The aim of this paper is to analyze the effects of technological opportunities on the innovation activities of firms, depending on their absorptive capacities. The importance and impacts of the ability of firms to use external knowledge sources were inquired especially for external knowledge stemming from scientific research. Using a simple theoretic model, different innovation effects were emp...

Wood processing is usually performed in environments with large amounts of endotoxin-rich bioaerosols that are associated with a variety of health effects. The aim of this preliminary study was to assess the relation between endotoxin levels in settled and airborne dust in wood-processing industry. Ten pairs of airborne and settled dust samples were collected in a sawmill and parquet manufactur...

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Industry-specific ergonomics guidelines are an important component in the four-pronged approach to workplace ergonomics currently pursued by the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The American Furniture Manufacturers Association has taken the initiative of developing such a guideline for its members. The result of this effort is the "AFMA Voluntary Ergonomics Guideline...

In order to reach the EU: s 20-20-20 primary energy savings target, energy efficiency needs to increase. Previous research on energy use and energy efficiency has focused mainly on the diffusion of energy efficient technologies. The discrepancy between optimal and actual implementation of energy efficient technologies has been illustrated in numerous articles and is often referred to as the ene...

This paper estimates a structural model of learning-by-doing. Treating production experience as a state variable, this paper provides estimates of the structural parameters obtained from the first order conditions arising from the plant’s maximization problem. Estimates are provided using data on 4-digit manufacturing industries and plant-level observations. Using aggregate industry data, the r...

This paper investigates into the determinants of capital structure for the small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in British manufacturing industry and the effects of product category on the determinants of capital structure. 220 SMEs from British manufacturing industry are selected for testing the six hypothesized relationships regarding the determinants of capital structure. Results sugges...

It is well researched and reported that the culture of a nation has a major impact on employees’ work related values, attitudes and expectations. The objective of this study was to investigate if western research on the generation gap applies equally to generational groups in Taiwan’s workplaces, specifically in the higher education sector and manufacturing industry. The research found that gro...

Very few durable goods are recovered at the end of their useful lives. However, this situation could reverse with the development of a stronger remanufacturing industry in the economy. This paper evaluates the impact of remanufacturing in a hypothetical situation where remanufacturing holds a significant share of the economy, presently dominated by the original manufacturing industries. We adap...

The Chilean economy underwent a deep structural change in the mid-seventies, through several economic reforms. Among these, the most impressive one was trade liberalization. This process caused a string of bankruptcies in the manufacturing industry and a reduction in the share of this sector in GDP, which some authors have used to imply that Chile has become a less industrialized economy. This ...