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1 – 10 of over 20000Reini D. Wirahadikusumah and Krishna S. Pribadi
The paper aims to describe the challenges faced by a developing country (case of Indonesia) in the effort to improve the quality of national construction industry through…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to describe the challenges faced by a developing country (case of Indonesia) in the effort to improve the quality of national construction industry through “certification” requirement for professionals and skilled labors. It also aims to identify root problems and propose a recommendation for rethinking the “certification” systems. Indonesia's experiences can be regarded as lessons learned by other developing countries struggling to strengthen their construction industries.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on an exploratory study including a focus group discussion with stakeholders representing the various professional associations, construction company associations (contractors and consultants), the Ministry of Manpower, and the Ministry of Public Works. An analysis based on the findings about implementation issues of “certification” requirement resulted in the identification of the root problems and the recommendation for restructuring the system.
Findings
The paper provides empirical insights about how “certification” requirement for all professionals and skilled labors have been implemented in a developing country. Although the requirement seemed to be tactical, it resulted in a circumstance in which there are numerous types of highly specialized certificates/licenses. The mechanism in the administration of these licenses has been problematic because of institutional issues, i.e. the extensive authority of the Construction Services Development Board and the inadequate controls from the government.
Research limitations/implications
The recommendations may lack details and practicality, while the recommendation for rethinking and restructuring requires changes of fundamental conceptions in all stakeholders.
Practical implications
The paper includes recommendations for the development of Indonesia's construction industry. The recommendations include the distinction between voluntary and mandatory certificates, putting more authority back to the government in the administration of the mandatory certificates/licenses, and the establishment of an independent licensing board. Other developing countries can learn from Indonesia's experience.
Originality/value
This paper fulfils an identified need to rethink the certification/licensing system.
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The paper discusses how proficiency‐based licensing of professionals may promote a culture of fair play and thus counteract economic and white collar crime in markets…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper discusses how proficiency‐based licensing of professionals may promote a culture of fair play and thus counteract economic and white collar crime in markets characterised by unilateral focus on financial targets and a culture of competition.
Design/methodology/approach
The crime prevention potential of licensing schemes is analysed using disciplinary sanction decisions, documentation of how the licensing scheme for professionals working in the Swedish securities market is organised, interviews with representatives of the scheme and previous research.
Findings
Licensing schemes have good potential to strengthen a culture of fair play and thereby prevent criminality and mismanagement. Particular emphasis should be put on the opportunity to use such schemes to raise regulatory awareness in the industry and thereby suppress the growth of criminogenic sub‐cultures in firms. When combined with the potential of this self‐regulatory approach to give licence holders a sense that obligations and sanctions arising from the licensing scheme emanate from the industry itself, the crime‐preventing effect may be substantial.
Originality/value
Even though licensing of professionals has become an increasingly common phenomenon in securities markets worldwide, licensing schemes have yet to be documented, analysed, or studied. Nor are there any research overviews devoted to the mechanisms which more precisely explain how unilateral focus on financial targets is a causal factor in economic and white collar crime. Understanding of the organisation and potential effects of licensing schemes would be very useful when initiating and further developing action programmes.
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Annika Meschnig, Carolin Decker-Lange and Anna Dubiel
Drawing on transaction cost economics, the authors conceptualise brand licensing as a form of alliance. Its performance may be affected by a licensee’s potential opportunism…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on transaction cost economics, the authors conceptualise brand licensing as a form of alliance. Its performance may be affected by a licensee’s potential opportunism resulting from an imbalance of specific investments in brand-building prior to signing the licensing agreement. From the licensor’s perspective, brand licensing represents a trade-off between brand protection and additional revenues. This study aims to examine how this trade-off shapes licensors’ evaluations of the attractiveness of brand licensing opportunities.
Design/methodology/approach
In a vignette study, 121 brand licensing professionals evaluated the attractiveness of up to eight hypothetical brand licensing opportunities with different levels of risk and profitability.
Findings
From a licensor’s perspective, high brand quality and distribution risks decrease the attractiveness of a licensing opportunity, although the latter risks are more pronounced. High potential profitability has a positive and significant effect on attractiveness.
Research limitations/implications
The risks outlined in this study refer to licensee behaviour. The licensor may also behave opportunistically. The authors encourage research designs that enable a dyadic evaluation of licensing opportunities because a comparison of a licensor’s and a licensee’s assessments of the same scenario would be illuminating.
Practical implications
The findings enable the development of an evaluation template that directs brand owners’ attention to the risks and gains of brand licensing opportunities. It supports licensors in choosing the “best” opportunity.
Originality/value
This study identifies risks emanating from a licensee’s potential opportunism from a licensor’s perspective. It juxtaposes these risks with the potential profitability of brand licensing opportunities. It is thus one of the first studies to address a licensor’s decision-making trade-offs in a large-scale empirical setting.
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Chad Albrecht, Ricardo Malagueno, Daniel Holland and Matt Sanders
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the existence of a professional oversight body and certain country‐specific education regulations in auditing are associated…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the existence of a professional oversight body and certain country‐specific education regulations in auditing are associated with a country's perceived level of corruption.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on data from the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) database, the authors used the Mann‐Whitney U analysis technique to test the difference between countries' perceived level of corruption based on whether they have or have not developed professional oversight bodies and licensing regulations.
Findings
Results suggest that countries that have established an audit profession oversight body are, indeed, perceived to be less corrupt. Similarly, countries that require practical experience, academic study, and a licensing examination in order to practice auditing are perceived to be less corrupt. On the other hand, the analysis shows that requiring auditors to fulfil continuing education requirements is not significantly related to a perception of lower levels of corruption.
Practical implications
The paper provides important insights for policy makers, business leaders, education and the audit profession as a whole.
Originality/value
This paper provides some of the first empirical support for the relationship between corruption and the use of oversight bodies and licensing regulations in professional auditing at a country level.
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Conor Norris, Edward Timmons, Ethan Kelley and Troy Carneal
This paper aims to discuss a new source of data detailing state level occupational licensing requirements for 50 professions.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to discuss a new source of data detailing state level occupational licensing requirements for 50 professions.
Design/methodology/approach
This study's research team gathered state level licensing requirements for 50 profession in all 50 states and DC from 2022 to 2023. The authors include the type of regulation, entry requirements like fees, education, training, good moral character provisions and renewal requirements. The authors include Standard Occupational Classification industry codes to allow researchers to merge it with other publicly available data sources. Finally, the authors present descriptive statistics and provide a comparison of licensing requirements for audiologists, an occupation with variation in entry requirements.
Findings
The mean number of the 50 professions licensed in states is 36. On average, these professions require a bachelor's degree, $271 in licensing fees and 26 h of continuing education to renew. For the audiologist profession, there is considerable variation between states in entry requirements like fees and education.
Originality/value
Despite a large body of work on occupational licensing, data limitations still exist. Most analysis focuses on whether a profession is licensed or not. However, there is considerable variation between states for the same profession, providing an avenue for work estimating the effects of specific licensing requirements. A new source of data is introduced and discussed for researchers to use in future analyses of occupational licensing.
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Bruce Robert Elder and Laurie Swinney
The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which a character component is required for occupational licensing by state, industry and occupation. This study also…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which a character component is required for occupational licensing by state, industry and occupation. This study also investigates whether the good moral character (GMC) is defined and how GMC is defined in state statutes. Investigating the GMC requirement is important to society at large because character is a vital factor for trust and trust is an essential component to voluntary exchange and free markets. Investigating the GMC requirement is also important to the thousands of rehabilitated individuals who may be denied work in licensed occupations because of past transgressions.
Design/methodology/approach
The quantitative research data were collected from state licensing statutes. The number of licensed occupations within each of the 50 states that require GMC was tabulated, as well as the number of states that require GMC for licensing by industry group. In addition, an occupation that requires GMC in a high number of states was compared to an occupation that requires GMC in a low number of states within 11 industry groups. Finally, regulatory statutes were searched to determine how good moral character is defined by each of the state licensing boards for the select occupations.
Findings
This paper reports that the inclusion of a character component within regulatory licensing statutes varies widely by occupation and by state. The number of occupations requiring GMC ranged from 8 to 119 per state. The number of states requiring GMC ranged from 12 to 49 per industry group. Occupations within industry groups that are more frequently licensed are also more likely to require GMC than occupations that are less frequently licensed. Occupations that are more frequently licensed, however, are generally not more likely to define GMC in their regulatory statutes. Only accounting, an occupation that requires GMC in most states, also defines GMC in more states than any of the other select occupations.
Research limitations/implications
Only state regulatory statutes were searched for definitions of GMC. Definitions could be included in other government documents such as rules or regulations. As these additional sources were not searched, the number of states that define GMC for the select occupations cited in this study may be understated.
Originality/value
Prior research has included only studies of the GMC requirement relating to the licensing of attorneys and accountants. The current research explores the extent that good moral character is required for licensing across states, industries and select occupations. This research agrees with prior research that GMC, although providing an important foundation for public trust, is typically not well-defined. To counter criticism of the requirement, this paper concludes with a call for the inclusion of a GMC definition within occupational licensing statutes that is “narrowly and precisely construed, avoiding problems of both vagueness and over breadth” (AICPA and NASBA, 2018).
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Discusses the importance of professions within states asking questions such as “are these occupations monopolies whose anti‐competitive effects distort the social and economic…
Abstract
Discusses the importance of professions within states asking questions such as “are these occupations monopolies whose anti‐competitive effects distort the social and economic organisation of society?” Continues by considering whether professions can serve both public and private interests. Looks at the international dimension and how professions are responding to the development of European Feferations, and attempts to assess their influence.
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Hiral Patel and Anilkumar Hanumappa
The purpose of this paper is to identify various legal issues that affect libraries in India.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify various legal issues that affect libraries in India.
Design/methodology/approach
The method adopted in this study was to identify and analyze all cases filed in the Indian Supreme Court, High Courts and Tribunals and Commissions and reported in the Westlaw India database for the 10-year period from 2008 to 2017.
Findings
Among the identified cases that were related to libraries or library professionals, a large majority of them were issues related to service or employment such as pay scales, promotion, age of superannuation and service termination. There were very few cases related to library work, such as library access, services provided and copyright.
Research limitations/implications
The current study is based on study of cases that have been reported and mentioned in Westlaw India Legal Database and occurring during the limited period from 2008 to 2017. The implications of the study are manifold, with the main implication being the urgent need to introduce basic legal education and training to library professionals. The other implication is the need to further research in this domain due to lack of sufficient studies on the topic and enrich the library and information science (LIS) literature.
Originality/value
This study would not only help create awareness about legal issues related to libraries and library professionals but also help in understanding the main areas of litigation involving libraries and library professionals. The study also makes a case for introduction of basic legal education for LIS professionals. The paper adopts a novel research approach that can be replicated by researchers in other countries to enable international comparisons.
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In the last ten years, there has been much debate about the need for the licensing and regulation of property valuers in Europe. The European Union has “hinted” at the need for a…
Abstract
Purpose
In the last ten years, there has been much debate about the need for the licensing and regulation of property valuers in Europe. The European Union has “hinted” at the need for a pan‐European licensing scheme in keeping with the model of licensing in the USA. This paper seeks to discuss the option of regulation available and the role of the RICS in introducing a comprehensive self‐regulatory process.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper looks at the evolution of the “RICS Valuers Registration Scheme” and the potential impact it will have on raising the standards of valuations not just in the UK but worldwide.
Findings
The RICS Standards require the valuer to undertake valuations in an appropriate and professional manner. The potential impact of the “RICS Valuers Registration Scheme” is that it will educate the profession and thus increase overall standards. Although the system does have sanctions, if required, the intent is not to penalise but to encourage and promote good practice.
Originality/value
This paper is a review of the “RICS Valuers Registration Scheme”. It outlines the history of the development of the scheme and the potential impact that it will have on the quality of valuations worldwide.
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In the light of Europe’s experience of its Directive on mutual recognition of professional qualifications and the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) intention to achieve a global…
Abstract
In the light of Europe’s experience of its Directive on mutual recognition of professional qualifications and the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) intention to achieve a global marketplace for professional services by identifying “disciplines” which can be applied to all professions, this paper considers a potential methodology for achieving a global system for the free movement of professionals. The paper explains the process of mutual recognition as implemented within the European Union and discusses the approach which the WTO is likely to adopt towards the globalisation of services. The problems which face the surveying profession (including the problem of identifying the various surveying professions which exist in different countries), the role of professional organisations, the nature of “professional competence” and the threshold standards applied to professional competence as a vital component of any mutual recognition process are also discussed.
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