The West Midlands Automotive Industry:The Road Downhill

This paper examines how the structure of the automotive industry in the West Midlands has changed since the 1970s. In the early 1970s the West Midlands accounted for circa 60 per cent of total car production in the UK. By 2008, this had dwindled to 18 per cent. The discussion here will focus particularly on the most likely reasons for the decline in volume production and the region’s increasing reliance on relatively small scale luxury car production. The automotive industry was caught up in the general de-industrialisation that took place in the region since the mid 1960s prior to the economic crisis of the early 1980s, as well as suffering from the effects of increasing globalization in the car industry itself. By 2008 the context for the sector had become the global financial crisis. Due to a lack of economies of scale and investment the domestic firms such as British Leyland and Rootes became increasingly unable to compete in the market place despite restructuring and government intervention. Similarly foreign direct investment by firms such as Chrysler, Peugeot, BMW and Ford through a series of takeovers failed to restore prosperity and eventually all of them withdrew from the region. The outcomes have led to factory closures and a hollowing out of both the assembly and component sides of the industry, leaving the region heavily dependent on Jaguar-Land Rover which has been acquired recently by the Indian conglomerate, Tata. This paper assesses the reasons for the decline of the automotive sector in the West Midlands region by contextualizing its growth and decline against that of the UK auto sector as a whole. Considerable emphasis is placed on the fates of a number of key firms in the region – the British Leyland Motor Corporation, MG Rover, Rootes and Jaguar – with explanations offered for their decline

By design : negotiating flexible learning in the built environment discipline

The term ‘flexible education’ is now firmly entrenched within Australian higher education discourse, yet the term is a contested one imbued with a multiplicity of meanings. This paper describes a process designed to elucidate how the idea of flexible education can be translated into teaching models that are informed by the specific demands of disciplinary contexts. The process uses a flexible learning ‘matching’ tool to articulate the understandings and preferences of students and academics of the Built Environment to bridge the gap between student expectations of flexibility and their teacher’s willingness and ability to provide that flexibility within the limits of the pedagogical context and teaching resources. The findings suggest an informed starting point for educators in the Built Environment and other creative disciplines from which to traverse the complexities inherent in negotiating flexibility in an increasingly digital world

Studies of resonantly produced plasmas in the H-1NF heliac using a far-infrared scanning interferometer

The H-1NF heliac regularly operates using the ion cyclotron range of frequencies at 0.5 T to produce plasmas with a mixture of hydrogen and helium gases. Due to the complex three-dimensional structure of the magnetic fluxsurfaces, these plasmas require sophisticated diagnostic systems, with good spatial coverage, to extract meaningful physical information. This article presents a study of the dependence of the plasma density profile on resonant heating conditions and magnetic configuration, using a far-infrared scanning interferometer. Recent modifications to the system and data that illustrate the performance of the interferometer will be discussed

Maximising Social Interactions and Effectiveness within Distance Learning Courses: Cases from Construction

Advanced Internet technologies have revolutionised the delivery of distance learning education. As a result, the physical proximity between learners and the learning providers has become less important. However, whilst the pervasiveness of these technological developments has reached unprecedented levels, critics argue that the student learning experience is still not as effective as conventional face-to-face delivery. In this regard, surveys of distance learning courses reveal that there is often a lack of social interaction attributed to this method of delivery, which tends to leave learners feeling isolated due to a lack of engagement, direction, guidance and support by the tutor. This paper defines and conceptualises this phenomenon by investigating the extent to which distance-learning programmes provide the social interactions of an equivalent traditional classroom setting. In this respect, two distance learning case studies were investigated, covering the UK and Slovenian markets respectively. Research findings identified that delivery success is strongly dependent on the particular context to which the specific distance learning course is designed, structured and augmented. It is therefore recommended that designers of distance learning courses should balance the tensions and nuances associated with commercial viability and pedagogic effectiveness

Cyprus' image—a sun and sea destination—as a detrimental factor to seasonal fluctuations. Exploration into motivational factors for holidaying in Cyprus

Cyprus is established as a summer destination. To aid the destination in developing its winter season as well, this research uses a qualitative inductive approach to explore the tourists’ current image of the island and their motivations of visiting it. The research indicates that the current image, which essentially portrays Cyprus as a sun-and-sea destination is thought to dissuade tourists from perceiving the island as a year-round destination. Nonetheless, increasing the pull factors of the destination through the development of unique special interest products can help in extending the tourism season as well as broaden its narrow image

Determinants of voluntary audit and voluntary full accounts in micro- and non-micro small companies in the UK

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Accounting and Business Research, 42(4), 441 - 468, 2012, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00014788.2012.667969.This study investigates the link between the auditing and filing choices made by a sample of 592 small private companies, which includes 419 micro-companies. It examines decisions made in connection with the 2006 accounts following UK's adoption of the maximum EU size thresholds in 2004, and the impact of the proposed Directive on the annual accounts of micro-companies. The research extends the model of cost, management and agency factors associated with voluntary audit, and develops a complementary model for voluntary full accounts. The results show the benefits of placing full audited accounts on public record that outweigh the costs for a significant proportion of companies. In non-micro small companies, voluntary audit is determined by cost and agency factors, whereas in micro-companies it is driven by cost, management and agency factors. In both groups, the predictors of voluntary full accounts include management and agency factors, and choosing voluntary audit is one of the key factors. The study provides models that can be tested in other jurisdictions to provide evidence of the needs of micro-companies, and the discussion of the methodological challenges for small company researchers in the UK makes further contribution to the literature

Universal Rights and Wrongs

This paper argues for the important role of customers as a source of competitive advantage and firm growth, an issue which has been largely neglected in the resource-based view of the firm. It conceptualizes Penrose’s (1959) notion of an ‘inside track’ and illustrates how in-depth knowledge about established customers combines with joint problem-solving activities and the rapid assimilation of new and previously unexploited skills and resources. It is suggested that the inside track represents a distinct and perhaps underestimated way of generating rents and securing long-term growth. This also implies that the sources of sustainable competitive advantage in important respects can be sought in idiosyncratic interfirm relationships rather than within the firm itself

An integrative framework of preemption strategies

Pre-print; author's draftThis paper performs a review of the various pre-emption strategies prescribed in the economics literature. These are cost superiority, consumers' switching cost, channel exclusivity, environmental barriers of entry and credible commitment to react aggressively. Through our analysis, we develop an integrative framework of the pre-emption strategies that will result in long-term payoffs to the firm. The framework proposes that there are two key dimensions—strategic advantage and strategic focus—and identify five generic types of pre-emption strategies for market incumbents. These are the switching cost, blockade, credible commitment, tie-up, and cost leadership strategies. The pre-emption strategies and the framework presented can assist managerial decision-making for the successful pre-emption of potential competition to complement their existing efforts

Ability-based view in action: a software corporation study

This research investigates antecedents, developments and consequences of dynamic capabilities in an organization. It contributes by searching theoretical and empirical answers to the questions: (a) What are the antecedents which can provide an organization with dynamic and ordinary capabilities?; (b) How do these antecedents contribute to create capabilities in an organization?; (c) How do they affect an organization's competitive advantage?; (d) Can we assess and measure the antecedents and consequences to an organization? From a first (theoretical) perspective, this paper searches answers to the first, second and third questions by reviewing concepts of an ability-based view of organizations that involves the abilities of cognition, intelligence, autonomy, learning and knowledge management, and which contributes to explain the dynamic behavior of the firm in the pursuit of competitive advantage. From a second (empirical) perspective, this paper reinforces and delivers findings to the second, third and fourth questions by presenting a case study that evidences the ability-based view in action in a software corporation, where it contributes by investigating: (a) the development of organizational capabilities; (b) the effects of the new capabilities on the organization; and (c) the assessment and measurement of the abilities and consequences

Content and Feedback Analysis of YouTube Videos: Football Clubs and Fans as Brand Communities

The use of Web 2.0 tools has been transforming the interaction between companies and their clients, especially for those that are selling emotional products. Consumers are generating and sharing contents concerning their favourite products on the web. Even if this process has been widely acknowledged, only a few studies have been specifically devoted to the analysis of both the contents and the feedback the consumers receive from other users. This article analyzes the online presence of sport brands through contents that are generated by sport clubs (official contents) and their fans (User Generated Content, UGC) on YouTube. After a description and classification of video contents, it examines the factors that influence the performance of the videos in terms of passive (videos views) and active behaviour (any kinds of interaction with videos) among the viewers. In order to carry out this analysis, 125 YouTube channels were considered thereby accounting for a total of 375 videos. Results show that official contents are those preferred by the users/consumers and that if the video displays a passive/purely informative content, the chance of getting an active behaviour from the users tends to decrease. These findings may help companies manage their online presence, creating awareness about contents and information that should be spread and shared on the web