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The purpose of this paper is to review the causes of long waiting time in Hong Kong public hospitals and to suggest solutions in the service, organisational, systems, financial and policy perspectives.

The paper is a review of waiting time of public hospital services. Total joint replacement, which is one of the elective surgeries in public hospitals, is presented as a case study.

The average waiting time of semi-urgent and non-urgent patients in the accident and emergency departments of public hospitals is two hours, and that of specialist outpatient (SOP) clinics is from 1 to 144 weeks. For total joint replacement, it is from 36 to 110 months. Measures like Government subsidisation programme for the replacement surgery and employing adequate physiotherapists, Chinese medicine practitioners, clinical psychologists and nurses to reduce the waiting time are suggested. Issues concerning the healthcare system of Hong Kong, such as structural reform, service delivery model, primary care, quality and process management, and policy reviews, are also discussed.

The ‬over-reliance of public services has resulted in long waiting time in public hospitals in Hong Kong, particularly in the emergency services and SOP clinics. However, the consequences of long waiting period for surgical operations, though much less discussed by the media and public, can be potentially detrimental to the patients and families, and may result in more burdens to the already stretched public hospitals‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬.

This paper investigates the roles of the time for system enhancement, work place relocation, and other organizational constructs, such as organization support, task characteristics, intranet characteristics and user characteristics in the use of intranet and web‐enabled applications (IWAs) for supporting management accounting in public hospitals.

The research was carried out in Hong Kong public hospitals, and a pseudo‐longitudinal study spans a duration of one‐and‐a‐half years to observe changes that occur over time. A two‐phased survey research which investigated how the use of IWAs supports management accounting was also conducted for this study.

The survey results unearthed a number of findings. In the phase I survey, intranet user information satisfaction had a direct significant impact on information quality of management accounting systems (MASIQ). The extent of task characteristics also improves the performance of MASIQ. However, mixed research results were found regarding the presence of top management support and IS experience of users and their contribution to intranet user information satisfaction and MASIQ. User training also did not show any significant impact on intranet user information satisfaction and MASIQ. The phase II survey results reflect two additional findings. First, workplace relocation (one office management practice) was found to have a negative impact on the support of management accounting. Second, the time for system enhancement improves the acceptance of IWAs in public hospitals.

The study provides support for certain prior research findings though some other findings were not consistent with expectations. The study was based on 157 hospital executives in the phase I survey and 147 hospital executives in the phase II survey. The findings are generalized reliably to the population studied – Hong Kong public hospitals. More research is needed for explorations of these findings. The research results contribute to the knowledge of uses of intranet for management accounting and control in public hospitals.

The research offers insights into management accounting and control systems, as they are implemented through intranet in public hospitals. Work place relocation is less effective for grouping talents to work in offices at different locations. Face‐to‐face communication at a workplace is more efficient than communication through intranet applications. The study reinforced the belief that top management support is of prior concern in improving managerial performance.

The roles of IWAs on the time for system enhancement and workplace relocation have not previously been studied. The results provide some useful support of prior findings and some modifications as well as extensions that further understanding in these areas.

The purpose of this paper is to report the findings from a study of the relationships of organization support, user characteristics, task characteristics, and intranet characteristics for using intranet applications to support management accounting in public hospitals.

To test the research hypotheses, data were collected from Hong Kong public hospitals using a questionnaire survey. The research attempts to identify how the interactions of these antecedents help to achieve intranet user information satisfaction (IUIS) and thus efficiency of management accounting in hospitals in terms of information quality of management accounting systems (MASIQ).

The results show that IUIS is positively associated with IQMAS in Hong Kong public hospitals. User characteristics such as information systems (IS) experience is positively associated with IUIS, and the extent of task characteristics is also positively associated with the IQMAS. The results have several implications for accounting IS management.

The paper provides support for some prior research findings and some findings are not consistent with expectations. The paper is based on questionnaire responses of 157 hospital executives. The findings are then generalized to the population studied – Hong Kong public hospitals. More research is needed for exploration and confirmation of these findings.

The research offers insights into management accounting and control systems as they are implemented through the use of intranet in public hospitals. It suggests that top management support is of prior concern in improving managerial performance.

The paper bridges two disciplines of studies, management accounting and IS. The results provide some useful support of prior findings and some modifications and extensions that further understanding in this area.

Examining the self-identification of physician managers with their manager and clinician roles, and its impact on the state and professional powers in healthcare governance.

With purposive sampling, a total of 15 frontline clinical department managers (mainly principal consultants) and directorial managers (mainly Hospital Chief Executives) were recruited to elite interviews. The themes for data collection and analysis were based on a systematic scoping review of previous empirical studies.

Physician managers maintained respective jurisdictions in policymaking and clinical governance, as well as their primary self-identification as rationalizers or protectors of medicine, according to their managerial roles at a directorial or departmental level. However, a two-way hybridization of physician managers allowed the exchange of clinical and managerial authority, resulting in cooperation alongside struggles among medical elites; while some frontline managers were exposed to managerial values with the awareness of budget and organizational administration, some directorial managers remained aligned to a traditional mode of professional communication, such as persuasion through informal personal networks and by using clinician language and maintaining symbolic contact with the clinical field.

This study identifies the inconsistency in physician managers’ identity work, as well as its patterns. It goes beyond a dichotomized framework of professionalism versus managerialism or an arbitrarily blurred identity.

This is a national study which aims to determine the average waiting time in Malaysian public hospitals and to gauge the level of patient satisfaction with the waiting time. It also aims to identify factors perceived by healthcare providers which contribute to the waiting time problem.

Self‐administered questionnaires were the main method of data collection. Two sets of questionnaires were used. The first set solicited information from patients on their waiting time expereince. The second set elucidated information from hospital employees on the possible causes of lengthy waiting time. The questionnaires were administered in 21 public hospitals throughout all 13 states in Malaysia. A total of 13,000 responses were analysed for the patient survey and almost 3,000 were analysed for the employee survey.

The findings indicate that on average, patients wait for more than two hours from registration to getting the prescription slip, while the contact time with medical personnel is only on average 15 minutes. Employee surveys on factors contributing to the lengthy waiting time indicate employee attitude and work process, heavy workload, management and supervision problems, and inadequate facilities to be among the contributory factors to the waiting time problem.

Public healthcare in Malaysia is in a state of “excess demand”, where demand for subsidised healthcare far outstrips supply, due to the large fee differential between public and private healthcare services. There is a need for hospital managers to reduce the boredom faced by patients while waiting, and to address the waiting time problem in a more scientific manner, as has been carried out in other countries through simulation and modelling techniques.

Healthcare organisations are keen to address their waiting time problem. However, not much research has been carried out in this area. The study thus fills the lacuna in waiting time studies in healthcare organisations.

The objective of this study is to investigate how country risk, different political actions from the government and bureaucratic behavior influence the activities in industry supply chains (SCs) in emerging markets. The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence of these external stakeholders’ elements to the demand-side and supply-side drivers and barriers for improving competitiveness of Ready-Made Garment (RMG) industry in the way of analyzing supply chain. Considering the phenomenon of recent change in the RMG business environment and the competitiveness issues this study uses the principles of stakeholder and resource dependence theory and aims to find out some factors which influence to make an efficient supply chain for improving competitiveness. The RMG industry of Bangladesh is the case application of this study. Following a positivist paradigm, this study adopts a two phase sequential mixed-method research design consisting of qualitative and quantitative approaches. A tentative research model is developed first based on extensive literature review. Qualitative field study is then carried out to fine tune the initial research model. Findings from the qualitative method are also used to develop measures and instruments for the next phase of quantitative method. A survey is carried out with sample of top and middle level executives of different garment companies of Dhaka city in Bangladesh and the collected quantitative data are analyzed by partial least square-based structural equation modeling. The findings support eight hypotheses. From the analysis the external stakeholders’ elements like bureaucratic behavior and country risk have significant influence to the barriers. From the internal stakeholders’ point of view the manufacturers’ and buyers’ drivers have significant influence on the competitiveness. Therefore, stakeholders need to take proper action to reduce the barriers and increase the drivers, as the drivers have positive influence to improve competitiveness.

This study has both theoretical and practical contributions. This study represents an important contribution to the theory by integrating two theoretical perceptions to identify factors of the RMG industry’s SC that affect the competitiveness of the RMG industry. This research study contributes to the understanding of both external and internal stakeholders of national and international perspectives in the RMG (textile and clothing) business. It combines the insights of stakeholder and resource dependence theories along with the concept of the SC in improving effectiveness. In a practical sense, this study certainly contributes to the Bangladeshi RMG industry. In accordance with the desire of the RMG manufacturers, the research has shown that some influential constructs of the RMG industry’s SC affect the competitiveness of the RMG industry. The outcome of the study is useful for various stakeholders of the Bangladeshi RMG industry sector ranging from the government to various private organizations. The applications of this study are extendable through further adaptation in other industries and various geographic contexts.

The area of facilities management (FM) has grown significantly in recent years. The principles of FM were initially developed in the United States and then exported world‐wide. The UK and parts of Europe are beginning to reap rewards in terms of better industrial practices and efficiency. These have been made possible by the use of benchmarking and the identification of best practices; both within a particular industry and also outside them. FM has only recently been adopted in Asia. This paper will analyse the development of practice, research and education, particularly in Hong Kong. Comparisons will also be drawn between the Asian examples and the UK.

The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence concerning: the relationships between decentralization, perceived environmental uncertainty, and management accounting systems (MAS) information and the relationships between MAS information and managerial performance within Egyptian hospitals.

Data were collected using questionnaires that were sent personally to the managers or heads of departments of Egyptian hospitals. Departmental level was used as the unit of analysis. Data obtained from 200 hospital managers were analyzed using partial least squares.

The study reveals that decentralization and environmental uncertainty, to some extent, are essential factors in designing efficient and effective MAS. Hospitals with decentralized structure make better use of timely, aggregated and integrated MAS information. Environment in which the hospitals operate does have significant influence on the type of information provided by the MAS.

Using personally administered questionnaires causes the sample to be rather limited and not comprehensive enough.

The current study offers the hospital managers some useful aspects related to the function of MAS information that can be used to enhance their managerial performance. The provision of broad-scope and timeliness of MAS information can facilitate more effective managerial decisions. MAS designers and Egyptian policy makers should emphasize on decentralized decision-making by delegating sufficient authority to lower level managers as much as possible.

This study is one of the few studies done in Africa in the field of MAS, particularly in the context of Egyptian hospitals.

This paper aims to investigate how borrowers’ accounting quality influences bank loan syndicates across 11 emerging markets. Furthermore, an investigation of whether the relationship between accounting quality and the bank loan syndicate structure is influenced by borrowers’ governance standards is conducted.

To empirically test the research question, a sample including 11 emerging countries is constructed. Following Chen et al. (2011), an accounting quality measure is constructed by aggregating the three commonly used indicators developed by Kothari et al. (2005), McNichols and Stubben (2008) and Dechow and Dichev (2002). A univariate analysis and a multivariate analysis are conducted to investigate the relationship between accounting quality and bank loan syndicate structure after controlling for firm characteristics and other variables.

The results of this research show that lead lenders need to retain more ownership and organize a more concentrated loan syndicate when borrowers have poor accounting quality because they must show their commitment to monitoring borrowers. In addition, lead lenders have fewer foreign lenders involved in a loan syndicate and these foreign lenders retain less loan ownership if borrowers’ accounting quality is poor because lead banks prefer local lenders who are more familiar with borrowers. Finally, the effects of accounting quality on bank loan syndicates are more significant for borrowers with superior governance because the credibility of accounting numbers generated by a well-governed borrower is better.

The existing studies (Ball et al., 2008; Lee and Mullineaux, 2004; Sufi, 2007) have shown how information asymmetry and accounting quality affect loan syndicates in developed countries. This strand of literature is extended by the presentation of significant effects of accounting quality on financing arrangements, even in emerging economies with weak governance standards. This stream of literature is also extended by finding the interaction effects between accounting quality and governance standards on bank loan syndicates, a relationship which has not been examined by the existing literature (Ball et al., 2008).