Bella Butler

Neo‐liberalism, risk and regional development in Western Australia: The case of the Pilbara

Purpose – This paper aims to present the case of the Pilbara as an illustration of how neo‐liberalism and globalisation affect a natural resource region.Design/methodology/approach – A primary data set was collected by interviewing 21 people who had an interest in the development of the Pilbara. Secondary data was collected from relevant government policy documents and media reports relating to the region. Qualitative analysis techniques were used to analyse the data.Findings – It is found that neo‐liberal policy has had a profound and largely negative effect on Pilbara communities. Rather than reaping the benefits of the wealth being generated in the region, participants in this research experience social breakdown and unmet social needs, and the local democratic institutions are weak and ineffective. Research limitations/implications – This paper reports on a single case and is limited in terms of its generalisability. However, it does illustrate the value of the “Resource Curse Thesis” and the concept ...

Modelling the Impact of Environmental and Organizational Determinants on Green Supply Chain Innovation and Performance

ABSTRACT Both customers and suppliers are becoming increasingly concerned about environmental issues in modern food chains. A firm’s decision to implement green supply chain management is based on the social objectives of the firm and its management, its desire to pursue corporate social responsibility, its relationships with channel partners, and environmental determinants such as government legislation. The speed at which green supply chain management is implemented within an organization depends on its agility and its ability to facilitate innovation. Innovation may take the form of new product development or new process development, including the introduction of environmental management systems and total quality management in both production and purchasing. This article presents a conceptual model to explain how the various theoretical constructs are related and how innovation effects green supply chain management and performance.

Regional development and global capitalism: the case of the Pilbara, Western Australia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the Pilbara as an illustrative case study of some of the tension that arises out of a largely unmediated engagement of regional communities with neo‐liberal globalisation and to demonstrate the usefulness of Harveys general matrix of spatialities as an analytical framework for examining such phenomena.Design/methodology/approach – In deploying Harveys matrix, attention is focused on one key intersection where tensions between differing perspectives and representations of regional development in the Pilbara are best conceptualised. These tensions are examined using qualitative data collected from 21 semi‐structured in‐depth interviews and policy documents from state and federal governments.Findings – The analysis indicates that there are various and sometimes conflicting values and perceptions about the effects of occupying one of the “spaces of global capitalism”. This is most evident in that while the extensive natural resources located in the region ge...

How does top management team composition matter for continual growth? Reinvestigating Penrose’s growth theory through the lens of upper echelons theory

Penrose’s argument regarding the managerial constraint on continual expansion over two consecutive periods is termed the “Penrose effect,” a relatively less investigated premise in Penrose’s growth theory. The purpose of this paper is to empirically re-examine the Penrose effect from the perspective of upper echelons theory and investigated how top management team (TMT) composition influences the continual growth of a firm.,This study empirically tested the hypotheses based on a sample of listed manufacturing firms operating in Taiwan, a newly industrialized economy in the Asia–Pacific region. Moderated hierarchical regression analyses were applied to test hypotheses.,The empirical results suggest that low TMT diversity (in terms of educational, functional and team tenure diversity) is likely to engender a situation in which the Penrose effect might occur. Additionally, the results indicate that the proportion of functional executives plays a significant role in influencing the growth trend over two consecutive periods and may soften the impact of the Penrose effect.,This paper suggests that appropriate structuring of TMTs and appropriate management of their members’ backgrounds and team tenure diversity can help firms overcome the Penrose effect and grow continually. Furthermore, the proportion of functional executives in a TMT is influential.,This paper uniquely contributes to the theoretical and empirical development of Penrose’s growth theory, upper echelons theory and resource-based view concerning managerial resources.