirically capture the marketing dynamics of Fairtrade Towns directly from the people and places that socially construct them. This study theorises that Fairtrade Towns have capitalised upon the significance of symbolic interactionism to develop their marketing dynamic. It argues that Fairtrade Towns have embraced consumer culture and have used media not necessarily associated with marketing practices to validate their actions. It theorises that the Fairtrade Towns movement has generated a marketing dynamic built upon both intrinsic and extrinsic validity. Intrinsic validation transpires from better quality products, increased availability and the development of the Fairtrade mark. Extrinsic validity emerges from the strengths, backgrounds, skills, situations and symbolic value of other people, places and social movements. Fairtrade Towns demonstrate an ability to identify spaces and places not normally recognised for their marketing potential. This study explores how Fairtrade Towns transform and develop these spaces and places into media capable of effectively marketing Fair trade products. Fairtrade Towns display increasing consumer citizenship sophistication, achieved through a marketing dynamic, emerging from a collision between sustainable/ethical consumption, place and responsibility. Fairtrade Towns are therefore presented as a place where marketing functions are socially constructed around a ‘unique to place’ ethos, in which people and places are developed to their full potential in their capacity and desire to increase Fair Trade consumption wherever and whenever possible.

Leveraging purchasing power through collaborative purchasing arrangements is widely used to deliver efficiency savings in public procurement. The success of such arrangements requires the purchasing behaviours of individual members of the collaborative organisation to change in order to realise the benefits of lower prices. However the actual purchasing behaviours of organisations within a collaborative purchasing arrangement have not been widely researched. The research uses a stationary stochastic model of buyer behaviour, the NBDDirichlet, to describe and predict the purchasing behaviours of buyers of coronary and ureteral stents in a collaborative purchasing organisation in the English National Health Service. The three year analysis period is a period of major change for each category, the result of supplier promotional activity in the ureteral stent case and purchasing management activity in the case of the coronary stents. Deviations between the observed patterns of behaviour and the model predictions point to violations of the basic Dirichlet requirements of stationary markets and lack of partitioning. In both the ureteral and coronary stent cases the research identifies a segment of frequent purchasers whose behaviour differs from the rest of the population. The impact of framework agreements in restricting the purchasing repertoire of buyers is also identified as a deviation from typical purchasing patterns. Both interventions result in changes to established loyalty patterns, whereby the initial high observed levels of loyalty towards particular suppliers are replaced by a greater willingness to purchase from alternative suppliers. The data analysis also provides preliminary evidence for purchase deceleration as buyers defer purchases during a negotiation period in anticipation of improved pricing.

This thesis examines the extent to which equal opportunity legislation has enabled employment policies that aid the development, progression and promotion among public sector employees, specifically those of Afro Caribbean origin, employed during the period between 1988 and 2004. As context, the first part of the thesis presents an historical background of the black presence in the UK and the hostility they experienced through racial discrimination. It considers how governments, politicians and social scientists viewed the social exclusion and disadvantage of ethnic minorities generally and their treatment in the labour market in particular. It also discusses relevant legislation, policies and practices that were developed to address racial discrimination. Drawing on methodologies used in research of similar nature and reviewing literature and research studies, a methodology was chosen that was appropriate for the study and a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods is used. The quantitative data presented in Chapters 7-8 is derived from responses to a questionnaire survey, supplemented by more detailed qualitative responses derived from face to face interviews with employees from participating organisations. Other methods are used only to a very limited extent to supplement the data derived from the questionnaires and interviews. Chapter 9 contains data collected from a separate exercise of a shortened questionnaire on diversity only, consisting of staff from one government department and focus groups from two business streams. The second part of the thesis presents the chosen methodology and analyses evidence collected between 1999 and 2004. Survey data, in depth one-to-one interviews and group interviews show that although progress has been made in combating racial discrimination, the policy of positive action is not a routine tool of organisational policy. An examination of employment practices and processes in the relevant organisations indicates that there exists a combination of organisational, group (subculture) and individual constraints on ethrýc minorities to rise to their full potential. The theoretical view argues that there has been a retreat from progressive equal opportunity policies in employment and this owes much to the policies of the government of the day and organisational procedures. These assumptions have been borne out empirically.

Global production shifts in the form of foreign direct investments are reshaping the economic map: one of the outcomes is today’s global production system. The firms in focus are confronted with the effects of the reshaped economic map, especially with the differences in production conditions of nations. The new situation, which has emerged, is summarised by the term ‘low cost production imperative’. Consequently, the purpose of this dissertation is to empirically explore the notion of the ‘low cost production imperative’; and to investigate the implications and consequences of the low cost production imperative for internationalisation decision-making. Scholars of academic studies summarise that fairly little is known about companies’ foreign direct investment decision-making processes and the combination of the determinants with location-specific variables with the strategic motivation of the investing firm. It is assumed even more rarely, that investigations combine the knowledge based on which firms identify important location-specific variables under an enforcing strategic motive and then have to decide a location choice in a low cost operation area. The research is carried out with the eventual aim of generating theory and producing insights into the strategic management practices of the firms in focus and their position in relation to uncertainty, predictability, and preparedness for the outcome of their decision-making related to the phenomenon. The methodological conduct of this inquiry is framed within the qualitative paradigm. The methodological contribution lies in the combination of applied methodologies and modus operandi so that a rich and holistic insight into the phenomenon will be achieved. The research results show a rich variety in outcomes and details from the cases regarding their examination with the determinants important for a successful foreign direct investment. It is evident in all the cases that decision makers behave according to different rules than those assumed much of in the international business literature. Further, the phenomenon is identified as a serious outside force that causes firms to consider a decision to look abroad or more detailed, to look for efficiency in distant regions. This dissertation identifies details of mentioned aspects and calls for applications in future research in international business.

This study investigates the relationship (or correlation) between the performance of employees and their remuneration in the United Kindgom (UK) food industry. Within the study, remuneration systems which involve a correlation between the performance of employees and their remuneration are referred to as Performance Related Remuneration (PRR). Since the early 1980's, the use of performance based remuneration within UK organisations has increased to a level never witnessed before. Such remuneration systems have generally been employed as part of a wider management strategy to improve employee and organisational performance. In the companies of the 1990's, it has become `normal' to find part of the total remuneration package tied to individual, group or organisational performance. There are many systems of PRR in use in the 1990's and these include various forms of merit pay, profit related pay, payment by results, commission, profit sharing and employee share ownership plans. This thesis is motivated by the increasing use of performance based remuneration systems and focuses on the use of such systems within one specific industry - the UK food industry. The aim of the thesis is to identify trends relating to the use of PRR within the industry and in particular examine the extent to which PRR is used, why such systems are used, the various systems in operation, and the way in which the various systems are implemented and managed. The first part of the thesis contains a substantive literature review which examines several important aspects of PRR. The remainder of the thesis is concerned with the data gathered on the use of PRR within the UK food industry.

Implementation of the Community Care (Direct Payments) Act 1996 in April 1997 enabled local authorities to make cash payments to service users under the age of 65 with physical and sensory impairments, learning difficulties and mental health problems. This gave users control over money spent on meeting their community care needs rather than receiving services arranged for them by the local authority. The policy is often represented as a victory for the disability movement and as a push towards independent living and social justice. However, direct payments also need to be understood as part of a wider market discourse prominent in the restructuring of welfare. Therefore, a growing culture of localised care markets led by local authorities with increasing ideological diversity may ultimately erode the scope for independent living, choice and control. This thesis examines the impact of these policy discourses informing the planning constructions and user experiences of direct payments in two contrasting areas - one in England and one in Scotland. A third authority - also in Scotland - is examined where direct payments have yet to be implemented and an indirect payment scheme remains in place. In the English authority - 'East Anglia' - findings show direct payments promoted both as part of a wider marketisation of community care and development of independent living services. Implementation has seen a relatively rapid promotion of policy but this is found to be located within wider New Right confines of cost efficiency and accountability. Like East Anglia, the Scottish authority - 'East Scotland' - has also demonstrated a long-term commitment to independent living services and has worked in partnership with the local disability movement to establish a momentum for policy change. However, wider policy use is shown to be restricted by a more dominant anti-market discourse. Similarly for the second Scottish authority in the study - 'West Scotland' - planning fears of service privatisation coupled with limited disability activism and a chaotic aftermath of service reorganisation has resulted in non-implementation of direct payments. By focusing on the impact of these discourses alongside wider controls made by central government, this research examines user experiences of direct payments in East Anglia and East Scotland and indirect payments in West Scotland through a series of semi-structured interviews. Additional information is generated through a discourse analysis of key policy documents and discussions with planners. Whilst findings highlight an overall enthusiasm for both direct and indirect payments, user experiences are shown to be strongly influenced by market and independent living discourses in each area. This has implications not only for individual user constructions of independence but draws more widely on an understanding of collective disability identities.

This thesis provides an empirical analysis of international joint venture activities in Taiwan. The primary purpose is to examine control and its antecedents in terms of ownership, bargaining power, resources contribution, and motivation for forming international joint ventures. Primary data collected by a mail questionnaire is analysed along five core dimensions of international joint venture activities. First, the mechanism, focus, and extent of parent control is identified and tested in a number of sample characteristics. These empirical results also reveal that most joint ventures in Taiwan have higher autonomy and have more autonomy on the appointment of key function managers. Parent firms seek to focus their control over specific activities of the joint ventures rather than attempting to control the entire range of joint venture activities. Second, the results of equity shares held by the host country parents and foreign parents show that both parents have minority shareholding in the joint ventures. A higher ownership by the parents in joint ventures indicates that they have a higher percentage of board members. Third, the relative importance of a set of bargaining power is identified with hypothesis testing of the relationship between control and bargaining power. There is little evidence that the relationship between bargaining power and control is not closely associated. Fourth, the relative importance of resource contribution by parents is identified and hypotheses are tested on the relationship between control and resource contribution factors. The results are strongly supported that the relationships between resource contributions in terms of physical, invisible, financial, human, and organizational ability of parents and their control has significant and positive associations. Fifth, the relative importance of a set of motives for international joint venture formation is identified and hypotheses are tested on the relationship between control and motivation factors in terms of technological acquisition, knowledge learning, risk sharing, competitive strategy consideration, resource complementarily, market expansion. The findings reveal a limited number of significant correlations between motivation factors and control.

The arm’s-length principle (ALP), the transactions taken place between unrelated parties acting at an arm’s length in competitive markets, is used by income tax authorities to determine transfer pricing, the pricing of goods, services and intangibles transferred between affiliates of a multinational enterprise (MNE), and is an important international tax issue for a number of reasons. First, globalization creates integrated businesses with enormous cross-border transfers whilst corporate income tax systems remain nationally based. Second, governments insist that globalization provides MNEs with more opportunities to manipulate transfer prices and reduce taxes than in the past, thus the need for tighter regulation. Third, there is an increased desire amongst tax authorities faced with tight fiscal situations, to protect and enhance their revenue base encouraging stricter regulation of MNEs. Profit is seen as only one of the many goals that motivate the behaviour of MNEs and the newly introduced profit based methods of transfer pricing has increased the reliance on comparables significantly. As the number of specified methods was increased and the hierarchy of acceptable methods was replaced by either the best method rule or the method of last resort, taxpayers are expected to document their transfer pricing policies. The documentation has to be contemporaneous and available upon request. The methods newly introduced by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD, 1995), Transaction Net Margin Method (TNMM), and US Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS, 1994) Comparable Profit Method (CPM), vary in relation to their application and views in controlling for function and risk when developing comparables. This suggests a degree of discretion may be exercised under different regulations that may be detected through ownership and tax. This study attempts to identify the level of discretion provided under both OECD (TNMM) and US IRS (CPM) methods. It is also tests the scope of ownership effect on the reported profit of Japanese-owned companies and US-owned companies compared to their UK counterparts. Finally this study examines whether the reported tax expense has changed subsequent to tax policy changes, specifically the latest UK transfer pricing regulations introduced in 1998 corporation tax self-assessment. The empirical analysis confirms differences between OECD and US IRS profit ranges and variations between profit level indicators (PLIs). Foreign-owned Japanese and US companies are also found to exhibit low profitability compared to UK companies. This research discovered low performance among a high number of the Japanese-owned companies with operating losses when compared to their UK counterparts and offers evidence of the low tax expenses reported by foreign-owned Japanese companies.

Rural economies in developing countries are often characterised by high levels of inequality, particularly so in their distribution of land. This can lead to the establishment of patron-client relationships between peasants and their landlords with far-reaching social, political, and economic implications for both parties. This thesis investigates whether, and how, clientelist networks change, when connecting isolated villages become connected to the outside economy. It does so from three different perspectives. Firstly, it highlights the ability of resource rich landlords to interlink different markets in the rural economy in an effort to maximise surplus extraction. Yet, when peasants are provided credible exit options, the change in relative bargaining powers alters the character of such interlinkages in favour of the peasants. Secondly, it explores how clientelism enables landlords to use peasant votes as bargaining chips with politicians to appropriate public resources for their own private benefit. Yet, when peasants are given outside options, the landlord has to provide them with public goods in order to maintain his economic and social standing in the village. Lastly, it analyses peasants’ difficulty in engaging in community driven projects when residing under a strong patron. Yet, when landlords have to compete with markets outside the village, they no longer have the incentive or ability to block peasant collective action for self provision. In all three areas, it is argued that the patrons’ ability to control peasant activities stems from the interaction of inequality with isolation, which provides them with monopoly/monopsony powers. Hence while policy solutions to exploitative forms of clientelism have typically focused on land redistribution, I argue that similar results are attainable by increasing peasants’ outside options. In order to test the validity of this hypothesis I make use of a natural experiment found in the construction of a motorway in rural Punjab, Pakistan. The research design compares connected villages dominated by large landlords to isolated ones and uses villages with relatively egalitarian distribution of land as a control group. Making use of field interviews and quantitative survey data the thesis finds that connectivity results in converging outcomes between connected villages dominated by large landlords and those with more egalitarian distribution of land. The results suggest that connecting villages previously isolated from the outside economy can go a long way to help the rural poor.