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Businesses
Kinds of Businesses Selected AbstractsCSR and the environment: business supply chain partnerships in Hong Kong and PRDR, ChinaCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 5 2009Dennis K. K. Cheung Abstract Cross-border relocation of the production lines of Hong Kong companies to the Pearl River Delta Region (PRDR) of China relocates the pollution source geographically. In contextualizing corporate social responsibility (CSR), more and better collaborations on environmental management between Hong-Kong-based companies and their supply chains within Hong Kong and the PRDR are needed. Using a qualitative approach, this research identifies and examines nine concerned business supply chain partnership cases. Stakeholders perceived that partnership is a good tool for improving corporate environmental management. However, although it has become more active since 2002, partnership is not yet popular. More time and support are needed to develop it. Businesses should take further steps to benefit themselves and the environment. Based on the first-hand experiences and opinions of interviewees, this paper analyzes and presents recent partnership activities; their drivers and barriers; factors in their successes; and the possible roles of government and business associations in fostering partnership development. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Service Businesses and Productivity,DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 3 2004Roger W. Schmenner ABSTRACT The records of superior performance of selected service firms over many years suggest that they may be more productive than others. This article uses the Theory of Swift, Even Flow to explain why that might be true. In the process, this article improves Schmenner's 1986 service process matrix. The redefinition of the axes of this matrix and of the resulting diagonal leads to enhanced understanding of productivity for service operations and helps to explain how some leading service companies have been able to sustain their competitive positions for decades. [source] Ethics and Altruism: What Constitutes Socially Responsible Design?DESIGN MANAGEMENT REVIEW, Issue 3 2005Rachel Cooper Businesses are making responsible design an explicit feature of their development processes and long-term competitive strategies. Initiatives range from responding to the needs of less privileged and underserved constituencies to design for safety and design against crime. Rachel Cooper surveys these perspectives, their sources, and the effects they are having on the design profession, the corporate community, and society in general. [source] Towards a new Bradshaw?ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW, Issue 1 20071960s, Economic statistics, the British state in the 1950s SUMMARY This article outlines the attempts of British central government to react to the perceived inadequacy of official economic statistics. A huge amount of work went into this project, the main aim of which was to speed up the production of statistics so that the economy could be analysed in more detail, and thus better managed. If this was to work, more data was required on the labour market, on productivity, on production, and on the interlinkages between those indicators. British official statistics clearly were more comprehensive and more detailed at the end of this period than they had been at the start. Even so, the effort was usually thought to have been a failure by the early 1970s. More detail took time to produce; it was difficult to recruit the necessary staff; successive administrative reorganizations also absorbed energies. The devolved informality of British government hampered the emergence of an overall picture. Businesses and trade unions resisted attempts to collect more data, especially when it showed them in an unflattering light. Above all, the elite, specialist, and technical nature of the reform process meant that very little political and popular pressure built up to force through further changes. [source] Consistent Regulation of Infrastructure Businesses: Some Economic Issues,ECONOMIC PAPERS: A JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECONOMICS AND POLICY, Issue 1 2009Flavio M. Menezes L51 This article examines some important economic issues associated with the notion that consistency in the regulation of infrastructure businesses is a desirable feature. It makes two important points. First, it is not easy to measure consistency. In particular, one cannot simply point to different regulatory parameters as evidence of inconsistent regulatory policy. Second, even if one does observe consistency emerging from decisions made by different regulators, it does not necessarily mean that this consistency is desirable. It might be the result, at least partially, of career concerns of regulators. [source] Governing by Managing Identity Boundaries: The Case of Family BusinessesENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE, Issue 3 2008Chamu Sundaramurthy In this paper we illustrate how boundary theory can be a useful perspective to understand the dynamics of family businesses. We integrate insights from the family business literature with the work,family and identity boundary literatures to describe degrees of integration between the family and business identities in family firms and outline contingencies that influence this integration. We also develop the notion of "differential permeability" as a state of being both integrated and segmented on various aspects of identity and articulate costs and benefits to this state, as well as to high integration and high segmentation. Finally, we invoke the research on "boundary work" as a means of managing family business boundaries and conclude by outlining additional avenues of research that stem from using such a boundary theory lens. [source] Effects of Human Capital and Long-Term Human Resources Development and Utilization on Employment Growth of Small-Scale Businesses: A Causal Analysis1ENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE, Issue 6 2005Andreas Rauch The purpose of this study was to explore how three different human resource variables affect employment growth of small-scale enterprises: human capital of business owners, human capital of employees, and human resource development and utilization. The literature suggests different models of how these human resource variables affect business outcomes. Longitudinal data from 119 German business owners provided support for a main effect model indicating that owners' human capital as well as employee human resource development and utilization affect employment growth. Moreover, human resources development and utilization was most effective when the human capital of employees was high. We conclude that human resources are important factors predicting growth of small-scale enterprises. [source] The Impact of Occupational Sex Segregation on Family Businesses: The Case of American Harness RacingGENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 4 2006Elizabeth A. Larsen Previous research on occupational sex segregation agrees that the workplace is not an isolated world but instead influences, and is influenced by, other spheres of social life. Identifying specific social factors both internal and external to the workplace, and how these may interact, can provide deeper insights into how occupational sex segregation is created and maintained. This study focuses on individual family businesses in American harness horse racing, a previously unexamined and highly sex-segregated industry, and provides insights in how vertical and horizontal sex segregation may develop in family businesses. The findings show how the belief that married couples cannot debate and resolve work-related conflicts without undue strain on their personal relationship leads some of these couples to organize their work into gendered tasks and workspaces, contributing to the maintenance of vertical segregation in the trainer position. The implications for segregation of other solutions, such as operating separate businesses, or working for another business, are less clear. [source] Work and Employment in Small Businesses: Perpetuating and Challenging Gender TraditionsGENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 1 2000Susan Baines More and more women and men are becoming dependent on some form of small business activity for all or part of their livelihoods but there is little research offering insight into gender and working practices in small businesses. In this article we assess some theoretical approaches and discuss these against an empirical investigation of micro-firms run by women, men and mixed sex partnerships. In the ,entrepreneurship' literature, with its emphasis on the individual business owner, we find little guidance. We argue that in the ,modern' micro-business, family and work are brought into proximity as in the ,in between' organizational form described by Weber. The celebrated ,flexibility' of small firms often involves the reproduction within modernity of seemingly pre-modern practices in household organization and gender divisions of labour. This is true in the Britain of the 1990s in a growing business sector normally associated neither with tradition nor with the family. Tradition, however, is never automatic or uncontested in a ,post-traditional society'. A minority of women and men in micro-enterprises actively resist traditional solutions and even traditional imagery of male and female behaviour. For this small group alone new economic conditions seem to bring new freedom. [source] The ecological research needs of businessJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2010Paul R. Armsworth Summary 1.,Businesses have an unrivalled ability to mobilize human, physical and financial capital, often manage large land holdings, and draw on resources and supply products that impact a wide array of ecosystems. Businesses therefore have the potential to make a substantial contribution to arresting declines in biodiversity and ecosystem services. To realize this potential, businesses require support from researchers in applied ecology to inform how they measure and manage their impacts on, and opportunities presented to them by, biodiversity and ecosystem services. 2.,We reviewed papers in leading applied ecology journals to assess the research contribution from existing collaborations involving businesses. We reviewed applications to, and grants funded by, the UK's Natural Environment Research Council for evidence of public investment in such collaborations. To scope opportunities for expanding collaborations with businesses, we conducted workshops with three sectors (mining and quarrying, insurance and manufacturing) in which participants identified exemplar ecological research questions of interest to their sector. 3.,Ten to fifteen per cent of primary research papers in Journal of Applied Ecology and Ecological Applications evidenced business involvement, mostly focusing on traditional rural industries (farming, fisheries and forestry). The review of UK research council funding found that 35% of applications mentioned business engagement, while only 1% of awarded grants met stricter criteria of direct business involvement. 4.,Some questions identified in the workshops aim to reduce costs from businesses' impacts on the environment and others to allow businesses to exploit new opportunities. Some questions are designed to inform long-term planning undertaken by businesses, but others would have more immediate commercial applications. Finally, some research questions are designed to streamline and make more effective those environmental policies that affect businesses. 5.,Business participants were forward-looking regarding ecological questions and research. For example, representatives from mining and quarrying companies emphasized the need to move beyond biodiversity to consider how ecosystems function, while those from the insurance sector stressed the importance of ecology researchers entering into new types of interdisciplinary collaboration. 6.,Synthesis and applications. Businesses from a variety of sectors demonstrated a clear interest in managing their impacts on, and exploiting opportunities created by, ecosystem services and biodiversity. To achieve this, businesses are asking diverse ecological research questions, but publications in leading applied ecology journals and research council funding reveal limited evidence of direct engagement with businesses. This represents a missed opportunity for ecological research findings to see more widespread application. [source] Cultivating small business influence in the UK: the federation of small businesses' journey from outsider to insiderJOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, Issue 4 2003Grant Jordan Abstract This case study charts the classic transformation of a small business organisation from being a vehicle of protest that attracted a reasonable but transient membership into a much larger group with a more stable membership and a group with an effective insider policy style. The paper asserts that the change in style and the change in recruiting success are not causally linked, and, indeed, it claims that an insider style may harm recruiting. In the case of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), however, any potential damage through adopting an insider style was more than offset by the separate decision to market the group door to door with a package of selective material incentives (Olson 1965). The paper describes the predominant insider politics style of political representation and finds that while the FSB has moved in that direction, it does not fully fit the stereotype. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications [source] The Influence of CEO Gender on Market Orientation and Performance in Service Small and Medium-Sized Service BusinessesJOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2010Peter S. Davis This study examines the effects of CEO gender on market orientation and performance (growth and profitability) among a sample of small and medium-sized service businesses. Gender was found to have significant indirect effects (via market orientation) on both market performance (growth) and financial performance (profitability). That is, female-led service SMEs perform significantly better due to their stronger market orientation relative those led by males. The findings further suggest that female-led firms were slightly better than their male-led counterparts in transmitting market performance into financial performance, although the differences were not statistically significant. [source] The Complementary Effects of Market Orientation and Entrepreneurial Orientation on Profitability in Small Businesses,JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2009William E. Baker Market orientation (MO) and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) are correlated, but distinct constructs. MO reflects the degree to which firms' strategic market planning is driven by customer and competitor intelligence. Entrepreneurial orientation reflects the degree to which firms' growth objectives are driven by the identification and exploitation of untapped market opportunities. When modeled separately, research has reported direct effects of both constructs on firm profitability. When modeled simultaneously, however, the direct effect of EO has disappeared. This has led some scholars to postulate that EO is an antecedent of MO. The results of this study contradict this presumption and suggest that EO and MO complement one another, at least in small businesses, to boost profitability. The major difference between this and previous studies is the inclusion of innovation success, which captures an indirect effect of EO on profitability. At least in small firms, the results suggest that EO complements MO by instilling an opportunistic culture that impacts the quality and quantity of firms' innovations. [source] Leveraging Family-Based Brand Identity to Enhance Firm Competitiveness and Performance in Family Businesses,JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2008Justin B. Craig Drawing on the family-embeddedness perspective on entrepreneurship and the resource-based-view of the firm, we investigate how the promotion of family-based brand identity influences competitive orientation (customer versus product) and firm performance in family businesses. Applying structural equation modeling to survey data collected from leaders of 218 family businesses, we demonstrate that developing a family-based brand identity positively contributes to firm performance (growth and profitability) indirectly, via a customer-centric orientation. In contrast, attempts to leverage family-based brand identity via a product-centric orientation do not impact firm performance. Our results suggest that family-based brand identity enhances the family business' ability to persuade customers to make purchasing decisions based on the perceived attributes of the seller. As a result, we contribute to the discussions centered on how to optimize the intricate synergy between family and business. [source] Ethical Attitudes in Small Businesses and Large Corporations: Theory and Empirical Findings from a Tracking Study Spanning Three DecadesJOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2006Justin G. Longenecker This study offers a theoretical framework of ethical behavior and a comparative analysis of ethical perceptions of managers of large, mostly publicly traded corporations (those with 1,000 or more employees) and the owners and managers of smaller companies (those with fewer than 100 employees) across 17 years. The primary research provides basic data on the changing standards of ethics as perceived by leaders of large and small businesses where the cultures frequently fall into sharp contrast. Our findings reveal the extent to which the message of business integrity is gaining or losing ground within large and small companies. It does this by means of respondents' judgments of acceptable responses to 16 scenarios profiling common business situations with questionable ethical dimensions. Based on responses from over 5,000 managers and employees (from firms of all sizes) to our scenarios at three points in time (1985, 1993, 2001), we tested two research questions. First, for firms of all sizes, have business ethics improved or declined between the years 1985 and 2001? Second, comparing responses of large and small firm executives across the 1985,2001 time frame, is there a discernible difference in their ethical standards? Our results suggest that business leaders are making somewhat more ethical decisions in recent years. We also found that small business owner,managers offered less ethical responses to scenarios in 1993 but that no significant differences existed with large firm managers in 1985 and 2001. Implications of our findings are discussed. [source] Do "Off-Site" Adult Businesses Have Secondary Effects?LAW & POLICY, Issue 2 2009Empirical Evidence, Legal Doctrine, Social Theory Recent federal court decisions appear to limit the ability of cities to mitigate the ambient crime risks associated with adult entertainment businesses. In one instance, a court has assumed that criminological theories do not apply to "off-site" adult businesses. After developing the legal doctrine of secondary effects, we demonstrate that the prevailing criminological theory applies to all adult business models. To corroborate the theory, we report the results of a before/after quasi-experiment for an off-site adult business. When an off-site adult business opens, ambient crime risk doubles compared to a control area. As theory predicts, moreover, ambient victimization risk is most acute in night-time hours. The theoretical development and empirical results have obvious implications for the evolving legal doctrine of secondary effects. [source] When Businesses Sue Each Other: An Empirical Study of State Court LitigationLAW & SOCIAL INQUIRY, Issue 3 2000Ross E. Cheit Using a mixture of court docket data and case files, we construct a data set of business litigation in Rhode Island Superior Court during 1987 and 1988. Business litigation is defined as a suit involving an economic firm as both a plaintiff and a defendant. The empirical analysis complements recent scholarship providing answers to descriptive questions about the frequency, nature of, parties to, and intensity of the business litigation docket. Using Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes, indicators of industry participation in litigation are developed, and positive analysis undertaken to explain variation across industries. Several hypothesis are developed and tested using quantitative analysis. We conclude that contextual economic conditions favoring the creation of long-term business relationships help prevent litigation between firms. [source] CyberCarrier service and network managementBELL LABS TECHNICAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2000Michael R. Brenner This paper presents an overview of the service and network management architecture of Lucent Technologies' CyberCarrier Solution. Businesses of all sizes and from all sectors are choosing to outsource large portions of their information technology (IT) operations to Internet-based data centers that host application service providers (ASPs). Many network service providers (NSPs) have decided to become CyberCarrier service providers (CCSPs),that is, they have decided to expand their businesses to include ASP data center hosting services. Managing these new ASP data center hosting services is one of the most urgent challenges encountered by a CCSP, and its solution is arguably critical to a CCSP's long-term success. Although introducing ASP data center hosting services increases and diversifies a CCSP's revenue, it also significantly complicates the CCSP's management processes. This paper defines an abstract management functional architecture that divides the CCSP management problem into tractable pieces and addresses each of them. Then it explains how the CyberCarrier Solution maps onto that functional architecture. Finally, it explores how Lucent will evolve its CyberCarrier Solution through future management system innovations. [source] What can Businesses do to Appease Anti-Globalization Protestors?BUSINESS AND SOCIETY REVIEW, Issue 2 2002Joel E. Oestreich First page of article [source] Strategic corporate environmental management within the South African automotive industry: motivations, benefits, hurdlesCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 6 2009Anderson Gwanyebit Kehbila Abstract This paper conveys the experiences of the South African automotive industry as it attempted to implement the ISO 14001 standard. Through a questionnaire-based survey, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as larger companies were asked about the key motivations for engaging in environmental change, the benefits accrued and the barriers that prevented them from doing so. This paper analyzes the variation in adoption rates in order to establish different relationships between them. The results reveal substantial differences and some similarities with regard to the hurdles, benefits and motivations behind the implementation of environmental management systems (EMSs) that are hidden behind corporate rhetoric and commitment to sustainability. This paper concludes by prescribing robust recommendations that would set off the pace for government officials to incorporate effective and realistic incentives into future policy to better encourage environmental compliance and improved performance while minimizing costs both to businesses and to the Government. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Corporate social responsibility in Malaysia , experts' views and perspectivesCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2009Jye Y. Lu Abstract The field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has grown exponentially in the last decade and is gradually becoming a global trend. Companies are now expected to take explicitly into account all aspects of their performance, i.e., not just their financial results, but also their social and environmental performance. Therefore more organizations are now engaged in serious efforts to define and integrate CSR into all aspects of their businesses. The aim of our study is to understand this trend in Malaysia and specifically to investigate (i) The status of CSR in Malaysia; (ii) Different CSR practices in Malaysia; and (iii) Future diffusion of CSR in Malaysia. To answer these questions, we have conducted interviews with Malaysian leading experts in CSR. Our results suggests that the key issues in the journey toward wider diffusion and acceptance of CSR in Malaysia include current confusion over the meaning of CSR, the prevalent use of CSR as a PR tool, mandatory versus voluntary CSR and the role the National Mirror Committee of ISO/TMB/WG SR in this process. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] A comparative study of corporate social responsibility in Bangladesh and PakistanCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2009Malik Asghar Naeem Abstract Making a contribution to sustainable development through good corporate social responsibility presents businesses with a challenge, particularly in developing countries. This paper measures the sensitivity to corporate social responsibility amongst businesses operating in Bangladesh and Pakistan through a review of written policies of both listed local firms and multinational corporations operating there. We use the Global Compact supplemented by relevant parts of the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Reporting Guidelines to benchmark companies and countries. Significant differences are found between local listed companies and multinational corporations. However, all companies are seen to be failing to engage with many aspects of corporate social responsibility related to sustainable development. Specific deficiencies relate to anti-corruption, gender equality, child labor, community giving and the formal representation of workers. Few differences are found between the approaches taken by companies in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Given the development needs of the region we point to businesses being unwilling or unable to adopt sufficiently robust corporate social responsibility and point to a role for both government and civil society. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] When business associations and a federal ministry jointly consult civil society: a CSR policy case study on the development of the CSR Austria Guiding VisionCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 5 2008Astrid Konrad Abstract In 2002, Austrian business organizations and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour decided to raise the awareness of CSR in Austria by formulating a CSR guiding vision for Austrian businesses after consulting a broad variety of stakeholders. This paper describes the development of the ,CSR Austria Guiding Vision' from 2003, and it gives a brief overview of other public CSR initiatives launched in Austria since then. Since the authors were involved drafting the CSR Austria Guiding Vision as consultants, the paper describes success factors, lessons learned and recommendations relevant for other large-scale stakeholder dialogues on CSR from an insider perspective. Overall, we conclude that a clear idea about the structure, the type and the rules of the stakeholder involvement (conceptual issues), in combination with a timely, honest and empathic approach towards stakeholders (procedural issues), are important success factors for any stakeholder dialogue. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] The UK climate change levy: good intentions but potentially damaging to businessCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2004Ann Hansford The climate change levy (CCL) is an important part of the UK Government's response to being a signatory to the Kyoto agreement. Prior to the introduction of the levy there were sharply contrasting views, which ranged from Sir Robert May's view that it was ,an opportunity, not a threat' to the CBI's view that it should be an option of last resort. In order to consider the impact of the CCL on UK businesses, interviews were undertaken within one ,not for profit' and two commercial organizations to explore reactions to its introduction. The findings from the study suggest the primary foci of concerns are based upon increases to the cost base and threats to international competitiveness. Further, there is doubt that the ambitious targets signed up to by the UK Government are likely to be achieved, unless there are fundamental changes in support for businesses, or the targets are revised. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Multiple Conceptualizations of Small Business Web Use and Benefit*DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 3 2003Kurt A. Pflughoeft ABSTRACT Small businesses play an important role in the U.S. economy and there is anecdotal evidence that use of the Web is beneficial to such businesses. There is, however, little systematic analysis of the conditions that lead to successful use of and thereby benefits from the Web for small businesses. Based on the innovation adoption, organizations, and information systems (IS) implementation literature, we identify a set of variables that are related to adoption, use, and benefits of information technology (IT), with particular emphasis on small businesses. These variables are reflective of an organization's contextual characteristics, its IT infrastructure, Web use, and Web benefits. Since the extant research does not suggest a single theoretical model for Web use and benefits in the context of small businesses, we adopt a modeling approach and explore the relationships between "context-IT-use-benefit" (CIUB) through three models,partial-mediator, reduced partial-mediator, and mediator. These models posit that the extent of Web use by small businesses and the associated benefits are driven by organizations' contextual characteristics and their IT infrastructure. They differ in the endogeneity/exogeneity of the extent of IT sophistication, and in the direct/mediated effects of organizational context. We examine whether the relationships between variables identified in the literature hold within the context of these models using two samples of small businesses with national coverage, including various sizes, and representing several industry sectors. The results show that the evidence for patterns of relationships is similar across the two independent samples for two of these models. We highlight the relationships within the reduced partial-mediator and mediator models for which conclusive evidence are given by both samples. Implications for small business managers and providers of Web-based technologies are discussed. [source] It's Not What Design Is, It's What Design DoesDESIGN MANAGEMENT REVIEW, Issue 4 2009Pradeep Sharma Sometimes, it's easier for small and medium-size enterprises to make greater use of design in their operations than it is for larger organizations,they may be nimbler than their large competitors and often hope to find a better way to grow and transform their businesses. As evidence, these authors point to several New Zealand companies that are making a "designful" end run around the competition. [source] Evolving the UPS brandDESIGN MANAGEMENT REVIEW, Issue 2 2004Larry Bloomenkranz When it was designed in 1961, the corporate identity was a compelling symbol for UPS. In the intervening decades, however, things had changed,dramatically! The company was significantly larger, a leader in a diverse spectrum of interrelated businesses, and publicly traded. In this context, Larry Bloomenkranz details the rationale, the research, and the meaning of the company's most recent brand developments. [source] The New Scramble for the African CountrysideDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 2 2003Vupenyu Dzingirai There is in Africa, as in other parts of the third world, a desire for environmental management that simultaneously incorporates and benefits all stakeholders, including private businesses and villagers. While these partnerships continue to displace the failed state-centric management of the African landscape, research to document their local-level impact is still formative and developing. This article is an attempt to examine the new environmental management partnerships emerging in southern Africa's countryside. It argues that these new interventions not only fail to deliver benefits to villagers: more importantly, they curtail the long-established rights to land and other natural resources of indigenous communities. While villagers may engage in a battle to recover these rights, it is a struggle in which the odds are stacked against them, and which the private sector and its partners are set to win. [source] Urban disaster recovery: a measurement framework and its application to the 1995 Kobe earthquakeDISASTERS, Issue 2 2010Stephanie E. Chang This paper provides a framework for assessing empirical patterns of urban disaster recovery through the use of statistical indicators. Such a framework is needed to develop systematic knowledge on how cities recover from disasters. The proposed framework addresses such issues as defining recovery, filtering out exogenous influences unrelated to the disaster, and making comparisons across disparate areas or events. It is applied to document how Kobe City, Japan, recovered from the catastrophic 1995 earthquake. Findings indicate that while aggregate population regained pre-disaster levels in ten years, population had shifted away from the older urban core. Economic recovery was characterised by a three to four year temporary boost in reconstruction activities, followed by settlement at a level some ten per cent below pre-disaster levels. Other long-term effects included substantial losses of port activity and sectoral shifts toward services and large businesses. These patterns of change and disparity generally accelerated pre-disaster trends. [source] Vulnerability of community businesses to environmental disastersDISASTERS, Issue 1 2009Yang Zhang Business plays important roles in community functioning., However, disaster research has been disproportionately focused on units of analysis such as families, households and government agencies. This paper synthesises the major findings within the business development research field and the disaster research field. It constructs a framework for evaluating business vulnerability to natural disasters. Our theoretical integration of the research conducted to date addresses five major issues. First, it defines the ways in which businesses are subject to the impacts of natural disasters. Second, it identifies the factors that determine the magnitude of business impacts after a disaster. Third, it identifies how and when businesses return to their pre-disaster level in the disaster stricken community. Fourth, it describes measures that can be taken by individual firms and community planners to reduce the impacts of environmental disasters. Fifth, it identifies needs for public policy and future research to reduce business vulnerability to environmental disasters. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||