Union power in retail: Contrasting cases in Australia and New Zealand

Retail employees are the prototypical vulnerable, low-paid employees, and for that reason unionism and its benefits, such as collective bargaining, provide important social protection. However, the reasons that make employees vulnerable also reduce union power though that is not to say that retail unions lack agency. This article analyses the power resources and their deployment in the respective retail unions in Australia and New Zealand. The two unions’ strategies are quite different, and provide interesting contrasts in approaches and ideology. The implications for theory are that ideology matters with respect to union strategy (and should be attended to more thoroughly in studies of union renewal) and – as others have also argued – the wider institutional context has a very significant influence on outcomes for unions and their members. The implication for practice, therefore, is that both workplace and extra-workplace strategies in the political and other arenas remain central for the low-paid.

Enterprise Business Technology Governance: Three Competencies to Build Board Digital Leadership Capability.

The competent leadership of digital transformation needs to involve the board of directors. The reported lack of such capability in boards is becoming a pressing issue. A part of leadership in such transformation is the board of director’s competence to lead Enterprise Business Technology Governance (EBTG). In this paper we take the position that EBTG competencies are essential in boards, because competent EBTG has been shown to contribute to increased revenue, profit, and returns. We update and expand on the results of a multi-method approach to the development of a set of three board of director competencies needed for effective EBTG.

The game of clones and the Australia tax : divergent views about copyright business models and the willingness of Australian consumers to infringe

It is often said that Australia is a world leader in rates of copyright infringement for entertainment goods. In 2012, the hit television show, Game of Thrones, was the most downloaded television show over bitorrent, and estimates suggest that Australians accounted for a plurality of nearly 10% of the 3-4 million downloads each week. The season finale of 2013 was downloaded over a million times within 24 hours of its release, and again Australians were the largest block of illicit downloaders over BitTorrent, despite our relatively small population. This trend has led the former US Ambassador to Australia to implore Australians to stop 'stealing' digital content, and rightsholders to push for increasing sanctions on copyright infringers. The Australian Government is looking to respond by requiring Internet Service Providers to issue warnings and potentially punish consumers who are alleged by industry groups to have infringed copyright. This is the logical next step in deterring infringement, given that the operators of infringing networks (like The Pirate Bay, for example) are out of regulatory reach. This steady ratcheting up of the strength of copyright, however, comes at a significant cost to user privacy and autonomy, and while the decentralisation of enforcement reduces costs, it also reduces the due process safeguards provided by the judicial process. This article presents qualitative evidence that substantiates a common intuition: one of the major reasons that Australians seek out illicit downloads of content like Game of Thrones in such numbers is that it is more difficult to access legitimately in Australia. The geographically segmented way in which copyright is exploited at an international level has given rise to a ‘tyranny of digital distance’, where Australians have less access to copyright goods than consumers in other countries. Compared to consumers in the US and the EU, Australians pay more for digital goods, have less choice in distribution channels, are exposed to substantial delays in access, and are sometimes denied access completely. In this article we focus our analysis on premium film and television offerings, like Game of Thrones, and through semi-structured interviews, explore how choices in distribution impact on the willingness of Australian consumers to seek out infringing copies of copyright material. Game of Thrones provides an excellent case study through which to frame this analysis: it is both one of the least legally accessible television offerings and one of the most downloaded through filesharing networks of recent times. Our analysis shows that at the same time as rightsholder groups, particularly in the film and television industries, are lobbying for stronger laws to counter illicit distribution, the business practices of their member organisations are counter-productively increasing incentives for consumers to infringe. The lack of accessibility and high prices of copyright goods in Australia leads to substantial economic waste. The unmet consumer demand means that Australian consumers are harmed by lower access to information and entertainment goods than consumers in other jurisdictions. The higher rates of infringement that fulfils some of this unmet demand increases enforcement costs for copyright owners and imposes burdens either on our judicial system or on private entities – like ISPs – who may be tasked with enforcing the rights of third parties. Most worryingly, the lack of convenient and cheap legitimate digital distribution channels risks undermining public support for copyright law. Our research shows that consumers blame rightsholders for failing to meet market demand, and this encourages a social norm that infringing copyright, while illegal, is not morally wrongful. The implications are as simple as they are profound: Australia should not take steps to increase the strength of copyright law at this time. The interests of the public and those of rightsholders align better when there is effective competition in distribution channels and consumers can legitimately get access to content. While foreign rightsholders are seeking enhanced protection for their interests, increasing enforcement is likely to increase their ability to engage in lucrative geographical price-discrimination, particularly for premium content. This is only likely to increase the degree to which Australian consumers feel that their interests are not being met and, consequently, to further undermine the legitimacy of copyright law. If consumers are to respect copyright law, increasing sanctions for infringement without enhancing access and competition in legitimate distribution channels could be dangerously counter-productive. We suggest that rightsholders’ best strategy for addressing infringement in Australia at this time is to ensure that Australians can access copyright goods in a timely, affordable, convenient, and fair lawful manner.

Prevalence of asymptomatic malaria and bed net ownership and use in Bhutan, 2013 : a country earmarked for malaria elimination

Background With dwindling malaria cases in Bhutan in recent years, the government of Bhutan has made plans for malaria elimination by 2016. This study aimed to determine coverage, use and ownership of LLINs, as well as the prevalence of asymptomatic malaria at a single time-point, in four sub-districts of Bhutan. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out in August 2013. Structured questionnaires were administered to a single respondent in each household (HH) in four sub-districts. Four members from 25 HH, randomly selected from each sub-district, were tested using rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) for asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infection. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with LLIN use and maintenance. Results All blood samples from 380 participants tested negative for Plasmodium infections. A total of 1,223 HH (92.5% of total HH) were surveyed for LLIN coverage and use. Coverage of LLINs was 99.0% (1,203/1,223 HH). Factors associated with decreased odds of sleeping under a LLIN included: washing LLINs nine months compared to washing LLINs every six months; HH in the least poor compared to the most poor socio-economic quintile; a HH income of Nu 5,001-10,000 (US$1 = Nu 59.55), and Nu >10,000, compared to HH with income of

Ethnic cluster lifecycle : a case of Chinese restaurants in South East Queensland

Immigrant entrepreneurs tend to start businesses within their ethnic enclave (EE), as it is an integral part of their social and cultural context and the location where ethnic resources reside (Logan, Alba, & Stults, 2003). Ethnic enclaves can be seen as a form of geographic cluster, China Towns are exemplar EEs, easily identified by the clustering of Chinese restaurants and other ethnic businesses in one central location. Studies on EE thus far have neglected the life cycles stages of EE and its impact on the business experiences of the entrepreneurs. In this paper, we track the formation, growth and decline of an EE. We argue that EE is a special industrial cluster and as such it follows the growth conditions proposed by the cluster life cycle theory (Menzel & Fornahl, 2009). We report a mixed method study of Chinese Restaurants in South East Queensland. Based on multiple sources of data, we concluded that changes in government policies leading to a sharp increase of immigrant numbers from a distinctive culture group can lead to the initiation and growth of the EE. Continuous incoming of new immigrants and increase competition within the cluster mark the mature stage of the EE, making the growth condition more favourable “inside” the cluster. A decline in new immigrants from the same ethnic group and the increased competition within the EE may eventually lead to the decline of such an industrial cluster, thus providing more favorable condition for growth of business outside the cluster.

Business model adaptation in new ventures: are technology-based firms different?

A firm’s business model (BM) is an important driver of its relative performance. Constructive adaptation to elements of the BM can therefore sustain the position in light of changing conditions. This study takes a configurational approach to understanding drivers of business model adaptation (BMA) in new ventures. We investigate the effect of human capital, social capital, and technological environment on BMA. We find that a universal, direct effects, analysis can provide useful information, but also risks painting a distorted picture. Contingent, two-way interactions add further explanatory power, but configurational models combining elements of all three (internal resource, external activities, environment) are superior.

Changing other people’s mind : creative entrepreneurs

Creative entrepreneurs, the business executives who operate in the creative industries sector of economy, possess distinctive characteristics that influence people around them due to the nature of creative industries, their position in the society and their relations with people within their business operation. While there is a large amount of research focusing on industry development; the research on creative entrepreneurs as a group is much less, let alone their influence on people associated with them. Through exploring literatures on entrepreneurship in creative industries, leadership with particular focus on charismatic and shared leadership, cognitive psychology and the psychology of entrepreneurship, this study integrates seemingly remote notions from different disciplines and concludes that creative entrepreneurs as a special group of entrepreneurs influence other people in their operational settings. These settings are culturally stimulating and provocative. Creative entrepreneurs change people’s way of thinking through their intrinsic attributes and nature of the creative industries.

Community pharmacy dispensing of prescription medicine sample packs: Changing the business of medicine initiation?

Prescription medicine samples (or starter packs) are provided by pharmaceutical manufacturers to prescribing doctors as one component in the suite of marketing products used to convince them to prescribe a particular medicine [1,2]. Samples are generally newer, more expensive treatment options still covered by patent [3,4]. Safe, effective, judicious and appropriate medicine use (quality use of medicines) [5] could be enhanced by involving community pharmacists in the dispensing of starter packs. Doctors who use samples show a trend towards prescribing more expensive medicines overall [6] and also prescribe more medicines [7]. Cardiovascular health and mental health are Australian National Health Priority Areas [8] and account for approximately 30% and 17%, respectively, of annual government Pharmaceutical Benefits System (PBS) in 2006 [9]. The PBS is Australia's universal prescription subsidy scheme [9]. Antihypertensives were a major contributor to the estimated 80 000 medicine-related hospital admissions in Australia in 1999 [10] and also internationally [11,12]. The aim of this study was to pilot an alternative model for supply of free sample or starter packs of prescription medicines and ascertain if it is a viable model in daily practice.

Defining entertainment : an approach

Entertainment is a key cultural category. Yet the definition of entertainment can differ depending upon whom one asks. This article maps out understandings of entertainment in three key areas. Within industrial discourses, entertainment is defined by a commercial business model. Within evaluative discourses used by consumers and critics, it is understood through an aesthetic system that privileges emotional engagement, story, speed and vulgarity. Within academia, entertainment has not been a key organizing concept within the humanities, despite the fact that it is one of the central categories used by producers and consumers of culture. It has been important within psychology, where entertainment is understood in a solipsistic sense as being anything that an individual finds entertaining. Synthesizing these approaches, the authors propose a cross-sectoral definition of entertainment as ‘audience-centred commercial culture’.

The waves in business transformation management: a conceptualization of how IT-enabled Business Transformations Unfold

We examine IT-enabled Business Transformations (ITBT) based on three case studies of successful, multi-year ERP implementation programs. Given the inconsistencies in segmenting the different key periods in ITBTs in both literature and our cases, we sought to consolidate the common events or critical incidents in such initiatives. We label those key periods as waves, and the emergence of triggers and reactions thereunto in the management of business transformations. We show that business transformations unfold in four distinct waves: Wave 1 Concept Development, Wave 2 Blueprint Design, Wave 3 Solution Delivery and Wave 4 Post-Transformation. These waves are characterized by the occurrence of strategic- and program-level triggers to which organizations respond by invoking different management services. Our interpretive research provides a new conceptualization of ITBTs based on a service-oriented view of such initiatives. This view draws attention to managerial capabilities as a service to transformations, and how and when these capabilities are required to respond to triggering incidents. We outline propositions and recommendations for business transformation management.

Standard business reporting in Australia : efficiency, effectiveness, or both?

The benefits of using eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) as a business reporting standard have been widely canvassed in the extant literature, in particular, as the enabling technology for standard business reporting tools. One of the key benefits noted is the ability of standard business reporting to create significant efficiencies in the regulatory reporting process. Efficiency-driven cost reductions are highly desirable by data and report producers. However, they may not have the same potential to create long-term firm value as improved effectiveness of decision making. This study assesses the perceptions of Australian business stakeholders in relation to the benefits of the Australian standard business reporting instantiation (SBR) for financial reporting. These perceptions were drawn from interviews of persons knowledgeable in XBRL-based standard business reporting and submissions to Treasury relative to SBR reporting options. The combination of interviews and submissions permit insights into the views of various groups of stakeholders in relation to the potential benefits. In line with predictions based on a transaction-cost economics perspective, interviewees who primarily came from a data and report-producer background mentioned benefits that centre largely on asset specificity and efficiency. The interviewees who principally came from a data and report-consumer background mentioned benefits that centre on reducing decision-making uncertainty and decision-making effectiveness. The data and report consumers also took a broader view of the benefits of SBR to the financial reporting supply chain. Our research suggests that advocates of SBR have successfully promoted its efficiency benefits to potential users. However, the effectiveness benefits of SBR, for example, the decision-making benefits offered to investors via standardised reports, while becoming more broadly acknowledged, remain not a priority for all stakeholders.

Detecting approximate clones in business process model repositories

Empirical evidence shows that repositories of business process models used in industrial practice contain significant amounts of duplication. This duplication arises for example when the repository covers multiple variants of the same processes or due to copy-pasting. Previous work has addressed the problem of efficiently retrieving exact clones that can be refactored into shared subprocess models. This article studies the broader problem of approximate clone detection in process models. The article proposes techniques for detecting clusters of approximate clones based on two well-known clustering algorithms: DBSCAN and Hi- erarchical Agglomerative Clustering (HAC). The article also defines a measure of standardizability of an approximate clone cluster, meaning the potential benefit of replacing the approximate clones with a single standardized subprocess. Experiments show that both techniques, in conjunction with the proposed standardizability measure, accurately retrieve clusters of approximate clones that originate from copy-pasting followed by independent modifications to the copied fragments. Additional experiments show that both techniques produce clusters that match those produced by human subjects and that are perceived to be standardizable.

How small business advisory program delivery methods (collective learning, tailored, and practice-based approaches) affect learning and innovation

Past studies relate small business advisory program effectiveness to advisory characteristics such as advisory intensity and scope. We contribute to existing literature by seeking to identify the impact of different advisory program methods of delivery on learning and subsequent firm innovation behavior. Our research is based on a survey of 257 Australian firms completing small business advisory programs in the three years preceding the research. We explore the range of small business advisory program delivery methods in which our surveyed firms participated and, with reference to the literature on organizational learning and innovation, we analyze predictors of firms' learning ability and innovativeness based on the identified delivery methods. First, we found that business advisory programs that involved high levels of collective learning and tailored approaches enhanced firms' perceptions of their learning of critical skills or capabilities. We also found that small business advisory programs that were delivered by using practice-based approaches enhanced firms' subsequent organizational innovation. We verified this finding by testing whether firms that have participated in small business advisory services subsequently demonstrate improved behavior in terms of organizational innovativeness, when compared with matched firms that have not participated in an advisory program.

Peripheral, central and coercive routes for promoting Enterprise Social Networks

Organisations employ Enterprise Social Networks (ESNs) (such as Yammer) expecting better intra-organisational communication and collaboration. However, ESNs are struggling to gain momentum and wide adoption among users. Promoting user participation is a challenge, particularly in relation to lurkers – the silent ESN members who do not contribute any content. Building on behaviour change research, we propose a three-route model consisting of the central, peripheral and coercive routes of influence that depict users’ cognitive strategies, and we examine how management interventions (e.g. sending promotional emails) impact users’ beliefs and (consequent) posting and lurking behaviours in ESNs. Furthermore, we identify users’ salient motivations to lurk or post. We employ a multi-method research design to conceptualise, operationalise and validate the research model. This study has implications for academics and practitioners regarding the nature, patterns and outcomes of management interventions in prompting ESN.