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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the impacts of the ongoing freight market deregulation in the European Union (EU). Specifically, this case study focuses on cabotage penetration rates in Germany, the largest logistics market in Europe. In light of the upcoming trade barriers, we intend to move this topic forward by emphasising its interdisciplinary nature.Design/methodology/approachBased on the analysis of Eurostat data, expert interviews and a review of related literature, we elaborate and discuss four propositions related to the factors affecting cabotage penetration, future cabotage levels and the effects on modal split and empty runs.FindingsWe found that cabotage in Germany plays a more important role than officially reported and has increased drastically since 2008. Given our analysis, increased cabotage penetration seems to thwart efforts within the EU to promote a modal shift from road to rail and increased national empty runs are the future outcome of current regulations. In Germany, the cabotage share is likely to reach 16% in the next five years.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper highlights the need for incorporating a more contextual understanding in freight carrier selection theory development in general as well as country-specific investigations in particular.Practical implicationsLogistics managers and policymakers looking at future strategies are advised to take the ongoing deregulation trend into consideration. European freight movement using cabotage operators may represent significant cost savings; however, these cost savings come at an environmental and social sustainability price as the modal shift to rail and fill rates suffer.Originality/valueThis paper represents an empirical and unbiased point of view, in contrast to the reports of the European Commission (pro-deregulation) or the reports of the haulage associations and labour unions (anti-deregulation).

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how organizations operate in the absence of a clear regulatory authority in a self-regulating environment. Significant moves towards self-regulation by various political administrations, together with successive waves of deregulation raise questions about the ability and effectiveness of industries and markets to regulate their own behaviour. This is a topical political and social concern with governments often appearing to favour self-regulation as opposed to the constitution of an official regulator. The absence of a regulator and the possibility of voluntary compliance raise a number of issues for the way in which organizations operate and the consequences, both intended and otherwise for organizations and society at large. Design/methodology/approach Empirically the authors explore the case of an industry leader within the Passive Fire Protection industry, as it adjusts to an increasingly self-regulated market environment. The authors document how organizational members make sense of the regulatory environment and the behaviour of actors within it. Findings The authors find that discourses of enterprise that underpin self-regulation permit actors a choice between compliance and non-compliance. Whilst also noting the prevalence of notions of morality in terms of how actors make sense of both compliant and non-compliant behaviour. Despite common sense notions that morality is seldom clear cut or unambiguous, the case study reveals that frameworks for understanding behaviour allow participants within the industry to make very clear demarcations between moral (compliant) and amoral (non-compliant) behaviour. Originality/value The authors learn how those that are compliant within the industry come to question the effectiveness of the regime to which they comply, thus ultimately undermining the integrity of the regime. In the absence of a strong regulatory regime, some agents draw upon notions of enterprise to justify an individualist, economic and pragmatic approach that makes non-compliance permissible. Thus the discourse of enterprise is present in the justification of both “moral” and “amoral” behaviour, this leads the authors to question the wisdom of policy that promotes the idea of enterprise as effectively ensuring compliance.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the effect of deregulation of government securities market on the cost of market borrowing of 14 major states in India.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical models explaining changes in interest rates on market borrowings of the Indian states under consideration are tested. The stability of the empirical relationships are then evaluated using structural breakpoint tests conducted around known periods of deregulation in the government securities market.FindingsThe stability tests clearly pointed to difference in the dynamics of market borrowing rates pre and post deregulation for overwhelming majority of the states in the sample.Research limitations/implicationsThe question pertaining to whether government securities market deregulation reduced or raised states' market borrowing rates is left unaddressed in the current study.Originality/valueAn empirical assessment of the effects of deregulation of the government securities market on the cost of states' borrowing in India is imperative considering the key role played by them in the provision of various public services. The data set created to conduct such an analysis is unique and has the potential to uncover more interesting features about state‐level borrowing in India.

PurposeThe paper aims to use a neoliberal ideology to frame an analysis of how the power of ideas can be used to maintain a failed corporate governance model based on stockholder primacy.Design/methodology/approachThe paper employs the concept of corporate hegemony to provide an understanding of the conditioning environment in the USA in the 1990s. It examines the tactics that neoliberals used to gain consensus for their ideology and to skillfully deflect criticism in the face of significant policy failures that have had a global impact.FindingsThe paper highlights the power of ideology to create a desired outcome. It finds that Sarbanes‐Oxley represented a neoliberal victory in that it legitimated shareholder primacy and continued use of a failed corporate governance model.Practical implicationsSarbanes‐Oxley did not address the systemic problems associated with deregulation; it will not resolve the basic problem of how to prevent corporate malfeasance in an economic environment that rewards arbitrage capitalism, high risk and a focus on short‐term profits.Originality/valueIf shareholder primacy weakens accountability, as the paper suggests, then accounting researchers need to develop models that focus on deregulation rather than on regulatory capture and the use of state power to promote private interests. Accounting academics need to assume the role of public intellectuals and to reject Milton Friedman's focus on negative freedom as the sole objective of economic activity and examine economic well being in terms of positive freedom.

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to analyze how deregulation affects different stakeholder groups, such as customers, employees, suppliers, creditors, the community and the environment. A distinction has been made between industries with and without network structures.Design/methodology/approachThe approach is based on literature review in order to formulate propositions.FindingsDeregulation has not always benefited the stakeholder groups analyzed. Consumers and employees have been able to profited from new entries, but the effect on prices and wages, respectively, is not always conclusive. Suppliers can increase their negotiating power, but on the other hand, creditors might find it difficult to get loans repaid. Deregulation in itself does not affect the environment, nor the ethical behavior of the firm.Originality/valueThis study provides an insight on how deregulation affects different stakeholder groups. The regulator can benefit from the findings in order to improve the methods of deregulation. Particularly, deregulation of industries with network structures, such as electricity, natural gas, telecommunications give rise to some specific problems pointed out in the study, which the regulator ought to take into account. Consequences in other industries are also mentioned, which can help the regulator avoid errors made in the past.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a historical account of the May 1985 spread spectrum FCC decision.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a case study giving a first‐person account of decision making at the FCC in 1985.FindingsThe May 1985 decision did not start as an attempt to bring specific products to market, but as part of a program to remove anachronistic technical regulations and allow a free market in innovative technology, subject only to responsible interference limits.Research limitations/implicationsResearch limitations encompass typical limitations of a narrow case study of a historical event.Practical implicationsThe paper guides future decision making in telecommunications policy.Originality/valueThe paper reflects the path of deregulation in the 1980s resulting in widespread product innovation in the twenty‐first century.

Despite improved employment performance across the OECD in the late 1990s, unemployment remains a key issue for analysis and debate among policy makers. This paper outlines the experience and developing policy of “New Labour” in the UK, the philosophy of the “Third Way” associated with it and arguments advanced to persuade Australian policy makers to follow a similar course. In opposition to these attempts, the paper argues that “deregulation”, to the extent that it is associated with neoliberal ideology and incorporated also into the Third Way, is not suited to the Australian situation. The paper concludes with an analysis of the current interest in Third Way policies on the part of the Australian Labor Party, in particular the proposed introduction of “tax credits” for low‐paid workers. It suggests that this approach will compromise opposition to the strategy currently being pursued by the conservative Coalition Government, and will undermine the prospects of the Labor Party at the next election.

Regulation in its broader sense, means the imposition of restrictions on the various sectors of an economy. For example, prior to 1986, regulatory controls were the main approach to macroeconomic management in Nigeria. On the contrary, deregulation aims at the removal of controls, thereby enhancing competition and efficiency in the allocation of resources in the economy. Since 1987, deregulation has been the central framework for macroeconomic management in Nigeria. It is often argued that deregulation is associated with high levels of unemployment. Thus, analyses developments in the Nigerian labour market during the period, 1980‐93. Available data show that Nigeria’s unemployment rate declined marginally under deregulation as opposed to regulation. Despite this development, unemployment still remains a critical issue in Nigeria today. Also shows that even industrial relations deteriorated under regulatory controls. Consequently, concludes that the labour market in Nigeria did stabilize in the period 1987‐93, as opposed to the period 1980‐86.

Deregulation in Australia has had adverse effects on the income of those at the bottom end of the income distribution. Over the 1980s the share in private income of the top quintile rose and that of every other quintile fell. Except in the case of couples without children, the average real private income of the bottom quintile fell for every category of income unit. This increasing inequality seems to have been due to deregulation, not to the effects of technological change, and the increasing integration of the Australian economy into the world economy. One of the effects of deregulation has been an increase in unemployment. Policies to reverse this and to offset other adverse effects of deregulation are necessary. Increased levels of taxation will be required to finance them.

This paper outlines the first part of a longitudinal study exploring strategic alliances as central mechanisms of inter‐firm cooperation in the Australian telecommunications sector. It reports on the collaboration practices of the three carriers – Telecom, Optus and Vodafone – and their first‐tier “partners”. The Australian telecommunications industry is a useful site for theory testing and development because of its degree of business concentration, the strategic relationships and networks involved and the role of government in encouraging alliances and networks, especially since the move away from a single government‐owned monopoly‐carrier environment. The recent proliferation of interorganisational alliances means we need new approaches to understanding and a move away from simple assumptions about complex organizational structures and processes. Neither is the current superficial rhetoric promoting such arrangements as the answer to industry ills adequate. Conseqently, the present study aims to enhance more complex understanding of how such structural arrangements actually work – how they are formed, organized and managed over time. The study methodology centres on analysis of research and in‐depth interviews with key industry and government executives. Proposed extensions of the present work involve a detailed communications industry survey and network analysis of relationships, with a special focus on relationships growing in the convergence of the telecommunications, entertainment, computing and media industries. When quotations from study participants are used, sources are generally not acknowledged in an endeavour to keep as much anonymity as possible.

The consequences of the EEC′s deregulation policy are examined from the perspective of a law enforcement officer. Changes need to be made to ensure fairness to all parties concerned.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the level and forms of advertising in the French telecommunications sector between 1952 and 2002 in order to understand the transformation of the leading organization in the sector and its succesful adoption of increasingly sophisticated practices. The context of increased market orientation is examined to investigate how such practices emerge. Design/methodology/approach Extensive historical study of primary source material and secondary sources was conducted to develop acomparison of three eras. For each era, major changes in relation to advertising and promotional practices are identified along with key contextual elements to understand the relative importance of internal or external influences on the adoption of market-oriented practices. Findings Initially, advertising and promotional practices studied were introduced gradually within the state-run organization (1952–1973). They subsequently became increasingly important and systematic (1974–1985) before finally becoming those of a modern organization (1986–2002) in the competitive sphere. In addition to single institutional messages aimed at either consumer or business markets, more abstract forms of communication were used over time and publicity was increasingly targeted at different segments.The French telecommunications sector was aware of the necessity to engage in advertising and promotional activities prior to the existence of competition in its main consumer market. Adoption of such customer-oriented practices was more pronounced initially in the business segment. Advertising and promotional activities to consumers became increasingly significant as the administration modernized and developed innovative services. This growth in promotion and in its sophistication accelerated within the new competitive environment following deregulation and, in particular, with the growth of the mobile sector. Both the external environment and internal organizational transformations thus need to be taken into account when analyzing growing adoption of advertising and promotion. Originality/value This systematic study of the introduction of advertising and promotional practices in the French telecommunications sector highlights how public organizations can introduce practices linked to market orientation. In the organization studied, the fact that increased advertising and promotional activity was driven by organizational transformation in the second of the three eras studied indicates the importance of investigating internal influences and external factors such as competition.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess whether oil price shocks emanating from oil price increase and decrease have a different impact on the macroeconomic activity. Design/methodology/approach This study conducts the empirical analysis using structural vector auto-regressive model on Indian data for the period from 1996 to 2017. This paper uses four key macroeconomic variables, namely, real gross domestic product (GDP), the real rate of interest, real money supply, wholesale price index inflation and various linear and non-linear measures of oil price shock. Findings Empirical results confirm that oil price shock has a significant impact on various macroeconomic variables used in the study. Specifically, shocks emanating from a decline in oil price have a stronger positive impact on real GDP, whereas, a shock due to the rise in oil price has a weaker negative impact on real GDP. Impulse responses confirm that shocks due to a decline in oil prices are long-lasting compared to similar shocks due to a rise in oil prices. Therefore, this study concludes that the macroeconomic impact of oil price shock is asymmetric in India. Originality/value This paper adds the following new insights: First, this paper presents a distinct relationship between the growth rate of oil price and GDP during increasing and decreasing phases of oil price to drive home the case for this study. Second, India has adopted crucial administrative initiatives such as deregulation of the market for petroleum products and the promotion of renewable energy during the study period. Finally, previous studies have revealed specific behavioral and economic features of people in India with respect to the demand for petroleum products. In light of these factors, this paper based on Indian experience would be justified.

PurposeThis case study highlights state-logic influence on hybrid organizations and institutionally complex environments through acts of regulation (and deregulation).Design/methodology/approachThis study presents a 30-year narrative case focused on the significant social achievements of the Bonneville Power Administration within the Northwest United States. It combines the analysis of historical documentation, annual reports issued by the organization and interviews with firm management to observe the wax and wane of regulatory influence through time.FindingsThe presented case suggests two ways regulation projects state-logic influence onto hybrid organizations. First, it imposes a “floor” level of baseline social activity that must be met despite pressure from market logic stakeholders. Second, it imposes formal administrative procedures that require interaction with, and often approval from, key social stakeholders. Administrative procedures provide a series of public forums used to promote additional social resource allocation in excess of baseline regulatory mandates.Research limitations/implicationsA narrative case covering a 30-year period will by necessity have to prioritize breadth of analysis over depth. This is a limitation of the analysis presented, but it also provides an opportunity to observe the oscillating impact of state and market-logic influence through time.Originality/valueThe study findings have several implications for the growing accounting literature on institutional complexity and hybrid organization. First, the authors highlight the ways regulation shapes institutionally complex spaces and, as a result, the hybrid organizations formed within those environments. Second, the exogenous nature of regulatory mandates indicate hybrid firms could emerge as both a voluntary and an involuntary adaptation to institutionally complex environments. Finally, this study highlights opportunities to further one’s understanding how state logics influence hybrid organizations through the study of state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the methods of teaching about the global financial crisis (GFC) from a social economic perspective. Using primary texts from the history of economic thought, the moral underpinnings for collective social action are examined in times of economic depression. The deregulation of financial markets raises two questions: to what extent is deregulation the result of a misunderstanding about human nature and the behavioral lessons of social economics; and to what extend does deregulation ignore the moral lessons of Adam Smith’s invisible hand? Design/methodology/approach By reading sources including Mandeville, Smith, Keynes, Hayek and others, students form conclusions about the strengths and weaknesses of government interventions, both to fix, and to prevent, major recessions and depressions. Findings Two fallacies relating to financial market deregulation are that “greed is good” and that rational actors in the market will self-regulate leading to widespread prosperity. These moral beliefs supported financial liberalization, and ultimately contributed to financial institutions taking on enormous risks and losses that are ultimately socialized. Originality/value This paper innovatively uses readings from the history of economic thought to spark pedagogical discussions and debates about human nature and policymaking relevant to the GFC.

PurposeThis study explores how the firm’s proprietary information has an impact on the bank loan contracts. It explains the propensity of using the competitive bid option (CBO) in the syndicate loans to solicit the best bid for innovative firms and how it changes based on industry competition and the degree of innovations. This research also examines how the interstate banking deregulation (Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act) in 1994 affected the private loan contracts for innovative borrowers.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses various econometric analyses. First, it uses the propensity score matching analysis to see the impact of patents on pricing terms. Second, it uses the two-stage least square (2SLS) analysis by implementing the litigation and non-NYSE variables. Finally, it studies the impact of the policy change of the Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994 on the bank loan contracts.FindingsFirms with more proprietary information pays more annual facility fees but less other fees. The patents are the primary determinants of the usage of CBO in the syndicate loans to solicit the best bid. While innovative firms can have better contract conditions by the CBO, firms with more proprietary information will less likely to use the CBO option to minimize the leakage of private information and the severe monitoring from the banks. Finally, more proprietary information lowered the loan spread for firms dependent on the external capital after the interstate banking deregulation.Originality/valueThe findings of this research will help senior executives with responsibility for financing their innovative projects. In addition, these findings should prove helpful for the lawmakers to boost economies.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between bank diversity and small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) firm innovation in China to evaluate the impact of recent bank deregulation. Design/methodology/approach Using a large data set that includes 8,143 firm-year observations of 1,122 listed SME firms in China and baseline and robustness regression analyses, the authors identify how bank diversity affects firm innovation and via what economic mechanisms. Potential endogeneity problems are considered and addressed in the design and analysis to minimize research bias. Findings The authors find robust evidence that bank diversity improves firm innovation. Specifically, the findings suggest that the positive effects of bank diversity on firm innovation are only significant for the firms which are more external finance dependent, have fewer growth opportunities and/or located in the provinces having low financial market development. Originality/value This study provides novel evidence and insights into the relationship between banking market structure and the determinants of firm innovation in the Chinese context, as a result of China’s banking deregulation.

Purpose The primary aim of revenue management (RM) is to sell the right product to the right customer at the right time for the right price. Ever since the deregulation of US airline industry, and the emergence of the internet as a distribution channel, RM has come of age. The purpose of this paper is to map out ten turning points in the evolution of Revenue Management taking an historical perspective. Design/methodology/approach The paper is a chronological account based upon published research and literature fundamentally drawn from the Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management. Findings The significance and success to RM is attributed to the following turning points: Littlewood’s rule, Expected Marginal Seat Revenue, deregulation of the US air industry, single leg to origin and destination RM, the use of family fares, technological advancement, low-cost carriers, dynamic pricing, consumer and price transparency and pricing capabilities in organizations. Originality/value The originality of the paper lies in identifying the core trends or turning points that have shaped the development of RM thus assisting futurists or forecasters to shape the future.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to challenge the default portrayal of street trade as an informal occupation and spatial practice, by examining comparatively the changes in the regulatory frameworks of two politically distinct city administrations in Latin America since the introduction of the informal economy debate. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws from a comparative case study design to synthesize evidence from historical administrative records, secondary research and materials from a two-year fieldwork carried out in Lima and Bogotá in 2008 and 2009. Findings The author argues that the incorporation of the informal economy framework into local governments’ policymaking has reframed street trade as a subject of policy. Since the 1970s, the author traces a shift from worker-centered initiatives, through the deregulation of street trade, to entrepreneurial-centered approaches. Nowadays, both, Lima’s neoliberal governance focusing on “formalizing” and Bogotá’s socialist/progressive governance aiming at “upgrading” street trade respond more explicitly to distinct assessments about the informal economy – legalist and dualist, respectively. Yet, both cities converge in that the closer street trade is perceived as an informal occupation; the more likely policy initiatives decouple the right to work from the right to access public space, spurring more marginal forms of street vending. Originality/value Even though the informal economy framework has helped to draw attention to important policy issues locally, nationally and internationally, this paper calls for a critical revision of such framing at the local level to allow for inclusive urban governance.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explain why, in spite having a relatively powerful labour movement at the start of the economic transformation, Romania ended up with a highly deregulated system of industrial relations in the aftermath of the global economic crisis of 2009 and with trade unions which seem incapable to defend their interests.Design/methodology/approachThe authors trace the changing role that Romanian trade unions had in national policy making and show that the beginning of 2000s represents a critical point for the power loss sustained by organised labour.FindingsThe authors argue that a key element for explaining labour’s decline is the growing pressure exercised by various international organisations for the adoption of deregulatory labour market reforms. While during the 1990s this pressure was circumvented by successive governments which peddled back and forth between union wage pressure and fiscal austerity measures, beginning with 2000s, EU accession conditionalities coupled with IMF and World Bank policy recommendations enabled the international deregulation agenda to be implemented without much opposition.Originality/valueThe paper brings new evidence on the impact of international actors on the Romanian collective bargaining and labour market institutions.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reveal the formation and development of Slovenia’s neo-corporatist industrial relations system in the 1990s, and its change which overlaps with Slovenia’s accession to the EU and the eurozone. Design/methodology/approach The approach is based on the presumption that the transitional processes engaged in by the societies of “real socialism” were merely part of a larger and deeper transition – the great recommodification of the post-war decommodified societies of European democratic capitalism. Findings Already by the mid-1990s, the Slovenian industrial relations system contained all key features of the neo-corporatist regimes emerging after the Second World War in the European systems of democratic capitalism. Like those systems, in the 1990s Slovenia also saw a system being formed of political exchanges based on wage restraint policy. The combination of this wage policy and appropriate national monetary policy facilitated the Slovenian economy’s competitiveness and above-average growth. Slovenia was a success story. Originality/value The Slovenian system started to change in the middle of the last decade. The trigger of this change was Slovenia’s entry to the eurozone. Since then, Slovenian neo-corporatism has been subject to systematic deregulation. Despite this, the analysis suggests the Slovenian industrial relations system still contains a coordinating mechanism that distinguishes it from other “post-communist”, and, generally speaking, liberal market economies.

Purpose This study aims to identify factors influencing the bank failure rate in the USA over the period from 1970 to 2014 with an emphasis on economic/financial factors on the one hand and on banking legislation on the other hand. Regarding the latter, this study empirically investigates four major banking statutes: the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977; the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991; and the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994. After adopting the technique of generalized method of moments (GMM), a robustness check in the form of autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (ARCH) is undertaken. Overall, the estimations imply that the bank failure rate was a decreasing function of the percentage growth rate of real gross domestic product (GDP) and the real interest rate yields on both three-month US Treasury bills and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages and an increasing function of the real cost of funds. In addition, there is strong evidence that the bank failure rate was increased by provisions in the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 and the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980, whereas the bank failure rate was decreased as a result of provisions in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 and the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994. Finally, there also is evidence that higher federal budget deficits elevated the bank failure rate. Design/methodology/approach After modeling the bank failure rate as a function of financial/economic variables and banking legislation, the times series from 1970 to 2014 is estimated by GMM and then by the ARCH techniques. Findings The results of the GMM and ARCH estimations imply that the bank failure rate in the US was a decreasing function of the percentage growth rate of real GDP as well as the real interest rate yields on both three-month US Treasury bills and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages and an increasing function of the real cost of funds. Furthermore, there is strong empirical support indicating that the bank failure rate was elevated by various provisions in the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 and in the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980, while the bank failure rate was reduced by certain provisions in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 and the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994. There also is evidence that higher federal budget deficits increased the bank failure rate. Originality/value This study is the most contemporary (1970-2014) analysis of potential causes of the bank failure rate in the USA. The study also may be the first to apply the GMM and GARCH models to the problem. Also, some interesting policy implications are provided in the Conclusion.

Purpose To apply path dependence theory and analysis to the regulatory framework for private-rented housing in Britain, especially affecting houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and addressing the increased involvement of the planning system through planning use classes, permitted development rights and Article 4 directions. Design/methodology/approach This paper identifies critical junctures in primary and secondary legislation for housing and planning and analyses individual local authority responses in planning policy documents and tribunal decisions. Findings The rise of the HMO reflects wider changes in society leading to new forms of household and inter-generational inequalities. Local authority discretion and locked-in responses have resulted in different regulatory regimes for housing and planning, recently favouring existing communities of owner-occupiers against HMO residents, seen as transient populations not committed to the neighbourhood. Research limitations/implications Potential for further research on demographics and household formation, and on reviewing planning and appeal decisions involving HMOs. Originality/value The research is apparently the first specifically addressing planning regulation of the HMO from a path dependence perspective, in the context of planning protection of the single-family dwelling house and marginalization of other forms of housing.

Purpose This paper aims to analyse the success of the three main mergers that have taken place in the US airline industry since 2008. Delta and Northwest, then Continental and United and finally US Airways and American Airlines have all tied the corporate knot. This is the latest attempt of the industry to improve profits and to fight off low cost rivals. What then is the current assessment of the three new major airlines? Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings The reforms that began through deregulation under President Carter in the late 1970’s have led to a series of major airline mergers over the past decade. This has certainly improved their profits in the short term and led to a more robust strategic position. None of this though should hide the fact that they have been operating with a major tail wind in the form of falling oil prices. As prices rise again, the airlines will face a sterner test. Practical implications The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Purpose – Although policy makers strengthen the necessity of “deregulation”, discussions about deregulation vs regulation in Europe still seem to be characterized by a lack of sophistication and require a more differentiated picture of specific forms of deregulation. As a consequence, the analysis of new educational governance approaches should consider the local actor's interpretation of new roles and new responsibilities. Relating actions and reactions of school leaders to their formal environment should lead to more contextual patterns of responsiveness. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The authors investigate, based on a survey among Cypriot school leaders, whether school autonomy needs deregulation, or regulation towards autonomy, respectively. At the time of research the school system of Cyprus could be characterized as a “centralized” system and hence represented a suitable field of study. Using a factor model followed by a cluster analysis the paper explores the school leaders’ profiles of operative and perceived autonomy in different fields of governance issues and identify different types of leadership. Findings – The authors find that the autonomy school leaders experience is not necessarily related to a “defined” degree of autonomy which is prescribed by educational law and driven by concepts of new public management. Their “perceived” autonomy is also due to factors which can be located at a rather individual level. Originality/value – The findings provide insight into principals’ motives to adopt certain styles of leading schools, quite independently from new measures of educational governance. The authors conclude that greater emphasis on systematic support programmes may prepare school principals for gains of autonomy as well as for potential sources of conflict.

Purpose This paper aims to challenge the up to now mainly product-centered view on international new ventures by analyzing the influence of service orientation on new venture internationalization behavior. It especially focuses on the utilization of specific market entry modes as a result of a growing service orientation. Design/methodology/approach Newness and complexity of the topic call for a qualitative-empirical research approach. Therefore, the paper is based on an in-depth multiple-case study of six international new ventures operating in fashion and lifestyle industry. Findings This paper shows that service-oriented international new ventures make use of different market entry modes at the same time. Service-related capabilities allow them to especially use cooperative market entry modes to fuel lacking market knowledge and thus to overcome resource constraints in value creation processes. Originality/value The paper contributes to a more holistic understanding of international new ventures, as it provides empirical evidence for the importance of service-related aspects in new venture internationalization. Furthermore, the paper extends international new venture research by not only considering an early international market entry but also other aspects of internationalization such as the type of offerings or the preferred market entry modes.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the outcome of European Union (EU) deregulation and competition policies on the competitive conditions of the main EU banking markets.Design/methodology/approachAfter a review of deregulation and competitition policies in the EU banking industry, the degree of competition in the largest five EU banking markets using is tessted both structural (concentration ratios and Herfindahl‐Hirshman indices) and non‐structural (H‐statistics and Lerner index) approaches.FindingsResults indicate that EU banking markets are becoming progressively more concentrated and that there is no evidence of an increase in competitive pressure. Country differences are also apparent thereby indicating that despite the sustained regulatory interventions, significant barriers to the integration of EU retail banking markets remain. In line with recent literature, the analysis also seems to provide further evidence that concentration is not necessarily a good proxy for competition.Originality/valueIncreased market concentration and its effects on competition are of relevance in a period of renewed EU regulatory efforts to remove the remaining barriers to the integration of financial markets. The evaluation of competitive conditions and market power in EU banking are therefore of interest to policy‐makers and regulators.

In this chapter, we argue from a theoretical perspective that globalisation has impacted differentiation within higher education systems. The three propositions about mechanisms affecting diversity distinguished by van Vught (environmental conditions, competition for resources and academic norms) remain the same, but the initial conditions have changed. Governmental policy, in particular, affects the degree of openness of higher education systems (positively or negatively), either through (de-)regulation or by affecting higher education institutions’ strategies for internationalisation. Thus, we add as a fourth proposition that increasing institutional autonomy increases system diversity in the context of globalisation.

PurposeThe economic downturn in Japan in the 1990s and the Asian economic crash of 1997 led to widespread restructuring of corporate organizations in Japan. This paper aims to use ethnographic fieldwork, in‐depth interviews and historical documents to examine how this played out inside one company, Toyota, when management implemented a restructuring plan to improve the profitability of one of its group companies during the period of 1996 to 1999. It also aims to discuss the restructuring policies within the framework of how Toyota responded to the economic crisis during a time of deregulation and liberal market reforms resulting from the decade of economic malaise that began in the early 1990s. A hallmark of the current debate on analyzing Japanese organizations is to what extent Japan is converging on the American model of capitalism.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on fieldwork drawn from three years as a participant observer where the author worked as a production engineer together with interviews with those he worked alongside and documentary analysis.FindingsThe paper argues that the company responded to the economic crisis of the 1990s by implementing liberal market reforms but changes in the 1990s and during the Asian crash reveal that Toyota used liberal market policies as restructuring “tools” within the context of the unique institutions of Japanese welfare corporatism.Originality/valueThe strength of this paper is that it provides an insider's perspective on restructuring in a Toyota company. Conceptually the paper improves our understanding of how institutional structures contribute to shaping the restructuring in Japanese organizations.

It seems that the discussion about deregulation is dominated by economists. As a result the overruling consideration is efficiency to the exclusion of other factors which also ought to be considered. Institutions (law, rules, norms and conventions) do not represent economic values alone. Moreover, the entire discussion is conducted in the shadow of a particular economic perception which underrates the significance of institutions. This deficiency may well be the result of the neo‐classical model’s underlying assumption of perfect markets that obscures the role of institutions or puts them in a negative light. Recent economic insights recognize “imperfect markets” and relate this to imperfect information. It takes account of transaction costs next to production costs. It acknowledges the role of institutions, and abandons the mistaken perception that markets are necessarily antithetical to institutions. This leads to the conclusion that the debate about deregulation must not be conducted in general terms of a contradiction between the state and the market, but in the light of the appreciation that markets are strongly dependent upon institutions. The crucial question is the influence of specific institutions in relation to the underlying social and economic processes – to the dimensions of time and place.

The competitive landscape of the U.S. domestic airlines dramatically changed when the industry was deregulated in 1978. While airline traffic and revenues grew exponentially, aided by unfettered market competition and resulting efficiency, airline profitability had mostly stayed lackluster due to cost pressures, chronic oversupply of seats, and intense price-based rivalry to fill seats. Thirty-two years into deregulation, the major airlines were still searching for the Holy Grail that would defend them against industry threats and deliver sustained profitability. This case describes the evolution of the U.S. domestic airline industry over the years, the cost pressures and revenue uncertainties airlines faced at the beginning of 2010, and the strategic options they were contemplating to effectively deal with these issues. The options ranged from shaping the industry structure to achieving differentiation through service offerings. The exact choices they made would determine their survival and long-term success.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to prove that the abolition of state monopoly in the provision of educational services in Continental Europe will result in members of the educational community spending less time towards rent protection and more time towards educational activities, something that should also benefit the consumers of these services. It also aims to prove that once deregulation reform is introduced, those that now fiercely resist to it will, rationally, accept the new status quo and adapt to it.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a model in which externalities affect the decision of the community of educational services providers to allocate time among their profession and towards opposing reform and protecting rents that follow from laws that establish state monopolies in the market for education services. The model proposed shows that, in the presence of such externalities, the introduction of reforms that remove the state monopoly will make the educational community adapt to the new status quo by allocating less time to protect monopoly rents and oppose reform, and more time and effort towards educational‐related activities like research and publications, high‐quality teaching and tutorials, etc.FindingsThe prediction of the assumed model that no internal forces can lead to a departure from the unfavorable equilibrium that exists before reform, underlines the need of society to press ahead with reforms regardless of the objections raised by the affected interest communities.Originality/valueThe paper provides for the first time in the relevant literature, an analysis of the harms and drawbacks of the higher education state monopoly in Continental Western Europe.

The public perception is that service quality among US airlines has declined significantly since deregulation, however, there is debate among experts on the effect of deregulation on safety quality. While the experts debate, the public is left with few guidelines on the safety quality of the carriers that they fly. This study examined both the service and safety quality of the major US airlines. We were interested in the interrelationship between these two areas of overall quality since consumers are generally better able to judge the service quality of airlines. The results indicate that safety quality as a whole and for individual airlines is consistently higher than service quality levels. With the exception of one year during the study, the service level of the major carrier was not significantly related to its level of safety quality, making service quality a poor indicator of safety quality for this group of carriers.

The dissolving trade barriers, financial deregulation, hyper‐mobility of capital and the rapid diffusion of new information technologies have ushered the Australian economy into the borderless world. The orthodoxy that states that centralised wage‐fixing in Australia has impeded wage flexibility and resulted in high unemployment is unconvincing. Partly, this is because in the 1980s Australian labour market institutions have been decentralised and decollectivised in response to pressures from the borderless world. The insights garnered from cross‐sectional comparative statics that, first, skill‐biased Schumpeterian technological change was the major cause of labour immiserisation and, second, adverse Stolper‐Samuelson trade played an insignificant effect need to be reviewed. Parsimonious dynamic time‐series models of trade and technology have been formulated using general‐to‐specific methods after taking account of stochastic trends through unit root and cointegration tests. Granger causality and non‐nested tests applied to these models support the contention that both trade and technology contributed to increasing wage disparity during the borderless era. Moreover the supply side factors such as female participation, immigration and institutional factors such as deunionisation have also increased wage disparity. The deregulation of the Australian labour market by the Workplace Relations Act, whilst an inevitable response to achieve competitiveness in the borderless world market, would exacerbate wage inequality. Policies aimed at skill accumulation on the one hand, and social welfare policies involving negative income taxes on the other may have to be implemented to mitigate the deleterious social effects of rising wage inequality.

PurposeThe paper aims to combat economic illiteracy concerning poverty, minimum wages, sweatshops and working conditions.Design/methodology/approachThe objectives were achieved by (among others) making a proper economic analysis of the unemployment effects of minimum wage laws. The main method(s) used for the research are empirical and theoretical.FindingsThe results point to laissez‐faire capitalism as the last best hope for the poor, whether in third world countries or in advanced economies. If the minimum wage were ended, and sweat shop conditions allowed to be bargained competitively, the poor would be much better off. Happily, in the nineteenth century, these regulations were not in force, and as a result the advanced economies were allowed to advance.Research limitations/implicationsThe implication of the present research is deregulation in the labor market.Practical implicationsThe practical implications of such a legal change would be lowered unemployment rates, and an improvement in economic welfare on the part of the poor.Originality/valueThe present paper combines an analysis of minimum wages laws and sweatshop working conditions.

Purpose – This paper seeks to identify the contribution Islamic political economy can make to the contemporary debate which is going on regarding deregulation and the role of the state under transition.Design/methodology/approach – A perspective of Islamic political–economic doctrine is discussed and hypothetical implications of this doctrine for post‐Soviet nations are presented through analysis of existing concepts and case studies.Findings – The paper finds that Islamic political economy itself is not synonymous and based on different schools of law as well as local practices, which makes it flexible in time and applicable in different given conditions. The main finding is about placing ethics in the core of whole policy approach.Research limitations/implications – Research is more analysis‐based and does not provide enough empirical data. Thus if it were based on the conceptual framework set by the paper surveys and other forms of field research, it would be helpful.Practical implications – Research c...

The impact of the deregulation of New Zealand′s labour market on women is seriously under‐researched and to date available scholarship tends to concentrate on collective bargaining with little written about the effects of deregulation on women in management. The Employment Contracts Act 1991 was presented by supporters as offering women more flexibility in negotiating wages and conditions. Employers′ spokeswoman Ann Knowles argues that the legislation empowers women because it allows them to take greater responsibility for their own needs and aspirations. Critics of the Act suggest that the labour flexibility strategies of government and management are contributing to the marginalization of women′s work, and that minority women fare worst. Hammond and Harbridge argue that the assumption that gender neutrality underpins the labour market is a fallacy and Hyman criticizes labour market deregulation on the grounds that it perpetuates existing structures of inequality. Examines the experiences of top women managers in negotiating individual contracts under the Employment Contracts Act. In the case studies these women leaders describe their experiences of negotiating their own rewards and working arrangements. Explores whether female managers on individual contracts believe the Employment Contracts Act 1991 delivers the promise of labour market flexibility.

Discusses the unethical practices of Nigerian banks from a historical perspective. Traces concern over unethical behaviour in banking back to the emergence of indigenous banks in colonial Nigeria, with the 1952 Nigerian Banking Ordinance as the foundation of later regulations aiming to improve banking standards. Moves on to the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) which was set up in 1986 by the military government of President Babangida; this was a series of measures which the Government was compelled to take to achieve Balance of Payments stability, and deregulation of the banking system was an integral part of it. Shows how SAP led to a great increase in the number of banks and facilitated arbitrage possibilities which have allowed perhaps the most notorious unethical practice of Nigerian banks, round tripping. Details the types of unethical practice which the banks use and concludes that Nigerian banking remains full of such practices, which arguably reflect the general degree of corruption in the country.

In 1999 the Federal Communications Commission adopted an order granting complete deregulation of the rates for special access service for specific metropolitan statistical areas based on an objective showing that there was potential competition in that market. This was done in an environment where the local exchange carriers (LECs) subject to price caps were earning a rate of return in excess of 22 percent, with the rate of return on an upward trend. By 2002, the average rate of return across all price cap LECs topped 35 percent. The question that is investigated in this paper is whether the price cap LECs have market power in supplying special access service and whether they have taken advantage of this. The data clearly show that this is the case. Given the prevailing situation, there is a clear need to revisit the pricing flexibility order. First, the product market for special access service needs to be more carefully examined. Second, the metrics used to define the potential for competition need to be revamped.

The bankruptcy of Enron Corp. has evolved into a scandal of enormous proportions involving allegations of fraud, corruption and unethical practices on the part of Enron’s corporate executives, members of its board of directors, external auditors, and high government officials in the USA. No doubt there will be many articles written about various aspects of the Enron scandal. The focus of this paper is on the relationships between Enron’s business model and the deregulatory phase of the American economy during the 1980s and 1990s. It is the argument of this paper that deregulation in the US electricity and natural gas industries fostered the creation of the Enron business model, and that this model was unsustainable, resulting in the demise of Enron Corp. Furthermore, while Enron can be viewed as an example of capitalistic excess, the paper reveals how the Enron business model developed as an American form of a public private partnership, similar to the types of public private partnerships that have been created in recent years in the UK. Investigating Enron as a public private partnership may help us to better understand the role of public private partnerships in contemporary capitalism and shed some light on the advisability of deregulatory schemes and the unintended consequences that can result from such schemes.

The focus of this paper is on virtual working and the ultramobile – contingent – workforce in a Nordic welfare economy. The institutional frameworks for virtual working are investigated and analysed. Danish legal frameworks and collective bargaining arrangements are shown to provide substantial opportunities for flexibility, which benefits small and medium‐sized enterprises in particular. Since the early 1990s, temp and recruiting agency activity has somewhat widened in scope and scale, in accordance with a general deregulation of this labour market service. Restrictions that still exist in many European countries have been abolished in Denmark, but other forces counteract a rapid development of the agency sector. The Internet is opening up new opportunities for a flexibilisation of work by expanding geographical and organisational limits and lowering search and promotion costs. Finally, the paper also discusses the new “meta” organisations, the aim of which is the social protection of virtual workers in an increasingly competitive, globalised and individualised world.

Change of various forms has been a major issue for every industry but perhaps none more so than the New Zealand apple industry over the past decade. Growers have seen major changes in not only daily issues such as packing requirements, spraying regimes, quality standards and technological improvements, but they have also had to adjust to corporatisation of their previously cooperative industry. This has been accompanied by a change of focus over the years from a production to an increasingly market orientation and is followed by the most recent development of deregulation of the industry. Much of this has come at, or perhaps been prompted by, a time of prolonged difficulty for the industry, particularly in the Nelson area. During the 1990s, growers have faced two or three years of hail damage and low prices on world markets, widely attributed to oversupply. The nature of the industry is changing and this has impacted on growers in a number of ways. This article examines some of the changes and relationships in the industry over the years from a grower perspective. It looks at current patterns, which are evident, including an apparent trend for smaller growers to exit the industry. It also briefly discusses possible outcomes for the future.

This paper discusses the future evolution of the European regulatory framework for electronic communications. The paper argues that the deregulation model used so far is inappropriate for the nascent broadband market, both for mobile and fixed broadband. To guarantee the successful deployment of broadband, the regulatory framework should emphasize network competition, and establish network access conditions which promote the investment in alternative infrastructure. Policy should also focus on factors which are key for the expansion of this market: guaranteeing that content can provided across alternative networks, and that there are no obstacles to the Europeanization of the market.

This paper aims to illustrate the important role marketing technologies play in contemporary neo‐liberal policies which aim to effect social control over a populace through the shaping of the desire and freedom of individuals. This argument will be developed through an analysis of the expanded role of marketing technologies in the UK financial services industry in the light of studies of governmentality. Drawing on Foucauldian work, it will be argued that to understand governmentality, power relations must be reconceptualised beyond notions of institutional power and repressive mechanisms of control towards an understanding of their productive and seductive operation. From this perspective, deregulation should be seen not as a liberation of market forces or an empowerment of the “new consumer”, but rather as “government at a distance”. The danger of such neo‐liberalist solutions lies in their rhetoric of liberalisation and empowerment which does much to obscure the governmental operation of power in modern societies.

For several branches of industry, an increasingly competitive environment has raised important questions concerning maintenance in plant systems. For example, the 1996 deregulation in Sweden’s electricity sector has resulted in increased competition among the country’s power producers. To survive the competition, suppliers have to reduce maintenance costs, i.e. handle maintenance more efficiently. Risk analysis is one tool decision makers can use to help them prioritise as they plan maintenance actions. There are a number of different approaches to risk analysis. As the results of an analysis must form a reliable basis for decision making, it is important to consider whether the quality of the results will vary significantly with the risk analysis approach chosen. This paper presents a comparative study based on three independent risk analyses performed on a specific hydro‐power plant. The comparison and evaluation of the analyses reveal major differences in performance and results, along with various factors that affect the quality of the analyses. The study establishes the importance of a well‐planned requirement specification and the need to analyse and interpret risk analysis results, before making maintenance decisions.

More than five years after the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was signed into law, it would be hyperbolic to suggest that the Act has lived up to its promise. But it would be a mistake to give up on its promise, particularly with a new deregulatory-minded Federal Communications Commission Chairman in place, and with three new Bush-nominated commissioners now having joined the new chairman. The 'new' FCC has an opportunity to fashion a reform agenda to fulfill the vision of the 1996 Act. As part of a reform agenda, the newly reconstituted FCC should focus on five specific initiatives: (1) Change its strategic objective from 'market facilitation' to deregulation; (2) Establish a technology-neutral deregulatory regime for broadband services; (3) Reduce excessive forced sharing requirements on telecom networks; (4) Limit the scope of the 'public interest' doctrine; and (5) Establish an economically efficient regime for intercarrier compensation. These five initiatives would go far towards redirecting the Commission back on to the path of dergulation and market-based reform envisioned by the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the main market entry barriers confronted by the new operators in liberalized railway freight market (Poland and Sweden), as well as to analyze the inaugurating market of Finland.Design/methodology/approachSwedish and Polish markets were scrutinized utilizing qualitative case study, implemented through semi‐structured theme interviews. Among primary observations, numerous second‐hand sources were used to gain triangulation. Research was conducted during early 2009. The Finnish material was collected with Delphi technique‐based questionnaires in 2005.FindingsThe main findings support previous studies arguing that the main barriers to entry are rolling stock acquisition, needed investments and bureaucracy. In Sweden, companies were start‐ups established on the grounds of the incumbent. The Polish market obtained new operators via vertical integration with a significant competitive presence of a governmental operator. Inaugurating Finnish market is identified as a combination of these two. Therefore, it is easier to understand why new entrants are not operating in the Finnish market.Originality/valueThe research contributes novel, first‐hand data to the subject, which earlier have been studied mostly via second‐hand data and literature analyses.

Two issues have dominated the recent employment experience of the major industrial countries: first, the common rise in unemployment throughout the OECD; second, the diversity in the scale and content of that rise as between, on the one hand, the core of the European Union and Australia, and, on the other hand, North America. The growth and persistence of unemployment may be the result of the deregulation of global financial markets in the 1970s that has been followed by huge growth in short‐term capital flows. These flows have produced a significant increase in risk aversion in public sector and private sectors. This is the major source of deflationary pressures and persistent unemployment throughout the world. Those pressures could have been substantially mitigated if a key lesson had been drawn from the development of domestic financial markets – liberal markets are only efficient if they are efficiently regulated.

While unemployment has been the common experience of OECD countries over the last three decades, there have also been significant differences in its severity and extent. These differences were characterised in the 1990s as a “trade‐off” between unemployment and wage inequality. According to this argument, the USA has achieved relatively low unemployment at the cost of widening inequality, while Europe has only been able to maintain equality at the cost of high unemployment. This introduction to selected papers from Australia’s 6th National Conference on Unemployment questions whether such a trade‐off is well grounded in the evidence, and suggests that it may instead be thought of as an ideological construct which has been deployed to make a case for US‐style labour market deregulation and “workfare” against the supposedly inflexible European social democratic model.

In about 1990, India and a few developing countries attempted to restructure their economics to achieve accelerated economic growth, for generation of optimum levels of production, employment and poverty alleviation. The economic and fiscal policies took a turn towards liberalisation, deregulation, de‐control and de‐licensing, so that the economy opens up and unnecessary legal and bureaucratic impediments are removed to reduce delays and costs. During the last five years, industrial, trade and tax reforms have created demonstrable buoyancy in industrial production, investment and exports.