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1 – 10 of over 1000
Article
Publication date: 1 April 2007

H. Müller, P. Prinsloo and A. du Plessis

The sustainability of higher education institutions is affected various things, particularly by student satisfaction and the financial stability of the institution. An analysis of…

Abstract

The sustainability of higher education institutions is affected various things, particularly by student satisfaction and the financial stability of the institution. An analysis of student attrition and retention plays a vital role in assessing the sustainability of a higher education institution. Using suitable analysis techniques to do success profiling of prospective and current students is crucial for students and institutions alike. Success/risk estimation is essential for any higher education institution (HEI), because determining such factors can assist higher education institutions in fulfilling their obligation to provide support, guidance and interventions for their prospective and existing students. Strategic decisions in this regard, by both students and institutions, should be based on valid and reliable profiles. The validation of established profiles increases the accuracy of existing profiles and increases the efficiency of institutional strategic planning. This article reports on the validation of a success profile for first year Accounting students established by the authors of this article in an earlier study in an open and distance learning (ODL) environment at the University of South Africa.

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2000

C. Koornhof and D. du Plessis

There is increasing international concern about the escalation of fraud and, in particular, financial statement fraud. Detecting financial statement fraud and proving such fraud…

1725

Abstract

There is increasing international concern about the escalation of fraud and, in particular, financial statement fraud. Detecting financial statement fraud and proving such fraud remains an elusive goal. Red flagging is an early warning system that has been used by auditors to determine the probability of financial statement fraud. The purpose of this research project was to survey investors and lenders in South Africa on their use of red flags and to obtain their opinions on the relative importance of individual red flags. A questionnaire was sent to banks that are registered with the Registrar of Banks (representative of lenders) and to portfolio managers registered with the Financial Services Board (representative of investors). The research findings indicate that lenders and investors in South Africa appear to be aware of the benefits of red flagging as an early warning system. A structured approach (questionnaires/checklists) in using them is to be lacking at present. Respondents rated all red flags in the questionnaire as being important. No distinction was discernable among the different categories that were based on the nature of red flags.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 8 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1022-2529

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 May 2022

Kimberly Camrass

This paper aims to analyse both traditional and regenerative fields across four layers, litany, systems, worldviews and myth/metaphor. It aims to provide in-depth insight into the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse both traditional and regenerative fields across four layers, litany, systems, worldviews and myth/metaphor. It aims to provide in-depth insight into the beliefs, values epistemologies and assumptions that scaffold thinking and practice. As a result of this analysis, future implications for regenerative urban practice are also considered.

Design/methodology/approach

Prevailing sustainability approaches seek to mitigate further harm in urban centres by increasing efficiency and minimising resource consumption and impact. They are primarily underpinned by a reductionist worldview that separates human objectives from those of the natural world. In contrast, regenerative approaches to urban sustainability have emerged out of an ecological worldview and aim to achieve net positive outcomes as a result of co-evolutionary relationships between social and ecological systems. This paper explores both approaches in urban communities through futures thinking tool, causal layered analysis.

Findings

As a result of the causal layered analysis undertaken, this paper provides insights into regenerative thinking and practice in urban settings. These insights cover four main thematic categories: purpose, place, practice and progress. Moving to the deeper layers of worldview and myth metaphor analysis, in particular, has significant implications for ongoing practice, including facilitating processes by which communities can reflect upon, unpack and reconstruct their concepts of future “success”.

Originality/value

Anthropogenic climate change continues to deliver worsening ecological, social and economic impacts globally. Urban centres are particularly central to this crisis given their massive resource consumption and rapid population growth. This paper provides an alternative, deep analysis to consider thinking and practice required for urban regeneration. It reveals the need for a shift in purpose and a deeper understanding of place, illustrating the roles that futures tools may place in this transition.

Details

foresight, vol. 25 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-6689

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2006

H. Labuschagne and G. Els

The Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, Act 12 of 2004, was instituted to curb corrupt activities. It imposes a duty on people in positions of authority to report…

Abstract

The Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, Act 12 of 2004, was instituted to curb corrupt activities. It imposes a duty on people in positions of authority to report corrupt or suspected corrupt activities and related activities. However, auditors are not listed in this Act as persons in a position of authority. This article discusses whether, despite the fact that the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act does not place such a reporting duty on an auditor, auditors nevertheless have a duty in terms of other legislation to report any unlawful activities that they uncover in the course of their work, or which they suspect to have been committed. The article also examines whether auditors are required to consider the risk of corruption.

Article
Publication date: 17 August 2020

Rachel Dodds, Michelle Novotny and Sylvie Harper

The purpose of this paper is to determine the extent of online communication by festivals regarding their sustainability practices using Cultivation Theory as the framework to…

1736

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the extent of online communication by festivals regarding their sustainability practices using Cultivation Theory as the framework to determine perceived value creation.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed method approach was utilized to achieve data triangulation through a content analysis of websites, content analysis of social media sites as well as interviews.

Findings

Findings indicated that 64% of festivals did not communicate any sustainable practices through their websites and only 6% communicated via social media. The most common sustainability practices communicated were waste management and sustainable transportation, yet few festivals engaged in effective, consistent and sufficient marketing of initiatives to festivalgoers. Best practice festivals (having communicated 5.47 initiatives or more) were found to have been significantly more likely than non-best practice festivals to be music festivals and have been in operation longer. Best practice festivals were also more likely than non-best practice festivals to have sustainability engrained into their corporate philosophy via a communicated sustainable vision and mission. Interviews revealed that most festivals did not have a designated role responsible for all sustainable initiatives and the responsibility was often taken on by volunteers or festival organizers. Festival organizers that communicated sustainability initiatives efficiently, consistently, and sufficiently perceived these efforts to benefit the festivals value amongst festivalgoers and host communities. Propensity to communicate sustainability initiatives was found to have been impacted by awareness, categorization, timing, policy and funding.

Research limitations/implications

While the findings are limited to the country of Canada and the extent of communication on websites and social media platforms as well as those festivals who participated, interviews helped to overcome these limitations as they gained an understanding of what was undertaken but not necessarily communicated.

Practical implications

The findings generated from this study could be used as a guide for establishing a benchmark for festivals regarding sustainable communication as well as strategies for overall corporate responsibility. Content regarding sustainability at festivals is scarce, as is information on festival communication. As a result, this paper seeks to understand the sustainable initiatives that are being communicated by festivals.

Originality/value

This is the first time Cultivation Theory was used within a tourism context and may be a useful tool to determine value creation. Through Cultivation Theory, festival organizers believed to have the ability to impact perceived value of the festival by implementing efficient, consistent and sufficient communication of sustainability initiatives.

Details

International Journal of Event and Festival Management, vol. 11 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1758-2954

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 September 2016

Mona Ashok, Rajneesh Narula and Andrea Martinez-Noya

Despite the keen interest in radical and incremental innovation, few studies have tested the varying impact of firm-level factors in service sectors. This paper analyses how…

2937

Abstract

Purpose

Despite the keen interest in radical and incremental innovation, few studies have tested the varying impact of firm-level factors in service sectors. This paper analyses how collaboration with existing and prospective users and investments in knowledge management (KM) practices can be adapted to maximise the outputs of radical and incremental process innovation in a knowledge-intensive business service industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Original survey data from 166 information technology service firms and interviews with 13 executives provide the empirical evidence. Partial least squares-structural equation modelling is used to analyse the data.

Findings

Collaboration with different types of users, and investments in KM practices affect radical versus incremental process innovation differently. Collaboration with existing users influences incremental process innovation directly, but not radical innovation; and prospective user collaboration matters for radical, but not incremental innovation. Furthermore, for radical innovation, investments in KM practices mediate the impact of prospective user collaboration on innovation.

Research limitations/implications

While collaboration with existing users for incremental process innovations does not appear to generate significant managerial challenges, to pursue radical innovations firms must engage in intensive collaboration with prospective users. Higher involvement with prospective users requires higher investment in KM practices to promote efficient intra- and inter-firm knowledge flows.

Originality/value

This study is based on a large-scale survey, together with management interviews. Radical and incremental innovations in the service industry require engagements with different kinds of users, and the use of KM tools.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 20 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 November 2024

Cleopatra Veloutsou and Estefania Ballester

The extensive brand associations research lacks organisation when it comes to the used information cues. This paper aims to systematically map and categorise the brand knowledge…

Abstract

Purpose

The extensive brand associations research lacks organisation when it comes to the used information cues. This paper aims to systematically map and categorise the brand knowledge associations’ components and develop a typology applicable to any brand.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the restaurant and hotel industries in four different European cultural clusters as contexts, this work uses well-established systematic qualitative analysis approaches to categorise, code and model pictorial content in two studies. A four-stage sampling process identified Instagram brand-posted signals (photos), 243 from 26 restaurants in Madrid, Paris and Rome for study one and 390 from 29 hotels in Moscow, Berlin and Stockholm for study two. Adhering to relevant guidelines, the manual coding procedures progressed from 246 for restaurants and 231 for hotels initially generated free information coding inductive codes to a theory-informed categorisation. Quantitative analysis complemented the qualitative analysis, revealing the information cues relative utilisation.

Findings

For both studies, the analysis produced a typology consisting of two high-level and five lower-level brand knowledge association categories, namely: (a) brand characteristics consisting of the brand as a symbol, the brand as a product and the brand as a person, and (b) brand imagery consisting of user imagery and experience imagery. The five lower-level categories comprise of sub-categories and dimensions, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the brand associations conceptual structure relevant to brands operating in any industry.

Research limitations/implications

Researchers can use this typology to holistically encapsulate brand associations or design projects aiming to deepen brand knowledge association aspects/dimensions understanding.

Practical implications

Managers can use this typology to portray brands. Some of the identified lower-level categories and/or sub-categories and dimensions are likely to need customisation to fit specific contexts.

Originality/value

The suggested categorisation offers a solid, comprehensive framework for effectively categorising and coding brand knowledge associations and proposes a new theory in the form of a typology.

Details

Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1061-0421

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 16 January 2024

Monika Prakash, Sweety Mishra, Pinaz Tiwari and Nimit Chowdhary

The smart destination can be defined as a destination that deploys information communications technologies (ICTs) and other technological tools for interactive/participative…

Abstract

The smart destination can be defined as a destination that deploys information communications technologies (ICTs) and other technological tools for interactive/participative engagement with prospective visitors. The rationale is to enhance the residents' quality of life as well as the tourists' experiences of the destinations they visit. This chapter discusses about digitization strategies and on marketing superstructures affecting destinations. It advances a conceptual framework through the development of an Attracting, Stay, and Return (ASR) Model that is suitable for smart destinations. It relies on descriptive case studies to conceptualize smart tourism destinations. This contribution reiterates the importance of having a well-designed website that presents appropriate content to entice the prospective travelers' curiosity about destinations. It offers valuable insights and advances new knowledge on smart marketing approaches that are intended to increase the destination management organizations' outreach with tourists at each stage of the ASR Model.

Details

Tourism Planning and Destination Marketing, 2nd Edition
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-888-1

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 May 2023

Dezhi Li, Lugang Yu, Guanying Huang, Shenghua Zhou, Haibo Feng and Yanqing Wang

To propose a new investment-income valuation model by real options approach (ROA) for old community renewal (OCR) projects, which could help the government attract private…

Abstract

Purpose

To propose a new investment-income valuation model by real options approach (ROA) for old community renewal (OCR) projects, which could help the government attract private capital's participation.

Design/methodology/approach

The new model is proposed by identifying the types of options private capital has in the OCR project, selecting the option model most suitable for private capital investment decisions, improving the valuation model through the triangular fuzzy numbers to take into account the uncertainty and flexibility, and demonstrating the feasibility of the calculation model through an actual OCR project case.

Findings

The new model can valuate OCR projects more accurately based on considering uncertainty and flexibility, compared with conventional methods that often underestimate the value of OCR projects.

Practical implications

The investment-income of OCR projects shall be re-valuated from the lens of real options, which could help reveal more real benefits beyond the capital growth of OCR projects, enable the government to attract private capital's investment in OCR, and alleviate government fiscal pressure.

Originality/value

The proposed OCR-oriented investment-income valuation model systematically analyzes the applicability of real option value (ROV) to OCR projects, innovatively integrates the ROV and the net present value (NPV) as expanded net present value (ENPV), and accurately evaluate real benefits in comparison with existing models. Furthermore, the newly proposed model holds the potential to be transferred to various social welfare projects as a tool to attract private capital's participation.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 31 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 September 2021

Carmela Elita Schillaci, Elona Marku, Manuel Castriotta and Maria Chiara Di Guardo

This paper aims to better understand how codified knowledge that originates in organizations contributes to the generation of idiosyncratic knowledge embedded at a more expansive…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to better understand how codified knowledge that originates in organizations contributes to the generation of idiosyncratic knowledge embedded at a more expansive level, such as that of an ecosystem. In doing so, the authors introduce the concept of patent ecosystems – conceived as configurations of codified knowledge advancements protected via patents.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a patent co-classification method and introducing a novel validated software, the authors map and visualize the patent ecosystem of Singapore and examine 173,597 patents published from 1995 to 2020.

Findings

Results reveal the prominent growth of Singapore’s patenting activities, capturing a patent ecosystem shift, from a more diverse knowledge configuration to a more specialized one. The codified knowledge mainly generated deals with pharmaceuticals and high-tech knowledge domains; further, newly emerging technologies such as blockchain are also noted.

Research limitations/implications

The research investigates Singapore’s context, a country in which research directions and focus areas are influenced by government interventions and leadership. Thus, future studies might examine other patent ecosystems to draw comparisons with more laissez-faire policies or ecosystems with more pronounced organic development.

Originality/value

The novelty of this research is the introduction of the concept of a patent ecosystem for advancing a more fine-grained understanding of the aggregated knowledge generated at the ecosystem level and its specific features, composition and development. The authors consider patents as “carriers” of different codified pieces of knowledge and patent ecosystems represent the configuration that emerges from connections of these elements. The novel approach can aid both researchers, practitioners and policymakers with future examinations in the field.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 26 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 1000