Search results
1 – 10 of over 25000Stavros Arvanitis and Leticia Estevez
The main purpose of this chapter is to define the concept, scope and importance of a feasibility study when developing a new business venture. It also presents the main components…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this chapter is to define the concept, scope and importance of a feasibility study when developing a new business venture. It also presents the main components of a feasibility study by describing a feasibility study template.
Methodology/approach
A literature review was conducted on conceptual issues and practical aspects of the feasibility analysis and study by presenting a hypothetical case of study of a boutique hotel.
Findings
This chapter highlights the importance of both feasibility analysis and study, and the main reasons why all entrepreneurs should carry them out. It presents a simple template that shows the key components of a feasibility study and also a hypothetical case of study of a boutique hotel that helps in relating the concepts and ideas previously developed.
Practical implications
This chapter introduces both theoretical and practical approaches by presenting a model or template on how to develop the feasibility analysis and study. This template can be applied at any stage of assessment process of a business project.
Originality/value
The concept of a feasibility study is accompanied by a practical template and a case study. This approach contributes to a better understanding of the value and utility of feasibility analysis and study in assessing tourism business ventures.
Details
Keywords
The present study is descriptive research in terms of purpose, descriptive analysis in terms of nature and cross-sectional research in terms of time. The study’s statistical…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study is descriptive research in terms of purpose, descriptive analysis in terms of nature and cross-sectional research in terms of time. The study’s statistical population includes all employees and managers of the China City Organization selected as sample members using random sampling method and Krejcie table of 242 people. The questionnaire was modified and revised based on the goals, tasks and mission of the target organization to collect information. In data analysis, due to the normality of data distribution, the structural equation modeling method is used to evaluate the causal model, reliability and validity of the measurement model. Evaluation and validation of the model are done through the structural equation model. Questionnaire-based model and data are analyzed using Smart PLS 3.0. The main purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility of implementing the human resource payroll management system based on cloud computing technology.
Design/methodology/approach
New technologies require innovative approaches for creating valuable opportunities in an organization to integrate the physical flows of goods and services and financial information. Today, cloud computing is an emerging mechanism for high-level computing as a storage system. It is used to connect to network hosts, infrastructure and applications and provide reliable services. Due to advances in this field, cloud computing is used to perform operations related to human resources. The role, importance and application of cloud computing in human resource management, such as reducing the cost of hardware and information software in hiring, job planning, employee selection, employee socialization, payroll, employee performance appraisal, rewards, etc., is raised. This way, human resource management teams can easily view resumes, sort candidates and observe and analyze their performance. Cloud computing is effective in implementing human resource payroll management systems. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility of implementing the human resource payroll management system based on cloud computing technology.
Findings
Testing the research hypotheses shows that the dimension desirability of ability and acceptance is provided in dimensions related to the minimum conditions required to implement cloud computing technology in the organization. For this reason, the feasibility of implementing the systems based on cloud computing in companies must be considered.
Research limitations/implications
This study also has some limitations that need to be considered in evaluating the results. The study is limited to one region. It cannot be assured that the factors examined in other areas are effective. The research design for this study is a cross-sectional study. It represents the static relationship between the variables. Since cross-sectional data from variable relationships are taken at a single point in time, they are collected in other periods. As a proposal, future researchers intend to investigate the impact of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems based on cloud computing.
Practical implications
The research also includes companies, departments and individuals associated with systems based on cloud computing.
Originality/value
In this paper, the feasibility of implementing the human resource payroll management system based on cloud computing is pointed out, and the approach to resolve the problem is applied to a practical example. The presented model in this article provides a complete framework to investigate the feasibility of implementing the human resource payroll management system based on cloud computing.
Details
Keywords
This paper aims to examine how social and environmental issues were accounted for and traded off within decision-making for Australia’s largest seawater desalination plant. This…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how social and environmental issues were accounted for and traded off within decision-making for Australia’s largest seawater desalination plant. This is done through an investigation of disclosures contained within key publicly available documents pertaining to the project.
Design/methodology/approach
The study deploys content analysis to initially identify relevant disclosures. Themes and subthemes are based on definitions of social and environmental accounting adapted from prior research. Relevant information was used to develop “silent accounts” to identify and analyse accountability issues in the case.
Findings
It was found that a number of claims made throughout reporting were unsupported or insufficiently explained. At the same time, it is found that various forms of basic measurements used to describe social and environmental issues conveyed the rationale of decision makers. It is concluded that many of the claims were asserted rather than evidenced; yet, the manner and context of their presentation gave them the appearance of being incontestable truths. Further, it is argued that the portrayal of social and environmental issues through measurable means is emblematic of values associated with contemporary neoliberal and public sector reforms.
Research limitations/implications
The findings and conclusions of this study are contextually bound and therefore limited to this case.
Practical implications
This paper illustrates problems with the reporting of non-financial information and strengthens our understanding of the use of “silent accounting”. It illustrates the value of this approach to research examining accounting and accountability issues.
Originality/value
The findings contribute to the literature on social and environmental accounting by providing unique empirical analysis of non-financial disclosures within publicly available reporting.
Details
Keywords
Nguyen T. Thai and Ulku Yuksel
This paper aims to find out what product features become salient when consumers are exposed to many market offerings, demonstrating how choice set size influences construal…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to find out what product features become salient when consumers are exposed to many market offerings, demonstrating how choice set size influences construal mindset, which then affects the type of product consumers choose.
Design/methodology/approach
Experiment 1 provides preliminary evidence that being exposed to a large (vs small) choice set may drive people to focus more on the feasibility (i.e. a secondary feature) of a product and less on the desirability (i.e. a primary feature) when making a choice. Experiment 2 unveils the serial mediating roles of construal level and importance of price/design.
Findings
Consumers are more likely to select feasible (i.e. affordable) market offerings and not desirable (i.e. well-designed) ones when choosing from a large (vs small) choice set. This effect is serially mediated by mental construals and by the importance of price or design. Choosing from a large (vs small) choice set leads to low-level mental construals, which increase the importance of price (a feasibility attribute) while decreasing the importance of design (a desirability attribute), resulting in choice of feasible (affordable) market offerings over well-designed ones.
Research limitations/implications
Although consumers generally focus on the desirability of a choice or an action, choosing from large choice sets makes them focus more on the feasibility of market offerings because of low-level mental construals.
Practical implications
In today’s era of e-commerce, as consumers are exposed to too many product offerings, retailers should emphasize the feasibility of their market offerings (e.g. affordability) to increase the chance that consumers purchase their products. This research shows that people rely very much on product price to make selections when provided with a large choice set.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to show that large choice sets make consumers choose affordable products over well-designed ones and introduces the serial mediation effect of construal level and importance of price/design. Accordingly, this research establishes that large choice sets activate low-level mental construals, which associate with a feasibility mindset that ultimately makes consumers choose an affordable product instead of a well-designed one. It adds to the literature on choice overload by showing that the importance of price overshadows the importance of design (aesthetics) when people are exposed to large choice sets.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to examine the applicability of the alternative way of discounting, such as the hyperbolic discount method, for the economic feasibility test on Free…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the applicability of the alternative way of discounting, such as the hyperbolic discount method, for the economic feasibility test on Free Trade Zone development project that needs intergenerational analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
To analyze the effects of applying alternative discounting method in the cost-benefit analysis, this paper uses the hyperbolic discount method and HM-Treasury’s method (Britain), as well as the traditional exponential discount method. Also, this study uses benefit and cost data from the actual feasibility test of the Free Trade Zone development project in Korea, to obtain better policy implication.
Findings
For the case of long-term analysis, using the exponential discounting method in the benefit-cost analysis could not give us balanced analytic results, because it discounts too much on future generation’s benefits. In contrast, if we use the hyperbolic discounting method, we could obtain better balanced results since it can control the generational effects. This paper also finds that for the results to be valid, the analysis period must be expanded long enough (a minimum of 100 years).
Originality/value
The major findings of this paper confirm the results of previous studies regarding long-term benefit-cost analysis. Also, the result of this paper is properly compatible with the findings of behavioral economics, such as the time inconsistency of preferences. However, no research has been done with the proper length of analytic periods for using hyperbolic discounting yet. To examine this matter, this paper performs benefit-cost analysis with actual data from the feasibility studies in Korea. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to find the proper length of analytic periods that can be compatible with the hyperbolic discount method.
Details
Keywords
George Papageorgiou and Alexander N. Ness
Many good sustainability entrepreneurial ideas and projects fail to reach their objectives due to problems with feasibility. This chapter investigates the effectiveness of methods…
Abstract
Many good sustainability entrepreneurial ideas and projects fail to reach their objectives due to problems with feasibility. This chapter investigates the effectiveness of methods used to evaluate the feasibility of entrepreneurial ventures in the context of sustainable urban development. Traditional methods and tools based on cost–benefit analysis could provide some guidance for entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs when evaluating sustainability strategies. Yet, such methods rely on restrictive assumptions, which cast doubt on their suitability for real-world sustainability applications. Traditional methods are far from really enabling entrepreneurs to make informed optimal decisions. New integrated methods are necessary for drawing conclusions vis-a-vis the practicality of entrepreneurial ideas by quantifying and analyzing the benefits and costs of all options in a given scenario. This chapter evaluates the effectiveness of current feasibility study methods and their suitability for sustainable urban planning and development. It surmises that caution is advised concerning their reflection of real-life applications, given the complexity and dynamicity of solving sustainability-related problems. It is shown that such methods can arguably be a useful tool when evaluating the viability of investing in innovation and sustainability if they are enriched with advanced modelling techniques, such as system dynamics and optimization methods. For this purpose, an entrepreneurial venture for promoting sustainable mobility via information and communication technology (ICT) is used as a case study. The proposed integrated ‘Sustainability Entrepreneurship’ approach for evaluating feasibility can prove to be very useful for entrepreneurs when assessing the efficacy of complex sustainable-related ventures.
Details
Keywords
Nick French and Laura Gabrielli
Uncertainty affects all aspects of the property market, but one area where the impact of uncertainty is particularly significant is within feasibility analyses. Any development is…
Abstract
Purpose
Uncertainty affects all aspects of the property market, but one area where the impact of uncertainty is particularly significant is within feasibility analyses. Any development is impacted by differences between market conditions at the conception of the project and the market realities at the time of completion. This paper sets out to address this issue
Design/methodology/approach
The feasibility study needs to address the possible outcomes based on an understanding of the current market. This requires the appraiser to forecast the most likely outcome relating to the sale price of the completed development, the construction costs and the timing of both. It also requires the appraiser to understand the impact of finance on the project.
Findings
This allows the appraiser to address the issues of uncertainty involved and thus provide the decision maker with a better understanding of the risk of development. This technique is then refined using a “two‐dimensional technique” to distinguish between “uncertainty” and “variability” and thus create a more robust model.
Originality/value
The feasibility study needs to address the possible outcomes based on an understanding of the current market. This requires the appraiser to forecast the most likely outcome relating to the sale price of the completed development, the construction costs and the timing of both. It also requires the appraiser to understand the impact of finance on the project.
Details
Keywords
Cheng Xu, Jooyoung Park and Jacob C. Lee
This research investigates the novel questions of whether and how specific forms of shopping channels (online vs offline) influence consumers' decision-making. Moreover, this…
Abstract
Purpose
This research investigates the novel questions of whether and how specific forms of shopping channels (online vs offline) influence consumers' decision-making. Moreover, this research investigates marketing firms' proper marketing strategies across different shipping channels.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted three studies using a large sample (N = 703) recruited from a diverse pool (students and adults) that examined multiple products (camera and car) across different shopping channels (online vs offline). Study 1a (n = 251) and Study 1b (n = 252) examined the effect of an online versus offline channel on consumers' decision-making using a one-factor (shopping channel: online vs offline) between-subjects design. Meanwhile, Study 2 (n = 200) investigated the effective strategies that firms should employ across different shopping channels using a 2 (shopping channel: online vs offline) × 2 (mental simulation: outcome vs process) between-subjects design. Participants in the online condition evaluated the product on a computer screen, whereas participants in the offline condition evaluated the real product assuming a real-world retail store setting.
Findings
The three studies supported the predictions that shopping channels (online vs offline) affect consumers' psychological distance and, in turn, affect their decision process. Specifically, results reveal that the online (offline) channel increases (decreases) psychological distance and leads consumers to pay more attention to a product's desirability (feasibility) aspects.
Originality/value
Given that many firms sell the same products through multiple channels, the findings of this research offer insightful theoretical and practical implications.
Details
Keywords
El Mehdi Semma, Ahmed Mousrij and Hassan Gziri
The purpose of this paper is to develop the different phases of the implementation of vibration-based maintenance (VBM). Then, the focus will be on the first two stages, namely…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop the different phases of the implementation of vibration-based maintenance (VBM). Then, the focus will be on the first two stages, namely, the inventory and feasibility study where each step will be translated into a very detailed implementation process through an industrial case study.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on a state of art on the implementation of the VBM; a survey of national and international experts in the field of VBM and finally an analysis of 30 years of VBM practice in a large Moroccan company in the field of chemical processing, via a collective approach called Diagnostic Court Autonome.
Findings
The study showed that improving productivity by reducing downtimes due to vibration defects through effective vibration monitoring is possible and investment in equipment and vibration monitoring personnel is largely justified in the company studied.
Originality/value
This paper presents in detail the two preliminary phases with all procedures describing in a practical way the operating rules to apply and organize the roles of different actors. The work will be useful both to researchers and maintenance managers interested in structuring their vibration monitoring cells.
Details