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11 – 20 of 124Judith J. Madill, Lisa Feeney, Alan Riding and George H. Haines
The primary goal of this empirical research study is to identify key drivers of SME satisfaction related to a variety of aspects of the bank/SME relationship. The research uses…
Abstract
The primary goal of this empirical research study is to identify key drivers of SME satisfaction related to a variety of aspects of the bank/SME relationship. The research uses data from 3,190 interviews with key informants – identified as the person who is most responsible for financial and banking decisions – in Canadian SMEs. Research focused on how SME overall satisfaction is affected by the account manager’s management of the bank/SME relationship, the branch staff’s management of the bank/SME relationship and the bank’s policies and procedures regarding bank/SME relationships. All three drivers were significantly and strongly related to SME satisfaction with the bank with which they had their primary relationship.
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Christopher B. Malone, Udomsak Wongchoti and Alan J. Mitchell
This paper provides empirical support for the introduction of cash flow disclosure regulation issued by Australasian accounting bodies, AASB and NZICA (formerly NZSA), between…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper provides empirical support for the introduction of cash flow disclosure regulation issued by Australasian accounting bodies, AASB and NZICA (formerly NZSA), between 1987 and 1992.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical analysis uses a long window event study format on a panel of 5,368 firm‐year observations between 1996 and 2005.
Findings
The cash flow disclosures required in the regulation are associated with significant abnormal return responses. These effects are robust to the inclusion of other factors linked to abnormal returns such as movements in profitability, size and leverage. We also find support for the proposition that the cash flow effects are conditioned on the quality of the firm, as proxied by q. The market is better and more easily informed with the information required under the revised reporting regime.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis would have been improved with better access to pre‐reform period data.
Originality/value
There is no other study on Australasian markets which looks at the value impacts of cash flow information in relation to this regulatory change. Such a study has also never been done on New Zealand companies.
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Purpose – In North America today, we are witnessing an unprecedented preoccupation with “excess” weight, with millions of people perceived to be part of the epidemic of obesity…
Abstract
Purpose – In North America today, we are witnessing an unprecedented preoccupation with “excess” weight, with millions of people perceived to be part of the epidemic of obesity. While this chapter does not seek to contest medical evidence that average weights of North Americans have risen in recent years, nor deny the potential development of associated health problems, it offers a critique of the terminology invoked in these discussions and especially challenges the characterization of increased weight among the population as an “epidemic.” This chapter suggests that what we are witnessing is more appropriately understood as a moral regulation project premised on ideas of risk, contagion, and neoliberal discourses of health.
Methodology/approach – In arguing that the concern about obesity may be understood as an example of moral regulation, this chapter employs the work of Alan Hunt, as well as Deborah Lupton's insights on governmentality and health.
Findings – In reviewing the scholarly literature on obesity as well as Canadian public health initiatives, a discourse of risk and contagion is evident. The overweight and obese (and these are commonly conflated) are presented as dangerous to themselves and others.
Contribution to the field – In suggesting an alternative understanding of the obesity “epidemic” as a socially constructed and morally regulated phenomenon, this chapter aims to further discuss and reassess how those who are considered fat are understood and treated in North America.
Jason Jahir Roncancio-Marin, Nikolay A. Dentchev, Maribel Guerrero and Abel Alan Diaz-Gonzalez
Despite growing scholarly interest in academic entrepreneurship (AE) few studies have examined its non-commercial aspects and how it contributes to meeting grand societal…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite growing scholarly interest in academic entrepreneurship (AE) few studies have examined its non-commercial aspects and how it contributes to meeting grand societal challenges. One explanation for this may be the continuing focus of AE on intellectual property commercialization. This paper aims to address this knowledge gap by uncovering how universities can contribute to promoting non-commercial forms of AE.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses the human capital theoretical lens to make its argument and applies it to data obtained from exploratory qualitative research (55 semi-structured interviews and nine focus groups) in the developing countries of Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador.
Findings
Universities can promote different forms of non-commercial AE even in the absence of sophisticated resources for innovation, through the stimulation of the specific human capital of the university community resulting from activities where they help others.
Originality/value
This paper proposes a general framework for advancing theory development in AE and its non-commercial forms, based on data obtained in uncharted territories for AE.
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Aric Rindfleisch, Alan J. Malter and Gregory J. Fisher
Retailing thought and practice is premised on the assumption that consumers visit retailers to search for and acquire objects produced by manufacturers. In essence, we assume that…
Abstract
Retailing thought and practice is premised on the assumption that consumers visit retailers to search for and acquire objects produced by manufacturers. In essence, we assume that the acts of consuming and producing are conducted by separate entities. This unspoken yet familiar premise shapes the questions retail scholars ask and the way retail practitioners think about their industry. Although this assumption accurately depicted retailing since the Industrial Revolution, its relevance is being challenged by a growing set of individuals who are equipped with new digital tools to engage in self-manufacturing. In this chapter, we examine self-manufacturing with a particular focus on the recent rise of desktop 3D printing. After discussing this new technology and reviewing the literature, we offer a conceptual classification of four distinct types of 3D printed objects and use this classification to inform a content analysis of over 400 of these objects. Based on this review and analysis, we discuss the implications of self-manufacturing for retailing thought and practice.
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Alan Beazley, Chris Ball and Kate Vernon
Ageing demographics are impacting employers around the world and, for many organisations, there are strong business reasons to develop strategies for managing the age profiles of…
Abstract
Ageing demographics are impacting employers around the world and, for many organisations, there are strong business reasons to develop strategies for managing the age profiles of their workplaces. Societal ageing is not necessarily bad news for business: older workers can be a valuable resource for employers in terms of skills, in-house knowledge and flexibility. Further, as populations age, businesses are delivering goods and services to an ageing market, and older workers can be a valuable resource. While ageing demographics can provide opportunities for the business community, there are significant challenges facing employers. For example, balancing the career interests and expectations of older and younger workers will necessitate new approaches to workforce planning, performance management and team building. As skilled workers become more scarce, employers need to also find ways to make better use of the talents and capabilities of older unemployed people. This chapter is written by representatives of employer networks in Europe and Asia. We discuss innovative approaches to age diversity of organisations on both continents. These include approaches to phased retirement, lifelong learning, flexible retirement and mentoring. In the final section, we suggest a research agenda which will generate practical knowledge for businesses which want to better manage workplace ageing. A business-focused research agenda includes improving the understanding of generations in the East and West, the intersection of age and other forms of diversity, lifelong learning, joblessness and providing the business case for businesses of different forms.
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Natalie Drew, Michelle Funk, Caroline Kim, Crick Lund, Alan J. Flisher, Akwasi Osei, Sheila Ndyanabangi, Joshua Ssebunnya and John Mayaye
The purpose of this paper is to provide detailed assessments of the mental health laws of Ghana, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide detailed assessments of the mental health laws of Ghana, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia.
Design/methodology/approach
The mental health laws of four countries were assessed both by country partners and staff of WHO, Geneva, using the World Health Organization (WHO) Checklist on Mental Health Legislation, which examines the level of coverage of key issues in mental health laws.
Findings
The older laws of Ghana, Uganda and Zambia do not address fundamental human rights of people with mental health conditions. South Africa's more recent Mental Health Care Act (2002) incorporates critical human rights standards, though certain provisions fail to adequately safeguard against potential violations. For mental health legislation to maintain currency with human rights standards it must be regularly reviewed and updated.
Originality/value
The findings highlight the urgent need to revise the mental health laws of Zambia, Uganda and Ghana, and to plan ways to address the gaps identified in the relatively new South African mental health law. The entry into force of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2008 signals a new era in how mental health legislation is to be drafted. The identification of gaps in national laws, as has been undertaken by the four countries, is an important first step towards putting in place legal frameworks to promote the rights of people with mental health conditions in line with current international human rights standards.
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Liena Kano, Alain Verbeke and Carly Drake
We develop a concept of the global factory, first introduced by Buckley and colleagues (2004, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014), as a stand-alone construct associated with significant…
Abstract
Purpose
We develop a concept of the global factory, first introduced by Buckley and colleagues (2004, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014), as a stand-alone construct associated with significant predictive capacity, discuss dynamics of success of the global factory, and identify and analyze social mechanisms deployed by the lead firm head office.
Methodology/approach
We conceptualize the global factory as a form of a flagship network and augment internalization theory with insights from interorganizational networks research to explore the dynamics of the global factory’s origination and functioning.
Findings
We clarify under what conditions a global factory-type network is more likely to emerge and describe social mechanisms generated by the lead firm head office to help the global factory sustain itself and thrive. We argue that in order to benefit from potential efficiencies of the global factory, the lead firm head office must deploy combinations of social mechanisms. We further argue that the role of the lead firm head office is that of a joint value orchestrator and a social broker, in addition to the controlling intelligence function.
Research limitations
Future work on the global factory should include further conceptualization of social mechanisms deployed by the lead firm, exploration of operating mode heterogeneity within the global factory, and large-scale empirical research.
Practical implications
Lead firm managers should embrace the role of the joint value orchestrators and implement social mechanisms described in this chapter to facilitate smooth operation of the global factory.
Social implications
Global factory governance further increases multinationals’ geographic reach and market power; yet, it is not a universal recipe for market success, and therefore global factories’ power to shape the global economy should not be overestimated.
Originality/value
By linking the global factory to networks literature, we have suggested a novel way to view the concept and articulated more fully its underlying assumptions. Further research on the global factory will help advance our understanding of the dynamics of the global economy and the role of multinationals, their head offices, and their managers in shaping the economy.
Through the dual analysis of small business‐owner relations with their banks and accountants, this paper aims to address conflicting interpretations of how small business owners…
Abstract
Purpose
Through the dual analysis of small business‐owner relations with their banks and accountants, this paper aims to address conflicting interpretations of how small business owners may optimise their banking relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
Site visits were made to 49 small firms which had been recruited from a random sample of 500 New Zealand firms that employed up to 50 full‐time equivalent staff. An interview was then carried out with the owner‐manager of the firm.
Findings
The study identifies four bank relationship types: serial switching, independence, relationship chasing, and switched off. Consistent with previous research, dissatisfaction with existing relations is frequent but switching is infrequent. Rather than switch bank, the predominant reaction is to reduce the use of bank services. The disadvantage this creates is offset by the development of a closer relationship with business's accountant.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are limited in their ability to be generalised due to the research methodology and research context. However, the conclusions will be of interest to researchers and managers in banks and accountancy firms.
Originality/value
The paper addresses a gap in the knowledge base surrounding enterprise‐bank relationships. Whereas most previous research has focused on the small enterprise‐bank relationship, the present study includes the relationship between small enterprises and accountants based on the assumption that they can offer similar advice and support.
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