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1 – 10 of 286
Article
Publication date: 1 October 1996

Christopher Humphrey and Robert W. Scapens

Provides a response to the comments by Joni Young and Alistair Preston and by Sue Llewellyn, and seeks to clarify the authors’ use of the term “rhetoric”. Argues that both sets of…

869

Abstract

Provides a response to the comments by Joni Young and Alistair Preston and by Sue Llewellyn, and seeks to clarify the authors’ use of the term “rhetoric”. Argues that both sets of commentators rely on rhetoric to express their own arguments. While the authors recognize and agree with most of the concerns raised by Llewellyn, they do not accept many of Young/Preston’s criticisms of their paper. Emphasizes that, although the authors were arguing for more scholarship, they were not seeking to dismiss the work of others.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 9 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1989

John Struthers and Alistair Young

In seeking to extend rational choice theory from“market” to “political” behaviour, economistshave encountered a paradox: namely, that the act of voting itselfappears to be…

Abstract

In seeking to extend rational choice theory from “market” to “political” behaviour, economists have encountered a paradox: namely, that the act of voting itself appears to be inconsistent with the assumption of rationality. This is true not only when self‐interest is assumed, but also when altruistic behaviour (at least in its non‐Kantian form) is allowed for. This article surveys the theoretical and empirical literature on the determinants of the decision to participate in voting, and concludes that this decision is responsive to changes in the expected benefits and costs of voting; even though the expected costs of voting must normally outweigh the expected benefits. Interpretations of this behaviour include the possibility that voters act rationally, but are misinformed about the likely effectiveness of their votes; alternatively, the electorate may include more Kantians than economists have generally been willing to admit.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 16 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2006

John Adams, Alistair Young and Wu Zhihong

Public private partnership (PPP), which has been operating in China for over 20 years. In addition, an increased focus on value for money in the public sector has led to a need to…

4763

Abstract

Purpose

Public private partnership (PPP), which has been operating in China for over 20 years. In addition, an increased focus on value for money in the public sector has led to a need to improve the efficiency of the management, delivery and effectiveness of public services, especially at the local level. This paper aims to examines the PPP system and the problems yet to be overcome at a time when China is seeking to widen the use of PPP in sectors as yet not open to it.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines the current PPP system in China and identifies the constraints facing it in the context of several models of bureaucracy arguing that these are as valid in China as they have been in the West.

Findings

The paper argues that there are five key constraints present in the Chinese PPP system and that these are fundamentally associated with risks of various types.

Practical implications

Extending PPP in China will require significant reform of public sector administration, closer supervision, transparent regulatory systems and easier access to capital for local private sector firms.

Originality/value

This paper should be of interest to both academics and practitioners in the field of PPP in terms of theoretical debate, key issues and the specific prospects for PPP in China.

Details

International Journal of Public Sector Management, vol. 19 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3558

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2006

Bill Lee and Christopher Humphrey

The purpose of the paper is to outline the development of academic research in the discipline of accounting, paying particular attention to the important contribution made by…

6805

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to outline the development of academic research in the discipline of accounting, paying particular attention to the important contribution made by qualitative research projects.

Design/methodology/approach

Provision of a historical trajectory based on a review of developments in academic journals, the size and breadth of the academic community and other dimensions of the academic discipline of accounting.

Findings

The review indicates that accounting has developed into a pluralist discipline in the UK. Qualitative research features in many sub‐disciplinary areas of accounting.

Practical implications

The paper identifies the sibling discipline of finance as an area where qualitative research has not developed fully. It makes some suggestions and provides some indicators of how qualitative research in the areas of accounting and finance may develop in the future.

Originality/value

The paper provides the only attempt to date to analyse and review developments of qualitative research in accounting.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 44 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1988

Sue Webb

The shortage of young people coming into the labour market in the 1990s and the challenges this poses to employers were tackled at an Industrial Society conference in June…

Abstract

The shortage of young people coming into the labour market in the 1990s and the challenges this poses to employers were tackled at an Industrial Society conference in June. Investing in the Future was designed to encourage organisations to focus on the specific training and development needs of their young employees. Delegates heard a keynote speech from Alistair Graham, Director of the Society, and attended a choice of workshops. These covered aspects of recruiting and developing young people, including the use of psychometric testing, monitoring, distance learning, involving the line manager, and the development of a skills passport to record a young person's achievements at work, both as a means of giving them recognition and as a guide to potential future employers.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 30 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Article
Publication date: 20 November 2007

Bill Lee, Paul M. Collier and John Cullen

The purpose of this paper is to explain the background to the special issue and to provide an introduction to the articles on case studies included in the issue.

2997

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explain the background to the special issue and to provide an introduction to the articles on case studies included in the issue.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a review of developments in both the qualitative tradition and case studies in management research to provide a backdrop for the articles that are included in the issue. The articles discuss: the merits of unique cases and singular forms of evidence within a single case; the comparability of case studies with tools in other areas; and methods of theorising from case studies.

Findings

The merits of case studies have often been understated. The articles in this issue highlight a broader variety of uses of case study research than is commonly recognized.

Originality/value

This guest editorial introduces the papers in this issue, which may be read either as individual contributions that have merits per se, or as part of a collection that this introductory paper helps to knit together.

Details

Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, vol. 2 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5648

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 August 2016

Merel Visse and Alistair Niemeijer

– The purpose of this paper is to focus on the possibilities of autoethnography as a commitment to care and a social justice agenda (Denzin, 2014:p. x).

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the possibilities of autoethnography as a commitment to care and a social justice agenda (Denzin, 2014:p. x).

Design/methodology/approach

Autoethnography can be seen as a “methodology that allows us to examine how the private troubles of individuals are connected to public issues and to public responses to these troubles” (Mills, 1959, cited in Denzin, 2014). This resonates strongly with the field of study: political care ethics, as the main focus is on how to promote a caring society. “Care” might be conceived broadly as everything the authors do to maintain and repair the world; i.e., as a social praxis.

Findings

Care ethics can benefit from autoethnography, as there is a strong(er) emphasis on “what matters,” what people care for, about and why, rather than on what is “right.” In this paper, the authors will thus explore the promises and pitfalls of autoethnography for a caring society, by connecting insights from theories on political care ethics and qualitative inquiry with the own autoethnographic performance at the International Conference on Qualitative Inquiry in May 2015.

Originality/value

Care ethics can benefit from autoethnography, as there is a strong(er) emphasis on “what matters,” what people care for, about and why, rather than on what is “right.”

Details

Qualitative Research Journal, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1443-9883

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 January 2008

Schaul Chorev and Alistair Anderson

Beyond the widely acknowledged importance of new business, the role of young exporting high-tech business in Israel and many other small economies is seen as vital for economic…

Abstract

Beyond the widely acknowledged importance of new business, the role of young exporting high-tech business in Israel and many other small economies is seen as vital for economic growth. Israel is small and geographically isolated from the main markets, suffers from security difficulties, but fosters a culture, which promotes knowledge rich new technologies. Thus, new ventures with leading edge technologies and prospects of high growth and profitability offer a means to achieve the national goal of economical independence. Internationally however, the high-technology sector has recently suffered badly from the bursting of the dot.com bubble and the crash of the Nasdaq.

Details

New Technology-Based Firms in the New Millennium
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-0805-5448-8

Article
Publication date: 16 November 2012

Ali Rkein and Brian Andrew

The aim of this paper is to study the workings of commercial orientation, with a focus on performance management, in an environment that is characterised by limited competition…

1238

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to study the workings of commercial orientation, with a focus on performance management, in an environment that is characterised by limited competition between the public and the private sectors and a high level of government social responsibility.

Design/methodology/approach

An interpretive case study approach is adopted for this study. It draws on primary data from interviews with key personnel in public sector organisations, and on secondary data from government publications such as annual reports and budget papers.

Findings

This study shows that the market‐based performance management system has failed to achieve its intended objectives because it was introduced in a socio‐economic context that is hardly supportive of market management practices. The study shows that service delivery to the public has remained driven by social rather than economic imperatives. In the absence of other service providers, the Government's social responsibility towards its citizens has compelled service provision irrespective of the cost and reduced the cost‐benefit relationship in having informative costing systems.

Practical implications

Examining the workings of a market‐based performance management system in a non‐competitive setting provides evidence of the difficulty of achieving the intended benefits from the adoption of commercial practices in public sector agencies in some cases.

Originality/value

Whereas extant literature focuses on the adoption of business practices in the process of public sector reform, no prior study has looked at this concept in a non‐competitive market. Understanding the workings of the market practices in such an environment where contestability is limited is fundamental to policy makers and researchers.

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1985

STEVE DOUBLEDAY, ALISON BUCHAN, CLIVE BINGLEY, JUDITH WILKINS and Brian Perry

“It's all jargon”, I hear you say. Well, don't put up with that, get an explanation which you understand. With all the following questions, where appropriate, make sure you get…

Abstract

“It's all jargon”, I hear you say. Well, don't put up with that, get an explanation which you understand. With all the following questions, where appropriate, make sure you get your answers in writing and preferably in the contracts!

Details

New Library World, vol. 86 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

1 – 10 of 286