Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research - Research Publications
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ItemCost focussed firms and Internet usage( 2002-12)This paper looks at Internet usage by Australian firms that have a cost focussed competitive strategy. The data source for this analysis is the Melbourne Institute Business Survey, conducted by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research. The survey was conducted in late 2001, and targeted large Australian firms. Instrumental variables estimation found that cost-focussed organizations utilised the Internet more intensively for both internal organizational activities and external market activities than organizations that did not have a high focus on costs. However, this impact appeared greater for internal organizational activities, suggesting that these firms possibly believed that there were greater cost savings and efficiency gains-at least in terms of Internet usage-to be had in using the Internet as part of the internal operations of the organization.
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ItemBusiness use of the Internet in Australia( 2002-10)This paper provides summary statistics of Internet usage by Australian businesses using several data sources. Aggregate statistics are provided from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Business Use of Information Technology. More detailed information on firm characteristics and Internet usage are provided from the Melbourne Institute Business Survey, conducted by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research. Despite being a relatively new phenomenon, the academic research to date has already generated some general observations. The first of these is that Internet use is only beneficial to the organisation if it is incorporated into an overall strategy. Evidence from the Melbourne Institute Business Survey shows organisations that were strong in at least one competitive strategy (that is, operational excellence, customer intimacy or product leadership) were more likely to use particular features of the Internet than the rest of the sample. The academic research also indicates that there are significant differences in Internet adoption depending on the type of industry the organisation operates in. Again, the Melbourne Institute Business Survey shows that Internet usage does indeed vary across industries, with manufacturers more likely to use the Internet for the co-ordination of delivery arrangements, whereas the service industries are more likely to use the Internet for customer self-service and personnel benefits.
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ItemAre pro-reformers better performers?( 2002-09)There appears to be widespread consensus in industry and government that a switch from centralized bargaining to an enterprise based system benefits productivity. However, research suggests that the link between bargaining structures and worker productivity is dubious and that empirical research has been unable to discover a relationship between them. In this paper we use data from Australian companies at the enterprise level and examine the links between performance and a range of human resources, industrial relations and management variables to determine whether bargaining structures do impact on performance. In particular, we investigate whether organisations that have incorporated aspects of the industrial relations reform agenda have outperformed organisations that have not. The results from the application of a treatment effects regression model show evidence that organisations adopting the industrial relations reform agenda report significantly higher levels of self-assessed labour productivity relative to their competitors, even after controlling for a number of different factor
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ItemThe dynamic performance of Australian enterprises(Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, 2002)