European companies between globalization and localization: a comparison of internationalization strategies of British and German MNCs

This paper assesses the extent of which British and German multinational companies have moved on a continuum between nationally embedded MNCs and globally oriented TNCs. Degree of national embeddedness and implantation into national economic and policy networks is held to influence the internationalization strategy of companies - the degree of FDI undertaken, the kind of competitive advantage they seek to derive from it and the way in which they combine nationally based and globally focused activities. It is shown that the different national business systems of Britain and Germany influence the responses of MNCs in their management of the tensions between pressures for globalization and established, nationally shaped business strategies and patterns of activities. In both cases, however, exaggerated claims about globalization of company activities and assets are shown to be misguided. But the paper also recognizes that some more globalized structures and strategies have begun to emerge in the second half of the 1990s. The study is based on a small number of case studies of British and German companies, complemented by official statistics and secondary data.     

Working Smarter on Cold Cases: Identifying Factors Associated with Successful Cold Case Investigations

Cold case squads have garnered much attention; however, they have yet to undergo significant empirical scrutiny. In the present study, the authors interviewed investigators and reviewed 189 solved and unsolved cold cases in Washington, D.C., to determine whether there are factors that can predict cold case solvability. In the interviews, new information from witnesses or information from new witnesses was cited as the most prevalent reason for case clearance. The case reviews determined that there were factors in each of the following domains that predicted whether cases would be solved during cold case investigations: Crime Context, Initial Investigation Results, Basis for Opening Cold Case, and Cold Case Investigator Actions. The results suggest that it is possible to prioritize cold case work based on the likelihood of investigations leading to clearances.     

Political Budgeting: A Framework for an Institutional Analysis of Swedish National Accounts

Budget making within the public sector may be approached by means of a systems analysis. The processes and results of budget making may be identified as a system, consisting of variables and relationships. The system of political budgeting is a conceptual framework for a quantitative analysis of basic budget facts concerning inputs, processes and outputs. The article outlines the framework and applies it to the public sector in Sweden on the basis of data derived from Swedish national accounts.     

Biomechanics of knife stab attacks

In the past it has been assumed that the fingerprints of women tend to have "fine" epidermal ridge detail while men have "coarse" ridge detail. Past studies have examined this hypothesis but have not clearly demonstrated if observed differences are statistically significant. The goal of this study is to determine if women have significantly higher ridge density, hence finer epidermal ridge detail, than men by counting ridges that occur within a well defined space. If significant gender differences do exist then the likelihood of inferring gender from given ridge densities will be explored. This study focused on 400 randomly picked ten-print cards representing 400 subjects. The demographic composition of this sample population represents 100 Caucasian males, 100 African American males, 100 Caucasian females and 100 African American females all within the age range of 18-67. Results show that women tend to have a significantly higher ridge density than men and that this trend is upheld in subjects of both Caucasian and African American descent (F = 81.96, P < 0.001). Application of Bayes' theorem suggests that a given fingerprint possessing a ridge density of 11 ridges/25 mm2 or less is most likely to be of male origin. Likewise a fingerprint having a ridge density of 12 ridges/25 mm2 or greater is most likely to be of female origin, regardless of race.     

Pathways to work for low‐income workers: The effect of work in the temporary help industry

This paper provides new evidence to inform the policy debate about the effect of a newly important industry—the temporary help industry—on the labor market outcomes of low‐income workers and those workers who are at risk of being on public assistance. The core issue of whether temporary help work harms the long‐term prospects of disadvantaged individuals depends critically on the alternatives available to the worker. Temporary employment results in labor market outcomes that are better than not working at all. For example, while nonemployed public assistance recipients have only a 35 percent chance of being employed a year later, those who were in temporary employment have almost twice the likelihood of being employed in the same period. These findings, if correct, would support the use of temporary agencies by welfare programs. © 2003 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management     

Political Institutions, Public Policy and Economic Growth

The argument of the Rise and Decline of Nulions (RADON) opens up a new area of important social science research: to understand the social and political setting of economic growth. The paper tests the argument that institutionalization leads fo the decline of nafions slowing down the rate of economic growth. Employing several indicators on economic growth and controlling for a number of factors the finding with regard to the OECD-nations is that the Olson emphasis on institutionalization is confirmed.     

Reviews

Archie Brown, The Gorbachev Factor. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996, £19.99.

Terry Cox, From Perestroika to Privatisation: The Politics of Property Change in Russian Society 1985–1991. Aldershot: Avebury, 1996, vi + 158 pp., £30.00.

Maxim Boyko, Andrei Shleifer & Robert Vishny, Privatizing Russia. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, ix + 165 pp., £15.95.

Iver B. Neumann, Russia and the Idea of Europe: A Study in Identity and International Relations. London: Routledge, 1996, xviii + 253 pp., £13.99.

James P. Nichol, Diplomacy in the Former Soviet Republics. Westport, CT, London: Praeger, 1995, xii + 244 pp., £49.50.

Randall W. Stone, Satellites and Commissars: Strategy and Conflict in the Politics of Soviet‐Bloc Trade. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996, xviii + 283 pp., $39.50.

Adrian Hyde‐Price, The International Politics of East Central Europe. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1996, xviii + 300 pp., £45.00 h/b, £14.99 p/b.

John Dornberg, Central and Eastern Europe. Phoenix: The Oryx Press, 1995, x 4‐ 238 pp., £21.95.

Robert B. Pynsent (ed.), The Literature of Nationalism: Essays on East European Identity. London: University of London, 1996, viii + 282 pp.

Iliana Zloch‐Christy (ed.), Bulgaria in a Time of Change: Economic and Political Dimensions. Aldershot: Avebury, 1996, xi + 221 pp., £35.00.

Grzegorz Wec?awowicz, Contemporary Poland: Space and Society. London: UCL Press, 1996, 208 pp., £40.00 h/b., £14.95 p/b.

Maria Drohobycky (ed.), Crimea. Dynamics, Challenges and Prospects. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1995, xix + 250 pp., £34.50 h/b., £15.95 p/b.

Helen Fodor (ed.), Belarus and Moldova. Country Studies. Washington, DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1995, xxvi + 254 pp.

Kevin P. O'Prey, A Farewell to Arms? Russia's Struggles with Defense Conversion. New York: Twentieth Century Fund Press, 1995, vii + 143 pp., $9.95.

Alison Hilton, Russian Folk Art. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1995, xxiv + 356 pp., £31.50.

George F. Kennan, At a Century's Ending: Reflections, 1982–1995. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1996, 351 pp., US$27.50, £19.95.

Martin McCauley, The Khrushchev Era 1953–1964. London: Longman, 1995, 99 pp., £5.99.

Martin McCauley, The Origins of the Cold War, 1941–1949. 2nd edn. London: Longman, 1995, xii + 153 pp., £5.99.

Geoffrey Swain, The Origins of the Russian Civil War. Essex: Longman, 1996, xiv + 296 pp., £13.99.

Peter B. Maggs, The Mandelstam and “Der Nister” Files: An Introduction to Stalin‐era Prison and Labor Camp Records. New York: M. E. Sharpe, 1996, 184 pp., $52.95 h/b.