Thoralf Dassler

Composing a database of minority enterprises in Scotland: a discussion based on the concept of mixed embeddedness.

Purpose – To address the issue of the low take‐up of available ethnic business support the article proposes the composition of a database for Scotland, thereby providing baseline data on minority businesses and hence providing a sampling frame for future research. The database will hold the following information: name and gender of the business owner, sector, location, number of employees as an indicator of company size, generation, the year in which the business was established, as well as the legal form of ownership of businesses.Design/methodology/approach – The database draws from the concept of mixed embeddedness as well as the political agenda of the Scottish Executive for the sector. Data sources used are commercial databases, the Yellow Pages of Scotland, local business registers across Scotland, a telephone survey and personal contact/networking with businesses.Findings – In order to facilitate the composition of a Scottish database of minority businesses, this article has looked at existing theo...

The Significance of Marx's Value for Strategy Theory: Competitive Advantage and the Issue of Tautology within the Resource-Based View of the Firm

Marxian thinking following the TSSI (temporal single system interpretation) of Marx’s work is applied to refute the allegation of a tautology in the resource-based view of the firm, paired with the provision of an explanation of how and why resources create value, where resources are synonymous with Marx’s categories of constant and variable capital. Refuting the allegation naturally leads to the Holy Grail of resource-based thinking: the question of what, conceptually, constitutes a firm’s competitive advantage within the industry context. This article achieves its objectives by tying the resource-based view into Marx’s theory of value.

Performance Benchmarking in Utility Regulation: Principles and the UK’s Experience

Michael Crew and David Parker have compiled a comprehensive, up-to-date and detailed analytical work on leading research issues in the economics of regulation. With contributions from international specialists in economic regulation, the Handbook provides a comprehensive discussion of major developments in both the theory and practice of regulatory economics. This book will be an indispensable source for both students and practitioners of regulation.