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Book part
Publication date: 18 November 2013

Abstract

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Intellectual Capital and Public Sector Performance
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-169-4

Article
Publication date: 1 October 1995

David A. Collier

Describes research which continues the quest to model performanceusing structural equation models. The objective is to provide meaningfuland substantively interpretable…

2249

Abstract

Describes research which continues the quest to model performance using structural equation models. The objective is to provide meaningful and substantively interpretable predictions of process performance using structural equation modelling. Develops structural equation models which clearly define the performance relationships for a backroom bank card remittance process using criteria such as process quality errors, employee turnover rates, labour productivity, on‐time delivery, and unit cost. Also defines the idea of a process quality equilibrium point (error rate) using structural equation modelling, and investigates how to use these structural equation models to help set internal and external standards of performance.

Details

International Journal of Service Industry Management, vol. 6 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0956-4233

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 10 July 2006

Giulia Balboni

Structural Equating Modeling (SEM) is a formal model for representing dependency relations between variables of psychological events and may be used for verifying the structural…

Abstract

Structural Equating Modeling (SEM) is a formal model for representing dependency relations between variables of psychological events and may be used for verifying the structural organization of a theoretical model. “Rules of thumb” for the use of SEM are presented regarding each step of its application: specification of the structural model, measurement of the psychological event, and estimation of the adequacy of the model in representing the event. The investigation of the factorial structure of Greenspan's model of personal competence is presented as an example of SEM application with participants with disabilities.

Details

Applications of Research Methodology
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-76231-295-5

Abstract

Details

Applied Structural Equation Modelling for Researchers and Practitioners
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-882-0

Article
Publication date: 25 February 2021

Nanjundeswaraswamy TS

This is a systematically conducted study to design, develop and validate a measuring instrument to assess the nurses quality of work life (QWL) and determine the vital components…

626

Abstract

Purpose

This is a systematically conducted study to design, develop and validate a measuring instrument to assess the nurses quality of work life (QWL) and determine the vital components of nurses' QWL.

Design/methodology/approach

In this methodical study, vital dimensions of nurses QWL are identified using Pareto analysis; data and information were collected from 474 nurses through the structured questionnaire. By conducting exploratory factor analysis (EFA), the number of dimensions and items was reduced. Through the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using SPSS 21 software, nine predominant dimensions were confirmed, they are work environment, working condition, work–life balance, compensation, relationship and cooperation, stress at work, job satisfaction, career development and organization culture. Additional structural equation modeling (SEM) was done to determine the interrelationships between extracted nine components using AMOS. By performing different statistical tests like reliability test, content validity, construct validity, convergent, divergent validity and multicollinearity, the proposed nine-component nurses QWL instrument was validated.

Findings

The proposed measurement model explained 73.18% of total variance; reliability of the instrument Cronbach's alpha value is 0.902. Model fit indices like chi-square df (CMIN) = 685, df = 523, CMIN/DF = 1.310, goodness-of-fit index (GFI) = 0.965, adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI) = 0.937, parsimony goodness-of-fit index (PGFI) = 0.918, incremental fir index (IFI) = 0.933, Tucker–Lewis index (TLI) = 0.921, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.931 and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.036 fulfill the acceptable criteria. The nine factors nurses QWL measuring instrument is reliable and statistically valid.

Research limitations/implications

Data were collected from 474 nurses, poor responses and time constraints.

Practical implications

Hospitals are trying to improve the quality of patient caring by enhancing the nurses' skill sets, knowledge and attitude to meet global challenges. In this unstable business environment, hospitals face challenges like the high attrition rate and skilled nurses shortage. In this scenario, this study provides a valid instrument to measure the QWL of nurses to know the status of QWL, which will help to build a strategic plan to improve retention rate and to attract the talented workforce to the hospitals.

Originality/value

As a result, the scale developed in this study contributes to the body of the literature on nurses QWL. It seems to be more advantageous for carrying out further research in this field.

Details

Journal of Economic and Administrative Sciences, vol. 38 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1026-4116

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 March 2012

Younghee Noh

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the correlation between university libraries and academic research achievement and analyze if university library resources correlate…

3031

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the correlation between university libraries and academic research achievement and analyze if university library resources correlate with academic research achievement.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper seeks to verify the correlation between university libraries and academic research achievement and to examine which university library resources relate to research achievement. A variety of research questions were posed concerning the relationship between a university's library resources and academic research achievement. Structural equation models (SEMs) were developed to answer the research questions. Most research questions posed were affirmatively answered using the SEM process.

Findings

This study confirmed that labor and budget, investment in e‐resources and an investment in university libraries enhances academic research achievement.

Research limitations/implications

An SEM for verifying the correlation between university libraries and academic research achievement was developed in the study.

Originality/value

This study is the first including an investment factor in e‐resources for verifying the correlation between university libraries and academic research achievement.

Details

Aslib Proceedings, vol. 64 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0001-253X

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Empowerment, Transparency, Technological Readiness and their Influence on Financial Performance, from a Latin American Perspective
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-382-7

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2012

M.Y. El‐Bassiouni, M. Madi, T. Zoubeidi and M.Y. Hassan

The purpose of this paper is to develop customer satisfaction indices for the services provided by inspectors in certain departments of Al‐Ain Municipality, the United Arab…

2584

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop customer satisfaction indices for the services provided by inspectors in certain departments of Al‐Ain Municipality, the United Arab Emirates.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology is based on customer satisfaction models with SERVQUAL survey input to produce indices of satisfaction and the drivers and outcomes of satisfaction. The survey data were collected via a stratified random sample of the customers who visited Al‐Ain Municipality Customer Service Center (AMCSC) in spring 2008. Structural equation models were fitted to the data and goodness‐of‐fit was assessed.

Findings

The customer satisfaction indices and scores of customers’ trust were in the mid‐eighties, indicating high levels of satisfaction and client trust.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations of the current study include the small sample size and the use of one indicator of the latent variable trust. Further research may focus more on prioritizing future efforts, improving quality, and performing cross‐institutional benchmarking.

Practical implications

Opportunities for quality improvements were identified and some recommendations were provided.

Originality/value

Although the results lead to the conclusion that high levels of satisfaction and client trust were attained, there is a room for improvement. The AMCSC has to continuously improve the quality of its services in order to realize its mission.

Details

Journal of Economic and Administrative Sciences, vol. 28 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1026-4116

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2016

Boris Morozov

Decentralization has been a continual focus of attention of both scholars and practitioners for more than half a century. Even though there is a general agreement on what…

Abstract

Decentralization has been a continual focus of attention of both scholars and practitioners for more than half a century. Even though there is a general agreement on what decentralization is, there is no consensus about how it should be measured. This article builds on the existing body of literature that specifies three major dimensions of decentralization: political, administrative, and economic. The article offers a measurement model that unifies these dimensions in a meaningful manner that allows for comparison across countries. The proposed model is then empirically tested using confirmatory factor analysis of a data set of 37 countries over the period 2000-2009. This factor analysis reveals that there are, in fact, only two dimensions of the decentralization process. The newly developed modelʼs index illustrates that the conceptually challenging processes of decentralization can be accurately measured and analyzed. The index can be used for hypothesis testing of the causality role of decentralization.

Details

International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1093-4537

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 13 March 2018

Teik-Kheong Tan and Merouane Lakehal-Ayat

The impact of volatility crush can be devastating to an option buyer and results in a substantial capital loss, even with a directionally correct strategy. As a result, most…

1986

Abstract

Purpose

The impact of volatility crush can be devastating to an option buyer and results in a substantial capital loss, even with a directionally correct strategy. As a result, most volatility plays are for option sellers, but the profit they can achieve is limited and the sellers carry unlimited risk. This paper aims to demonstrate the dynamics of implied volatility (IV) as being influenced by effects of persistence, leverage, market sentiment and liquidity. From the exploratory factor analysis (EFA), they extract four constructs and the results from the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated a good model fit for the constructs.

Design/methodology/approach

This section describes the methodology used for conducting the study. This includes the study area, study approach, sources of data, sampling technique and the method of data analysis.

Findings

Although there is extensive literature on methods for estimating IV dynamics during earnings announcement, few researchers have looked at the impact of expected market maker move, IV differential and IV Rank on the IV path after the earnings announcement. One reason for this research gap is because of the recent introduction of weekly options for equities by the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE) back in late 2010. Even then, the CBOE only released weekly options four individual equities – Bank of America (BAC.N), Apple (AAPL.O), Citigroup (C.N) and US-listed shares of BP (BP.L) (BP.N). The introduction of weekly options provided more trading flexibility and precision timing from shorter durations. This automatically expanded expiration choices, which in turned offered greater access and flexibility from the perspective of trading volatility during earnings announcement. This study has demonstrated the impact of including market sentiment and liquidity into the forecasting model for IV during earnings. This understanding in turn helps traders to formulate strategies that can circumvent the undefined risk associated with trading options strategies such as writing strangles.

Research limitations/implications

The first limitation of the study is that the firms included in the study are relatively large, and the results of the study can therefore not be generalized to medium sized and small firms. The second limitation lies in the current sample size, which in many cases was not enough to be able to draw reliable conclusions on. Scaling the sample size up is only a function of time and effort. This is easily overcome and should not be a limitation in the future. The third limitation concerns the measurement of the variables. Under the assumption of a normal distribution of returns (i.e. stock prices follow a random walk process), which means that the distribution of returns is symmetrical, one can estimate the probabilities of potential gains or losses associated with each amount. This means the standard deviation of securities returns, which is called historical volatility and is usually calculated as a moving average, can be used as a risk indicator. The prices used for the calculations are usually the closing prices, but Parkinson (1980) suggests that the day’s high and low prices would provide a better estimate of real volatility. One can also refine the analysis with high-frequency data. Such data enable the avoidance of the bias stemming from the use of closing (or opening) prices, but they have only been available for a relatively short time. The length of the observation period is another topic that is still under debate. There are no criteria that enable one to conclude that volatility calculated in relation to mean returns over 20 trading days (or one month) and then annualized is any more or less representative than volatility calculated over 130 trading days (or six months) and then annualized, or even than volatility measured directly over 260 trading days (one year). Nonetheless, the guidelines adopted in this study represent the best practices of researchers thus far.

Practical implications

This study has indicated that an earnings announcement can provide a volatility mispricing opportunity to allow an investor to profit from a sudden, sharp drop in IV. More specifically, the methodology developed by Tan and Bing is now well supported both empirically and theoretically in terms of qualifying opportunities that can be profitable because of the volatility crush. Conventionally, the option strategy of shorting strangles carries unlimited theoretical risk; however, the methodology has demonstrated that this risk can be substantially reduced if followed judiciously. This profitable strategy relies on a set of qualifying parameters including liquidity, premium collection, volatility differential, expected market move and market sentiment. Building upon this framework, the understanding of the effects of persistence and leverage resulted in further reducing the risk associated with trading options during earnings announcements. As a guideline, the sentiment and liquidity variables help to qualify a trade and the effects of persistence and leverage help to close the qualified trade.

Social implications

The authors find a positive association between the effects of market sentiment, liquidity, persistence and leverage in the dynamics of IV during earnings announcement. These findings substantiate further the four factors that influence IV dynamics during earnings announcement and conclude that just looking at persistence and leverage alone will not generate profitable trading opportunities.

Originality/value

The impact of volatility crush can be devastating to the option buyer with substantial capital loss, even for a directionally correct strategy. As a result, most volatility plays are for option sellers; however, the profit is limited and the sellers carry unlimited risk. The authors demonstrate the dynamics of IV as being influenced by effects of persistence, leverage, market sentiment and liquidity. From the EFA, they extracted four constructs and the results from the CFA indicated a good model fit for the constructs. Using EFA, CFA and Bayesian analysis, how this model can help investors formulate the right strategy to achieve the best risk/reward mix is demonstrated. Using Bayesian estimation and IV differential to proxy for differences of opinion about term structures in option pricing, the authors find a positive association among the effects of market sentiment, liquidity, persistence and leverage in the dynamics of IV during earnings announcement.

Details

PSU Research Review, vol. 2 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2399-1747

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 13000