The current book on Nework Governance contributes to the literature by offering new perspectives on network goals and performance, inter-organizational learning and trust in alliances, corporate governance issues in cooperatives, governance of cross-border retail networks, contract design and governance innovations in cooperatives and fanchising.

This book highlights cutting-edge research in the economics and management of networks as an interdisciplinary field, offering new theoretical, empirical and practical perspectives on the management, governance, ownership and control of cooperatives, franchising networks and strategic alliances. Further, it presents a strategic group perspective on franchisers and discusses both social entrepreneurship issues in franchising and franchising strategies for Indigenous entrepreneurship in Aust...

The organization of interfirm networks, such as alliances, cooperatives, franchise and retail chains, has become an important research topic in the field of economics, marketing, strategic management, and organization theory. This book contributes to the literature on formal and informal inter-organizational governance by providing new insights on contract design, ownership, evolution of cooperation, role of social capital and performance in franchising networks; includes topics of loyalty...

Companies are increasingly asking which of their value chain activities are best performed within their own company and which may be outsourced. In addition, they are also considering which pieces of their value chain may be better performed abroad. These interrelated decisions concerning outsourcing and offshoring have not only changed entire industries, they have also transformed the lives of people across the world. Hundreds of millions of jobs in emerging nations have been the direct r...

Handbook of Media Economics provides valuable information on a unique field that has its own theories, evidence, and policies. Understanding the media is important for society, and while new technologies are altering the media, they are also affecting our understanding of their economics. Chapters span the large scope of media economics, simultaneously offering in-depth analysis of particular topics, including the economics of why media are important, how media work (including financing so...

The theory of networks aims at developing theoretical views on the design and management of alliances, franchise chains, licensing, joint ventures, cooperatives, and venture capital relations. The current trend in economics and management of networks is twofold: First there is a strong tendency toward application of theoretical approaches developed both in organizational economics, strategic management and organization theory. The second trend refers to the development of more integrative ...

Due to the vital importance of SMEs in developed economies worldwide, this book aims to provide a unique and much-needed investigation into the underlying mechanisms and practices of management within these companies by collecting a wide range of original conceptual and empirical research in the topical area of management in SMEs and new ventures.Collecting work from dozens of leading scholars in fields ranging from management and entrepeneurship to human resource management and st...

Bringing together normative and instrumental CSR conceptualizations, practice based examples and international case studies, this edited volume brings together important contributions on the conceptualizations of CSR post financial crisis. Including coverage of a variety of practices in developing and developed contexts, industry-specific activities, business ethics and sustainable development issues, Corporate Social Responsibility in the Post-Financial Crisis brings together a v...

The decision to engage in corporate social action (CSA), and the debates regarding its costs, benefits and implications to corporate performance represent a demanding issue for scholars and managers. Research is inconclusive regarding the causal relations between CSA, corporate social performance (CSP) and corporate financial performance (CFP), despite numerous empirical and theoretical studies devoted to the issue. This book presents an in-depth study of corporate social action and the fa...

Is talent the only key to scientific success? In fact, the answer is: `No'. Management and organisation do make a real, significant difference between success and failure in science. This book presents a clear survey of the critical success factors in biomedical research laboratories. Based on an international, comparative study of 71 research laboratories in medical faculties, large health research institutes and innovative pharmaceutical companies, ready-to-use guidelines are offered to ...

The current international business environment is characterized by two contradictory but at times mutually supplementary trends. Regionalization is part of the process of globalization, but it can also be a counter force to globalization as stakeholders act to protect their perceived interests. This book expands the debate on this interesting topic

International business for the modern firm has to compromise the need to use limited resources and achieve efficiency in the global marketplace. This book examines these issues from the viewpoint of the internationalized SME, the big multinational and the local subsidiary drawing on research conducted in different countries.