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Information and communications technology (ICT) offers enormous opportunities for individuals, businesses and society. The application of ICT is equally important to economic and non-economic activities. Researchers have increasingly focused on the adoption and use of ICT by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the economic development of a country is largely dependent on them. Following the success of ICT utilisation in SMEs in developed countries, many developing countries are looking to utilise the potential of the technology to develop SMEs. Past studies have shown that the contribution of ICT to the performance of SMEs is not clear and certain. Thus, it is crucial to determine the effectiveness of ICT in generating firm performance since this has implications for SMEs’ expenditure on the technology. This research examines the diffusion of ICT among SMEs with respect to the typical stages from innovation adoption to post-adoption, by analysing the actual usage of ICT and value creation. The mediating effects of integration and utilisation on SME performance are also studied. Grounded in the innovation diffusion literature, institutional theory and resource-based theory, this study has developed a comprehensive integrated research model focused on the research objectives. Following a positivist research paradigm, this study employs a mixed-method research approach. A preliminary conceptual framework is developed through an extensive literature review and is refined by results from an in-depth field study. During the field study, a total of 11 SME owners or decision-makers were interviewed. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using NVivo 10 to refine the model to develop the research hypotheses. The final research model is composed of 30 first-order and five higher-order constructs which involve both reflective and formative measures. Partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is employed to test the theoretical model with a cross-sectional data set of 282 SMEs in Bangladesh. Survey data were collected using a structured questionnaire issued to SMEs selected by applying a stratified random sampling technique. The structural equation modelling utilises a two-step procedure of data analysis. Prior to estimating the structural model, the measurement model is examined for construct validity of the study variables (i.e. convergent and discriminant validity).

The estimates show cognitive evaluation as an important antecedent for expectation which is shaped primarily by the entrepreneurs’ beliefs (perception) and also influenced by the owners’ innovativeness and culture. Culture further influences expectation. The study finds that facilitating condition, environmental pressure and country readiness are important antecedents of expectation and ICT use. The results also reveal that integration and the degree of ICT utilisation significantly affect SMEs’ performance. Surprisingly, the findings do not reveal any significant impact of ICT usage on performance which apparently suggests the possibility of the ICT productivity paradox. However, the analysis finally proves the non-existence of the paradox by demonstrating the mediating role of ICT integration and degree of utilisation explain the influence of information technology (IT) usage on firm performance which is consistent with the resource-based theory. The results suggest that the use of ICT can enhance SMEs’ performance if the technology is integrated and properly utilised. SME owners or managers, interested stakeholders and policy makers may follow the study’s outcomes and focus on ICT integration and degree of utilisation with a view to attaining superior organisational performance.

This study urges concerned business enterprises and government to look at the environmental and cultural factors with a view to achieving ICT usage success in terms of enhanced firm performance. In particular, improving organisational practices and procedures by eliminating the traditional power distance inside organisations and implementing necessary rules and regulations are important actions for managing environmental and cultural uncertainties. The application of a Bengali user interface may help to ensure the productivity of ICT use by SMEs in Bangladesh. Establishing a favourable national technology infrastructure and legal environment may contribute positively to improving the overall situation. This study also suggests some changes and modifications in the country’s existing policies and strategies. The government and policy makers should undertake mass promotional programs to disseminate information about the various uses of computers and their contribution in developing better organisational performance. Organising specialised training programs for SME capacity building may succeed in attaining the motivation for SMEs to use ICT. Ensuring easy access to the technology by providing loans, grants and subsidies is important. Various stakeholders, partners and related organisations should come forward to support government policies and priorities in order to ensure the productive use of ICT among SMEs which finally will help to foster Bangladesh’s economic development.

The latest financial crisis has stressed the need of understanding the world financial system as a network of interconnected institutions, where financial linkages play a fundamental role in the spread of systemic risks. In this paper we propose to enrich the topological perspective of network models with a more structured statistical framework, that of Bayesian Gaussian graphical models. From a statistical viewpoint, we propose a new class of hierarchical Bayesian graphical models that can split correlations between institutions into country specific and idiosyncratic ones, in a way that parallels the decomposition of returns in the well-known Capital Asset Pricing Model. From a financial economics viewpoint, we suggest a way to model systemic risk that can explicitly take into account frictions between different financial markets, particularly suited to study the ongoing banking union process in Europe. From a computational viewpoint, we develop a novel Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm based on Bayes factor thresholding.

This chapter assesses authentic leadership and finds it to be highly egalitarian, meaning that it may be unattractive to managers accustomed to a hierarchical style. In general, management may lack knowledge about leadership theory relevant to both hierarchy and egality, the latter of which many younger employees prefer. Such a disconnect between management and follower preferences may explain two concerning findings by Gallup regarding global employee engagement: levels have remained low for nearly a decade, and companies resist Gallup's recommended cultural change. The author's ComPILAR model of group dynamics, which incorporates both egalitarian and hierarchical extremes offers potential hierarchical additions to authentic leadership, which may boost the ability of authentic leadership to guide leaders in hierarchical teams and organisations.

Within hierarchical relationships, subordinates are expected to obey the existing order and to function well. Their deviance or organisational misbehaviour is usually regarded negatively and as a threat to the system. However, there seems to be a paradox: Subordinates' deviance and (occasional) misbehaviour does not threaten organisational hierarchy but often re-establishes or even strengthens hierarchical order even though it challenges it. In itself, this phenomenon is quite self-evident. What is less clear is when exactly subordinates' deviance might contribute to the (further) stabilisation, continuation and persistence of the hierarchical social order and when it might be indeed system threatening. For interrogating the specific conditions and consequences of subordinates' deviance within organisational settings, the concept of crossing of boundaries will be introduced and differentiated into weak, medium and strong crossings. The concept will then be applied to subordinates' deviance in the realms of social action, interests, identity and norms and values.

The role of HQ in the contemporary MNC has recently received a good deal of research attention. This article argues that the contemporary MNC requires an organizational model that can embrace different perspectives of the HQ role. The same HQ must at times hierarchically lead the firm and at other times assume a more passive, facilitative role that allows direct interaction and decision making among the subunits to coordinate interdependency within the firm. To achieve this integration, the article proposes a contingency model that specifies when the HQ should assume a hierarchical role and when it should assume a facilitative role.

While cost allocation decisions attract considerable attention in the management accounting literature, many studies are contradicting and inconclusive. They often seek to develop product or service weights in order to make operating decisions with the sole objective of maximizing the firm’s profitability. But before developing these weights, the studies must first rank these products – which is a complex endeavor that is often driven by many hierarchical financial and nonfinancial goals and objectives. Ranking is also difficult due to using such complex concepts as time, uncertainty, cost, and interdependencies between accounting systems and manufacturing systems and among the products of the product mix. These concepts are inherently fuzzy and coextensively applied often with a confluence of variables operating simultaneously.

This paper applies an advanced mathematical model to account for a hospital cost allocation decisions in treating spinal cord injuries (SCI). The model combines the powers of fuzzy set theory (Zadeh, 1965) and the analytic hierarchy process (Saaty, 1978). The precise ratings required in the conventional analytic hierarchy process but practically hard to obtain are replaced by naturally semantic variables by using the fuzzy set concept. de Korvin and Kleyle’s (1999) fuzzy-analytic-hierarchical process (FAHP) then develop these ambiguous variables. FAHP can help to optimize decisions involving ambiguous variables and the web of prioritized strategies and goals of cost leadership, product differentiation, financial objectives of earnings, cash flows, and market share and nonfinancial goals such as tradition and owners’ convictions and philosophies.

We use data from seven Michigan SCI facilities in applying the FAHP model to rank and otherwise develop more optimal strategies and goals and compare our results to the decisions of hospital management.

Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to examine methodological trends in emerging market strategy research and to provide a comprehensive review of methods of assessing group variation in comparative studies.

Methodology/approach – This comprises a systematic review of the methodology of emerging market research over the past 10 years, followed by methodological best practices for comparative studies involving emerging and mature markets, with exemplars from the past research.

Findings – Despite previous calls for more comparative studies in emerging market research, most of the literature is reporting on single-country studies. There is some confusion in terminology and the methods used in this area of strategy research. Increased attention to the “East” calls for a reevaluation of methods utilized in comparative studies. The methods described in this chapter present best practices for comparative research.

Social implications – More comparative studies would substantially expand our understanding of the differences between the emerging and developed markets, and the potential impact of emerging markets on global economy. Rigorous research methods extend validity and generalizability of the studies.

Originality/value – This chapter is the first study to date to analyze the methodological trends of the entire field of emerging market research over the span of 10 years and to provide systematic methodological recommendations tailored to analyzing variation in comparative studies.

The purpose of the chapter is to study possible approaches to determining the notion “business system” and to describe possible optimization models of decision-making in modern business systems from the position of these approaches.

The methodology of the research includes systemic analysis, discrete event approach in simulation modeling, modeling of complex hierarchical system on the basis of turning criteria into a generalized indicator with the help of functional Kolmogorov mean, and mathematical tools of the Theory of games.

The authors study possible variants of modeling of business systems from the position of various approaches: commercial, practice-oriented, and organizational. Within the commercial approach to defining the notion “business system,” the discrete event approach to simulation modeling on the basis of Markov chains was compiled. A model of starting a certain new commodity in sales was compiled for determining the long-term strategy in the market. Within the practice-oriented approach, evaluation of effectiveness of personal as a component of business system is modeled. Within the organizational approach, two competing companies are modeled on the basis of the positional game.

Finding the optimization model of decision-making in modern business systems is impossible without of the system approach – that is, without considering possible definitions of the term “business system” and compiling the corresponding models. Only the systemic approach will allow for objective and comprehensive modeling of behavior of business systems. The offered methodologies will allow modeling evaluation of the current state of business system, changes of the system in dynamics, and its relations with other business systems.

Internet + and Electronic Business in China is a comprehensive resource that provides insight and analysis into E-commerce in China and how it has revolutionized and continues to revolutionize business and society. Split into four distinct sections, the book first lays out the theoretical foundations and fundamental concepts of E-Business before moving on to look at internet+ innovation models and their applications in different industries such as agriculture, finance and commerce. The book then provides a comprehensive analysis of E-business platforms and their applications in China before finishing with four comprehensive case studies of major E-business projects, providing readers with successful examples of implementing E-Business entrepreneurship projects.

Internet + and Electronic Business in China is a comprehensive resource that provides insights and analysis into how E-commerce has revolutionized and continues to revolutionize business and society in China.

The assessment of the success of Performance Management Systems (PMS) is difficult because there are many success factors, they are mutually dependent on each other, and located at different hierarchical levels of an organization. Therefore, there is a need to describe the complete logical chain, which makes PMS successful for an organization and to find out a comprehensive list of key factors (KF) affecting the success of PMS. The objective of this research paper is to develop a method to assess success of a PMS based on a logical chain of 14 KF.

The research first develops a logical chain based on the 14 KFs on the basis of prior studies and then carries out a survey about these KFs (15 check points) of PMS and their connection to organizational performance for a small sample of firms from two EU countries.

There are next findings of this study which indicate following: KFs of PMS affect organizational performance; successful PMS improves organizational performance; PMS is successful for the organization when the completeness of the logical chain in PMS is high.

The practical contribution of this study is that findings show that firms can assess their own PMSs and compare their check point values against the values of successful PMS group. This kind of analysis indicates directly improvement potential for the different check points in PMS.