Impact of electronic data interchange in the Australian automotive industry

Information technology continues to play an increasingly significant role in the development of firms competing in the vast array of markets from those classified as global markets, such as the automotive industry, to the smaller nationally-based markets such as retailing. An objective of electronic commerce is to assist organisations to remain competitive and gain entry to markets which were previously unattainable. This study focuses on the organisational impact of one form of electronic commerce (electronic data interchange) on the component sector of the Australian automotive industry and examines the extent to which trading partner relationships have been affected. The research investigates the extent to which the integration of electronic data interchange (EDI) with an organisation’s internal application system may facilitate specific net benefits. The automotive industry became the first Australian industry to cooperatively adopt EDI. Research to date has not adequately examined the organisational impact of the nature and extent of net benefits gained from EDI adoption. To achieve the objective of assessing EDI net benefits, a conceptual model was developed. The model proposed that the level of EDI net benefits expected is influenced by the size of the organisation and the concentration of trade achieved within the industry via intervening links through (a) the level of senior management commitment and (b) the extent of system integration. Nine empirically testable research propositions are derived from the model, each testing the relationship between model constructs. Data was collected from 114 component suppliers to Ford Australia in 1992 and 1994 using a repeated cross-sectional longitudinal design. Structural equation modelling using partial least squares was adopted in the analysis of the data. A pure longitudinal model together with 12 case studies of selected component manufacturers supplemented the research design. The results of the research showed that the proposed conceptual model is a good description of the data. In particular, net benefits obtained from EDI adoption are directly determined by the size of the organisation, and the extent to which firms integrate EDI into their internal application systems. The level of net benefits is only indirectly influenced by the level of senior management commitment to the EDI project through (a) management commitment’s direct effect on integration, and (b) the direct effect the volume of trade a supplier achieves with the automotive industry on senior management commitment and system integration. The major benefits organisations experienced from EDI were enhanced productivity, clerical staff savings, improved data accuracy, enhanced customer service and reduced administration costs. The research showed that few suppliers gained inventory savings from EDI, a frequently claimed benefit from EDI adoption. Evidence of small improvements in product quality emerged from the results. In summary, this research attempts to make two primary contributions to knowledge, first in providing a method by which net benefits from electronic commerce can be measured within an industry adopting electronic trading, and second, by providing organisations with the knowledge of the specific net benefits organisations could expect from EDI adoption, together with the four major factors affecting these benefits. The research concludes with possible directions for future research, in particular an assessment of the impact of incorporating financial EDI into electronic trading.

Recent global trends in the Chinese construction industry and its market

The rapidly increasing construction demand in China, particularly spurred by the coming 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2010 Shanghai Expo, provides challenging opportunities for overseas construction enterprises. Therefore understanding the structure and dynamics of construction industry in China is crucial, particularly the potential changes of the market after the China's entry into the World Trade Organization. This paper analyses the development of construction economics and institutional regulations in the construction market, and provides a comprehensive image on the Chinese construction sector in the global environment.

A cross country analysis of dynamics in comparative advantage and trade patterns in textiles and clothing

This paper examines pattern of comparative advantage in textiles and clothing trade as revealed by export shares of selected developed and developing economies. The estimated revealed comparative advantage (RCA) indices provided strong evidence of comparative advantage enjoyed by the developing economies. However, a few developed high income economies have enjoyed sustainable comparative advantage, especially in textiles trade. Significant negative correlations are observed between country specific income levels and the estimated absolute and relative RCA indices. While most of the developing economies achieved significant improvement of comparative advantage over time in clothing trade, the evidence is mixed for textiles. Additional evidence from Grubel-Lloyd (G-L) index of intra industry trade (IIT) suggest that global textiles trade could be mainly explained on the basis of product differentiation and economies of scale while clothing trade is more based on comparative advantage. Results of the study also suggest that the trading nations should engage in exploitation of forms of competition such as product differentiation in textiles trade, whereas for clothing, cost minimising remains a valid strategy.

The politics of the pharmaceutical industry and access to medicines : world pharmacy and India

The Pharmaceutical Industry presents one of India’s most successful stories of economic expansion and improvements in public health. Indian firms have made access to quality medicines possible and affordable in many developing countries. Indian pharmaceuticals are also exported on a large scale to the United States and other highly regulated markets. A wave of mergers, acquisitions and tie-ups point to growing integration between Indian firms and global pharma multinationals.

The Politics of the Pharmaceutical Industry and Access to Medicines: World Pharmacy and India examines this important industry from different economic, social and political perspectives. Topics covered include the implications of TRIPS-compliant intellectual property rights, the role of flexibilities under TRIPS, the market regulation system, the role of Indian firms in exporting HIV/AIDS medications to Africa, the issue of free trade agreements, the power and reach of foreign pharmaceutical multinationals in India’s domestic market, and the sustainability of India as a major generics supplier.

Migration, unemployment and trade

Migration, Unemployment and Trade focuses on the issues of migration, welfare and unemployment in a trade and development framework. Several chapters of the book analyze the implications of internal labor mobility in a model designed to highlight its implications for regional welfare, urban unemployment, rural-urban dichotomy and structural adjustment. An important innovation in this work is the disaggregation of the economy and the use of separate utility functions to highlight non-homogeneity of preferences. The book also deals with international mobility of factors in different frameworks. In particular it concentrates on the highly emotive issue of legal and illegal migration. Thus this work incorporates interesting and important features of labor economics and factor mobility into trade and distortion theory.

The global biopharma industry and the rise of Indian drug multinationals: implication for Australian generics policy

This article provides a synopsis of the new dynamics of the global biopharma industry. The emergence of global generics companies with capabilities approximating those of 'big pharma' has accelerated the blurring of boundaries between the innovator and generics sectors. Biotechnology-based products form a large and growing segment of prescription drug markets and regulatory pathways for biogenerics are imminent. Indian biopharma multinationals with large-scale efficient manufacturing plants and growing R&D capabilities are now major suppliers of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and generic drugs across both developed and developing countries. In response to generic competition, innovator companies employ a range of life cycle management techniques, including the launch of 'authorised generics'. The generics segment in Australia will see high growth rates in coming years but the prospect for local manufacturing is bleak. The availability of cheap generics in international markets has put pressure on Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) pricing arrangements, and a new policy direction was announced in November 2006. Lower generics prices will have a negative impact on some incumbent suppliers but industrial renewal policies for the medicines industry in Australia are better focused on higher value R&D activities and niche manufacturing of sophisticated products.

Gambling and corporate social responsibility (CSR) : re-defining industry and state roles on duty of care, host responsibility and risk management

During the 1990s, states embraced legalised gambling as a means of supplementing state revenue. But gaming machines (EGMs, pokies, VLTs, Slots) have become increasingly controversial in countries such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand, which experienced unprecedented roll-out of gaming machines in casino and community settings; alongside revenue windfalls for both governments and the gambling industry. Governments have recognised that gambling results in a range of social and economic harms and, similar to tobacco and alcohol, have introduced public policies predicated on harm minimisation. Yet despite these, gaming losses have continued to climb in most jurisdictions, along with concerns about gambling-related harms. The first part of this article discusses an emerging debate in Ontario Canada, that draws parallels between host responsibility in alcohol and gambling venues. In Canada, where government owns and operates the gaming industry, this debate prompts important questions on the role of the state, duty of care and regulation ‘in the public interest’ and on CSR, host responsibility and consumer protection. This prompts the question: Do governments owe a duty of care to gamblers?

The article then discusses three domains of accumulating research evidence to inform questions raised in the Ontario debate: evidence that visible behavioural indicators can be used with high confidence to identify problem gamblers on-site in venues as they gamble; new systems using player tracking and loyalty data that can provide management with high precision identification of problem gamblers and associated risk (for protective interventions); and research on technological design features of new generation gaming products in interaction with players, that shows how EGM machines can be the site for monitoring/protecting players. We then canvass some leading international jurisdictions on gambling policy CSR and consumer protection.

In light of this new research, we ask whether the risk of legal liability poses a tipping point for more interventionist public policy responses by both the state and industry. This includes a proactive role for the state in re-regulating the gambling industry/products; instituting new forms of gaming machine product control/protection; and reinforcing corporate social responsibility (CSR) and host responsibility obligations on gambling providers – beyond self-regulatory codes. We argue the ground is shifting, there is new evidence to inform public policy and government regulation and there are new pressures on gambling providers and regulators to avail themselves of the new technology – or risk litigation

Australian property investment advice : an unregulated industry and the need for better consumer protection laws

Currently, consumers have no means of protecting themselves when they are looking for property investment advice in Australia. There is no uniform national or State regulation in the property investment advice and marketeering industry. The only protection and remedies currently available are those under the general consumer protection laws scattered in various Acts, and even so, these have numerous problems. This paper highlights what those problems are under the general consumer protection laws and suggests some changes to the current system. The paper also argues that a national co-operative approach is the only way to move forward in this area and suggests that the constitutional difficulty can be overcome by using the legislative conferral of state powers provision, which has often been overlooked. The paper also argues that a new regulator be set up to administer and enforce the new proposed laws on property investment advice.

Exposure estimation, uncertainty and variability in occupational hygiene retrospective assessment

This thesis reports on a quantitative exposure assessment and on an analysis of the attributes of the data used in the estimations, in particular distinguishing between its uncertainty and variability. A retrospective assessment of exposure to benzene was carried out for a case control study of leukaemia in the Australian petroleum industry. The study used the mean of personal task-based measurements (Base Estimates) in a deterministic algorithm and applied factors to model back to places, times etc for which no exposure measurements were available. Mean daily exposures were estimated, on an individual subject basis, by summing the task-based exposures. These mean exposures were multiplied by the years spent on each job to provide exposure estimates in ppm-years. These were summed to provide a Cumulative Estimate for each subject. Validation was completed for the model and key inputs. Exposures were low, most jobs were below TWA of 5 ppm benzene. Exposures in terminals were generally higher than at refineries. Cumulative Estimates ranged from 0.005 to 50.9 ppm-years, with 84 percent less than 10 ppm-years. Exposure probability distributions were developed for tanker drivers using Monte Carlo simulation of the exposure estimation algorithm. The outcome was a lognormal distribution of exposure for each driver. These provide the basis for alternative risk assessment metrics e.g. the frequency of short but intense exposures which provided only a minimal contribution to the long-term average exposure but may increase risk of leukaemia. The effect of different inputs to the model were examined and their significance assessed using Monte Carlo simulation. The Base Estimates were the most important determinant of exposure in the model. The sources of variability in the measured data were examined, including the effect of having censored data and the between and within-worker variability. The sources of uncertainty in the exposure estimates were analysed and consequential improvements in exposure assessment identified. Monte Carlo sampling was also used to examine the uncertainties and variability associated with the tanker drivers' exposure assessment, to derive an estimate of the range and to put confidence intervals on the daily mean exposures. The identified uncertainty was less than the variability associated with the estimates. The traditional approach to exposure estimation typically derives only point estimates of mean exposure. The approach developed here allows a range of exposure estimates to be made and provides a more flexible and improved basis for risk assessment.