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The differences in cesarean sections and diagnosis rates between group-model HMO patients and other patients could arise from several mechanisms: group-model HMOs provide consistent financial incentives to their staff, they may be better able to guide physician practice, and they might provide staff support to physicians so there is less leisure-based incentive to perform cesarean sections. In contrast, nongroup-model HMOs do not appear to reduce the incentive of physicians to maximize leisure relative to traditional insurance.

This paper explores the impact of competition on inequality by developing a new model to illustrate how higher profits from market power, and associated higher prices, could influence the distribution of wealth and income. We analyse data from eight OECD countries—Canada, France, Germany, Korea, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In an average country in the sample, market power increases the wealth of the richest 10 per cent by between 12 and 21 per cent for a range of reasonable assumptions about savings behaviour, while it reduces the income of the poorest 20 per cent by 11 per cent or more. The results contribute to the economic literature on the origins of inequality, suggesting that lack of competition may be one source of economic inequality.

Considers the concept of the "listening" organisation and its influence on service and business performance. Specifically reports on empirical research which investigated the link between service quality information practices, the listening organisation and service and business performance. In this respect, builds on an earlier model of service management developed by the London Business School and Warwick Business School in the UK. This extended model employs two composite performance indexes as moderator variables. Surveyed 438 service organisations in the Republic of Ireland; the loglinear model used to analyse the data shows a clear pattern. By taking listening practices, including information technology, as a holistic view of a constellation of information-related practice type factors, demonstrates that there is a close relationship with service performance, which in turn influences business performance. Furthermore, technology type and competitive intensity, moderate this relationship. Establishes that the relationship between listening practices and service performance is much more important for the sophisticated task technology sector and that competitive intensity has a very minor interactive effect on the relationship. The results of the survey mirror recent empirical research in market orientation and organisational learning

The marketing of small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can face many challenges, particularly for those operating within the creative industries. The purpose of this paper is to describe an inductive and exploratory case study approach to empirically investigate the issues and complexities uncovered when taking a mainly internal, organisational perspective to creativity, identity and the brand