Advances in e-commerce and multimedia technologies are becoming inextricably more closer related to society and business. Theoretical insight into these new areas is scarce and that is the gap that this thesis aims to cover. The study uses the music industry as a test-bed for the propositions developed. The literature review summarises and criticises the theories on E-commerce which centre around the "transaction cost economics" branch of management literature. Other theories used to develop the frameworks include "network externalities" and "increasing returns" from economics, "value chain" from industrial organisation and theories on "search costs" and "quality uncertainty" from the economics of information. Special mention is given to the literature on the music industry dealing with the production and commercialisation of music, the resulting and changing structure of the industry, as well as various research approaches to understanding consumer involvement in the industry (cultural/subcultural analyses of user behaviour). The methodology followed is qualitative in nature and concentrates on the case study method. Besides the secondary data, primary data is collected via interviews with key informants in the music industry. Executives in other relevant to e-commerce/multimedia industry firms such as telcos and software firms are also interviewed to give a broader perspective to the study. The data are analysed using the pattern matching method. The data analysis process can be summarised as follows: A primer is offered on the recording and music industry which serves to develop the research questions and propositions. This stemmed from the pilot research and coupled with the theory allows the formation of patterns that are expected to match the data if the theory stands. Three patterns emerged from the literature review: Pattern 1: Labels sell music content directly to the consumer Pattern 2: Artists sell content directly to the consumer. Pattern 3: E-commerce between content owners and consumers will be facilitated by intermediaries. A case study is then built detailing the events in the music industry concerning Music on Demand during the period 1995-1998. The case study is "partitioned" in chapters detailing each of the technological players examined. Other significant events relevant to the study, are included in vignettes in the main body of the analysis. The analysis matches the data in the case studies with the relevant patterns and incorporates interview quotes. Concluding the thesis offers some explanations for the failure of matching theory with data. It also goes one step further by developing a new value system and patterns that can be used to guide further academic research on the subject. The chapter ends with the development and analysis of four scenarios, proposing their value for practitioners such as managers and investors seeking insight into the future of the music industry in a multimedia environment, as well as policy makers interested in the relationship between creativity and economic technological factors. The main conclusion is that concentration of copyright in the hands of the few is hindering rather than promoting new multimedia and e-commerce industries.

In prior literature it has been argued that there exists a tension between balancing investments in Exploration for new organisational knowledge against the Exploitation of current stocks. It is argued that over time firms tend towards an ever increasing focus upon Exploitation to the exclusion of investments in Exploration. It is argued that this bias is in part due to the causally complex feedback loops between Exploration activities and financial performance. The tendency for Exploitation to drive out Exploration activities over time is argued to pose a serious threat to firm's long term prosperity and survival. This thesis first reviews and interprets the diverse literature on the tension between Exploration and Exploitation. This interpretation of prior work highlights that Exploitation is not a single process, but rather two: incremental Development of current stocks of knowledge and Appropriation of a return from those stocks through use and sale in the marketplace. It is argued that the classic tension between Exploration and Exploitation is intermediated by the process of Devlopment, which seeks to convert new organisational knowledge into forms amenable to appropriation of a financial return, in addition to making incremental improvements to current stocks of organisational knowledge. It is argued that the tension between these three processes only exists in the short term. In the long term the success of each process is dependent upon the other two. It is argued, however, that in the long term it is difficult sustain individual efforts to extend the firm's knowledge stocks through Exploration, Development, or efforts to Appropriate a return through use, due to the existence of three antagonistic processes that impede each of these three processes individually. These antagonists are Core Rigidities, Slow Rate of Learning and Imitation by competitors. Through the literature review insights are offered into how management can suppress these antagonistic processes. Chapters Three and Four empirically study the phenomena of Exploration and Exploitation of organisational knowledge in the context of the UK therapeutics biotechnology sector. In Chapter Three an in-depth case study of a leading firm, Ceiltech, is undertaken. From this case it is argued that contrary to prior literature it is possible for a firm to maintain a balance between Exploratidn and Exploitation beyond the short term. It is shown that Ceiltech's Exploration activities can be linked directly to the financial renaissance of the firm between 1990 and 1998. Insights are offered into how management sought to maintain this balance and ensure that the long term complementary relationship between the processes of Exploration, Development and Appropriation was not undermined by short-term actions. Based on the experiences of Ceiltech and other biotechnology firms key quantifiable outputs of the processes of Exploration, Development and Appropriation are devised. Using an event study methodology, announcements of these key outputs, by all publicly quoted UK biotechnology firms between December 1995 and January 1999, are analysed. It is found that contrary to prior theoretic suggestions the outputs of both Exploration and Exploitation activities generate observable financial valuations in the stock market. Announcement of positive progress in Exploration and Development activities are found to coincide with increases in share price over and above either the past performance of the firm or the contemporary performance of market indices. This suggests that contrary to theoretical arguments in the literature the causal feedback loop between Exploration and Development activities and financial performance can be quite direct. It is also found that alliance formation plays an important role in value creation. It is argued that the increase in market capitalisation that formation of alliances generate is not fully explained by the sharing of resources and capabilities alone. It is argued that formation of an alliance with a firm that has a high scientific and commercial reputation within the stock market has a knock on reputational effect upon the valuation of its biotechnology partner. The alliance offers uncertainty reduction information to shareholders about the likely success and value of Exploration and Development projects undertaken by the biotechnology firm, resulting in an increase in the value of the firm. The concluding chapter of this thesis highlights major implications that the findings of this study may have for both the pharmaceutical sector and industry in general.

This thesis explains the background to the shortage of indigenous black technical management in Sub Saharan Africa by focusing on a number of countries in the Southern African region. It explains the implications of this shortage particularly for Zimbabwe and its mining industry which at independence in 1980 had no black technical managers. Having looked at management development worldwide and the experience of leading developed countries, the thesis goes on to consider the views and theories of a number of writers on management and management development in an African context. It also considers its crucial importance to the continent's future and the urgent need for effective ways of improving Africa's management capability particularly in the technical area. In this context a scheme (the ZTMTT) set up in 1982 to train black managers for Southern Africa's mining industry is described. The methodology of the approach is detailed including the important interrelationship of the practical and the academic experience in the learning process. This is followed by a description and analysis of the results of the scheme after eleven years. Following consideration of the special barriers and difficulties facing aspirant black managers in the Southern African context, the thesis goes on to describe and analyse the factors that have brought about the necessary fundamental change in trainees and helped them to relate the management challenge to themselves. It goes on to detail some successful case histories and contrast these with the very few failures. The success of the programme has culminated in the development of a new management theory, describing the mechanism of transition from reliance on a single home culture to the point where management capacity has been transformed by exposure to global experience. Scientific concepts have been invoked to produce the new management theory. As in science, where certain chemical reactions proceed through excited state intermediates, exciplexes which react to produce a new product, so too the merging of management cultures to form a management exciplex (excited state) can, given appropriate conditions, lead to new successful management types.

This dissertation deals with the issue of economic growth, specifically with the examination of the determinants of economic growth, from both a theoretical and empirical perspective. The first chapter introduces the issue and summarizes the main results. The dissertation is divided into three parts. The first part comprises of two chapters (chapters 2 and 3) considering the issue of per capita income convergence. The first chapter presents the theoretical background and re-examines the convergence debate among the neoclassical and endogenous growth models while the second chapter examines empirically the convergence hypothesis using both cross-sectional and time series econometric techniques for the case of Greek regions. The second part comprises of three chapters examining the unexplained factors affecting economic grwoth. The two first chapters (chapters 4 and 5) of this part deal with the neglected role of finance and financial intermediation in the process of economic growth of a country. One chapter presents the theoretical literature on this subject. Most of the empirical studies on the determinants of economic growth use cross-country analysis. Such an analysis, however, ignores dynamic information that can explain part of the variation in growth rates. In our empirical analysis, which is conducted in the fifth chapter, we employ time series techniques for the examination of the relationship among financial development and economic growth, using UK data. The third chapter of the second part (chapter 6) examines empirically the role of education, for the case of the greek economy. Finally, the last part examined the role of uncertainty on economic growth. Specifically, chapter 7 deals with the role of uncertainty steming from political instability on UK's economic growth using time series data and techniques while chapter 8, considers the role of uncertainty on investments and economic growth examining empirically its effects for a panel of 59 developed and developing countries.

The objective of this thesis is to add evidence from the transition equity markets of Central Europe to the econometric modelling of financial time series by addressing the issues of volatility, predictability and international asset pricing in these markets. In Chapter Two we start from an overview of the transition stock markets by presenting their historical background, basic regulations, statistics, and stock market indices. Chapter Three focuses on the modelling of univariate and multivariate volatility in transition equity markets. Our sample has all the previously documented characteristics of the unconditional distribution of stock returns normally used to justify the use of the GARCH class of the models of conditional volatility. Strong GARCH effects are apparent in all series examined. The estimates of asymmetric models of conditional volatility show rather weak evidence of asymmetries in the markets. The results of the multivariate specifications of volatility have implication for understanding the pattern of information flow between the markets. The constant correlation specification indicates significant conditional correlation between three pairs of countries: Hungary and Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic, and Poland and Czech Republic. The BEKK model of multivariate volatility shows evidence of return volatility spillovers from Hungary to Poland, but no volatility spillover effects are found in the opposite direction. Chapter Four examines the linear and nonlinear predictability of transition equity returns with simple technical trading rules. The application of the moving average trading rules to the data reveals that technical analysis helps to predict stock price changes. Firstly buy signals consistently generate higher returns than sell signals; secondly the returns following buy signals are less volatile than returns following sell signals. The application of the bootstrap methodology to check whether three popular null models of stock returns with linear conditional mean specification replicate the trading rule profits indicates that returns obtained from trading rules signals are not likely to be generated by these models. Comparison of the out-of-sample forecast performance of linear and nonlinear (feedforward networks) conditional mean estimators with past trading signals in the conditional mean equation indicates substantial forecast improvements of the feedforward network regression. Chapter Five addresses the issue of integration of the transition equity markets into the global capital market by testing pricing restrictions of the international CAPM simultaneously for four national equity markets: two developed markets (U.S. and Germany) and two new transition markets (Hungary and Poland). Methodologically, we extend the BEKK multivariate GARCH specification to accommodate GARCH-M effects, and propose an alternative specification of the conditional CAPM, which allows return volatility transmissions between the markets in the system. The results reveal that the world price of covariance risk is positive and equal across the markets. This is consistent with the international CAPM and supports the hypothesis of integration of the transition markets into the global market. However, our further results indicate individual significance of the Hungarian idiosyncratic risk, pointing to some level of segmentation of the Hungarian market. Moreover, the introduction of world-wide information variables into the system reveals that some variation in the excess national returns is still predictable after accounting for the measure of market-wide risk.

This study examines three bilateral aid funds : the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, (KFAED), the Abu Dhabi Fund for Arab Economic Development, (ADFAED), and the Saudi Fund for Development, (SFD), which were established in 1961, 1971 and 1974 respectively. It also analyses the multi-lateral Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, (AFESD), which was established by the Arab League in 1968. Collectively they are the principal vehicles used by the Gulf states to utilize their oil wealth to promote economic development in the Third World in general and the Arab world in particular. Operating as autonomous organisations, which are able to remain neutral in the face of political and ideological pressures, the Arab Gulf Funds have proved remarkably successful and influential institutions. This study aims at analysing the legal structure and operations of the Arab Gulf Funds. Attention is then focused on the future and the ways in which the funds can operate more effectively. I believe that a new fund, which would be known as the Arab Gulf Development Fund, (AGDF), is required. This fund, which would be administered by the Gulf Co-operation Council, (GCC), could coordinate the Arab Gulf's aid operations. A new comprehensive strategy is required and a working plan should be prepared for the new fund to adopt and execute. This study attempts to achieve two related objectives. The first is to propose specific amendments to the legal framework of the existing Gulf development funds. The second objective is to propose the establishment of the new Kuwait based Arab Gulf Development Fund, (AGDF). This would enable better results to be achieved in both the GCC member states and in the developing countries. Specific recommendations are made for the Gulf's aid strategy in light of the formation of the Gulf Co-operation Council. Co-operation between the development funds and investment institutions of the industrialised countries and those in the GCC states are, however, essential. Only by joining hands and working together will progress and economic development be made possible. It should be remembered by everyone that the modern world is not only interdependent but that it is for all of humanity.

This study focuses on the possibilities for the long-term development of employee friendly flexible working, through understanding power dynamics between the individual and the organisation. It is argued that changes in the demographic composition of the workforce are altering the needs, attitudes and expectations of employees. At the same time, organisations are increasing the use of flexibility due to direct business benefits, and also because of increasing internal and external pressures to enable employees to balance their work and personal lives. The study discusses whether the resulting increase in the use of employee-friendly flexible working is a long-term change. The focus of discussion is the negotiating power of the employee versus the employer, the dynamics of which identify possibilities for a permanent change. Empirical research relies on employee survey and management interviews in two casestudy organisations that are users of flexible working. Findings support the long-term development of employee-friendly flexible working. Individuals from newer demographic groups and those with scarce resources (are perceived to) have greater negotiating power. However, the power of all employees is increasing because of a strong and unilateral desire for flexibility, and because a majority is willing to make sacrifices to accomplish their will to work flexibly. The groups with stronger negotiating power have initiated the work-life debate, but in doing so, they have increased the power of all employees through developing new models, creating the atmosphere of a social movement, lowering ideological barriers, and generating knowledge of new possibilities and aspirations. Favourable external pressures improve the position of employees. The original research framework presents a summary of employee-employer power dynamics that are likely to lead towards the long-term development of policies, and is the basis of the empirical research. A second framework based on the research findings explains how and why organisations differ in providing flexible working, and why this difference may continue to exist in the future. Triggering forces that have altered attitudes and policies in the UK are then chronologically charted to summarise past changes and develop arguments for the future. Together these three key features - the two models and the summary diagram - enable a stimulating debate on the past, present and future of work-life policies in the UK.

Until recently, consumer policy researchers have concentrated almost exclusively on the competitive market, with little attention to the market failure scenario. This study investigates consumer protection behaviour of national enterprises. It does this by exploring the factors which determine or influence consumer policy decisions when the competitive market mechanism is hindered, and the dilemma facing management in such bounded marketing environments. Fundamentally, two basic approaches to structuring consumer protection have been identified. These relate to, (a) private enforcement, ic. market processes, and (b) public enforcement, ic. political processes. These perspectives were systematically collapsed into Hirschman's Exit/Voice theory and explored using qualitative methodology. Our findings did not broadly uphold the basic configuration of the Exit/Voice paradigm. It is intellectually flawed to insist that decisions about improving enterprises' performance on consumer protection should be impelled by strategies based on those dichotomous perspectives. Strengthening means for consumer advocacy or introducing and protecting competition in the hope that they will concomitantly protect consumers can not, in themselves, assure genuine consumer protection. Consumer protection came through as a discretionary agenda item. It is neither exclusively located in the political process nor in the market mechanism. It is a dependent variable whose behaviour is shaped by variations in management practices. At the enterprise-consumer interface, consumer protection becomes an explicit challenge of management. In terms of institutional arrangements for consumer protection, we did not observe any optimal structure. However, we did observe that the differing approaches that management can adopt can be classified and appraised in relation to four variables. These variables are, (i) Sensitivity (pro-active/reactive), (ii) Definition (consumer/company centered), (iii) Measurement (formal/informal) and, (iv) Implementation (tasks/responsibilities). These variables arc not independent. Their interrelationships lead to a method for evaluating the different approaches in terms of management response to the challenge of consumer protection.

At first sight the effects of 'culture' appear to obstruct standardisation of international advertising whereas 'globalisation' policies seem to endorse it. In answering the question in its title, this thesis analyses the problem as faced in marketing management, and breaks new ground by: ORIGINAL WORK: - De-mystifying the concept of globalisation: distinguishing between business policy and marketing/advertising implications and separating doctrines of globalisation from those of economies of scale and standardisation. -Identifying elements of culture which necessitate different strategic approaches in marketing/advertising. -Developing a theory for dealing with culture and globalisation in international advertising. -Delineating the effects of culture on British and Dutch marketing and advertising management, confirming the validity of Hofstede's clustering, revising Dunn's priorities for creative strategy transfer, and rejecting Lee's Self-Reference-Criterion (for this population). MAIN FINDINGS: The thesis demonstrates that culture and globalisation are phenomena of different orders: globalisation only being relevant indirectly. Culture has a pervasive relevance, both for the consumer and for the manager, whose decision-making style is influenced; managers nonetheless agree in their professional judgements. International advertising requires target orientation, concept alignment, top management endorsement, and the optimal use of scarce talent and ideas; cultural differences remain and two important tools to overcome them are identified: 1. The Cultural Brand-Target Universal: developing the brand/corporate identity as a cultural universal, exclusive to the company 2. The Competence and Empathy Factor: requiring professional management, at HQ and locally to have competence and empathy. The thesis also shows the significance of both cultural differences and unifying factors, when capitalising on the opportunities of the Single European Market of 1992. METHODOLOGY: The 'Millar Methodology' implies a process of grounded theory development through four rounds of evidence: evaluation of literature, experience, exploratory interviews (Part 1) and fieldwork, which repeats previous research and examines original issues (Part 2). Implications for theory, research and practice are drawn (Part 3) and model development parallels the process throughout. The work concentrates on fmcg in W.Europe and includes a comprehensive bibliography.

This research provides evidence to support the argument that selection procedures dependent upon clinical judgements, being used in the chartered accountancy profession, may well provide results not significantly different from those obtained by chance. Research has suggested that personality type, choice of vocation and performance are predictable from personal histories (Holland, 1976; Owens and Schoenfeldt, 1979; Eberhardt and Muchinsky, 1982a; Super, 1980; Wernimont and Campbell, 1968) and using a predictive model approach to scoring biographical data (biodata) is explored here as a means of improving the selection function. Part I of this study develops predictive models for scoring the biodata of applicants to the profession. An original contribution is made by carefully comparing two empirical model-building methodologies: the generally accepted, non-parametric, Weighted Application Blank technique and the parametric, logistic regression technique. The validity of both are explicitly tested using information from a sample of 23 training offices from 22 medium size chartered accountancy firms. The sample trainees were all non-accounting graduates entrants entering between 1985 and 1987 (N=665). Evidence is provided of the superiority of the results of the parametric models, in terms of true predictive validity. Relevant theory and the important implications of the results for related biodata studies generally are discussed. The result of applying the models to applicants, rather than recruits, is examined in a pilot study. An original approach to scoring applications is presented. Specifically developed software is provided to minimise both processing time and error margins. The biodata logit scores of the applicants and their likely success as trainees as indicated by that score, are compared with the firm's decision whether to accept or reject. Severe problems inherent in the judgemental approach to selection are revealed and the superior performance of the model-based approach demonstrated. Part II addresses the crucial issue of long term validation of biodata models by scoring a sample of recruits from 3 representative firms' 1988-90 entrants (N=323). The evidence does not support criticism of long term validity, as the logit models demonstrate effective performance, measured interms of the probability of correct classification, successfully predicting the criteria on those entering the profession up to 5 years after subjects used in model development. It is suggested that poor methodology may be responsible for excessive loss of validity over time in other studies and their lack of use of hard data. In addition, original evidence is provided to support the hypothesis of the generalizability of such models (i) across organizations and (ii) across samples significantly different from the development sample. This evidence suggests that, not only may the models be used to score applicants accounting firms of different sizes (and are therefore not organization-specific) but they may be used to score accounting graduates, who differ considerably from the original development sample (indicating that they, are not sample specific). The appropriateness of using these models in a manner similar to psychometric tests is considered. An assessment of approximate net profit associated with successful, failing or partially successful trainees is made. Accounting graduate trainees are more financially viable than non-accounting graduates.