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It is the purpose of this article to suggest a structured approach to internal resource audit, which, whilst of necessity general-purpose in design, would be capable of adaptation to particular company cases. Consequently this paper does not aim at theory development, but to make a conceptual contribution to the art and practice of management. It will, however, offer some criticism of current theory from a management perspective.

Several PEM fuel cell systems are currently being marketed or developed as natural gas fuelled stationary power generation or cogeneration systems. Whilst each of these may perform adequately when fuelled with methane, the composition of natural gas varies widely around the world, according to the source and even the season. This study investigated the variation in composition of fuel gas supplied in pipeline systems around Australia and how its chemical composition may affect the performance of PEM fuel cell systems than employ steam reforming, shift and selective preferential oxidation to convert the fuel gas to hydrogen. The study showed that the performance of the fuel cell system is affected by the chemical composition and that ammonia formed from gases with high nitrogen concentrations could limit the applicability of PEM fuel cells, and should be taken into account when manufacturers specify the allowable fuel gas compositions for their systems.

This article responds to ‘Let marketers reclaim corporate strategy’ by Mattsson, Ramaseshan and Carson (JSM, June 2006). Whilst accepting a number of points the authors make, particularly in relation to the current state of strategy scholarship, the view in this article is that corporate strategy is more than marketing alone. Although marketing must be the principal channel of market knowledge this must be combined with and balanced by knowledge provided by the other business functions of the organization. Thus a transcendent organizational view emerges which, it is suggested, is the true basis for corporate strategy.

This paper considers the role of strategic assets in the generation of company competitiveness. It takes the position that the resource-based view/dynamic capabilities explanation of competitiveness is tautological and ex post facto in its approach and proposes that competitiveness is derived from permanent infrastructural characteristics of organizational design providing a source of a continuous stream of temporary strategic assets or successful products, services and processes. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This article considers the business unit level impact of the introduction of a single currency in the European Community. Most literature to date has concentrated on macroeconomic interpretations of this initiative ‐ the microeconomic issues have received scant attention. The article proposes that all businesses, irrespective of size or market sector, will be affected by the shift to a single currency, even in countries whose governments choose not to partake in the system. To this end business units must give adequate attention to the implications of the change in terms both of strategic and of operational impact. The article suggests potential forms of impact on business units and concludes with a generalised framework of business to manage the process.

This study examined variables predictive of pressure ulcers among patients undergoing urologic surgical procedures. Anesthesia duration and total time of the diastolic blood pressure was less than 50 Hgmm were statistically significant predictors. Dynamic pressure-relieving devices are recommended to reduce incidences of pressure ulcer incidence.

This article considers the case of Hayward Tyler, a UK based manufacturer of engineered pumping equipment. The company was considering establishing a joint venture in Malaysia to produce equipment for the Asian market. This industry is primarily confined to the industrialised countries and little dispersion of manufacture has yet occurred to the developing economies. The article considers Hayward Tyler's approach to this project on a resource constrained basis and the issues and management steps identified from the company's research as fundamental to optimising the probability of a successful venture. The article concludes in the context of the economic crisis which afflicted the Asian region in 1998.