Search results

Higher education plays a critical role in the health of the US national economy. At the same time, there are increasing concerns regarding the cost of higher education and the effectiveness with which universities are using their money. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to examine changes in higher education productivity over the past 15 years across a sample of more than 500 public universities spanning multiple Carnegie classifications. By utilizing measures generated by a commission of the National Education Council, however, attention is more finely focused on the specific costs and outputs related to instructional activity than previous studies.

This research utilizes the recommendations of the National Education Center committee to examine productivity changes in higher education over the past 14 years. To that end, the hypotheses put forth in this research utilize 15 years data of Institutional Primary Education Data, 549 institutions and 3 productivity measures to assess how productivity in higher education has changed between 2002 and 2015.

The results of the present research suggest that instructional activity (measured as multifactor productivity) has increased in all Carnegie classifications between 2002 and 2016.

The present study, organized by Carnegie classification, does not specify the cost of increased instructional productivity. As noted, there are concerns regarding whether at least some of the choices a university might make to increase instructional productivity – such as increased class size and/or an increased use of non-tenure track faculty – could adversely influence the quality of instruction and/or diminish student learning. Further, this research does not examine the relationship between research productivity and increasing instructional productivity.

The present study does not address the bigger question of whether the increasing costs of higher education are justified, because universities produce much more than student credit hours. While, in an ideal world, these various outputs will complement one another and utilize at least some of the same resources, each has its own unique inputs and associated expenses. Given this, an overall assessment of the value or productivity of a university as a whole is a very difficult thing to determine and is well beyond the scope of a single study.

The present study explicitly focuses on the instructional component of universities and relationship between output and inputs. Ultimately, providing a clearer picture of how instructional productivity in higher education has been increasing over the past 14 years.

This research is the only research of its kind to the best knowledge of the researchers.

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether socially responsible firms recognize the potential conflicts that come with higher levels of executive compensation, and thus limit executive pay relative to what is being paid in other firms. In the process, the relationships between executive compensation and financial performance, and corporate social performance and financial performance are examined to determine whether potential compensation and social performance links are coming at the expense of company financial performance.

The empirical data for this research were obtained from a stratified sample of Fortune 1000 companies pulled from across more than 15 industries. Multiple regression analysis is utilized to test three hypotheses.

In line with the hypotheses, results indicate that companies identified as good corporate social performers do in fact have lower levels of executive compensation and there is some support found for a positive relationship between social and financial performance.

The results provide support for the view that firms concerned about social responsibility can put restrictions on executive compensation and still achieve good financial performance, and make a case that executive compensation should in fact be a concern of all socially responsible firms.

There are few studies that examine the direct link between executive compensation and corporate social responsibility. This study addresses this gap in the literature and adds to the discussion as to whether socially responsible firms might seek to better balance compensation across the firm and emphasize that profit, both individual and corporate, must be earned within a system that is fair and balanced for all.

This research investigates the effects that blockchain exerts on omnichannel solutions and logistics strategies with the aim of solving the last mile issues and improving performance.

Research hypotheses are developed according to the literature review and the related gaps. Then, the hypotheses are tested using structural equation modelling and adopting a partial least squares – path modelling technique on a dataset composed of 157 firms.

Blockchain technology alone is not an effective driver in solving last mile issues and improving performance. Rather, it exerts a positive contribution to both omnichannel and logistics. However, omnichannel is not effective in managing last mile problems and increasing performance without the support of other practices. Firms need to implement a strong logistics system to manage the last mile and get high performance, which can be then reinforced through blockchain and omnichannel solutions.

This research investigates the novel wave of research on blockchain and its impact on logistics management and omnichannel. It combines these ingredients to address the issues of last mile and improve the economic performance. The research provides an empirical verification of a new research stream that currently lacks empirical support.

This article explores the implementation of infrastructure development projects funded by the Recovery Act’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) in a southeastern state to provide high-quality Internet connectivity in un- or under-served areas to alleviate the conditions contributing to rural areas’ fiscal crises. This context affords a unique opportunity to view fiscal federalism’s operational dynamics in times of economic crisis and explore how various grant administrators in charge of similar federally funded public works projects define fiduciary responsibility. We find that these administrators comprehend “fiduciary responsibility“ narrowly in terms of complying with the accounting and reporting requirements of the federal grant. However, they have a broader and more nuanced understanding of their overall responsibility that includes working on behalf of their respective communities’ interests to meet local and regional needs.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between firm service characteristics and customer satisfaction as moderated by firm competitive strategy. Specifically, this research utilizes Porter's depiction of generic competitive strategy to explain the strength of the relationship between a service's particular servicescape choices and customer satisfaction.

The empirical data for this research were obtained from 1,287 customers of ten service organizations representing three industry segments. Multiple regression analysis is utilized to test three hypotheses that propose firm competitive strategy moderates the strength of the relationship between service characteristics and customer satisfaction.

The results support the assertion that firm competitive strategy has an impact on the strength of the relationship between customer satisfaction and servicescape characteristics. Of note, these findings indicate that the payoff for investment in physical surroundings differs depending on firm competitive strategy.

The results point to the importance of aligning firm strategy and operational decisions when seeking to maximize customer satisfaction. Decision makers benefit from understanding how strategy matters in service operational choices.

The paper makes connections across academic disciplines to highlight the importance of linking firm competitive strategy with service operation choices to enhance customer satisfaction. The model developed here, supported with empirical results, provides insights for both researchers and practitioners regarding the value of investment in service‐related activities.

The purpose of this study is to use current literature in conjunction with the insights from a detailed analysis of current practice to clarify and extend the knowledge of networks of clusters.

This research is an exploratory study of cluster formation and global competitiveness. By applying cluster and network theory, this study examines critical elements of high‐technology networks and clusters. A case study of two clusters in Taiwan and two in China reveals both intra‐ and inter‐cluster network relationships.

This research concludes that networks of clusters do exist and they carry potential advantages for both firms' and clusters' competitive advantage and innovation. Close network relationships and interdependences of industrial clusters have contributed significantly to the competitiveness of high‐technology clusters in the Asia‐Pacific region.

Further research is needed to determine what conditions best promote inter‐cluster networks and when such networks are likely to generate the most value.

First, the relationship among firms in an industrial cluster may be viewed as not only extended supply chains but also as more complex network forms. Firms in a cluster may work together to co‐evolve for the purpose of enhancing competitiveness. This process is worthy of further attention from managers looking to more rapidly develop the competitiveness of their firms. Second, the industrial clusters offer a relatively favorable environment that allows the participating firms to more easily pool the resources, investments, and synergies necessary for them to become competitive in the global arena. Third, to the extent that specialization may increase comparative advantage, an industrial cluster can concentrate firms and industries in a region dedicated to a particular product or competence. Finally, once a cluster successfully pools the resources and develops the core products and competences, the phenomena of networks of clusters is likely to emerge for participating parties to share complementarities across both national and geographical boundaries.

Most studies on high‐technology clusters are focused on intra‐cluster interaction. This study broadens the scope of analysis to explore the inter‐cluster network structure that enhances global competitiveness of both firms and clusters in an effective and efficient manner. This study offers initial empirical evidences and a number of important insights to assist managers and policy makers in enhancing global competitive advantage.

The research of industrial clusters, trust, and learning can be traced back to early strategic management and organization theory. The purpose of this paper is to review past literature and offer a conceptual framework that is related to industrial clusters, trust and learning.

This study incorporates a literature review to filter key factors of industrial clusters, trust and learning by using a deductive approach to conclude a conceptual framework.

This study provides a conceptual framework which includes a firm's industrial cluster involvement, trust and learning. Based on the literature, inter‐organizational trust may be strengthened due to reduced proximity and better information flow within a cluster. Further, industrial clusters encourage co‐evolution and co‐adaptation that stimulates effective learning practices for clustering firms.

This study uses a literature review and offers a conceptual framework to examine a firm's involvement in industrial clusters with the possible influences of trust and organizational learning. There is a need for empirical as well as statistical analysis to validate the framework and to obtain more insight.

Industrial clusters are widely considered a network‐based industrial system, with the aim of adapting to fast‐changing markets and technologies as an organized whole. Firms within a cluster can work together to co‐evolve for the purpose of enhancing competitiveness and entering the world market through effective learning and inter‐firm trust. As the sum of the benefit of a cluster is of greater value than each individual company or institution, whether to be involved in an industrial cluster to sustain competitiveness and enhance learning is worthy of managers' consideration.

The major contribution of this work is that it is the first attempt to produce the measures for a firm's involvement in industrial clusters for empirical tests, which are generally considered insufficient in this area of research. Further, this study offers a conceptual framework which brings cluster, trust and learning together for future empirical study.

Post Office considers rebate scheme for code users. CASH INCENTIVES MAY be offered to large business users of Britain's mail services to persuade them to use the postal code system—and perhaps undertake some pre‐sorting of their letters before they go into the post box.

Drawing on principles of social exchange and equity theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between employee reports of leader-member exchange (LMX) and two types of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB): affiliative and change-oriented OCB. Further, equity sensitivity, a dispositional variable reflecting one’s tendency to “give” or “take” in their interpersonal interactions, was tested as a moderator of these effects.

Data were collected from a sample of 240 manufacturing employees in China and their respective supervisors. Multilevel analyses were conducted to test the hypothesized effects.

LMX was found to be positively associated with affiliative, but not change-oriented OCB. Equity sensitivity moderated these relationships, such that LMX was positively associated with both types of OCB when employees are benevolent, but not when they are entitled.

Given the different pattern of relationships that were observed between LMX and affiliative vs change-oriented OCB, the results suggest that LMX may differentially influence these two types of OCB. Future studies should continue to explore the role of dispositional traits in moderating the effects of LMX, including less desirable (“negative”) traits.

Very few studies have examined the role of dispositional variables in moderating the effects of LMX. Consistent with principles of the social exchange and equity theory, the results suggest that LMX will only be associated with OCB when employees are benevolent (i.e. they are “givers”), and not when they are entitled (i.e. they are “getters”).

The environment provided by an organisation to facilitate learning and create knowledge has been defined as the shared organisational context. The value to an organisation of knowledge created by the shared organisational context is called intellectual capital, of which one key component is relational capital. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the aspect of learning concerned with challenging the basic beliefs or processes that companies take for granted, which is embodied in the concept of unlearning.

This paper reviews the literature to identify relevant measures and present a structural equation model, which is validated through an empirical investigation of 139 small‐ to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Spanish optometry sector.

The results indicate that companies need to support unlearning as a prior step, otherwise unlearning does not have any significant effect on the creation of relational capital.

Few, if any, studies of the shared organisational context have considered the relationship between unlearning and the creation of intellectual capital.

Previous studies, particularly in knowledge management, have focussed on knowledge management systems in large world‐class organisations rather than the underlying learning process in SMEs.

This study examines three key constituents of the shared organisational context (the individual context, management and teamwork) and their effects on the process of unlearning.