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1 – 10 of over 1000Western economics came into being with the rise of the capitalist market economy. It had a nature of duality beginning from its birth: the justificativeness of providing…
Abstract
Purpose
Western economics came into being with the rise of the capitalist market economy. It had a nature of duality beginning from its birth: the justificativeness of providing theoretical pillars for the capitalist market economy system and the scientificity of revealing the internal relations and operating rules of the capitalist market economy. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
However, after the 1830s, this justificativeness gradually evolved into vulgarity. Since the 1930s, modern western mainstream economics has mainly explored the general market economy on the assumption that the capitalist system remains unchanged, and many outcomes of such research are positive and beneficial.
Findings
Political economy of socialism with Chinese characteristics, at the present stage, is mainly a Chinese socialist market economics. It is guided by the Marxist political economy and rooted in the great practice of China’s reform and opening up and socialist modernization.
Originality/value
According to political complexion, western economic theories can be divided into political economic theory, mainstream economic theory and basic economic theory. By subjecting these theories to what we term “elimination,” “transformation” and “transplantation” surgeries, respectively, we can absorb and accommodate their beneficial elements in building a political economy of socialism with Chinese characteristics, which in turn is conducive to the development and prosperity of such an economy.
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Henry Gyarteng-Mensah, De-Graft Owusu-Manu, David Edwards, Isaac Baidoo and Hatem El-Gohary
Using a discrete choice experiment (DCE), this study aims to better understand the job preference of postgraduate students studying at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and…
Abstract
Purpose
Using a discrete choice experiment (DCE), this study aims to better understand the job preference of postgraduate students studying at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology-Institute of Distance Learning, Ghana and also rank the attributes of a job they deem important.
Design/methodology/approach
The research adopted a positivist epistemological design contextualised within a deductive approach and case study strategy. Primary survey data was collected from a stratified random sample of 128 postgraduate students with multi-sectorial career prospects. Sample students were subjected to a DCE in which their stated preferences were collected using closed-ended questionnaires with 28 pairs of hypothetical job profiles. Respondents’ preferences from the DCE data were then modelled using the conditional logit.
Findings
The research reveals that: salary in the range GHC 2,800.00 to GHC 3,400.00 ($1 = GHS 5.3); supportive management; very challenging jobs; and jobs located in the city were the top attributes that were significant and had the most impact in increasing the utility of selecting a particular job. Interestingly, jobs with no extra hours workload were not significant hence, had a negative impact upon student preferences.
Originality/value
This novel research is the first to use a DCE to better elicit preference and trade-offs of postgraduate students in a developing country towards varying job characteristics that have an impact on their future employment decisions. Knowledge advancements made provide invaluable insight to employers and policymakers on the key criteria that should be implemented to retain the best candidate.
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Warattaya Chinnakum, Laura Berrout Ramos, Olugbenga Iyiola and Vladik Kreinovich
In real life, we only know the consequences of each possible action with some uncertainty. A typical example is interval uncertainty, when we only know the lower and upper bounds…
Abstract
Purpose
In real life, we only know the consequences of each possible action with some uncertainty. A typical example is interval uncertainty, when we only know the lower and upper bounds on the expected gain. A usual way to compare such interval-valued alternatives is to use the optimism–pessimism criterion developed by Nobelist Leo Hurwicz. In this approach, a weighted combination of the worst-case and the best-case gains is maximized. There exist several justifications for this criterion; however, some of the assumptions behind these justifications are not 100% convincing. The purpose of this paper is to find a more convincing explanation.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used utility approach to decision-making.
Findings
The authors proposed new, hopefully more convincing, justifications for Hurwicz’s approach.
Originality/value
This is a new, more intuitive explanation of Hurwicz’s approach to decision-making under interval uncertainty.
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John Robert Turner, Nigel Thurlow, Rose Baker, David Northcutt and Kelsey Newman
The purpose of this paper is to highlight a collaborative effort between academia (University of North Texas, Team Sciences) and practice (Toyota Connected (TC)). This study…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to highlight a collaborative effort between academia (University of North Texas, Team Sciences) and practice (Toyota Connected (TC)). This study concentrated on current problems that had been experienced by TC: How to structure and manage multiteam systems (MTSs)?
Design/methodology/approach
This research study utilized a realist systematic review to address an existing problem by working collaboratively with TC and academia. This collaboration involved problem identification, the development of research questions and a full systematic review guided by the research questions.
Findings
This realist systematic review merged the literature with current practices at TC in an effort to gather evidence to support the best method of structuring and managing MTSs. The findings include a leadership structure that incorporates both shared leadership (bottom-up) and existing hierarchical structures (top-down).
Practical implications
The MTS models presented in this study provide new models for organizations/manufacturers/industries to use as a guide when structuring their MTSs.
Originality/value
This study provides an example of a collaborative research effort between practice and academia using a realist systematic review. The paper also provides some multiteam system models that could be implemented and tested in different organizations. Also, new responsibilities and roles for scrum and MTSs are presented as a new method of achieving Agile.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of having minor children on parents' life satisfaction. Given the demands on working parents in terms of their time and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of having minor children on parents' life satisfaction. Given the demands on working parents in terms of their time and financial resources, the authors suspect a complex interaction between employment and parenthood and explore the effect of parenthood on life satisfaction of mothers and fathers, working parents and those with children of various ages.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from three rounds of the European Social Survey (R3 2006/07, R5 2010/11 and R8 2016/17) are used to account for Ireland's changing economic landscape. Three ordered probit models are estimated examining parents, and mothers and fathers separately.
Findings
The findings indicate that any life satisfaction benefits derived from having children appear to be eroded for working parents. There is a negative association between life satisfaction for working mothers with child(ren) aged between 5 and 12 years. Furthermore, when both parents are working, mothers' life satisfaction is also significantly reduced.
Practical implications
Family policies and supports can shape the effects of parenthood on individual wellbeing and decisions regarding parenthood. Such policies need to be purposeful for working parents of school going children and consistent with economic strategy and labour market goals.
Originality/value
Much of the existing economic research on individual wellbeing and parenthood are focused on the fertility decision rather than examining the factors affecting the life satisfaction of different cohorts of parents thus leading to more targeted and informed policies. Contemporary weighting methodology is employed.
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Zheng Zhao and Yali Wen
The purpose of this paper is to measure the influence factors of their preferences for urban forest, marginal values of various properties and relative values of different scheme…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to measure the influence factors of their preferences for urban forest, marginal values of various properties and relative values of different scheme portfolios, thus arriving indirectly at the city residents’ demand for urban forest improvement.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper, based on the data from the 2015–2017 field survey questionnaire of city residents over the radius of Beijing’s 5th Ring Road, uses the choice experiment method (CEM) to conduct a study of its residents’ demand for urban forest.
Findings
Beijing’s city residents are generally inclined to accept a relatively low payment of urban forest while hoping to access a relatively high urban afforestation coverage with the construction of relatively many city parks, especially focusing on the specialized park management; the marginal values of biodiversity and greenery coverage are far higher than those of greenbelts in quantity and the maximum marginal value of biodiversity remains as high as RMB29.42, indicating that the city residents do not favor much the number of greenbelts over other aspects but they generally hope to achieve a higher greenery coverage and a richer biodiversity.
Research limitations/implications
Generally speaking, what Beijing City needs most is not continuing the increase in the number of greenbelts, but engaging in the rational retrofit of its existing greenbelts and optimizing its urban forest structure.
Originality/value
This paper may provide reference for determining the city residents’ payment criteria for urban forest and will be of equally great significance to developing cities and their urban forest.
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Xinyi Hong, Chenguang Li, Junfei Bai, Zhifeng Gao and Liming Wang
Following the standard practice of using nutrition claims to denote food functionality, this study empirically explores Chinese consumers’ willingness-to-pay for functional…
Abstract
Purpose
Following the standard practice of using nutrition claims to denote food functionality, this study empirically explores Chinese consumers’ willingness-to-pay for functional processed meat products by using three nutrition claims (namely “increased calcium,” “containing omega-3”, and “reduced salt”) made on pork sausages. It also aims to outline the typical characteristics of Chinese consumer segments based on preferences.
Design/methodology/approach
A choice-based choice experiment is utilized to investigate Chinese consumers’ valuation on attributes of interest regarding functional sausage products. First-hand data was collected in the two cities of Xi'an and Beijing.
Findings
There are market potentials for domestic and/or imported functional processed meat products among Chinese consumers. Nutrition claims made on pork sausages are appealing to Chinese consumers, and therefore, monetarily rewarded by them. Being imported from a more developed country of origin could both positively and negatively impact consumers’ WTP for nutrition claims made on pork sausages. Furthermore, specific functional modification strategies should be taken into account when addressing different segments of the Chinese market. In addition, regional impacts between Xi'an and Beijing are implied in terms of consumers’ valuation for functional pork sausages.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations in the current study are mainly two folds. First, the WTP estimation magnitudes are subject to a hypothetical bias by using a stated preference approach. Second, this study only focuses on pork sausages to explore consumers’ perceptions and selects three nutrition claims among many other relevant options.
Practical implications
Implications are provided for meat marketers and for Chinese official food policymakers, such that promoting meat products with a nutrition claim is an attractive marketing strategy for foreign food manufacturers in China, and more reformulated meat products with better nutritional compositions should be allowed in the Chinese market.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s knowledge, this research is the first to fill in the literature blank on investigating the consumers’ valuation for functional meat in the emerging market of China. Because when taking Chinese consumers as a target market and evaluating their perceptions of food quality-related labeling and certifications, the existing literature is mainly limited to topics of product safety, organic/green products, and geographical origins. However, nutrition claims, as marketable credence attributes that associate closely to the main characteristics of the functional food products, have been explored to a much lesser extent among Chinese consumers.
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Zack Enslin, John Hall and Elda du Toit
The emerging business partner role of management accountants (MAs) results in an increased requirement of MAs to make business decisions. Frame dependence cognitive biases…
Abstract
Purpose
The emerging business partner role of management accountants (MAs) results in an increased requirement of MAs to make business decisions. Frame dependence cognitive biases regularly influence decisions made in conditions of uncertainty, as is the case in business decision-making. Consequently, this study aims to examine susceptibility of MAs to frame dependence bias.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted among an international sample of practising MAs. The proportion of MAs influenced by framing bias was analysed and compared to findings in other populations. Logistic regression was then used to determine whether MAs who exhibit a higher preference for evidence-based (as opposed to intuitive) decision-making are more susceptible to framing bias.
Findings
Despite a comparatively high preference for evidence-based decision-making, the prevalence of framing bias among MAs is comparable to that of other populations. A higher preference for evidence-based decision-making was found to only be associated with higher susceptibility to endowment effect bias.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to comprehensively examine framing bias for MAs as a group of decision-makers. Additionally, this study’s sample consists of practising MAs, and not only students.
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Hong-Bin Youn, Minyoung Park and Sangho Choo
This paper presents a case study examining delivery service preference of electronic commerce products. With the increasing of electronic commerce and home shopping market, parcel…
Abstract
This paper presents a case study examining delivery service preference of electronic commerce products. With the increasing of electronic commerce and home shopping market, parcel delivery service market has been growing annually by more than 10% in Korea. However, the quality of delivery service and profitability are gradually decreased due to the price competition. A survey conducted by Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry revealed that nearly half of the respondents selected delivery accuracy and time as major factors in delivery service, implying that online consumers consider service factors such as delivery time more important rather than delivery cost. In this research, a stated preference survey with 16 scenarios was conducted for online consumers to examine delivery preference depending on the type and value of products that they purchased online. The analysis results show that online consumers have a willingness to pay extra cost for rapid delivery or want lower price although it is much slow. It implies that current uniformed delivery cost of online products can be differentiated with different prices for different consumers and products. In addition, the study shows that different online products have different value of time, 27 won per hour on average.
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Jing Wang, Yinhua Gu, Yu Luo, Yalin Huang and Liping Liao
This paper aims to explore the mechanism of influence on the subordinate's sense of gain at work (SGW) in terms of the coaching leadership behavior (CL), supervisor-subordinate…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the mechanism of influence on the subordinate's sense of gain at work (SGW) in terms of the coaching leadership behavior (CL), supervisor-subordinate guanxi (SSG) and commitment-based practice of human resource management (CHRM).
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the survey of 584 employees from 50 firms operating in China, this study explores the effect of CL on employees’ SGW, which concerns two dimensions: sense of material gain and sense of spiritual gain.
Findings
Results show that the CL has a significant positive influence on both the subordinate’s sense of material gain and his/her sense of spiritual gain, in which there exists a mediating effect of SSG and moderating effects of CHRM for the influence.
Practical implications
This study not only develops the theory of SGW, but also provides a scientific basis and policy suggestions for employers to implement in order to enhance their employees’ SGW.
Originality/value
Few integrative studies have examined the impact of CL on employees’ SGW. Based on the Need-to-Belong Theory, this study adds new empirical evidence and constructs a theoretical model for the mechanism of influence on the SGW, examines the influence of CL on the subordinate’s SGW and finds a mechanism of transmission (SSG) and a boundary condition (CHRM) for the influence.
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