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Beyond the firm - An assessment of business linkages and networks in Australia

Bureau of Industry Economics research report

This report was released in July 1995.

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  • Contents

Preliminaries
Cover, Copyright, Foreword, Contents, Report at a glance, Overview

1   Introduction
1.1   Background
1.2   The policy setting
1.3   Key objectives of the study
1.4   Methodology
1.5   Outline of report

PART A   NATURE AND EXTENT OF COOPERATION

2   Setting the scene
2.1   Defining business cooperation
2.2   How much cooperation is occurring and in what forms?
2.3   The changing role of business cooperation
2.4   Summary

3   Why do firms cooperate?
3.1   Reasons for business cooperation
3.2   Modes of cooperation
3.3   Summary

4   Which firms cooperate?
4.1   Overview
4.2   Characteristics of cooperating and non-cooperating firms
4.3   Modelling analysis
4.4   Summary

5   How do firms cooperate?
5.1   Intensity of arrangements
5.2   Nature of the arrangement partners
5.3   Modelling analysis
5.4   Summary

PART B   BENEFITS AND PERFORMANCE

6   Overview of business cooperation benefits
6.1   All industries
6.2   Benefits by state
6.3   Benefits by metropolitan/regional location
6.4   Summary

7   How do different firms benefit?
7.1   Benefits and firm characteristics
7.2   Competitive advantages
7.3   Performance constraints
7.4   Summary

8   Benefits and different forms of cooperation
8.1   Benefits and the intensity of the arrangements
8.2   Benefits and the nature of the arrangement partners
8.3   The key arrangement and partner firm characteristics
8.4 Modelling analysis
8.5   Summary

9   The key arrangement, competitiveness and firm performance
9.1   A snap shot of the impacts of cooperation
9.2   Impacts and the characteristics of the firm
9.3   Impacts and the characteristics of arrangements
9.4 Modelling analysis
9.5   Summary

PART C   PROBLEMS, FAILURES AND IMPEDIMENTS

10   Problems encountered in cooperative arrangements
10.1   Overview
10.2   Problems and firm characteristics
10.3   Problems and different forms of cooperation
10.4   Summary

11   Why do cooperative arrangements fail?
11.1   Overview of cooperation failure
11.2   Cooperation failure and firm characteristics
11.3   Summary

12   Impediments to business cooperation
12.1   Why firms do not cooperate
12.2   Impediments and firm characteristics
12.3   Summary

PART D   ASSISTANCE FOR BUSINESS COOPERATION

13   Role and significance of external assistance
13.1   What ways are there of assisting firms to cooperate?
13.2   What assistance do governments and industry associations provide?
13.3   Effectiveness of external assistance
13.4   Outcomes of external assistance
13.5   The forms of assistance preferred by firms
13.6   Summary

14   Policy implications and recommendations
14.1   Linkages as a tool
14.2   What should industry policy be applied to? A new role for linked firms
14.3   Government assistance for business cooperation

APPENDICES

A   Survey and modelling methodology

B   Background information on industries

C   Summary of types of cooperative arrangements

D   Government involvement in inter-firm cooperation

E   The Business Networks Program

F   Taxonomy of government-assisted networks

G   A new way of delivering financial assistance

Glossary of terms

Bibliography

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