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The purpose of this paper is to examine the firm efficiency or technical efficiency (TE), pure technical efficiency (PTE) and scale efficiency (SE) in the selected developed and developing Asia-Pacific countries.

The sample consists of a sum of 700 firms in selected developed and developing Asia-Pacific countries over the period from 2009 to 2015. The non-parametric data envelopment analysis under the production approach is used to investigate firm efficiency.

On average, this paper discovers that the firms in selected Asia-Pacific countries are moderately efficient. Scale inefficiency (SIE) is found to be the dominant source of firms’ technical inefficiency. The analysis of return to scale shows that the large firms tend to operate at decreasing return to scale level, while the small firms tend to operate at increasing return to scale level.

The findings from this paper provide significant insights to the policy makers and firm managers in promoting the efficient firms of Asia-Pacific countries.

The present paper conducts a critical analysis on return to scale in the firms sector of Asia-Pacific context, which is ignored by the past studies on firm efficiency since the analysis of return to scale is mostly emphasized on banking sector. The precise nature of SIE is important for a firm to be efficient in achieving the firm’s primary goals of profit maximization and sustaining market competitiveness.

The purpose of this paper is to enhance the understanding of the long-debated impact of board busyness within a new framework of firm efficiency in the selected developed and developing Asia–Pacific countries, by assessing the moderation of directors' education towards the relationship between board busyness and firm efficiency. The extant literature on board busyness demonstrates to a lack of clarification of the relationship between board busyness and firm efficiency.

The sample for this paper comprises a panel data of 800 firms in a cross-country context of the selected developed and developing Asia–Pacific countries during the recent period of 2009–2015. This paper performs a non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis to measure firm efficiency and panel regression analysis to examine the moderation of directors' education.

This paper provides support for the busyness hypothesis by documenting that the busy boards are likely to reduce firm efficiency. Moreover, this paper renders support to the upper-echelons theory by demonstrating that the impact of board busyness on firm efficiency is likely to turn positive in the presence of directors' education.

This paper highlights practical implication for managers especially in the Asia–Pacific region who seek to enhance firm efficiency, which is essential for firms in attaining the primary goal of profit maximization.

This paper builds on the extant literature by providing a contemporary research path regarding the moderation of directors' education to explain the long-debated impact of board busyness within a new framework of firm efficiency, based on a recent and significant sample of Asia–Pacific countries.

The study aims to empirically investigate the trends and determinants of labour productivity of the two broad sectors –industry and services – and their components, namely, manufacturing and market services sectors, in the case of major developing and developed economies of Asia-Pacific over the period 1980-2014 and make a comparison thereof.

The study uses econometric methodology of panel unit root tests, panel cointegration and group-mean full modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS).

The study finds that while capital deepening, government size, institutional quality, productivity of the other sector and financial openness affect productivity of all the sectors significantly, the impact of human capital and trade openness varies across sectors in the case of developing economies. Furthermore, the impact of technological progress becomes significant in the post-liberalization reforms period in the developing economies. The study further finds that capital deepening, human capital, government size, institutional quality, productivity of the other sector, government size and trade openness are significant determinants of productivity of all sectors of developed economies under consideration. However, the impact of technological progress is stronger for manufacturing sector than services and its components. Furthermore, while both equity and debt liabilities (as measures of financial openness) influence sectoral productivity of industry and manufacturing sectors positively and significantly in case of developed economies, only equity liabilities have a significant influence on the productivity of developing economies. This may indicate existence of more developed financial markets in the case of developed economies.

The study identifies important structural differences in determinants of productivity both across sectors and across developing and developed economies of Asia-Pacific.

The purpose of this research is to investigate how lessons learned from a case study of a construction project undertaken in the Pacific Islands relates to the interaction between social capital and knowledge transfer. The paper is reflective in nature focusing upon the experiences of one of the authors, being a Pacific Islander and trying to make sense of the role of social capital and the way that it impacts upon knowledge transfer.

Three theoretical frameworks are drawn upon in a pilot test of tools used to better understand and measure knowledge transfer including barriers to knowledge transfer to help explain the difficulty of knowledge transfer in a given context and the development of social capital for a foreign aid project. These tools allowed us to visualise project stakeholder outcomes for knowledge transfer and building social capital that were articulated by the aid recipient as being highly important. This was a pilot study and results reported upon in this paper were fed back to stakeholder representatives concerned for their comment and validation. Project documentation data, unstructured ad hoc interviews, together with personal reflection‐in‐practice, were gathered and used for the study.

The approach was found to be very useful in helping stakeholders better visualise and measure this project outcome, whereas experience from previous similar projects indicated that it was very difficult for stakeholders to find a tangible way of measuring this important element of success or failure.

Many projects of the type exemplified by the case studies are funded by aid agencies. This paper makes a contribution by presenting an evaluation tool for intangible project outcomes. The findings may influence the design of project success measures.

Briefly reviews previous literature by the author before presenting an original 12 step system integration protocol designed to ensure the success of companies or countries in their efforts to develop and market new products. Looks at the issues from different strategic levels such as corporate, international, military and economic. Presents 31 case studies, including the success of Japan in microchips to the failure of Xerox to sell its invention of the Alto personal computer 3 years before Apple: from the success in DNA and Superconductor research to the success of Sunbeam in inventing and marketing food processors: and from the daring invention and production of atomic energy for survival to the successes of sewing machine inventor Howe in co‐operating on patents to compete in markets. Includes 306 questions and answers in order to qualify concepts introduced.

Develops an original 12‐step management of technology protocol and applies it to 51 applications which range from Du Pont’s failure in Nylon to the Single Online Trade Exchange for Auto Parts procurement by GM, Ford, Daimler‐Chrysler and Renault‐Nissan. Provides many case studies with regards to the adoption of technology and describes seven chief technology officer characteristics. Discusses common errors when companies invest in technology and considers the probabilities of success. Provides 175 questions and answers to reinforce the concepts introduced. States that this substantial journal is aimed primarily at the present and potential chief technology officer to assist their survival and success in national and international markets.

This chapter models industrial, tech, and financial cooperation between Russia and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. We use several complex methods of economic and mathematical modeling to analyze specific features of such cooperation and determine critical factors in industrial, technological, and financial development. The preferable choice for the Asia-Pacific region is cooperation with Russia, which is ready for an increase in imports of industrial and high-tech products as well as joint industrial innovational entrepreneurship. Investments would lead to synergetic effects, ensuring simultaneous industrial, technological, and financial development.

This study investigates Asia Pacific banks' annual report disclosures on derivatives using the Basel Committee and IOSCO joint recommendations as the derivative and risk management disclosure benchmark. Based on our constructed disclosure index, the mean score is 35%, suggesting that many of the disclosure recommendations are not being adopted by the banks in our sample. Cross‐country and regional variation exists in the disclosure practices, with the variation associated with the extent to which accounting regulations for derivative instruments are operational. Hong Kong banks have the highest mean disclosure scores while the Philippines banks have the lowest mean disclosure scores. Australasian banks generally provide more disclosures than East Asian and South East Asian banks, and banks in developed countries generally have a higher level of disclosure relative to developing countries. The transparency of derivative activities by the banks is expected to improve as Asia Pacific countries promulgate accounting regulations congruent with international accounting standards.

International development agencies claim that commercial applications of information and communication technology (ICT) have great potential to accelerate economic growth in developing nations. This paper investigates this idea and proposes that the Internet expands the potential of marketing activities to help developing countries pursue development goals along a dual path, one that includes activities that are “top‐down” in nature (e.g. infrastructure development), and another that involves “bottom‐up” activities (e.g. entrepreneurship). Both paths involve the expansion of marketing efforts and represent significant opportunities for business development and investment. Attention is given to the Asia‐Pacific region and to the processes and outcomes of development springing from bottom‐up or “grassroots” approaches, and how enhanced marketing activities can help nations reach key development goals. Finally, an interdisciplinary conceptual model is advanced regarding how a blend of top‐down and bottom‐up approaches may be used to encourage the diffusion of online marketing activities and to help foster economic and social development in the emerging economies in the Asia‐Pacific region.

Interviews in South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and India indicate net present value (NPV) is not widely employed in making capital investment decisions in these newly industrialized and developing countries. It is not from lack of knowledge about net present value: rather, it is due to (1) widespread violation of the assumptions underlying NPV, (2) the high risk/high return nature of the capital investments, and (3) the decision‐making process employed in making capital investment decisions. These same three conditions exist for many capital investment decisions made by firms in developed countries. Only by abandoning the static NPV approach, building in real options, and understanding and building in the decision‐making process will further advances be made in capital budgeting decision‐making. One of the key paradigms in finance is net present value (NPV). In order to maximize value, managers should accept all positive NPV investment projects, and reject all negative NPV projects. The issue becomes more complex when uncertainty is introduced, or, as in recent years, when real options to defer, abandon, expand, etc. are incorporated into the decision‐making process [e.g., Dixit and Pindyck (1994) and Trigeorgis (1995 and 1996)]. However, with these exceptions, the state of the art in capital investment decision‐making revolves around the simple statement—take all positive NPV projects. In practice, evidence from surveys and discussions with corporate executives indicates the message taught for the last 30 years in business schools has been heard and, to a large extent, acted upon by larger U.S., Canadian, and British‐based firms. While larger firms in North America, and to a lesser extent Western Europe, generally employ the static, or traditional, NPV framework for making, or assisting in making, capital investment decisions, less is known about the decision‐making process employed by firms in other parts of the world. The question addressed in this study is: “Do firms in other parts of the world, especially in newly industrialized or developing countries in the Asia Pacific region, employ NPV for making capital investment decisions?” The purposes of this study are threefold: (1) to report the results of a series of open‐ended interviews conducted in South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and India about the capital investment decision‐making process employed; (2) to understand why NPV is not widely employed in making capital investment decisions in these newly industrialized and developing countries; and, most important, (3) to indicate that NPV and the capital budgeting decision‐making process need rethinking and refocusing to make them more effective—in all countries, whether developed, newly industrialized, or developing. The paper proceeds in the following manner. Section I provides an introduction to the study. In Section II the results of the interviews are presented. In Section III patterns that emerged during the interview process are presented, along with a number of specific examples of the types of capital investment decisions being considered. In Section IV the assumptions underlying NPV are examined, and then risk/return and the decision‐making process are considered. Section V contains the discussion and conclusions.