Search

Desire satisfactionists are united by their belief that what makes someone well-off is the satisfaction of their desires. But this commitment obscures a number of underlying differences, since there are several theoretical choice points on the way to making this commitment precise. This article is about two of the most important choice points. The first concerns an epistemic requirement on well-being. Suppose that one's desire that P is satisfied. Must one also know (or believe, or justifiably believe) that one's desire that P is satisfied in order to benefit from P? If so, there is an epistemic requirement on well-being. The second concerns the time at which one benefits. Well-being is a temporal phenomenon: given that one benefits from the satisfaction of one's desire that P, when does one benefit? Perhaps one benefits at the times at which one desires P, or the times at which P obtains, or both. I defend a view I call “concurrent awareness desire satisfactionism”: one benefits only at times at which both one desires P and P obtains (concurrence) and one benefits only if one is aware that one's desire is satisfied (awareness). I motivate this view by showing how it gives us solutions to many of the canonical problems facing desire satisfactionism. Then I put the two parts of the view together and explore some of its further implications. Ultimately, I conclude that well-being is an organic unity composed of a desiderative component, an epistemic component, and a worldly component, none of which are valuable on their own, but which are valuable when they are related in the right way.

Purpose Summarize and review the key developments during the first three-quarters of 2021 relating to transition of the London InterBank Offered Rate (LIBOR) to alternative risk-free rates, in accordance with the guidance of global regulators and market participants. Design/methodology/approach Outlines and explains four key events to date during 2021 that are instrumental to the success of LIBOR transition, including the ISDA 2020 IBOR Protocol and Supplement, the 5 March 2021 announcements by ICE Benchmark Administration and the Financial Conduct Authority, the transition of interdealer swap conventions from LIBOR to SOFR, and the ARRC endorsement of the CME Group SOFR term rate. Findings The global adherence to the ISDA Protocol and Supplement, the successful launch of “SOFR First” and other “RFR First” swaps convention transitions, and the ARRC’s endorsement of CME’s SOFR term rate have given the market the clarity and tools that it needs to complete the transition away from LIBOR by the deadlines fixed by the 5 March 2021 benchmark transition event. Practical implications It now is clear that market participants globally have the resources to, and must, move to adopt alternative reference rates and related operational systems and other infrastructure to cease origination of new LIBOR-linked contracts after 31 December 2021. The ARRC’s endorsement of the SOFR term rate for business loans and related derivatives and securitizations is a critical positive development for the structured finance market. Originality/value Expert analysis and guidance from experienced finance lawyers.

Despite the fact that the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) finalized (more than 24 months ago) the new required securitization safe harbor rule and other legal requirements to facilitate securitization by federal credit unions (FCUs), an FCU only recently closed the first securitization of a prime auto portfolio. This is rather surprising because banks and other credit providers have widely and actively used securitization as an important means for funding such credit activities and as a tool for active portfolio management to enhance related investment returns. TOPICS:Credit risk management, information providers/credit ratings Key Findings • Banks and other credit providers have widely and actively used securitization as an important means of funding credit activities and as a tool for active portfolio management to enhance related investment returns. • Securitization has not been widely used by federally insured credit unions (FICU’s) because of NCUA’s authority to disaffirm or repudiate contracts of a failed FICU, which powers apply to the transfer of financial assets in connection with a securitization. • Recognizing the chilling effect this authority has had on securitizations sponsored by FICU’s, NCUA has issued a safe harbor that defines the conditions for protection for securitization transactions for any transfer of financial assets. • A recent FICU securitization has demonstrated that the safe harbor is opening the door for future FICU securitizations that rely on the safe harbor.

This chapter provides an overview of how global virtual teams of undergraduates and graduates from three different countries are managed in order to achieve effective teaching-learning collaboration in the area of international business. The chapter uses evidence from a case study-based program used by a network of European business schools to discover and explore best practices when forming and leading collaborative student teams, working virtually and spatially. The study of this program suggests that there are particular challenges and opportunities in managing virtually international teams of students, which were amplified during COVID times in 2020. The study relates to the global virtual world of business education, where each tertiary institution is expected to embrace and manage the adapted and future design of programs and courses, where students necessarily had to deal with a wide variety of assignments whilst working virtually during times of national lockdowns.

The essential goal of the Blended Learning International Cooperation (BLIC) approach is to experience a realistic international business setting in the classroom. Students are prepared to identify factors driving the success of cross-border business. Based on theoretical knowledge and case studies, students cope with international business issues. The BLIC project focuses on intercultural and business experiences by integrating technological tools and pedagogical approaches in realistic project settings.

From 2011 through 2014, new issuance of U.S. structured products backed by subprime auto loans and leveraged corporate loans grew by 55% and 716%, respectively. The authors analyze the recent activity in these markets, as well as the activity and risks in the loan markets underlying auto asset-backed securities (ABS) and collateralized loan obligations (CLOs). Despite the empirical evidence of higher risks in auto and leveraged loan collateral, the analysis does not indicate a commensurate increase in risks to investors in the structured products based on those loans. For a comparison, they review market activity and risk indicia in U.S. insurance-linked securities, which, unlike auto ABS and CLOs, serve a pure risk-transfer purpose and do not result in any significant extension of credit by investors to sponsors. The authors also consider the likely impacts of the Volcker Rule and Credit Risk Retention rule on U.S. structured product markets, and they conclude that the regulations are likely to stifle market activity and discourage legitimate risk transfer.

On December 10, 2013, the Federal financial agencies issued the joint final regulation implementing Section 619 of the Dodd–Frank Act, commonly known as the “Volcker Rule.” This article addresses the impact of the final regulation on securitization activities and therefore focuses on the prohibition on covered funds activities and certain of the exceptions thereto. The final regulation provides for 14 separate exclusions from the definition of covered funds, including the loan securitization, qualifying asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP), qualifying covered bond, and wholly-owned subsidiary exclusions. Although securitization transactions generally do not utilize entities that would be regarded as private equity funds or hedge funds and the statutory text of the Volcker Rule expressly required that the final regulation not prohibit the securitization of loans, the final regulation will impact certain securitizations in a material way due to the breadth of the definition of covered funds.

With the demonstrable performance of prior utility tariff bonds, U.S. regulated electric utilities likely will expand their use of this securitization method. It is only sensible to use the technique to allow a utility to recover mandated costs over which the utility has no particular control in the most efficient manner possible. U.S. regulated electric utilities face a period of disruptive change, which will potentially increase significantly the financial risks faced by affected utilities that will add substantial rate recovery pressure.

In this article, the authors review the recent activity in U.S. structured finance markets and offer some comments on the changes in certain structured finance products resulting from the global credit crisis. They believe that these changes have helped foster an environment consistent with the return of economically legitimate uses of fundamentally sound structured financing techniques. The authors discuss specific changes in the market for collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) as an illustrative example. They also discuss the potential impact of various ongoing regulatory initiatives that may affect (perhaps significantly) the near- and long-term prospects for U.S. structured finance products and markets. The data currently indicate renewed investor interest in many of these products, and in the authors’ view, the post-crisis changes in the design and documentation of these products together with heightened investor awareness and better access to information suggest that such interest is not merely irrational yield-chasing. Yet, the ongoing regulatory uncertainty poses significant potential threat to the future of the U.S. structured finance market. Many of the possible dangers arising from pending or proposed regulations seem, moreover, to be unintended consequences of rules that were not specifically aimed at structured finance (e.g., the Volcker Rule). Unless regulators address those unintended consequences (and perhaps some intended ones), the prospects for the return of a vibrant and well-functioning structured finance market to facilitate legitimate risk transfer and asset funding may be much dimmer than recent market experiences otherwise suggest.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges that face leaders when implementing business excellence programmes in the Jordanian public sector. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopted a content analysis approach to analyse the excellence assessment reports that have been produced by the King Abdullah II Centre for Excellence. The sample comprises ten public organisations which have participated in the King Abdullah Award for Excellence more than once and acknowledge in their reports that they have failed to achieve satisfactory results. Findings – The key challenges to effect the implementation of leadership criteria in the public sector in Jordan were found to be poor strategic planning, lack of employee empowerment, weaknesses in benchmarking performance, and a lack of financial resources, poor integration and coordination, and poor measurement system. Practical implications – This study proposes a conceptual model for the assessment of challenges that face managers when seeking to implement excellence in leadership in the Jordanian public sector. Originality/value – Leadership challenges in the public sector are generally widely studied, but it is important to gain a better understanding of how these challenges can be overcome. In comparison to many existing studies, this research has provided specific and detailed insights these organisational excellence challenges in the public sector and provides a conceptual model for use by other researchers into the future.

PurposeContinuous process flow is a prerequisite of lean systems as it helps to reduce throughput times, improve quality, minimize operational costs, and shorten delivery times. The purpose of this paper is to empirically demonstrate the application of a methodology that combines a time‐based study, discrete‐event simulation and the trial and error method to enable a leaner process through more efficient line balancing and more effective flow for a park homes production process. This method is replicable across other contexts and industry settings.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews the UK park homes production industry and, specifically, a major factory that builds these homes. It compares the factory method to traditional on‐site construction methods. An empirical study of production times was carried out to collect data in order to analyse the current workload distribution and the process flow performance of the park homes production process. Finally, seven discrete‐event simulation models were developed in order to test different scenarios and define the optimum line balance for every section of the production process.FindingsBy combining time study, discrete‐event simulation and trial and error methods, the workload distribution and process flow performance of the park homes production line were analysed and improved. A reduction of between 1.82 and 36.32 percent in balancing losses in some sections of the process was achieved.Practical implicationsThis paper supports current knowledge on process flow improvement and line balancing by exploring and analysing these issues in a real‐life context. It can be used to guide production management practitioners in their selection of methods and demonstrates how they are exploited when seeking to improve process flow, efficiency and line balancing of production operations.Originality/valueThe study uses a real industrial application to demonstrate how the methodological combination and deployment of process flow improvement strategies, such as time study, simulation, and trial and error, can help organisations achieve process flow improvements and, as a consequence, a leaner production process.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of layout configurations in a hospital on the implementation of lean management initiatives, to include different units of care. The research concentrated on the impact, the physical distance between dependent units could have on staff perception, use of staff time, time spent in the system by patients, and performance.Design/methodology/approachThe research examined the relationship between clinical units allocated within Northampton General Hospital and their internal providers. In addition, an adapted version of the SERVPERF questionnaire was used to measure the quality perception of staff.FindingsThe transit distances from each clinical unit to their internal providers have: a negative relationship with the staff quality provision of care; a positive relationship with the time the patient spends in the system; and no discernable direct correlation with performance.Practical implicationsThese findings will help hospital managers to understand the impact of the layout of a hospital on the implementation of service improvement activities, and will assist them in planning improved relocation of clinical units. This facilitates future service improvements whilst optimising the use of available and constrained resources within the present hospital facilities.Originality/valueThe ideas and results presented in this study are original and valuable to the study of hospital layouts, services improvements and the implementation of lean operation initiatives and quality improvement programmes in hospitals. The study also successfully tested the application of SERVPERF in a hospital setting.

The stated purpose of Dodd–Frank is to reduce systemic risk, increase transparency of the financial markets, and promote market integrity. Most likely, Dodd–Frank will affect energy companies in connection with their energy marketing, hedging, and trading activities – in other words, in connection with energy “swaps.” The consequences will range up and down a sliding scale depending on a particular firm's activities and the outcome of a federal rulemaking process still many months from completion.

The authors analyze recent FERC proceedings in respect of California's feed-in tariff (FIT), Assembly Bill 1613, for certain cogeneration systems and the potential new opportunities for implementation of state FITs under PURPA moving forward. They consider the remaining uncertainty in respect of FITs outside of the PURPA framework and conclude by recommending additional FERC clarification that could encourage additional renewable development.

To surmount obstacles to expanding and upgrading the nation's transmission system that are impeding development of the renewables sector, it is critical that these issues be resolved quickly and on a consistent rather than ad hoc basis.

This article reviews several provisions of the recently-enacted Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-Frank Act) and seeks to assess their likely effect thereof on structured finance. The authors review the provisions contained in Title VII [Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act regulating the over-thecounter (OTC) swaps markets]; Subtitles C (Improvements to the Regulation of the Credit Rating Agencies) and D (Improvements to the Asset-Backed Securitization Process) of Title IX (Investor Protection and Securities Reform Act of 2010); and Title XIV (Mortgage Reform and Anti- Predatory Lending Act) of the Dodd-Frank Act as the effects of these reforms will be intrusive into many key areas of structured finance. Moreover, the exact nature and degree of the effects have to be established in over 300 mandated regulatory rulemakings, studies and reports in a relatively short period with an uncertain degree of effective coordination among the many regulatory agencies involved. Notwithstanding the Dodd-Frank Act’s numerous required rulemakings and the limitation on the authors’ discussion due to possible changes that result from such rulemaking, this initial and preliminary review should still be instructive to readers if for no other reason than to inform those potentially affected by the related reforms so that they will be prepared to participate in the related rulemakings and minimize the risk of further unintended consequences of the Dodd- Frank Act. Readers will judge for themselves whether the reforms are sufficient to address the causes of the recent financial crisis so as to avoid its repetition or whether this intrusion will fail to obtain the benefits for the considerable cost likely to be involved under the reforms.

PurposeThe “resource‐based view” (RBV) of firms considers that major operational and organisational advantages are created in the internal environment of a firm. The implementation of lean manufacturing represents the potential for strategic advantage over competitors, especially in craft‐based industries in developing regions of the world. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the adoption of lean manufacturing and market share and value creation of companies in the agricultural machinery and implements sector in Brazil.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on data collected in a survey conducted across 37 firms in the agricultural machinery and implements industry in Brazil. The data were used within a model for assessing the degree of leanness to test three hypotheses using correlation, regression, analysis of variance and cluster statistical methods.FindingsBrazilian firms and managers in this sector that have supported a transition towards the adoption (and adaptation) of lean manufacturing practices have shown a significant improvement in their business performance.Originality/valueThe paper presents an empirical study where lean manufacturing is investigated and tested from a “RBV” perspective. It demonstrates the application of an emergent model for measuring the degree of leanness and the extent of business improvement. The study and the model are applied to smaller, craft‐based industries and so is applicable in developing countries and regions, in comparison with most literature on lean production in advanced economies. It provides a useful perspective for firms to corroborate and understand the potential benefits that lean manufacturing can bring if adopted.

The OTC derivatives market is increasingly the policy focus of lawmakers in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. The objective and details of reaching the goals of transparency and regulatory reform continue to prove elusive, however, and the various legislative efforts to date leave many questions unanswered and conceivably conflict with one another. It will be important that the political need to provide a timely response to concerns about transparency and counterparty credit risk be balanced against the need to face head-on the complications that will necessarily be involved in the responsible redesign of a complex and global OTC derivatives market. This article examines proposed legislative and regulatory developments as well as OTC derivatives industry efforts that are likewise afoot, along with associated issues including proposed central clearing requirements; the definition of a standardized derivative; possible margin and capital requirements; reporting, record-keeping, and business conduct standards; preventing manipulation, fraud, and other market abuses; the respective regulatory authorities of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC); and other regulatory issues particular to credit default swaps.

Stranded cost securitization techniques were originally developed to compensate U.S. electric utilities for regulatory assets rendered obsolete and uneconomic by deregulation. These techniques permitted an affected utility to recover stranded costs in rates charged to customers and to issue bonds backed by such charges. Today, stranded cost securitization techniques are finding new applications in the financing of mandatory pollution control equipment and other similar expenditures, for catastrophic storm reconstruction expenditures and, as proposed by the author, possibly for “synthetic” carbon emission reduction for new fossil-fueled power plants or purchases.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the implementation of lean within two contrasting UK-based organizations; a food manufacturer and a healthcare organization. The different contexts provide insight to the strategic desire for efficiency gains and tactical issues and challenges of lean execution and implementation. Design/methodology/approach – The research questions developed from the review of the literature were tested using evidence from field-based, action research within a food manufacturer and a National Health Service organization. The reported contrasting case studies contribute to the longer term debate on the adoption and adaptation of lean-based “best practice” within organizations. Findings – There are three primary findings: first, that the adoption of lean provides a strategic benefit, as well as providing a basis for a strategy of operational change; second, that partial, as opposed to full, adoption of lean occurs due to external organizational constraints, such as demand patterns, supplier unreliability, little expertise in deploying change programmes, etc.; and third, that a company will balance the adoption of the lean ideology against the financial costs and operational risks incurred in full adoption. Practical implications – The conclusions drawn add substantially to the ongoing commentaries on aspects of lean, and develop interesting questions for future research regards the developed “Cycles of Lean Implementation” concept. Originality/value – The conclusion proposes that partial implementation of the lean philosophy does not necessarily represent a conscious organizational choice, or any lack of conviction, but is representative of external constraints on the organization. This complements previous commentaries on appropriate strategies and develops interesting questions for future research into operational efficiency.

E-Business represents new avenues for sustainable competitive advantage. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are now expected to be digital-ready to continue as trading partners for their customers. SMEs require socio-technical skills and organizational skills and know-how to comprehend e-Potentials and transform them into e-Implementation. An e-Business planning framework is proposed here which links both in strategic and operations management by applying quality function deployment (QFD, also known as house of quality). The balanced scorecard (BSC) will be used to provide an organization overview to objectives setting, critical in ensuring e-Initiatives are aligned with organization vision and objectives. The paper presents the pilot stage of this research project, discussing how the proposed planning framework works. Data from a case study are employed, and expert advice was sought to prioritize and rank the system components (the ‘whats’) and their interrelationships. The paper begins with an in...

A structured financing that was closed in late 2003 for the new St. Louis Cardinals Stadium was the largest private placement of debt for a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium, the first MLB stadium transaction using a bankruptcy-remote structure, the first set of cash flows from a baseball stadium to be rated investment grade by both Moody?s and Standard and Poor9s and insured to ‘AAA’ by Ambac Assurance, and only the third privately financed MLB home stadium. A special-purpose vehicle formed by the Cardinals will originate the contracts giving rise to the contractually obligated income (COI) pledged to support the ballpark financing. The SPV holds the naming rights, rights to conduct concession activities, rights to license luxury suites, and certain sponsorship (signage) rights, all collectively called dedicated property. The Cardinals conduct MLB games under a license agreement with the SPV. The dedicated property is isolated from the credit risk of the Cardinals because it is not owned by the Cardinals. COI from the dedicated property pledged to bondholders was sufficient to earn the bonds an investment-grade credit rating.

Companies are leveraging existing resources and the internet to come up with new or modified business models to respond to the demands of e-business. Companies in the food processing industry are also waking to the reality that e-business technology can make a big difference to the bottom line. This paper presents the result of an action research project which applied a new approach labelled as the Delta Model developed by Hax and Wilde (2001) of Sloan School of Management to strategy development for brick-n-mortar companies launching e-business initiatives. The case company is called Whetstone Food Ingredients (WFI), located in UK. The company is firmly embedded in the agri-product industry and operates in the ‘egg by-product’ subsector. This paper is based upon action research supplemented by a programme of in-depth interviews with managers at WFI for various aspects of their supply chain and e-business initiatives. On the basis of these interviews and the companies also made a range of documents available throughout. These included internal memos, strategy plans, operational control documents and minutes of meetings. The Delta Model and Davenport's methodology of business process reengineering were adopted to structure this analysis. Used in conjunction, they helped to develop a vision, analyse the business processes, identify critical business processes, benchmark the critical processes, and then develop the information technology infrastructure. The infrastructure thus supported the critical business processes and leveraged the e-business supply chain to enable the company to gain competitive edge.

Special purpose entities (SPEs) are widely used in a variety of project and other structured financings as they generally facilitate the isolation of risk and the assignment of responsibility therefor under definitive transaction agreements and other documents and instruments. In addition, if the SPE is not consolidated with a transaction sponsor, this may allow the sponsor to participate in more transactions than it could if the SPE had to be consolidated in the sponsor9s financial statements. Recently, under substantial political and other pressure to act following the alleged abuses of special purpose entities (SPEs) by Enron and others, the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued new guidance on consolidation—FASB Interpretation No. 46 (FIN46), Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities. Many existing SPEs that were not consolidated under prior guidance likely will be consolidated by their sponsors under FIN46, unless they are substantially restructured. Similarly, sponsors entering new structured financing transactions likely will need to structure them differently than in the past to avoid consolidation. The two key determinations in FIN 46 are whether an entity is a variable interest entity (VIE) and, if so, whether an interest holder is a primary beneficiary (PB). The PB of a VIE is required to consolidate the VIE.

Project-finance collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) will allow portfolio investors a greater opportunity to participate in power and other infrastructure debt markets and will bring additional liquidity and transparency to such markets. Project-finance CDOs also will allow commercial banks, which have a long and successful history with project finance, to better manage their balance sheets and asset-liability mismatches. This article reviews the structures and features of a CDO and why project-finance debt is an attractive asset for a CDO.

This paper analyses the role of networking in the creation of local management knowledge in the Republic of Moldova. At the outset, the paper sketches the economic and political context of this Eastern European country that has recently gained its independence from the Soviet Union. In so doing, the paper highlights the importance accorded to reforming management education in the successful transition to a market economy. Four models of reforming management education are then outlined and it is suggested that the networking model is the most viable for the Moldavian context. Having accounted for their involvement with the Moldavian International Institute of Management (IMI), the authors proceed to discuss the aims and objectives of the very first indigenous MBA programme developed by the Institute. While the “management of obstacles” at both macro and micro level has been an arduous task, IMI has emerged successfully out of this task due to the networking approach adopted in the construction of ...

Clarifies the concept of lean manufacturing and what it comprises. Commences with a review of the lean production literature and, specifically, existing models that identify the variables and component elements of lean production firms. Presents a research instrument for measuring the degree of leanness possessed by manufacturing firms. Research questions were developed and incorporated into structured survey questionnaires for both manufacturing directors and managing directors that enabled a quantitative assessment to be made for the various components of leanness. The survey was completed by over 30 firms in the UK ceramics tableware industry and so represents a comprehensive overview of the state of play in that sector. The figures derived allowed for hypotheses testing and a quantitative analysis. Presents selected results and conclusions from the current survey to illustrate the application and usefulness of the instrument. Argues that, though developed specifically for the tableware industry, the research instrument can be adapted for use in other industries.

The present paper presents an investigation centred on testing whether or not the concept of supply chain management is appropriate for use in the UK tableware industry. The study builds on and integrates with past strategic research in the industry, providing a firm foundation for future investigative activity. On the whole, the strategic concept of authoritatively managing a supply chain was not evident in all cases, with future implementation of this concept being potentially problematic. As individual firm strategies were contradictory in some respects, agreeing on a set of tools to manage the chain was difficult. This co-ordination issue was found to be troublesome, as many of the relationships between organisations were, on the whole, adversarial and single transaction based. This can be compared to a minority of relationships witnessed where inter-firm behaviour was more akin to collaborative exchange, resulting in mutual trade offs between companies in a win/win scenario. Some possible ave...

There has been extended debate about how to conceptualise inter‐organizational restructuring in late twentieth century capitalism, giving rise to a number of models that attempt to represent productive change. A number of such conceptualisations of transformation under the banner of “agility” attempt to provide guidance about “managing” physical and social relationships within and between companies in response to growing market complexity. The theoretical argument in this paper is that inter‐firm agility cannot be objectively understood in all cases using simple unidirectional cause and effect as such theories do not take into account more subjective aspects of interaction. Specifically, we argue that to have a vision of agility in action there must be an evaluation of complexity in and between organisational boundaries with a theoretical approach that gives a more robust appreciation of inter‐firm ties. Conceptualising agility in this way captures the essence of tacit knowledge between firms along with the physical dynamics of network functioning.

The role that innovation plays in industry is, usually, exclusively discussed in more technically advanced industries (for example, automotives and pharmaceuticals). More mature and established industries, such as textiles and ceramics, are often neglected. This article redresses this balance by considering the role of technological innovation in the UK ceramics industry. Case analysis comprising both retrospective and current innovation in the industry is used to highlight the role of innovation and some of the antecedents to successful technological innovation.

This paper contrasts the theoretical model of flexible specialisation (FS) with recently collected empirical data from the UK ceramic tableware `industrial district', located in Stoke-on-Trent, North Staffordshire. Whereas there are facets of the industry that match the FS thesis, countervailing arguments can be found that discount much of their significance. There is a lack of association between the FS model and the conduct of interorganisational relations, development of production technology and `impannatore’ co-ordination. However, elements of productive organisation, work processes, product variety and regional infrastructure give partial support to the model. In summary, at best partial support can be found for the claim that the tableware `industrial district’ has witnessed large-scale productive and organisational restructuring over the past 10 years.