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1 – 10 of 10Clement S.F. Chow, Wing Chi Chow, Weng I. Leong and Shizhe Zheng
Western manufacturers have often benefited from the Country-of-Origin (COO) effect when a product is launched into emerging markets. The authors examine if this still holds true…
Abstract
Purpose
Western manufacturers have often benefited from the Country-of-Origin (COO) effect when a product is launched into emerging markets. The authors examine if this still holds true in the China market. The authors believe that the degree of perceived hedonism associated with the product does matter and, therefore, conducted an experiment to test how this influences the effect of COO on perceived quality and price of the product. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned objective.
Design/methodology/approach
A lab experiment with a 2 (COO: Western vs. Local) x 2 (Hedonism: High vs. Low) factorial design was conducted with Chinese consumers as subjects. The dependent variables were perceived quality and price of the products.
Findings
It was found that Western COO has a positive effect on the product perceived quality and price in the China market, but the effect was significantly moderated by the degree of perceived hedonism of the products.
Originality/value
The study used an experiment to investigate the different prominence of the COO effect on perceived quality and price in terms of hedonic vs. utilitarian products which has not been done previously. The findings provide implications concerning allocation of marketing resources to product positioning in the presence of different degrees of perceived hedonism and suggest additional areas for future examination.
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Clement Oppong, Achille Dargaud Fofack and Eva Boakye-Yiadom
This study examines the efficacy of public sector audits in providing quality healthcare in Ghana. Specifically, to ensure whether there are proper and adequate controls in place…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the efficacy of public sector audits in providing quality healthcare in Ghana. Specifically, to ensure whether there are proper and adequate controls in place to enable providers to offer necessary health services efficiently, effectively and equitably.
Design/methodology/approach
A structural equation modeling (SEM) is adopted to analyze the link between public sector audit and healthcare delivery through a survey of directors, accountants, auditors and managers in selected public healthcare institutions for a calculated sample size of 123 respondents.
Findings
The study reveals that internal audit, external audit and audit committee have a positive and significant effect on the effectiveness of public sector audits. In turn, the effectiveness of public sector audit has a positive and significant effect on the quality health services. Audit committee is found to have the largest effect on the effectiveness of public sector audits.
Originality/value
This paper extends the literature on the value of public sector audit by providing empirical evidence from a specific context: the public health sector of a developing country in democratic transition with a common law institutional framework. It also provides insights into the financial management of public health systems in developing countries during the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
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Kenneth Lawani, Billy Hare, Michael Tong and Iain Cameron
Over 2.7 million workers are employed in the UK construction industry and with the fragmented nature of the construction sector; cases of poor mental health of workers are on the…
Abstract
Purpose
Over 2.7 million workers are employed in the UK construction industry and with the fragmented nature of the construction sector; cases of poor mental health of workers are on the increase. This upsurge in the number of workers experiencing poor mental health could directly impact construction safety with significant financial adverse consequences on employers and the UK economy. Studies have identified lapses within the construction sector emphasising the lack of transparency regarding reporting of mental health and well-being of construction workers due to the inadequate engagement from employers and the lack of genuine leadership commitment to tackle mental health.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a non-probability purposive sampling strategy, using a self-selected sample. A self-administered questionnaire benchmarked against the mental health core and enhanced standards tools by the “Stevenson/Farmer review of mental health and employers” served as the basis for the methodology. A total of 106 industry managers from highways, construction, maritime, utilities, home building, rail and haulage/fleet were involved in this study.
Findings
The findings indicate that the industry is making good strides towards addressing mental health issues; poor mental health have significant financial burdens on businesses and the economy; some contractors have mental health initiatives and programmes in place; there is inconsistency of support available to employees; some contractors now integrate leadership training; the level of engagement vary based on the strategy and action plan adopted by organisations; different mechanisms are adopted for monitoring mental health issues, and there are cross-industry initiatives.
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of this study is the number of participants which is not representative of the entire UK construction workforce. Therefore, the findings from this study as much as it presents some understanding of employee mental health and well-being cannot be overtly generalised across multiple industries, different geographic regions or contexts.
Originality/value
Employers should have a clear representation of the mental health of their employees to help them understand what affects worker’s mental well-being and how they can support them. Disregarding the multifaceted causes of mental ill-health due to the perceived financial implications could be more devastating for the industry.
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Corporate disclosures are essential because they provide transparent and accurate information about a company's financial health, performance, risks and governance practices. They…
Abstract
Purpose
Corporate disclosures are essential because they provide transparent and accurate information about a company's financial health, performance, risks and governance practices. They enable investors to make informed decisions, promote market efficiency and maintain trust in the financial system. This paper uses bibliometrics to identify the intellectual composition of the literature on corporate disclosure.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the bibliometric information of 4,551 articles on corporate disclosure research, the authors conducted citation, keyword co-occurrence, bibliographic coupling and publication analyses to elucidate the leading articles, authors, sources, institutions, countries, themes and topics in the field of corporate disclosure from the 1960s to 2021.
Findings
The findings of this review demonstrate that corporate disclosure research is based on four broad themes – the role of disclosure in capital markets, non-financial disclosure, determinants of corporate disclosure and firm risk and intellectual capital disclosure. This review suggests that management should pay attention to the financial and non-financial corporate information that investors, regulators and the government emphasise.
Originality/value
This paper is the first comprehensive bibliometric review on corporate disclosure. It summarises the regulatory shifts, technological changes and industry trends that have influenced corporate disclosure research. Besides identifying broad research themes, the authors performed bibliographic coupling for research on disclosure sources, including annual reports, management forecasts, earnings calls, press releases, the Internet and social media, to reveal the thematic clusters related to these sources.
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Yassine Jadil, Anand Jeyaraj, Yogesh K. Dwivedi, Nripendra P. Rana and Prianka Sarker
In recent years, the proliferation of social commerce (s-commerce) has attracted many researchers to investigate the drivers of individuals' intentions. However, the empirical…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent years, the proliferation of social commerce (s-commerce) has attracted many researchers to investigate the drivers of individuals' intentions. However, the empirical results reported in these studies were fragmented and inconsistent. This has led various meta-analyses to synthesize these findings, but without including a large number of s-commerce studies. In addition, investigating meta-analytically the effects of moderators such as the six dimensions of Hofstede's national culture is still lacking.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on nine theories and models, this meta-analysis aims to summarize the findings reported in 109 s-commerce studies published between 2011 and 2021 and to examine the moderating role of national culture. The correlation coefficient (r) has been used as the main effect size for this study. Based on the random-effects method, the CMA V3 software has been employed to calculate the weighted mean effect sizes.
Findings
The meta-analysis results showed that all the 11 hypothesized direct relationships are positive and significant. The moderator results also revealed that five out of six cultural dimensions significantly moderate the examined associations.
Originality/value
This research serves to enrich the existing s-commerce literature by addressing contradictory and mixed results reported in the empirical studies. This study is one of the first of its kind to investigate the role of Hofstede's six cultural dimensions as moderators in the field of s-commerce using the meta-analytic techniques.
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Steven D. Silver and Marko Raseta
The intention of the empirics is to contribute to the general understanding of investor responses to market price shocks. The authors review assumptions about investor behavior in…
Abstract
Purpose
The intention of the empirics is to contribute to the general understanding of investor responses to market price shocks. The authors review assumptions about investor behavior in response to price shocks and investigate alternative rebalancing heuristics.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use market data over 40 years to define market shocks. Portfolio rebalancing implements constrained Markowitz mean-variance (MV) heuristics.
Findings
Momentum rebalancing in portfolio management outperforms contrarian rebalancing in the study interval. Sensitivity analysis by decade, sector constraints and proportion of security holdings bought or sold continue to support momentum rebalancing.
Research limitations/implications
The results are consistent with under-responding to price shocks at consensus levels in financial markets. The theoretical background provides a basis for experimental lab studies of shocks of different magnitudes under conditions in which participants have information on the levels of other participants and a condition in which they can only observe their previous estimates.
Practical implications
Managing portfolios in the face of price disturbances of different magnitudes is informed by empirical studies and their implications for investor behavior.
Originality/value
This is the first study the authors can locate that uses market data with alternative rebalancing heuristics to estimate price returns from the respective heuristics over a time interval of 40 years. The authors support the results with sensitivity estimates and consider implications for the underlying agent heuristics in light of background studies.
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Luiz Philipi Calegari, Barkokebas R.D. and Diego Castro Fettermann
The evolution of e-health technologies presents promising alternatives for health-care excellence. Despite the benefits arising from mobile e-health (m-health) and wearables…
Abstract
Purpose
The evolution of e-health technologies presents promising alternatives for health-care excellence. Despite the benefits arising from mobile e-health (m-health) and wearables technologies, the literature stands many contradictories signs regarding how users accept and engage in using these technologies. This study aims to synthesize the estimations about m-health user acceptance technologies.
Design/methodology/approach
A meta-analytic structural equation modeling was carried out using the 778 relationships estimated by 100 previous research. The estimations follow the relations and constructs proposed in the UTAUT2 technological acceptance model.
Findings
The results indicate the performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and habit constructs are most important for predicting the behavioral intention of use of m-health technologies. The Latin American users of e-health technologies are still underestimated in the literature.
Originality/value
The study presents a guide to understanding the acceptance process of m-health technologies and delivers a general orientation for developing new m-health devices considering their acceptance by users.
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Ahmed Hassan, Mohamed Elmaghrabi, Bruce Burton and Theresa Dunne
The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed descriptive account and analysis of corporate internet reporting (CIR) practices among non-financial companies listed on the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed descriptive account and analysis of corporate internet reporting (CIR) practices among non-financial companies listed on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) at two points in time – December 2010 (pre) and December 2013 (peri) political and social unrest in Egypt.
Design/methodology/approach
The study developed a disclosure index to determine the extent of CIR practices among all non-financial companies listed on the EGX in December 2010 and December 2013. The study uses ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions and isometric log-ratio transformations for compositional independent variables to empirically examine the factors affecting CIR in Egypt using a modern institutional theory lens.
Findings
The findings of this investigation suggest that listed companies in Egypt have started embracing the power of the internet as a disclosure channel, but the extent of these practices increased significantly over the investigated period, with great variations evident among the sampled companies in this regard. Such variations were chiefly dependent on the changing institutional actors over the two time frames. Additionally, the findings show that the time factor is particularly important for a given institutional field to induce a sufficient diffusion of corporate practices, especially in periods with drastic institutional change.
Practical implications
The evidence presented reflects the voluntary nature of CIR practices and the absence of a reinforced regulatory framework for organizing and monitoring such practices, with companies having discretion in terms of the amount and type of information disclosed via their websites. The results should, therefore, provide useful guidelines for regulators and standard-setters in identifying best practices, which, in turn, should allow CIR practices to become more consistent, making them easier to monitor and govern.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that examines CIR practices at two points in time using a comprehensive disclosure index and a modern institutional theory lens.
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Jingqin Zhang and Yong Ye
This paper discusses whether institutional investors change the shareholding ratio of listed companies through research meeting, and whether this active investment mode can really…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper discusses whether institutional investors change the shareholding ratio of listed companies through research meeting, and whether this active investment mode can really improve the investment efficiency of institutional investors.
Design/methodology/approach
Using empirical research method, this study designs and conducts an empirical research according to empirical research's basic norms. Thus, we acquire needed and credible empirical data. This study analyzes whether institutional investors seek their private interest in researched companies by analyzing their research meetings and the shareholding ratios of different types of institutional investors using Shenzhen Stock Exchange data on listed firms from 2014 to 2018.
Findings
This study finds that the research meetings of institutional investors provide participants with reliable information which supports the decision of institutional investors to change their shareholding ratio. The stock price growth rate strengthens the positive correlation between the research meetings of institutional investors and the shareholding ratio of institutional investors. Additionally, transactional institutional investors increase the shareholding ratio, while holding institutional investors do not.
Originality/value
This paper combines the behavior of institutional investors with the holding status of institutional investors, and discusses the impact of institutional investors' behavior on investment decisions. At the same time, it classifies the institutional investors and discusses the attitude of different types of institutional investors towards this active investment mode.
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Ayuba Jerry Likita, Mostafa Babaeian Jelodar, V Vishnupriya and James Olabode Bamidele Rotimi
The construction industry is inefficient in terms of quality products, productivity and performance worldwide, including in Australia and New Zealand. The construction industry is…
Abstract
Purpose
The construction industry is inefficient in terms of quality products, productivity and performance worldwide, including in Australia and New Zealand. The construction industry is becoming more innovative, competitive and complex; and more participants are involved in construction projects. There are new attempts to implement the Lean construction philosophy, integrated project delivery method and building information modelling (BIM) technology in construction industry to improve productivity and efficiency. This paper aims to identify Lean and BIM integration benefits in construction industry globally and in the New Zealand.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review and case studies were used to identify various benefits of the integrating Lean and BIM in construction industry. It focused on articles published between 1995 and 2021.
Findings
Lean and BIM benefits identified in the study were documented such as benefits over the traditional approach, critically increased efficiency and visualization, better building process, better building performance, mitigating risk and reduce cost. Also, several factors were identified as major benefits such as improved onsite collaboration, better coordination, improve onsite communication, increase productivity, mitigating risk, reducing waste and reduced cost. The study showed integrating Lean and BIM in construction management practice will help reduce several challenges which affect expected goals and customer anticipation. The research outcome ultimately will assist different stakeholders in applying Lean and BIM in construction management practice.
Originality/value
This study practically focused on using the integration of BIM and Lean principles to improve the construction industry productivity and performance.
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