Business-Service Activities in British Provincial Conurbations

1983 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 1343-1359 ◽  
Author(s):  
J N Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Regional Policy ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Employment Growth ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
External Control ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Business Service ◽  
Organisational Structure ◽  
Business Services ◽  
Service Activities

Business-service activities are poorly represented in provincial areas of the British economy, and this acts as a constraint on the economic growth of these locations. This argument is developed in a survey investigation of business-service offices in the conurbations of Manchester, Leeds, and Birmingham. It is argued that external control is an important feature of the business-service sector, and that the organisational structure of multisite service firms influences the supply of business services. The importance of indigenous employment growth and industrial movement in provincial cities is examined. It is suggested that some business services generate regional exports, and should therefore, be given regional policy support.

The Role of Business-Service Offices in the Economy of Medium-Sized Cities

1987 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 669-686 ◽  
Author(s):  
J H J van Dinteren
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
External Control ◽  
Local Market ◽  
Business Service ◽  
Business Services ◽  
Indigenous Development ◽  
Information Circulation

In the Netherlands over the last fifteen years business-service activities have decentralized towards the intermediate provinces and the regions around the large cities in the west. A survey, based on postal questionnaires, was conducted to analyze this sector in thirteen medium-sized cities in the intermediate provinces. Work in this paper centers on the role of the business-service offices in the urban economy. From Pred's information-circulation theory it is argued that this role can be demonstrated by the following measures: the amount of local inputs, the degree of external control, the size of regional exports, and the size of the business-service sector (both in terms of employment and establishments). It is demonstrated that business services are not so reliant on a local market and on the manufacturing sector as has been assumed formerly. However, there are differences between the different types of offices. In a consideration of the role of business services in the economy of medium-sized cities it is shown that there are important variations between the cities studied. Initial advantages, the region in which the city is situated, planning policies, and the nature of the market are some factors accounting for the variations. Given the strong degree of regional export orientation, the intermediate function of business services and their recent and possible future growth, these results suggest that regional and urban policies, which in the Netherlands concentrate on stimulating indigenous development opportunities in the cities and regions themselves, need to reexamine the role of business services in the economy.

BUSINESS SERVICE, INTERNATIONAL OUTSOURCING, AND WAGE INEQUALITY

2018 ◽  
Vol 63 (05) ◽  
pp. 1175-1182
Author(s):  
CHU-PING LO
Keyword(s):  
Wage Inequality ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Business Service ◽  
International Outsourcing ◽  
Business Services ◽  
Production Externalities ◽  
The Impact

This paper adds business services to Feenstra and Hanson’s (1996) model to show that if a country is more prosperous in business services, tending to carry out less international outsourcing activities than it would otherwise. In this model, the more varieties of specialized business services a country endows, the more welfare gains arise in the presence of positive production externalities to the manufacturing sector. Since developed countries are more prosperous in business service sector, this model helps to explain why the impact of opening trade on the dispersion of both wages and unemployment is stronger in developing economies.

The Performance of Business-Service Firms in Peripheral Regions: An International Comparison between Scotland and Nova Scotia

1993 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 1627-1648 ◽  
Author(s):  
P N O'Farrell
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Research Management ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Business Service ◽  
Business Services ◽  
Management Consultancy ◽  
Consistent Picture ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Peripheral Regions

In this paper a comparative analysis of the competitiveness and performance of business-service companies in two peripheral regions, Nova Scotia and Scotland, is presented. Several dimensions of performance are investigated for four industries: market research, management consultancy, advertising, and graphic design. Value added per person is one third higher in Scotland compared with Nova Scotia, and Nova Scotian offices derive a much higher proportion of their turnover from government and public-sector contracts. In general, however, a very consistent picture emerges of the relative position of business services in the two regions. Possible demand-side and supply-side causes of such differences are reviewed and potential policy responses considered.

scholarly journals Significance of Retention Strategies in Business Services Sector

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4S3) ◽  
pp. 121-125
Keyword(s):  
Service Sector ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Business Service ◽  
Employee Morale ◽  
Transfer Of Knowledge ◽  
Financial Loss ◽  
Retention Strategies ◽  
Business Services ◽  
Services Sector ◽  
And Training

One of the chief concerns of Business Service Sector is retaining efficient employees. The recruiting team in an organization spends time on identifying candidates and training them, to equip them to be made suitable for the job. If the recruited staff quits without repaying for what he has gained, it results in a setback for the organization. Higher rates of employee’s turnover, which occurs due to increasing competition in labor market, forces the organization to start its work right from the scratch of hiring, training and fostering new entrants. In addition to the financial loss the organization faces due to employee turnover, there is fading employee morale, transfer of knowledge to competitors, and negative impact on the reputation of the organization. The organizations’ have therefore to adopt suitable retention strategies to retain efficient employees. Responses were elicited from employers working in various organizations in Business service sector to explore the need to adopt retention strategies, identify the retention strategies implemented by them, and to discover the importance given to retention strategies. Suitable statistical techniques such as SPSS 20.0 and AMOS have been implemented to derive at reliable conclusion.

scholarly journals The role of county competitiveness and manufacturing activity on the development of business service sectors: A precursor to territorial servitization

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 19-35
Author(s):  
Krisztina Horváth ◽  
Manuel Araya ◽  
Juan Carlos Leiva
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Business Service ◽  
Regional Competitiveness ◽  
Business Services ◽  
Manufacturing Activity ◽  
Fixed Effects Regression

This study evaluates how regional competitiveness and relevant properties of the manufacturing industry—i.e., size and rate of manufacturing firms—impact changes in the rate of business service firms. By employing fixed-effects regression models on a sample of 81 Costa Rican counties during 2010-2016, the findings reveal that the quality of the local environment positively affects business service specialization. Besides, manufacturing businesses contribute to increase in rate of business services; however, this effect is only significant in counties with a greater manufacturing base, that is, in counties with a critical mass of manufacturers, in terms of number of manufacturers.

Small Firms and Local Economic Development in South London

1996 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 202-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Phelps
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Firm Growth ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Business Service ◽  
Local Policy ◽  
Large Urban Area ◽  
Physical Constraints

A growing body of literature has identified a number of potential constraints on small firm growth. Arguably, the severity of these constraints is closely related to the differing fortunes of industries and firms and the extent of localised external economies or diseconomies. This paper looks at the constraints facing manufacturing and business service firms in a large urban area. The paper draws on findings from a survey of small firms in Croydon. Data from the survey reveal some differences between small manufacturing and service firms in their experience of the urban environment. Physical constraints on expansion and labour shortages appear to be hindering small manufacturing firms in Croydon. Deficiencies in specific niches of the local business service sector may be preventing small business service firms from complementing and enhancing their internal capabilities. The problems facing small firms in Croydon and the sorts of local policy initiatives being developed are likely to be applicable to other large urban areas.

Trade and Location of Producer Services: A Canadian Perspective

1987 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 597-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
W J Coffey ◽  
M Polèse
Keyword(s):  
Service Sector ◽  
Location Theory ◽  
Urban System ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Producer Services ◽  
Producer Service ◽  
Service Activities ◽  
Canadian Perspective ◽  
Locational Decision

The increasing importance of the service sector in modern economies necessitates the elaboration of a body of location theory applicable to service activities. An attempt is made in this paper to present elements of such a locational framework, with specific reference to producer services. Patterns of trade and of location are complementary aspects of the same problem. Thus three distinct channels through which producer services are traded are examined: direct and intrafirm exports by producer-service firms, and intrafirm exports by manufacturing firms. The last two ‘invisible’ channels, in particular, have important implications for the locational decision. A model for the locational analysis of producer-service establishments is then posited. The producer-service location problem may be conceptualized essentially as one of a trade-off between market-pull factors, specialized labour needs, and urban externalities. Last, the location of producer-service activities within the Canadian urban system is examined. These activities are found to be highly concentrated, but not in a simple hierarchical pattern, suggesting the importance of both specialized labour pools and urban externalities.

Business Service Offices in British Provincial Cities: Location and Control

1983 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 1101-1120 ◽  
Author(s):  
P W Daniels
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
External Control ◽  
Business Service ◽  
Business Services ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Sources Of Variation ◽  
New Firm ◽  
Set Up ◽  
And Control

There are only a few studies of business service activities and most have concentrated on the behaviour of these activities in large cities. By taking a wider cross section of urban areas, this study explores some possible sources of variation in the role of business services in local economies with particular reference to the location and control of these services. Low-growth cities with a large proportion of their business services under external control show a limited amount of new-firm formation since indigenous firms are outnumbered by about two to one. Nonindigenous firms are significantly more likely to set up new branches or to relocate existing ones. The ratio of indigenous to nonindigenous business services in each urban area is significant for the location, status, function, and other changes reported by establishments. Many of these changes are a response to market adjustment or a need to ‘colonize’ new areas. The types of change, particularly of location, are also significantly related to office function. Provincial business services have shown a propensity to expand their employment, but this may only reflect the general trend since 1975. The role of London as the location of headquarters controlling provincial business services is far from dominant.

scholarly journals Offshoring in Business Services Sector Over the Business Cycle: A Case of Growth of the International Cooperation

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eliza Chilimoniuk-Przeździecka
Keyword(s):  
Business Cycle ◽  
International Cooperation ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Business Service ◽  
It Services ◽  
Business Services ◽  
Services Sector ◽  
Short Run ◽  
The Business Cycle

Offshoring in Business Services Sector Over the Business Cycle: A Case of Growth of the International Cooperation In this paper I analyze the role of business service offshoring in international cooperation over the recession. In business services - as described in Schumpeterian literature - external restructuring including resource and production relocation is more intensive during recession periods while intensive internal restructuring accompanies expansion periods. As external restructuring encompass business processes fragmentation and offshoring of services, I also argue - taking into account historical evidence - that current economic crisis would result in growing service offshoring in business service sector. I expect that many financial institutions would relocate part of their business processes abroad, where operating costs are lower, as they find that external restructuring via offshoring is the way to survive. This, in turn, will be the most possible result in growth of service offshoring projects located in CEE and Asia, as these two locations were the most attractive ones in recent years for service offshoring. The process is reflected by growth of FDI outflows from developed economies to CEE and Asia as well as growth of business and IT services trade between the mentioned economies. However, I also expect that in short run (one year perspective) we will experience tremendous decrease of FDI flows including investment in service offshoring, nevertheless the share of FDI flows related to service offshoring in total FDI flows will increase.

A little help from my friends: how purchasing gains influence in complex business-to-business services: the case of legal

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy L. Tate ◽  
Lisa M. Ellram ◽  
Ulrich Schmelzle
Keyword(s):  
Supplier Management ◽  
Positive Contribution ◽  
Business Service ◽  
Case Study Method ◽  
Business Services ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Additional Costs ◽  
Service Procurement ◽  
Business To Business

Purpose The purpose of this research is to develop an understanding of how purchasing can become meaningfully involved in complex business-to-business service purchases. Design/methodology/approach A single in-depth case study method of an exemplar organization was applied to better understand the purchasing function’s role in adding to the value proposition in complex, non-traditional business-to-business service purchases. Findings Powerful allies or advocates can mediate purchasing involvement in service procurement. However, once the involvement is initiated, purchasing must make a positive contribution with respect to the specific needs and expectations of the budget owner to retain its influence. Research limitations/implications This research extends institutional theory to show how powerful allies or advocates can mediate purchasing involvement in the complex services spend. Practical implications This study describes the potential impact of purchasing’s involvement in complex services spend and highlights the opportunities for purchasing managers to improve supplier management and drive out additional costs. Originality/value For the business practitioner, this research provides evidence regarding how individual functions can gain influence in the organization. A conceptual model describes the meaningful involvement of purchasing in complex business-to-business service purchases.

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