From bilateral to trilateral governance in local government contracting in France

In France, the tradition of contracting out local public services has been predominantly one of partnership and co-operation rather than competition and antagonism. However, in recent years the traditional approach has come under intense criticism, something which has far-reaching implications for public-private governance. Adopting the socio-legal approach to the study of contract governance set out by Peter Vincent-Jones, this paper explores the discrepancy between descriptions of a traditional French approach to local public services governance, in which the bilateral values of trust and co-operation are emphasized, and a new discourse of local public services governance, which argues for detailed contract planning and close contract monitoring. It is argued that this discrepancy reveals the beginning of a shift in the governance of public service exchange relationships from relatively noncontractual and bilateral to relatively contractual and trilateral. The French case highlights the importance of regulatory and accountability frameworks to the manner in which contracting parties perceive exchange governance. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005.

The franchise dilemma:entrepreneurial characteristics, relational contracting, and opportunism in hybrid governance

Using franchise data, we identify that entrepreneurial characteristics of franchisees partially impact on their opportunistic tendencies. Further, relational contracting increases franchisee opportunism by strengthening the opportunism-enhancing impact of entrepreneurial characteristics. These findings point to a key dilemma franchisors need to be aware of: Entrepreneurially minded franchisees who might be better at exploiting market opportunities for their units may also behave more opportunistically, if given the chance through a more relational contracting regime. At the same time, if they perceive the contractual framework as being too rigid, they may be less able to leverage their capabilities, become dissatisfied, and exit the system.

Casemix accounting systems and medical coding:organisational actors balanced on "leaky black boxes"

The adoption of DRG coding may be seen as a central feature of the mechanisms of the health reforms in New Zealand. This paper presents a story of the use of DRG coding by describing the experience of one major health provider. The conventional literature portrays casemix accounting and medical coding systems as rational techniques for the collection and provision of information for management and contracting decisions/negotiations. Presents a different perspective on the implications and effects of the adoption of DRG technology, in particular the part played by DRG coding technology as a part of a casemix system is explicated from an actor network theory perspective. Medical coding and the DRG methodology will be argued to represent ``black boxes''. Such technological ``knowledge objects'' provide strong points in the networks which are so important to the processes of change in contemporary organisations.

Textbook on contract law

This is the new edition of the established "Textbook on Contract Law" by Jill Poole. Designed specifically for undergraduates and postgraduates new to the subject, this text offers a clear, informative, and engaging account of the modern law of contract. Offering accurate and up-to-date coverage, this seventh edition also provides discussion of key new topics, such as E-contracting, which is discussed within the context of the Electronic Commerce [EC Directive] Regulations2002. The text opens with an excellent overview of the key theories and perspectives of contract law - placing the subject in a wider context - and continues with detailed treatments of all key topics. The text now features more headings to further aid navigation throughout, and offers new chapter summaries that draw key themes and issues together. New sections for selected further reading and useful web links guide students towards the most relevant and up-to-date resources available, encouraging more in-depth and focused study in all areas of contract.

Opportunism, hold-up and the (contractual) theory of the firm

This paper considers the role of opportunism in three contractual theories of the firm: rent-seeking theory, property rights theory, and agency theory. In each case I examine whether it is possible to have a functioning contractual theory of the firm without recourse to opportunism. Without opportunism firms may still exist as a result of issues arising from (incomplete) contracting. Far from posing a problem for the theory of the firm, questioning the role of opportunism and the ubiquity of the hold-up problem helps us understand more about the purpose and functions of contracts which go beyond mere incentive alignment.

Migration of additives from thermoplastic polymers

A homologous series of ultra-violet stabilisers containing 2-hydroxybenzophenone (HBP) moiety as a uv absorbing chromophore with varying alkyl chain lengths and sizes were prepared by known chemical synthesis. The strong absorbance of the HBP chromophore was utilized to evaluate the concentration of these stabilisers in low density polyethylene films and concentration of these stabilisers in low density polyethylene films and in relevant solvents by ultra-violet/visible spectroscopy. Intrinsic diffusion coefficients, equilibrium solubilities, volatilities from LDPE films and volatility of pure stabilisers were studied over a temperature range of 5-100oC. The effects of structure, molecular weight and temperature on the above parameters were investigated and the results were analysed on the basis of theoretical models published in the literature. It has been found that an increase in alkyl chain lengths does not change the diffusion coefficients to a significant level, while attachment of polar or branched alkyl groups change their value considerably. An Arrhenius type of relationship for the temperature dependence of diffusion coefficients seems to be valid only for a narrow temperature range, and therefore extrapolation of data from one temperature to another leads to a considerable error. The evidence showed that increase in additive solubility in the polymer is favoured by lower heat of fusions and melting points of additives. This implies the validity of simple regular solution theory to provide an adequate basis for understanding the solubility of additives in polymers The volubility of stabilisers from low density polyethylene films showed that of an additive from a polymer can be expressed in terms of a first-order kinetic equation. In addition the rate of loss of stabilisers was discussed in relation to its diffusion, solubility and volatility and found that all these factors may contribute to the additive loss, although one may be a rate determining factor. Stabiliser migration from LDPE into various solvents and food simulants was studied at temperatures 5, 23, 40 and 70oC; from the plots of rate of migration versus square root time, characteristic diffusion coefficients were obtained by using the solution of Fick's diffusion equations. It was shown that the rate of migration depends primarily on partition coefficients between solvent and the polymer of the additive and also on the swelling action of the contracting media. Characteristic diffusion coefficients were found to approach to intrinsic values in non swelling solvents, whereas in the case of highly swollen polymer samples, the former may be orders of magnitude greater than the latter.

Cost-based pricing in the NHS internal market : accounting choices and the achievement of economic efficiency

Since 1988, quasi-markets have been introduced into many areas of social policy in the UK, the NHS internal market is one example. Markets operate by price signals. The NHS Internal Market, if it is to operate efficiently, requires purchasers and providers to respond to price signals. The research hypothesis is - cost accounting methods can be developed to enable healthcare contracts to be priced on a cost-basis in a manner which will facilitate the achievement of economic efficiency in the NHS internal market. Surveys of hospitals in 1991 and 1994 established the cost methods adopted in deriving the prices for healthcare contracts in the first year of the market and three years on. An in-depth view of the costing for pricing process was gained through case studies. Hospitals had inadequate cost information on which to price healthcare contracts at the inception of the internal market: prices did not reflect the relative performance of healthcare providers sufficiently closely to enable the market's espoused efficiency aims to be achieved. Price variations were often due to differing costing approaches rather than efficiency. Furthermore, price comparisons were often meaningless because of inadequate definition of the services (products). In April 1993, the NHS Executive issued guidance on costing for contracting to all NHS providers in an attempt to improve the validity of price comparisons between alternative providers. The case studies and the 1994 survey show that although price comparison has improved, considerable problems remain. Consistency is not assured, and the problem of adequate product definition is still to be solved. Moreover, the case studies clearly highlight the mismatch of rigid, full-cost pricing rules with both the financial management considerations at local level and the emerging internal market(s). Incentives exist to cost-shift, and healthcare prices can easily be manipulated. In the search for a new health policy paradigm to replace traditional bureaucratic provision, cost-based pricing cannot be used to ensure a more efficient allocation of healthcare resources.

The development of heat recovery equipment from conception to commercialisation

A comprehensive survey of industrial sites and heat recovery products revealed gaps between equipment that was required and that which was available. Two heat recovery products were developed to fill those gaps: a gas-to-gas modular heat recovery unit; a gas-to-liquid exhaust gas heat exchanger. The former provided an entire heat recovery system in one unit. It was specifically designed to overcome the problems associated with existing component system of large design commitment, extensive installation and incompatibility between parts. The unit was intended to recover heat from multiple waste gas sources and, in particular, from baking ovens. A survey of the baking industry defined typical waste gas temperatures and flow rates, around which the unit was designed. The second unit was designed to recover heat from the exhaust gases of small diesel engines. The developed unit differed from existing designs by having a negligible effect on engine performance. In marketing terms these products are conceptual opposites. The first, a 'product-push' product generated from site and product surveys, required marketing following design. The second, a 'market-pull' product, resulted from a specific user need; this had a captive market and did not require marketing. Here marketing was replaced by commercial aspects including the protection of ideas, contracting, tendering and insurance requirements. These two product development routes are compared and contrasted. As a general conclusion this work suggests that it can be beneficial for small companies (as was the sponsor of this project) to undertake projects of the market-pull type. Generally they have a higher probability of success and are less capital intensive than their product-push counterparts. Development revealed shortcomings in three other fields: British Standards governing heat exchangers; financial assessment of energy saving schemes; degree day procedure of calculating energy savings. Methods are proposed to overcome these shortcomings.

Development of science and technology policy for Kuwait

The status of Science and Technology in KUWAIT has been analysed in order to assess the extent of the application of Science and Technology needed for the Country's development. The design and implementation of a Science and Technology Policy has been examined to identify the appropriate technology necessary to improve KUWAIT's socio-economic-industrial structures. Following a general and critical review of the role of Science and Technology in the developing countries, the author has reviewed the past and contemporary employment of Science and Technology for development.of various sectors and the existence, if any, of any form (explicit, implicit, or both) of a Science and Technology Policy in KUWAIT. The thesis is structured to evaluate almost all of the sectors in KUWAIT which utilise Science and/or Technology, the effectiveness of such practices, their policymaking process, the channels by which policies were transformed into sources of influence through Governmental action and the impact that various policy instruments at the disposal of the the Government had on the development of S & T capabilities. The author has studied the implications of the absence of a Science and Technology Policy in Kuwait by examining some specific case studies, eg, the absence of a Technology Assessment Process and the negative impacts resulting from this; the ad-hoc allocation of the research and development budget instead of its being based on a percentage of GNP; the limitations imposed on the development of indigenous contracting companies and consultancy and engineering design offices; the impacts of the absence of Technology Transfer Centre, and so forth. As a consequence of the implications of the above studies, together with the negative results from the absence of an explicit Science and Technology Policy, eg, research and development activities do not relate to the national development plans, the author suggests that a Science and Technology Policy-Making Body should be established to formulate, develop, monitor and correlate the Science and Technology Activities in KUWAIT.

Contract specificity and its performance outcomes

Governance theories, such as transaction cost economics, argue that systematic deviations from an attribute–governance alignment should influence performance. This article investigates the performance implications of contract specificity for the procurement of information technology products. The authors argue that parties choose a level of contract specificity that economizes on both the ex ante contracting costs and the ex post transaction costs and that deviations between the observed and the predicted levels of contract specificity are an important determinant of these transaction costs. The authors test the hypotheses using a comprehensive archival data set of information technology transactions and employ a two-step estimation procedure. First, they estimate the “predicted” level of contract specificity, which accounts for key transactional attributes. Second, they study the consequences of deviating from this predicted level of contractual specificity. The results provide the first explicit demonstration of the trade-off between ex ante contracting costs and ex post transaction problems and suggest that parties need to economize jointly on these costs when choosing the governance form.

Diversifying into technical clothing manufacture:a situated learning theory perspective

An organisation’s ability to internalise external knowledge and learn from various sources in undertaking new product development and/or entering a new market is crucial to its competitive performance. Nevertheless, little attention has been paid to how growth-oriented small firms identify and exploit entrepreneurial opportunities, i.e. take entrepreneurial action, related to such methods of development, in a mature, contracting industry. The latter is particularly relevant to recent discussion and debate in academic and policy-making circles concerning the salvage of the clothing manufacture industry in developed industrialised countries, by intensifying efforts relating to diversification into high value manufacturing sectors. This paper, based on an instrumental case-firm, demonstrates analytically how learning as entrepreneurial action relating to diversifying into /technical clothing – i.e. a high value manufacturing/innovatory sector - takes place, drawing on situated learning theory. It is argued that learning relating to such entrepreneurial action is dynamic in nature and is founded on specific organising principles that foster both inter- and intracommunal learning.