Cluster strength and structure : How does this impact on the complementarity of a region's wine and tourism industries?
- Authors: McRae-Williams, Pamela
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at CAUTHE 14th International Conference for the Council for Australian University Tourism and Hospitality Education, Brisbane : 10th February, 2004
- Full Text:
- Description: E1
- Description: 2003002474
Beyond clusters : Current practices & future strategies
- Authors: Lowe, Julian , Braun, Patrice , McRae-Williams, Pamela
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings
- Full Text: false
- Description: "These conference proceedings document the research of participants and include topics specific to clusters, networks, regional development, information and communication technologies, and competitiveness." -- Preface.
Economic clusters, entrepreneurship and innovation
- Authors: McRae-Williams, Pamela , Lowe, Julian , Taylor, Peter
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at the 2005 Annual High Technology Small Firms Conference, Melbourne : 10th February, 2005
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: E1
- Description: 2003001177
Economic clusters, new venture creation and growth
- Authors: McRae-Williams, Pamela , Lowe, Julian , Taylor, Peter
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Regional Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research Vol. 2, no. (2005), p. 135-148
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003001145
Managing community relationships, reputation and sustaining competitive advantage : The case of mining towns
- Authors: Tuck, Jacqueline , Lowe, Julian , McRae-Williams, Pamela
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at the 2nd National Conference on the future of Australia's Country Towns, Bendigo, Australia : 11th - 13th July, 2005
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- Reviewed:
- Description: An important issue currently facing the mining industry in Australia is the management and cost to the industry and other stakeholders of entry into and exit from towns and their communities. These costs can be environmental, social, economic, political or reputational. The ability of companies to engage the trust of communities, governments and investors is critical, and corporate reputation plays a significant role in this. For the industry to secure a long-term and sustainable future, it must have the technical, business and reputation assets to proceed in a cost-effective, environmentally acceptable and socially supportive way. The paper introduces the concepts of sustainability both at the corporate level and the regional town and community level. For the companies, there are important impacts on costs and efficiencies, an organisations ‘license to operate’, shareholder value and the trade off between dealing with environmental and social issues through prevention or retrofit and corrective measures. However, for the mining industry, possibly the most important aspect of this study is the ability of companies to get access to new sites at competitive cost. For mining companies sustainability has moved from mineral and environmental resources, to a greater emphasis on economic sustainability and community capacity building.
- Description: E1
- Description: 2003001139
Small business clustering : Accessing knowledge through local networks
- Authors: Braun, Patrice , McRae-Williams, Pamela , Lowe, Julian
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at the CRIC Cluster Conference 2005, Ballarat, Australia : 30th June - July 1st, 2005 p. 57-63
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- Reviewed:
- Description: Over the last decade there has been considerable interest and activity in clustering and the concomitant link to regional development. In the world economy small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are now recognised as playing a pivotal role in regional economic sustainability and growth, yet there is relatively little research that examines SME clustering processes, and in particular the nature of knowledge creation in local/regional SME networks. This paper discusses the topic of small business clustering and local network knowledge transfer. It outlines some of the key literature on clustering within a regional development context and discusses the implications on industry and place vis-à-vis regional cluster learning, knowledge creation and innovation. To illustrate SME clustering and knowledge transfer issues, the paper briefly highlights three regional Australian small business clustering studies. The paper concludes with some future directions for SME clustering in terms of policy, industry and place.
- Description: E1
- Description: 2003001300
Small business clustering : The benefits of local network learning
- Authors: Braun, Patrice , McRae-Williams, Pamela , Lowe, Julian
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at the APEC Symposium on SME Clustering, Taiwan : 8th March - 10th, 2005
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: E1
- Description: 2003001221
Waste water demand management study stage 2
- Authors: McRae-Williams, Pamela , Campbell, Dianne , Lowe, Julian , Tuck, Michael
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Report
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This report for the Central Highlands Water Authority used a novel research approach to identify the impact of demand management measures on water consumption in a country town. Specifically the report tested out real interventions with a sample of water customers, and estimated price elasticities by using a methodology that estimates it as a residual after technical, social marketing and other factors have been accounted for. The estimates for price elasticity are less than those published in much of the research literature, but nevertheless fit the data in this experiment.
- Description: K1
- Description: 2003004538
Wine and regional tourism : Cluster complementarity and regional development
- Authors: McRae-Williams, Pamela
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis investigates the impact of clustering on the development and operation of wine and tourism industries in Victoria, Australia. Specifically, the research analyses the structure and competitive strength of industry players, and highlights the importance of geographic co-location on their behaviour. In essence, this study examines micro-clusters in these regional industries to identify overlap and complementarity between them. The research focuses on three case studies based around geographic locations in Central and Western Victoria - Ballarat, Northern Grampians and Bendigo regions. "The primary aim of the study is to gain an understanding of the scope of wine and tourism micro-clusters and how they interact. [...] Generally speaking, this study develops and applies a framework that demonstrates the relevance of cluster theory as a regional development tool for scenarios that fucus on co-located clusters at a micro level, as opposed to the majority of research reported that focuses on the macro level."
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Hindmarsh shire community attitudes and aspirations : Perceptions of the Wimmera Mallee pipeline : WIDCORP
- Authors: McEachern, Steven , Lynch, David , McRae-Williams, Pamela
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Report
- Full Text:
- Description: WIDCORP rural community community survey
- Description: K1
- Description: 2003002444
Sustainable water supplies and sustainable small towns
- Authors: McRae-Williams, Pamela , Lowe, Julian
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: The changing nature of Australia's country towns Chapter p.
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Many small towns in Australia have fragile water supplies, and have been subject to extensive water restrictions that have impacted quality of life, inward investment and sometimes town viability. The small size of these towns and an often outdated water and waste water system, increases their vulnerability to water shortages, whilst the investment costs on the supply side can be high due to an absence of scale economies.
- Description: B1
- Description: 2003001751
Is the pipeline our lifeline? Water reform and sustainability in drought-affected dryland communities of rural Victoria
- Authors: McRae-Williams, Pamela , Deutsher, M , Schwarz, Imogen
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at AWA OzWater 2007 convention and exhibition., Sydney : 4th - 8th March, 2007
- Full Text: false
- Description: E1
Regional clusters : Classification and overlap of wine and tourism micro-clusters
- Authors: McRae-Williams, Pamela
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Small business clustering technologies : applications in marketing, management, IT and economics Chapter p. 141-159
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: "This book examines the development and role of small business clusters from a variety of disciplines : economics, marketing, management and information systems. It gathers perspectives from varied disciplines and countries, extending current knowledge by emphasizing the pressure that international competition and IT have on the geographic structure of clusters, possibly leading to a new 'a-spatial' option developing"--Provided by publisher.
- Description: B1
- Description: 2003005239
The determinants of cluster activities in the Australian wine and tourism industries
- Authors: Taylor, Peter , McRae-Williams, Pamela , Lowe, Julian
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Tourism Economics Vol. 13, no. 4 (2007), p. 639-656
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This paper discusses wine and tourism clusters and the recent innovation of wine tourism in which businesses operate within both industries. The concept of micro-clusters is examined in terms of trust, networking, collaboration and other activities, all of which are argued to depend on the concepts of game theory and sunk costs. The study involved both interviews and a questionnaire. Conceptual variables are created from the questionnaire responses using factor analysis. The determinants of cluster activities are modelled using regression analysis. The effects of industry, place and respondents' entrepreneurial characteristics are used as exogenous variables. The study finds that industry does seem to be more important than place in the determination of networking and cooperative cluster activities, and that members of the wine tourism industry participate more in these activities than members of the tourism or hospitality industries. The addition of three variables that embody the entrepreneurial characteristics of the respondents approximately doubles the explanatory power of the original models. There is evidence to suggest that cluster activities are idiosyncratic for each industry-place cluster. The effects of firm size on cluster activities are also examined. No evidence is found of cooperative activities depending on cluster size. The main results support the contention that sunk costs are important in the determination of cluster activities.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003005195
The influence of industrial clusters and place on innovation and entrepreneurial behaviour
- Authors: McRae-Williams, Pamela , Lowe, Julian , Taylor, Peter
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Vol. 8, no. 3 (2007), p. 165-174
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Responses from a questionnaire survey of wine and tourism businesses operating in regional clusters were analysed using factor analysis. These suggested three factor scores relating to entrepreneurial behaviour; four factor scores relating to cluster activities and attributes; and three factors relating to the respondents' personal characteristics. The three entrepreneurial behaviour factor scores were interpreted as: innovator, calculator and venturer. These were used as dependent variables in regression models. The independent variables were the cluster and personal characteristics factor scores, industry and place. The central result was that the cluster activity variables did not have a significant impact on the innovator behaviour variable, which contradicts the standard view. Cluster activities and attributes were found to attract entrepreneurs of the calculator kind, and to a lesser extent, of the venturer kind. Place did seem to offer an attraction to entrepreneurs beyond those offered by the intensities of the cluster activities and attributes. Responses from a questionnaire survey of wine and tourism businesses operating in regional clusters were analysed using factor analysis. These suggested three factor scores relating to entrepreneurial behaviour; four factor scores relating to cluster activities and attributes; and three factors relating to the respondents' personal characteristics. The three entrepreneurial behaviour factor scores were interpreted as: innovator, calculator and venturer. These were used as dependent variables in regression models. The independent variables were the cluster and personal characteristics factor scores, industry and place. The central result was that the cluster activity variables did not have a significant impact on the innovator behaviour variable, which contradicts the standard view. Cluster activities and attributes were found to attract entrepreneurs of the calculator kind, and to a lesser extent, of the venturer kind. Place did seem to offer an attraction to entrepreneurs beyond those offered by the intensities of the cluster activities and attributes.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003005196
Closing the loop between research and sustainable regional development
- Authors: Schwarz, Imogen , McRae-Williams, Pamela
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 12th SEGRA Conference 2008 : Creative Solutions - expect them to be different, Albury, New South Wales : 18th-20th August 2008
- Full Text:
- Description: There is continued debate between researchers, policy makers and regional communities on the effectiveness of research in identifying and engaging with regional issues and transferring this research to facilitate polices and initiatives that are adaptive and relevant. This paper reviews these current trends in thinking and describes a model of regional engagement where researchers, decision makers and community are beginning to work together to establish an effective framework to facilitate adaptive decision making, social learning and participatory research initiatives at a regional scale. The paper describes the evolution of the Water in Drylands Collaborative Research Program (WIDCORP) in Western Victoria. The model provides insights and highlights difficulties in converting research into creative solutions for sustainable regional development. Co-location, bridging partnerships across disciplines to deliver regional research needs, and developing good communication are key elements of this model. It also suggests that models of this type may be a stepping stone to integrate research into regional development decision making.
- Description: 2003006872
Does major regional infrastructure influence the resilience of a rural community?
- Authors: Schwarz, Imogen , McRae-Williams, Pamela
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 10th National Rural Health Conference: Rural health, the place to be, Cairns, Queensland : 17th-20th May 2009
- Full Text:
- Description: 2003006931
Adaption to water shortage through the implementation of a unique pipeline system in Victoria, Australia
- Authors: Mala-Jetmarova, Helena , Barton, Andrew , Bagirov, Adil , McRae-Williams, Pamela , Caris, Rob , Jackson, Peter
- Date: 2010
- Type: Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at Hydropredict' 2010, 2nd International Interdisciplinary Conference on predications for Hydrology, Ecology, and Water Resources Management
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Abstract Water resource development has played a crucial role in the Grampians, Wimmera and Mallee regions of Australia, with the main source of surface water located in several reservoirs in the Grampians mountain ranges. Historically, water was delivered by gravity through a vast 19 500 km earthen channel system from the reservoirs to the townships and farms. As a result of the severe and protracted drought experienced in the region over the past 13 years and the projected drying climate, there have been fundamental changes made to the management of water in order to better cope with water scarcity. The primary strategic effort to sustainably manage water resources was by removing the unsustainable transport of water via the open channels which resulted in very high losses through seepage and evaporation. This inefficient system has been replaced by a pressurised pipeline, the largest geographical water infrastructure project of its type in Australia, spreading across an area of approximately 20 000 km2. To manage the change in water balance as a result of the pipeline and drying climate, the regions water corporations and environmental agencies have designed a scheme for water allocations intended to sustain local communities, allow for regional development and improve environmental conditions. This paper describes the unique pipeline system recently completed, provides a brief summary of water sharing arrangements and introduces the research program currently underway to optimise the performance of the pipeline system.
A reasoning framework for decision making in water allocation: a tree for water
- Authors: Graymore, Michelle , Mays, Heather , Stranieri, Andrew , Lehmann, La Vergne , McRae-Williams, Pamela , Thoms, Gavin , Yearwood, John
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at International Conference on Integrated Water Management 2011
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
Coping with severe drought : Stories from the front line
- Authors: Barton, Andrew , Briggs, Steven , McRae-Williams, Pamela , Prior, Darcy
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Water Resources Vol. 15, no. 1 (2011), p. 21-32
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: The last 12 years has seen extreme drought in western Victoria. This has impacted on the area in many ways, but none more so than in the provision of basic water supplies to people. To meet the challenge of drought, headworks storages have had to be operated at record low levels, severe water restrictions imposed, water carting programs established, alternative sources of water, and new technologies developed and used. Significant changes have also been made to the water supply infrastructure in the region, most notably the Northern-Mallee and Wimmera-Mallee Pipelines. This paper relates the story of how water resources were managed and bulk water was delivered to around 70,000 customers over a geographic spread of 62,000 km2, or about 30% of Victoria. Discussion on the social, environmental and economic impacts on the region are also provided. © Institution of Engineers Australia, 2011.