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1 – 10 of over 1000Addresses the standardization of the measurements and the labels for concepts commonly used in the study of work organizations. As a reference handbook and research tool, seeks to…
Abstract
Addresses the standardization of the measurements and the labels for concepts commonly used in the study of work organizations. As a reference handbook and research tool, seeks to improve measurement in the study of work organizations and to facilitate the teaching of introductory courses in this subject. Focuses solely on work organizations, that is, social systems in which members work for money. Defines measurement and distinguishes four levels: nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio. Selects specific measures on the basis of quality, diversity, simplicity and availability and evaluates each measure for its validity and reliability. Employs a set of 38 concepts ‐ ranging from “absenteeism” to “turnover” as the handbook’s frame of reference. Concludes by reviewing organizational measurement over the past 30 years and recommending future measurement reseach.
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Akrum Helfaya, Mark Whittington and Chandana Alawattage
The purpose of this paper is to provide a multidimensional model for assessing the quality of corporate environmental reporting (CER) incorporating both preparer- and user-based…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a multidimensional model for assessing the quality of corporate environmental reporting (CER) incorporating both preparer- and user-based views.
Design/methodology/approach
As opposed to frequently used researcher-chosen proxies, the authors used an online questionnaire asking preparers and users how they assess the quality of a company’s environmental report.
Findings
The analysis of the responses of 177 users and 86 preparers shows that quantity was not perceived as the most significant element in determining quality. Besides quantity, the respondents also perceived information types, measures used, themes disclosed, adopting reporting guidelines, inclusion of assurance statement and the use of visual tools as significant dimensions/features of reporting quality.
Research limitations/implications
The online questionnaire has some limitations, especially in terms of researcher being absent to clarify meanings and, hence, possibilities that respondents may misinterpret the questionnaire elements.
Practical implications
Considering that robust, reliable measurement of reporting quality is difficult, preparers, standard setters and policy makers need multidimensional quality models that incorporate both users’ perceptions of quality and preparers’ pragmatic understanding of the quality delivery process. These will make the preparers informed of whether their disclosure may be falling short of users’ expectations.
Originality/value
Amid, increasing complexity of CER, the research contributes to the growing body of literature on assessing the quality of CER by developing a less subjective, multidimensional, preparer–user-based quality model. This innovative quality model goes beyond the traditional quality models, subjective author-based quality measures. Focussing on the three dimensions of reporting quality – content, credibility and communication – it also offers a high-level resolution of meaning of CER quality.
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Jared Eutsler and Bradley Lang
This study provides evidence on the relationship between scale characteristics and participant responses for percentage-based scales (i.e., 101 points) in accounting research. A 4…
Abstract
This study provides evidence on the relationship between scale characteristics and participant responses for percentage-based scales (i.e., 101 points) in accounting research. A 4 × 1 between-subjects experiment examines how common labeling designs affect various statistical properties, including means, variance, normality of the distribution, and frequency of responses. The results indicate that labels on percentage-based scales have a significant impact on the distribution of participants' responses. Labeling only the endpoints is the lone condition that results in normally distributed data. Additional analyses suggest that labels on percentage-based scales influence participant responses in multiple ways. First, as the number of labels increases, participants may not adequately consider, and thus ultimately select, unlabeled points. Second, while participants seem to inherently interpret percentage-based scales in quartiles and deciles, labeling as such exacerbates this tendency. Finally, when more labels are present, participants seem to engage an anchoring heuristic when selecting their response. Taken as a whole, the results suggest that accounting researchers may benefit from labeling only the endpoints of percentage-based scales.
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Visvalingam Suppiah and Manjit Singh Sandhu
This research aimed at investigating the influence of organisational culture types on tacit knowledge sharing behaviour in Malaysian organisations.
Abstract
Purpose
This research aimed at investigating the influence of organisational culture types on tacit knowledge sharing behaviour in Malaysian organisations.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data was collected from 362 participants from seven organisations. Multiple regression was used to assess the research model.
Findings
The research findings indicate that organisational culture types influence tacit knowledge sharing behaviour and that such influences may be positive or negative depending on the culture type.
Research limitations/implications
The study only investigated seven organisations. A larger sample size may be necessary for a study of this nature. Aside from this the ipsative rating scale was not clearly understood by the respondents resulting in scoring errors by some.
Practical implications
Knowledge is considered the one and only distinct resource and is crucial for an organisation to sustain its competitive advantage. Determining the organisation's culture type will allow managers to implement, among the myriad knowledge sharing activities, the ones that would be more appropriate and relevant to the organisational culture.
Originality/value
Most of the knowledge in organisations is in tacit form. There is a dearth of literature on the influence of organisational culture types on tacit knowledge sharing behaviour. Aside from theoretical contributions, the findings of this study have the potential to assist organisations to unlock economic value from knowledge embedded in the minds of its employees.
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The purpose of this paper is to highlight the pitfalls of failing to compare like with like when undertaking employee‐satisfaction surveys.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the pitfalls of failing to compare like with like when undertaking employee‐satisfaction surveys.
Design/methodology/approach
Reveals how answers can be affected by people's expectations, slight changes in the wording of a survey, the order in which questions are asked, or the scoring system used.
Findings
Demonstrates why like‐for‐like comparisons with other employers' surveys are almost impossible and puts forward the view that the information that is most valuable in informing management decision‐making comes from the internal comparisons a survey should permit.
Practical implications
Puts forward ways in which to make an employee‐satisfaction survey into a valuable source of management information.
Originality/value
Advances the view that an employee‐satisfaction survey that produces data which are nice to know, but do not lead to action, has not earned its keep.
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T.S Nanjundeswaraswamy and D.R Swamy
The rationale of this study is to explore the stages of knowledge management, types of organizational culture and their relationship in higher educational technical institutions…
Abstract
Purpose
The rationale of this study is to explore the stages of knowledge management, types of organizational culture and their relationship in higher educational technical institutions (HETIs) in India.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey instrument has been designed to evaluate knowledge management, organizational culture and their relationship. Further, the instrument has been tested and validated using structural equation modelling. The data have been collected from the faculty working in HETIs.
Findings
Empirical pieces of evidence support that knowledge management in the HETIs is still in the growth stage. Clan-type organization culture is dominating, and there is a significant and positive relationship between knowledge management and organization culture.
Research limitations/implications
The study has been conducted in the HETIs of India. Therefore, the outcome of the research cannot be generalized to the other sectors. In addition to this, the data have been limited to 233 faculty from the eight HETIs located in Bangalore.
Practical implications
HETIs are trying hard to improve the employability of the students by enhancing their skill sets, knowledge, attitude and innovativeness to meet global challenges. In such an environment, this study provides insight into the stages of knowledge management and the type of organizational culture in HETIs, which will help build a strategic plan and improve students' attributes for better employability and innovations.
Originality/value
A positive relationship exists between the knowledge management process and organizational culture in HETIs.
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Amanda J. Blair, Christina Atanasova, Leyland Pitt, Anthony Chan and Åsa Wallstrom
Calculating brand equity, the price differential that a branded product is able to charge compared to an unbranded equivalent, often suffers from a lack of a means to truly…
Abstract
Purpose
Calculating brand equity, the price differential that a branded product is able to charge compared to an unbranded equivalent, often suffers from a lack of a means to truly determine equivalence. Luxury wines have the benefit of an established measure of equivalency – the Parker score. Robert Parker’s influence as a tastemaker provides a point of comparison across brands. This study looks at brand equity of Bordeaux classified growth wines considering château brands, growths and vintages to illustrate the intangible value for the consumer.
Design/methodology/approach
Using price and wine-specific data from Wine-Searcher.com, an online database and search engine, an initial sample of 393 wines with Parker scores ranging from 72 to 100 is presented. A subset of perfect wines, with 100-point Parker scores, is also reviewed focusing on the great vintage of 2009.
Findings
The results indicate that brand equity in the luxury wine market exists. Not only is this true for the brand of a specific château, but there is also equity associated with the vintage and the growth.
Practical implications
This offers practical implications for brand managers in positioning their wines.
Originality/value
An analysis of luxury wines supports the financial perspective on brand equity, especially when there is a viable means of determining equivalence, such as the Parker score.
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Robert L. Braun, Dann G. Fisher, Amy Hageman, Shawn Mauldin and Michael K. Shaub
Given the conflicting attitudes that people have toward those who report wrongdoing and a lack of empirical research specifically examining subsequent hiring, it is an open…
Abstract
Given the conflicting attitudes that people have toward those who report wrongdoing and a lack of empirical research specifically examining subsequent hiring, it is an open question as to whether accounting professionals would want to work with former whistleblowers. The authors examine this question using an experimental design, in which participants evaluate an employment candidate before and after the person discloses having been a whistleblower. Four manipulations of whistleblowing are used in both a within-subjects and a between-subjects manipulation. The authors’ results demonstrate that accounting professionals’ intentions to recommend a candidate for hire decrease after they are informed that a strong candidate has a whistleblowing past. A candidate is viewed most negatively, however, when discovering malfeasance and electing not to blow the whistle internally. Moreover, when the whistle is blown internally and the superior takes no action, the candidate who remained silent and chose not to continue to push the issue is viewed more negatively than the candidate who proceeded to blow the whistle externally. Although a candidate having a whistleblowing past appears to pose a cautionary signal in the interview process, participants reacted more harshly when the candidate failed to act or lacked the durable moral courage to see the matter through to completion.
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Bhim Singh, S.K. Garg and S.K. Sharma
The extant literature fails to provide an efficient method to measure leanness of any manufacturing firm. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the concept of leanness and to…
Abstract
Purpose
The extant literature fails to provide an efficient method to measure leanness of any manufacturing firm. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the concept of leanness and to provide an efficient measurement method for measuring leanness.
Design/methodology/approach
Measurement method is based on the judgment and evaluation given by leanness measurement team (LMT) on various leanness parameters such as supplier's issues, investment priorities, Lean practices, and various waste addressed by lean and customers' issues. Further fuzzy set theory is introduced to remove the bias of human judgment and finally defuzzification is done and results are presented in the form of leanness index.
Findings
Leanness indices have been developed and presented separately on 100 points scale for all parameters of leanness i.e. LISuppliers = 47.98, LIInvestment = 50.66, LIpractices = 58.38, LIWaste = 60.01, LICustomers = 47.1.
Research limitations/implications
This leanness measurement method used the views of experts and may contain human judgment error.
Practical implications
It will be helpful to both academician and practitioners as an assessment tool for evaluation of lean status of any industry utilized.
Originality/value
Leanness measurement method based on judgment of experts is used first time for evaluation of leanness.
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Giovanni Lagioia, Vera Amicarelli, Rossana Strippoli, Christian Bux and Teodoro Gallucci
The hotel industry is one of the leading producers of waste worldwide, and more than one-third of that waste is food. The purpose of this study is to investigate hotel managers'…
Abstract
Purpose
The hotel industry is one of the leading producers of waste worldwide, and more than one-third of that waste is food. The purpose of this study is to investigate hotel managers' awareness of sustainable and circular practices, with a focus on their attitude toward and perception of food waste in Apulia, Southern Italy. The region has a tourist vocation, accounts for 3.3 million tourists per year and plays a key role in the Italian tourism.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted using a questionnaire administered to ten hotel managers located in Apulia. In light of the Checkup Tool Speditivo, a sustainability score indicates managers' awareness of and attitude toward sustainability and circularity, distinguishing between “beginner” (0–25 points), “concerned” (26–50 points), “proactivist” (51–75 points) and “sustainable” (76–100 points). The results have been analyzed using descriptive statistic tools.
Findings
The average sustainability score indicating the level of awareness of sustainable and circular practices among hotel managers in Apulia was 84, whereas the average score associated with their attitude toward food waste management strategies was 65. The greater the number of stars, the higher the sustainability scores. However, the greater the number of rooms, the lower the attitude toward food waste management strategies.
Originality/value
The study sheds light on the main opportunities, barriers and trends in the field of food waste management, highlighting the food commodities which are wasted the most and proposing further strategies to improve circularity and sustainability in hotels. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first on such topics in Southern Italy and could represent the basis for future research on the topic.
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