The research seeks to examine the absorption process of “human resource” initiatives into organisations which have well‐developed industrial relations practices and procedures.

Changes in organizational structures, logics and employment practices in the media industries – critically the outsourcing of labour, whereby employees become freelance workers – supply an ideal context in which to explore the extent to which, and the ways in which, ideological and structural pressures encourage workers to accept the logic and imperatives of enterprise. An important and influential body of literature identifies the ‘enterprising self ’ as a central paradigmatic concept underpinning the rationale of new, alternative, work forms and relationships. And enterprising forms or logics of organization, or of organizational employment practices and relationships are closely associated with management pressures on workers (contract freelance workers or permanent employees) to accept enterprise as a major element of their self-identities.This study of media workers contributes to the debate about the ‘enterprising self ’. Many writers have noted that workers in the enterprise economy are exposed to systemic efforts to see themselves in terms of enterprise. But relatively little work has explored how workers respond to these efforts.The findings of this study reveal the various ways in which freelance workers make sense of enterprise and how they understand themselves, and their employment experiences in terms of enterprise.

No abstract

Large numbers of organizations are taking great interest in the idea of knowledge management and many are launching knowledge management initiatives and programmes. A large proportion of such initiatives will fail. Yet, despite the injunctions to “learn from failure”, little detailed attention has been paid to why and how these apparently popular initiatives run into difficulties. The purpose of this article is to examine, in some unusual detail, a significant example of a failed knowledge management initiative in order to analyse what went wrong and to identify the key learning points.

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to critically assess current developments in the theory and practice of supply management and through such an assessment to identify barriers, possibilities and key trends. Design/methodology/approach-The paper is based on a three-year detailed study of six supply chains which encompassed 72 companies in Europe. The focal firms in each instance were sophisticated, blue-chip corporations operating on an international scale. Managers across at least four echelons of the supply chain were interviewed and the supply chains were traced and observed. Findings-The paper reveals that supply management is, at best, still emergent in terms of both theory and practice. Few practitioners were able-or even seriously aspired-to extend their reach across the supply chain in the manner prescribed in much modern theory. The paper identifies the range of key barriers and enablers to supply management and it concludes with an assessment of the main trends. Research limitations/implications-The research presents a number of challenges to existing thinking about supply strategy and supply chain management. It reveals the substantial gaps between theory and practice. A number of trends are identified which it is argued may work in favour of better prospects for SCM in the future and for the future of supply management as a discipline. Practical implications-A central challenge concerns who could or should manage the supply chain. Barriers to effective supply management are identified and some practical steps to surmount them are suggested. Originality/value-The paper is original in the way in which it draws on an extensive systematic study to critically assess current theory and current developments. The paper points the way for theorists and practitioners to meet future challenges.