e-Business technological innovations

Modern distribution is being shifted from paper-based, people-intensive marketing systems toward electronic-based procedures that rely on Internet communications and web-enhanced software tools. This article develops a typology of e-business technological innovations that have come to characterize cutting-edge distribution management. e-Business tools relevant to marketing channels are organized by the channel process flows that yield communication and transaction enhancements to distribution systems. Further, a model of the impact of e-business on channel performance is developed. The mediating role of channel structure on technology's impact on channel outcomes in terms of efficiency and effectiveness is also analyzed. Finally, implications of the e-business revolution for managers and researchers are discussed.

A contingency theory perspective on the risk management control system within Birmingham City Council

In recent years the topic of risk management has moved up the agenda of both government and industry, and private sector initiatives to improve risk and internal control systems have been mirrored by similar promptings for change in the public sector. Both regulators and practitioners now view risk management as an integral part of the process of corporate governance, and an aid to the achievement of strategic objectives. The paper uses case study material on the risk management control system at Birmingham City Council to extend existing theory by developing a contingency theory for the public sector. The case demonstrates that whilst the structure of the control system fits a generic model, the operational details indicate that controls are contingent upon three core variables—central government policies, information and communication technology and organisational size. All three contingent variables are suitable for testing the theory across the broader public sector arena.

Birmingham City Council v Abdulla

Case law report - online

The intra-firm diffusion of complementary innovations: Evidence from the adoption of management practices by British establishments

This paper presents a simple profitability-based decision model to show how synergistic gains generated by the joint adoption of complementary innovations may influence the firm's adoption decision. For this purpose a weighted index of intra-firm diffusion is built to investigate empirically the drivers of the intensity of joint use of a set of complementary innovations. The findings indicate that establishment size, ownership structure and product market concentration are important determinants of the intensity of use. Interestingly, the factors that affect the extent of use of technological innovations do also affect that of clusters of management practices. However, they can explain only part of the heterogeneity of the benefits from joint use.