bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Modelling influential factors on customer loyalty in public libraries: a study of West Iran
Authors: Keshvari Maryam , Zare Farashbandi Firoozeh , Geraei Ehsan
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to present a model for influential factors on customer loyalty in public libraries and its evaluation in public libraries of western Iran.

Design/methodology/approach

– This research is a correlation study and uses a questionnaire as a data gathering tool. The statistical population consists of all members of public libraries in western Iran. The final data analysis was carried out using 467 completed questionnaires and data were analysed using SPSS19 and AMOS19 software.

Findings

– The findings of this study showed that perceived value has the largest influence on customer loyalty with a factor of 0.451. The second most influential factor is customer satisfaction with a factor of 0.214. Three predictor variables are the effect of the services, controlling the provided information and library as a location, which had the highest influence on perceived value of libraries’ customers. The findings also showed that perceived value with meaningfulness level ofp< 0.001 and a value of 0.316 has the most influence on libraries’ customer satisfaction.

Originality/value

– Identifying and improving the influential factors on customer loyalty in public libraries can increase the customer return rate of these libraries. Public library managers of Iran, especially in western Iran, can use the findings of this study to improve the influential factors on customer loyalty in libraries under their care.
Curriculum innovation in undergraduate accounting degree programmes through “virtual internships”
Authors: Bayerlein Leopold
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to discuss major criticisms of traditional undergraduate accounting programmes and to introduce virtual internships as a curriculum innovation that addresses these criticisms.

Design/methodology/approach

– The main aim of the paper is to inspire curriculum innovation in accounting programmes though the introduction and discussion of virtual internships as a contemporary teaching model.

Findings

– The paper provides a detailed outline of the virtual internship model, its advantages and disadvantages, and its development in practice.

Originality/value

– The paper is likely to be most relevant for academics in undergraduate accounting programmes because it provides a practical guide to the development of this curriculum innovation.
A cross-cultural comparison of concepts in computer science education
Authors: Zendler Andreas , McClung O. William , Klaudt Dieter
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The development of a K-12 computer science curriculum based on constructivist principles needs to be informed by knowledge of content and process concepts that are central to the discipline of computer science. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

– Taking a cross-cultural approach and using an experimental design (a SPF-2•15×16 split-plot design), this study compares the combinations of content and process concepts identified as important in Germany with those considered relevant in the US context.

Findings

– First, the combinations of content and process concepts identified in the German context can be generalized to the US context. Second, it is possible to identify combinations of content and process concepts in the US context that are also important in the German context. Third, content and process concepts identified in the two contexts can be integrated to generate a broader perspective that is valid for both contexts.

Practical implications

– The results can be used for consolidating available curricular drafts for computer science as a teaching subject at school of the type available in many. The present findings are of great relevance for research-based approaches to the pre- and in-service education of computer science teachers. The methodological approach taken is important in efforts to consolidate curricular models of computer science education, as have been initiated by the Bologna process in Europe and by the organizations Association for Computing Machinery, Association for Information Systems, and Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers-Computer Society in the USA.

Originality/value

– Results show that competence areas of central concepts identified in the two contexts can be integrated to generate a broader perspective that is valid for both contexts.
“The tablet is on the table!” The need for a teachers’ self-hetero-eco technological formation program
Authors: Freire Maximina Maria
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The Federal Government has begun distributing tablets to teachers in public schools in Brazil. However, no preparation was provided to guide professionals on how to use them for pedagogical purposes. As a result, teachers have been carrying tablets around or leaving them alone on their classroom tables. Considering this situation, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the possibility of adopting a ternary conception of formation processes – the self-hetero-eco formation process – to help teachers learn how to use tablets for educational purposes; and on the potential of such a process to congregated teachers in the joint creation and maintenance of a Didactic Digital Material/App Data Bank.

Design/methodology/approach

– Theoretically, this paper is grounded on complexity principles (Morin, 2008, 2010), and especially on the studies made by Moraes (2007), Freire (2009) and Freire and Leffa (2013).

Findings

– The movement of perceiving each teacher as responsible for his/her formation (personalization), interacting with others to expand possibilities, co-constructing knowledge to reach co-formation (socialization), and interacting with the environment with/from which s/he learns (ecoligization) will reveal the self-hetero-eco technological formation process which may help teachers create steady links amongst themselves at school and resolve many difficult situations such as the need to overcome the lack of technological skills to use tablets. Besides that, the idea of joining teachers together and jointly creating and maintaining a Didactic Digital Material/App Data Bank may not only impact on the use of the tablet itself but also on interpersonal relationships, intensifying respect, companionship and friendship, among other important ties that help bind people together.

Originality/value

– This paper presents an innovative formation concept which is not based on time development, but which is based on the agents involved in the process and in the environment where the formation takes place. This concept is based on complexity and seems to be more attuned to the features of the contemporary world.
Future vision
Authors: Rogerson Simon
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to review the world of information and communications technology (ICT) from its early days to the near future. The aim is to consider how successfully academia, industry and government have worked together in delivering ethically acceptable ICT which is accessible to those who might benefit from such advances. The paper concludes with suggestions of a fresh approach for the future.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper draws upon evidence from the history of computers, funded research projects, professional bodies in the field, the ETHICOMP conference series and reported ICT disasters. The author uses his experience as both an ICT practitioner and an academic in the ICT ethics field to synthesise the evidence so providing a foundation on which to build an outline global action plan.

Findings

– The paper lays out the findings that there has been much detailed observation and analysis of the ethical challenges surrounding ICT but the transformation of this into widespread practical positive action remains elusive. It explores why progress has been difficult.

Originality/value

– This review of the interconnecting landscapes of practical ICT, funded research and the ICT ethics community is new. The attempt to demonstrate what progress has been made and to identify the underlying factors which influence progress are valuable to future generations working in this area. The concluding suggestions for action offer a starting point for entering the next phase of ICT ethics.
Slow Tech: a roadmap for a good, clean and fair ICT
Authors: Patrignani Norberto , Whitehouse Diane
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine how Slow Tech can support the celebration of the 20-year series of ETHICOMP conferences, with its ethical and societal focus, building on earlier descriptions of Slow Tech. The paper takes Slow Tech’s ideas a step further to explore how a roadmap and concrete checklist of activities can be developed.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper is a thought leadership or conceptual piece. Its approach is based on a normative, qualitative discourse. It, nevertheless, indicates a shift towards concrete actions.

Findings

– Extracting from a brief historical overview, the paper lays out the means of building a Slow Tech roadmap and a Slow Tech checklist of actions. It also investigates a number of the challenges that might face Slow Tech in the future.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper has implications for stakeholder fields as far-ranging as corporations, computing professional associations, universities and research institutions and end-users.

Originality/value

– As with other investigations of Slow Tech, the value of this paper is in its call for reflection followed by action. It provides a useful complement and counterbalance to an earlier paper by the same authors: “Slow Tech: a quest for good, clean and fair ICT” published inJournal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society(Vol. 12, issue 2, pp. 78-92).
Digital disability divide in information society
Authors: Sachdeva Neeraj , Tuikka Anne-Marie , Kimppa Kai Kristian , Suomi Reima
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to create a conceptual framework, based on a structured literature review, to analyze the digital disability divide and help find solutions for it. A digital disability divide exists between people with impairments and those without impairments. Multiple studies have shown that people without impairments are less likely to own a computer or have an Internet connection than are people with impairments. However, the digital disability divide is seen in relation not only to access but also to accessibility and use. For people with impairments, new technological innovations offer solutions for everyday challenges, such as finding information, communicating with others and using electronic services.

Design/methodology/approach

– For this study, 4,778 conference and journal publications were systematically analyzed.

Findings

– A number of key findings emerged. This field is relatively new, and the literature is highly focused on the technological and social aspects of the digital disability divide, with technology and societal attributes being the core sub-attributes for a comprehensive model. The previous literature did not significantly study the consequences of the financial situation of individuals; rather, the predominant focus was on the have-nots and countries with low income potentials. Furthermore, motivation reveals a compelling case within the digital disability divide subset.

Originality/value

– The review provides a consolidated view of past research on the general topic of the digital disability divide and the attributes that affect it.
Reasons behind unethical behaviour in the Australian ICT workplace
Authors: Al-Saggaf Yeslam , Burmeister Oliver , Weckert John
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to investigate the reasons behind unethical behaviour in the Australian Information and Communications Technology (ICT) workplace.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study employed a qualitative research methodology. A total of 43 ICT professionals were interviewed during the month of February 2014 in six Australian capital cities. All interviews were conducted face-to-face and followed a semi-structured interviewing format utilising open-end questions and further probing questions. The purposive sample represented ICT professionals from large and small organisations, government and private sector, different geographic locations, ages, genders, types of jobs and employment experience. Data analysis was completed with the help of QSR NVivo 10, a software package for managing qualitative data.

Findings

– Of the 25 reasons identified for unethical behaviour in ICT workplaces, 30 per cent of participants agreed on five major ones: pressure, bad management, greed, lack of respect towards ICT and communication issues.

Practical implications

– By focussing on the reasons behind unethical behaviour in the Australian ICT workplace, this article helps those identifying strategies for dealing with unprofessional behaviour to take into account the root causes of unprofessional behaviour.

Originality/value

– There is hardly any literature on reasons for unethical behaviour in the ICT workplaces. This article seeks to address this imbalance in the literature. Also, integrity systems in ICT are a new focus in collective, organisational ethics. Identification of and resolving unethical ICT workplace practice is an innovative contribution to the literature.
“I’ll do this no matter if I have to fight the world!”
Authors: Bamford Jan , Djebbour Yaz , Pollard Lucie
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of the paper was to explore students’ learning experiences in culturally diverse urban higher education environments.

Design/methodology/approach

– The project used an action research method approach with a mixed-method collection of data. The data consist of a survey of undergraduate students from the two different faculties, business and science, in two London institutions (n= 393) and ten focus groups (consisting of 92 students) as well as participant observations. The survey was based on an adapted version of the National Survey on Student Engagement (NSSE) developed in the USA. The authors also piloted the use of Facebook as a learning tool and monitored the effects on communication between students and between lecturers.

Findings

– The authors identified statistical significance in the items that addressed the development of students’ relationships with others and found that there was a link with specific students’ profiles, that is those students who were non-native speakers of English who were less likely to engage with “others” and the learning environment. Focus groups highlighted the importance of communities of practice and that these communities aided students in developing what can be seen as resilience outcomes.

Originality/value

– The findings from the research indicated that resilience can be seen as key to increasing engagement and communication for students. The piloting of social media across a module at each research site indicated that such a tool can be useful in addressing issues of communication, but the introduction of such tools needs to be generated through the students.
Biotechnological mergers and acquisitions: features, trends and new dynamics
Authors: Rossi Matteo , Thrassou Alkis , Vrontis Demetris
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyze the phenomenon of mergers and acquisition (M & A) in high-tech sectors with a special focus on biotechnological firms. Recent years have witnessed an impressive wave of M & As, but these operations, despite their popularity, have produced mixed results for their stakeholders and presented no systemic vision.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper is descriptive and the result of a secondary data-based research. Methodologically founded on the works of Rossiet al.(2011, 2013) and following an extensive literature review on M & A processes in high-tech sectors, the paper analyzes the dynamics, trends and attributes biotechnological M & As.

Findings

– The biotechnology sector, over the economically turbulent past few years, faced a distinct difficulty in attracting significant investor capital. Traditional pharmaceutical companies with sufficient cash from their existing sales but facing a dried-out product and patent pipeline have acquired innovative, but cash-poor biotech firms. The findings indicate that the trends in the biotech industry make consolidation in this sector inevitable. For acquiring firms, therefore, it will be necessary to realize a rigorous process of strategic target identification, due diligence and unified post-merger integration as the only way to create a sustainable shareholder value and high firm performance.

Research limitations/implications

– The limitations of the paper are a consequence of its very nature, i.e. the fact that it is a descriptive, secondary data-based research. Further, empirical research is therefore necessary to test the findings, to refine the contextual parameters involved and to prescribe target-specific action.

Originality/value

– The value of the paper stems from its definition of the link between the biotech industry attributes and M & A activities, consequently offering a valuable theoretical basis for empirical development and practical application, as well as a context for prescribed actions and processes.
Perception and motivation to purchase organic products in Mediterranean countries
Authors: Nedra Bahri-Ammari , Sharma Sandhir , Dakhli Aymen
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to study the determinants of consumer purchasing behaviour of organic product in the emergent countries. These variables are related to products such as perception, attitude, motivation (health and environmental concern), implication and purchasing intention.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper is based on exploratory and confirmatory analysis that seeks to purify and to get a new scales structure. The study shows the effect of perception and motivation on the purchasing behaviour of the consumers who intend to buy an organic product. The authors used the structural equation modelling to confirm the different relationships.

Findings

– Purchasing intention, implication and motivation (health and environmental concerns) have a strong direct and positive effect on the purchasing behaviour of organic products. However, the relationship between the motivation and the attitude, on the one side, and between attitude/purchasing intention and attitude/purchasing behaviour, on the other side, are not significant.

Research limitations/implications

– The research and investigation were carried out in a limited geographical zone (Tunisian country), on a specific category of products and on a particular sampling procedure by convenience.

Practical implications

– The firm can adopt an efficient green strategy that allows it to ensure a good segmentation and a best positioning compared to conventional product. Tunisian marketers must focus on the factors influencing the behaviour of the Tunisian consumer. They should raise consumer awareness through a suitable communication.

Originality/value

– This paper is added to studies of consumer behaviour towards bio-products in emerging countries. The results could serve as a guideline for organizations for understanding the factors and green strategy adopted. This one need to ensure a good segmentation and positioning of biological products compared to conventional product.
Entrepreneurship and viral development in rural Western Negev in Israel
Authors: Bijaoui Ilan , Regev David
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to focus on two main and related issues: evaluating whether the required entrepreneurial capabilities are present according to Gladwell’s law of the few in the Western Negev region of Israel and identifying the economic development model that can generate a viral development.

Design/methodology/approach

– In this paper, McClelland’s classification was used to evaluate the level of motivation in the region and Gladwell’s law of the few classification was used to understand the potentially positive effect of each entrepreneur on the others and on economic development in general. To evaluate the personal and business capabilities of each entrepreneur, two groups of parameters, one describing the personal profile and the other describing the business behavior of the entrepreneurs, were used.

Findings

– Most entrepreneurs are ready to cooperate with the open incubator and to contribute to generating common business interest, but mavens and connectors have few of the required personal characteristics and business attitudes. Only the salesmen have the required personal profile, but they lack the necessary business attitude. Highly motivated entrepreneurs, at need-for-power level, have both the required personal profile and business attitude. They are the ones who could generate growth, and a portion of them have the characteristics to become mavens, connectors and salesmen.

Practical implications

– The willingness to cooperate with a neutral organization and generate common economic interest is present in the Western Negev, but the following actions are required to achieve viral development: persuade and support entrepreneurs at the highest level of motivation to be a part of the few, i.e. mavens, connectors and salesmen; improve the business attitude of mavens, connectors and salesmen; and plan the work program of the open incubator in cooperation with entrepreneurs at the need-for-power level: mavens, connectors and salesmen.

Originality/value

– Viral economic development can occur if the few mavens, connectors and salesmen in a given sector or region have the required positive personal profile and business attitude, and if most of the entrepreneurs are ready to cooperate with a neutral organization, the open incubator and join efforts with others to generate new common business interests.
Exploring customers’ zone of tolerance for B2B professional service quality
Authors: Ho Angus , Sharma Piyush , Hosie Peter
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to extend the current research on zone of tolerance (ZOT) and its antecedents, to the context of business-to-business (B2B) professional services from both client and service firms’ perspectives, with a modified ZOT framework including five client and service firms attributes as antecedents of desired (DSL) and adequate (ASL) service levels. Prior research on zone of tolerance (ZOT) and its antecedents mostly focuses on business-to-consumer services and customers’ perspective. The authors address these gaps with a modified ZOT framework with five attributes of client and service firms as antecedents of customer expectations, namely, desired service level (DSL) and adequate service level (ASL), for business-to-business (B2B) professional services.

Design/methodology/approach

– A combination of qualitative (focus groups) and quantitative (online survey) research methods with managers of professional audit firms and their clients, using a reduced AUDITQUAL instrument with 39 items and seven dimensions.

Findings

– Professional firm size and fee premium have a positive effect on DSL; service tenure positively influences both DSL and ASL; client firm size has a negative effect on DSL; both client and service firm sizes positively moderate each other’s influence on the DSL; and DSL positively influences ASL.

Research limitations/implications

– The authors study a single B2B professional service (audit) in a single city (Hong Kong) from a single perspective (customers) that may limit the generalizability of the findings. Future research should validate the findings for other B2B professional services in diverse locations and also include service providers’ expectations and perceptions.

Practical implications

– Managers in professional service firms should understand the factors influencing different levels of expectations for their customers and develop suitable strategies (e.g. customer education and employee training) to manage these expectations more effectively.

Originality/value

– The authors extend current research on customer expectations and ZOT by identifying five unique attributes of professional service and client firms and testing their roles as antecedents of adequate and DSLs using AUDITQUAL instrument.
An alternative model of self-service retail technology adoption
Authors: Kaushik Arun Kumar , Rahman Zillur
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– This study aims to extend and revise the basic technology acceptance model (TAM) by analyzing the impact of trust and subjective norm (SN) on consumers’ attitude and behavioral intention toward adopting self-service technologies (SSTs) in offline retail environments.

Design/methodology/approach

– Primary data were collected through field and online surveys, resulting in 651 usable responses. Hypotheses involving all variables of extended TAM, and their mutual relationships, are examined in this study of offline consumer adoption behavior.

Findings

– The findings reveal that trust significantly affects both consumers’ attitudes and their behavioral intentions, while SN also affects intention to adopt. It is recommended that future researchers use a more comprehensive version of TAM and consider trust and SN when analyzing offline consumer adoption behavior.

Research limitations/implications

– All the SSTs included in this paper belong to the retail industry, which limit the generalizability of the findings to other industries. Many other limitations are also discussed.

Practical implications

– The practicality of our findings guides managers and designers of technological interfaces. Furthermore, the practical implications are discussed and directions for future research are also provided.

Social implications

– This study recommends the usage of numerous SSTs in organized retail stores. The society will also benefit from the effective implementation of such SSTs.

Originality/value

– Trust and SNs have been incorporated as two additional variables to analyze offline adoption behavior of retail customers. This has not been done before, as most studies have focused on adoption behavior of customers in online environments.
Masstige marketing redefined and mapped
Authors: Paul Justin
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– “Masstige marketing” is considered as a market penetration strategy for medium and large enterprises, particularly in foreign markets. The author redefine “masstige marketing” strategy in this paper and map the concept as a new model for brand building. Second, the author examine the effectiveness of “masstige marketing” strategy with reference to marketing mix theory (Four Ps=product, price, place and promotion). The purpose of this paper is to introduce a theoretical model to help the companies to implement “masstige marketing” strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

– The author introduce a scale, called “Masstige Mean Score Scale” to measure the mass prestige value of brands. Both secondary and primary data used in this study. The author collected data from 590 young women consumers living in Japan and France to measure the “masstige” value using the new scale developed. The marketing strategy of European luxury sector multinational brand LV, has also been discussed as a method.

Findings

– Masstige value is the best indicator of long-term brand value. In other words, higher the masstige value (MMS) of a brand, the higher the likelihood to succeed. The author also found that a brand can create mass prestige with “masstige marketing” strategy by appropriately mixing the four Ps in marketing – Product, Price, Promotion and Place in a distinct and culturally different market.

Originality/value

– The author develop a pyramid model and measurement scale for “masstige marketing” as a theoretical framework to stimulate further research and as a tool for practitioners for better decision making. Besides, the author posit that higher the Masstige Mean Score (MMS) of a brand, higher the likelihood that potential customers recall that as a “top of mind” brand. Lower MMS implies that the firm has to go long way in their efforts to build the brand.
Learning and decision making in marketing planning: a study of New Zealand vineyards
Authors: Crick David , Crick James
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate how decision making and learning are related to marketing planning among owner/managers with lifestyle in comparison to growth-oriented objectives in the New Zealand wine industry.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study reports on 12 interviews with owner/managers of New Zealand vineyards. The vineyards were small to medium sized and independently owned to avoid bias from parent company decision making within larger scale corporate wine producers.

Findings

– Different degrees of causation and effectuation-based decision making were found to exist among owner/managers starting from the nascent stage in their respective marketing planning processes. Learning to different degrees was evident in order to remain competitive in a climate of uncertainty and not least of which due to problematic exchange rates. An important issue influencing decision making was whether owner/managers were running the vineyard to maintain a lifestyle or a growth strategy; an issue affecting perceptions of risks and rewards.

Originality/value

– The originality of the study is that it employs an effectuation lens in respect of the marketing planning process; specifically, decision making among owner/managers with differing objectives, experience and perceptions of risks and rewards.
The viral marketing metaphor explored through Vegemite
Authors: Beverland Michael , Dobele Angela , Farrelly Francis
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– Viral marketing draws heavily on the success of a few mythic campaigns. However, the viral metaphor limits previous perspectives as to why consumers engage with content and importantly, why they pass it on. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors explore why consumers engaged with Kraft’s “How do you love your Vegemite?” campaign using multiple sources of evidence including interviews, blog post comments, and firm market research.

Findings

– The choice to engage with content is driven by consumers’ desire for self-authentication, in particular the desire to express one’s identity through an authenticating act, and express membership of a collective via an authoritative performance. In so doing, the authors identify the limits of adopting an epidemiological metaphor for campaigns reliant on consumer agency.

Originality/value

– This study is unique because it proposes an alternative focus to a fundamental metaphor and has both conceptual and practical value.
Factors affecting the relationship between environmental concern and behaviors
Authors: Thieme Jeff , Royne Marla B. , Jha Subhash , Levy Marian , Barnes McEntee Wendy
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to understand the mediating factors affecting the relationship between environmental concerns and sustainable behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors survey 467 respondents and use a structural equation modeling approach to assess environmental involvement and willingness to pay more for green products as mediating variables between a multi-dimensional measure of environmental concern and sustainable behaviors.

Findings

– The findings suggest that environmental involvement and willingness to pay more for green products mediate the relationship between environmental concern and sustainable behaviors. But of the three dimensions of environmental concern, only concern for energy is statistically significant in the model.

Research limitations/implications

– The results empirically validate the multi-dimensionality of the environmental concern construct and its relationship with consumers’ sustainable behaviors. Both involvement and willingness to pay more for an environmentally friendly product play an important role in linking environmental concern to actionable behaviors.

Practical implications

– To reach green consumers who are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products and ultimately engage in sustainable behaviors, marketers should target those consumers who are most concerned with energy and more involved with the environment.

Originality/value

– This paper is the first to study the gap between environmental concern and sustainable behaviors by utilizing involvement and willingness to pay more for an environmentally friendly product as mediators. Results provide critical insight into this often elusive gap. The authors also fill an important gap in the literature by including psychological factors driving consumers’ willingness to pay more for green products.
Reputation orientation
Authors: Goldring Deborah
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to develop a new construct called reputation orientation, which is defined as a conscious, company-wide, strategic focus on building and maintaining a positive corporate reputation among key stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

– A conceptual framework is developed that links reputation orientation to construed image and business performance. An empirical test of the key stakeholder relationship between sellers and buyers is conducted using an online survey of US-based marketing managers from a variety of for-profit industries.

Findings

– The research findings demonstrate that reputation orientation is a valid construct and show a positive relationship between reputation orientation and business performance which is partially mediated by construed image.

Research limitations/implications

– This research was exploratory in nature, so the data must be interpreted carefully and subject to additional contexts.

Practical implications

– Reputation orientation has implications for managers who want to proactively pursue reputational excellence for competitive advantage.

Social implications

– Reputation orientation has implications for stakeholder satisfaction, socially responsible behavior, ethical decision making, and sustainability.

Originality/value

– This research empirically tests a model that integrates corporate marketing constructs with marketing managers’ decision-making behaviors and perceptions.
The impact of corporate social responsibility on employee performance and cost
Authors: Sun Li , Yu T. Robert
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of our paper is to empirically examine the conjectures, which prior literature suggests, that employees work more productively in socially responsible companies and employees are willing to work for less when they work for these companies.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study uses ordinary least squares regression to examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and employee performance and between CSR and employee cost. Further, 2SLS is used to address the endogeneity issue.

Findings

– The results indicate a positive relation between CSR and employee performance, suggesting that employees in socially responsible companies generate better operating performance than their peers in less socially responsible companies. Findings also reveal that socially responsible companies incur higher labor cost.

Research limitations/implications

– First, the CSR ratings constructed by KLD Inc. are an approximate measure of CSR performance. Better CSR measures may yield stronger results. Additionally, the sample firms in our study are relatively large firms. Caution needs be exercised when readers generalize these conclusions. Finally, this sample only consists of public firms. Whether these conclusions hold in private firms remains unknown. The above issues can be investigated in future studies.

Practical implications

– The findings of our study should interest managers who contemplate engaging in socially responsible activities, investors and financial analysts who assess firm performance and policymakers who design and implement guidelines on CSR programs.

Originality/value

– This is the first paper that directly tests the association between CSR and employee performance and cost. Thus, this study contributes to the CSR literature by offering evidence to show a positive effect of CSR on employee performance. It also contributes to the management accounting literature.
The valuation effect of LIFO’s repeal on high pricing power firms
Authors: Houmes Robert , Chira Inga
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The aim of the study is to provides a timely examination of the valuation effect of current initiatives to repeal LIFO by analyzing the valuation impact of the potential repeal of LIFO conditional on the pricing power of the firm.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using the methodology from prior research for all LIFO companies, we use price levels regressions to empirically test the potential tax effect of LIFO’s repeal on the value of the firm. To evaluate the robustness of these results, we also use event study methodology to estimate abnormal returns around the House Bill H. R. 3970.

Findings

– Results show a favorable (unfavorable) valuation effect for high (low) pricing power firms that are able (unable) to recover tax payments by reducing costs and/or charging higher prices. These findings are robust to alternative measures of valuation (price and returns), as well as long and short event windows and suggest that certain firms may be able to offset post-LIFO repeal increased tax payments by increasing sales-output prices and or decreasing cost-input prices.

Originality/value

– The primary contribution of this paper is to provide relevant and new empirical evidence regarding the potential valuation effects of the currently proposed political and regulatory initiatives to abolish LIFO.
Prospect theory, industry characteristics and earnings management
Authors: Wasiuzzaman Shaista , Sahafzadeh Iman , Rezaie Nejad Niloufar -
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to detect earnings management activity in different industries in Malaysia by using the earnings distribution model. Further, the prospect theory and the possible influence of various industry variables are tested to understand the role of the industry in the motivation to manage earnings among firms in Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach

– A sample of 538 firms from 15 different industries over the years 2005-2011 is used for this purpose. The earnings distribution model is used to detect earnings management activity across industries, and various regression techniques are used to test the influence of the prospect theory and various industry variables on earnings management activity.

Findings

– The findings indicate the presence of earnings management practices in Malaysian industries, but the prevalence of earnings management activity and the motivation to do so are found to differ across industries. The prospect theory is found to be a possible motivation for earnings management overall but not when industries are considered separately. Industry competitiveness, capital intensity and profitability are found to influence both motivations to manage earnings while industry leverage is found significant only in the case of motivation to manage earnings to avoid reporting losses. Finally, earnings volatility and size are insignificant in influencing the propensity to manage earnings.

Originality/value

– To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study which documents the role of various industry characteristics in influencing earnings management activity. It highlights the importance of considering industry level variables in a study on earnings management and, hence, adds to the growing literature on earnings management.
Pathways to suicide attempts among male offenders: the role of agency
Authors: Byng Richard , Howerton Amanda , Owens Christabel V. , Campbell John
Published: July 2015

Suicide is common among offenders, who are at increased risk of homelessness, unemployment and mental illness and are prone to impulsivity. Release from prison is a particularly vulnerable time. This qualitative study investigated the views of 35 offenders in South‐West England prior to and after release from prison, enquiring into their previous suicide attempts and how they saw their future. Semi‐structured interviews were analysed thematically, comparing individuals who had made one, more than one, and no suicide attempts. Multiple attempters were often in despair and enmeshed in substance misuse, with little control over their lives. Most of those with one‐off or no previous attempts portrayed themselves as having more mastery. One‐off attempters described using particularly violent means. The role of different types of agency in pathways to and from suicide is discussed. Iterational agency, the selective reactivation of past patterns of behaviour, appeared to dominate in individuals who were choosing between further suicide attempts and substance use. Projective agency, having a more future orientation, appeared more prominent in some single attempters and in those individuals with plans to escape crime and social exclusion.
The Double Helix: Applying an Ethic of Care to the Duty to Warn Genetic Relatives of Genetic Information
Authors: Weaver Meaghann
Published: July 2015

Genetic testing reveals information about a patient's health status and predictions about the patient's future wellness, while also potentially disclosing health information relevant to other family members. With the increasing availability and affordability of genetic testing and the integration of genetics into mainstream medicine, the importance of clarifying the scope of confidentiality and the rules regarding disclosure of genetic findings to genetic relatives is prime. The United Nations International Declaration on Human Genetic Data urges an appreciation for principles of equality, justice, solidarity and responsibility in the context of genetic testing, including a commitment to honoring the privacy and security of the person tested. Considering this global mandate and recent professional statements in the context of a legal amendment to patient privacy policies in Australia, a fresh scrutiny of the legal history of a physician's duty to warn is warranted. This article inquiries whether there may be anything ethically or socially amiss with a potential future recommendation for health professionals or patients to universally disclose particular cancer predisposition genetic diagnosis to genetic family members. While much of the discussion remains applicable to all genetic diagnosis, the article focuses on the practice of disclosure within the context of BRCA1/2 diagnosis. An ‘ethic of care’ interpretation of legal tradition and current practice will serve to reconcile law and medical policy on the issue of physician disclosure of genetic results to family members without patient consent.
When Opportunity Knocks Twice: Dual Living Kidney Donation, Autonomy and the Public Interest
Authors: Bailey Phillippa , Huxtable Richard
Published: July 2015

Living kidney transplantation offers the best treatment in terms of life‐expectancy and quality of life for those with end‐stage renal disease. The long‐term risks of living donor nephrectomy, although real, are very small, with evidence of good medium‐term outcomes. Who should be entitled to donate, and in which circumstances, is nevertheless a live question. We explore the ethical dimensions of a request by an individual to donate both of their kidneys during life: ‘dual living kidney donation’. Our ethical analysis is tethered to a hypothetical case study in which a father asks to donate a kidney to each of his twin boys. We explore the autonomy of the protagonists, alongside different dimensions of the public interest, such as the need to protect not only the recipients, but also the donor and even the wider community.

Whilst acknowledging objections to ‘dual‐donation’, not least by reference to the harms that the donor might be expected to endure, we suggest there is a prima facie case for permitting this, provided that both donor and recipients are willing and that due attention is paid to such considerations as the autonomy and welfare of all parties, as well as to the wider ramifications of acting on such a request. We argue for broader interpretations of the concepts of autonomy and welfare, recognizing the importance of relationships and the relevance of more than merely physical well‐being. Equipped with such a holistic assessment, we suggest there is a prima facie case for allowing ‘dual living kidney donation’.
The combination of hypomethylating agents and histone deacetylase inhibitors produce marked synergy in preclinical models of T‐cell lymphoma
Authors: Marchi Enrica , Zullo Kelly M. , Amengual Jennifer E. , Kalac Matko , Bongero Danielle , McIntosh Christine M. , Fogli Laura K. , Rossi Maura , Zinzani Pier L. , Pileri Stefano A. , Piccaluga Pier P. , Fuligni Fabio , Scotto Luigi , O'Connor Owen A.
Published: July 2015

T‐cell lymphomas (TCL) are aggressive lymphomas usually treated with CHOP (cyclophsophamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisolone)‐like regimens upfront. Recent data suggest that TCL are driven by epigenetic defects, potentially rendering them sensitive to epigenetic therapies. We explored the therapeutic merits of a combined epigenetic platform using histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) and DNA methyltransferase inhibitors (DNMT) in in vitro and in vivo models of TCL. The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values revealed romidepsin was the most potent HDACI, with an IC50 in the low nanomolar range. The combination with a hypomethylating agent produced synergy across all cell lines, which was confirmed in cytotoxicity and apoptosis assays. An in vivo xenograft study demonstrated inhibition of tumour growth in the combination cohort compared to the single agent. Gene expression array and global methylation profiling revealed differentially expressed genes and modulated pathways for each of the single treatment conditions and the combination. Most of the effects induced by the single agent treatment were maintained in the combination group. In total, 944 unique genes were modulated by the combination treatment, supporting the hypothesis of molecular synergism. These data suggest combinations of hypomethylating agents and HDACIs are synergistic in models of TCL, which is supported at the molecular level.
Platelet refractoriness – practical approaches and ongoing dilemmas in patient management
Authors: Stanworth Simon J. , Navarrete Cristina , Estcourt Lise , Marsh Judith
Published: July 2015

Platelet refractoriness can represent a significant clinical problem that complicates the provision of platelet transfusions, is associated with adverse clinical outcomes and increases health care costs. Although it is most frequently due to non‐immune platelet consumption, immunological factors are also often involved. Human leucocyte antigen (HLA) alloimmunization is the most important immune cause. Despite the fact that systematic reviews of the clinical studies evaluating different techniques for selecting HLA compatible platelets have not been powered to demonstrate improved clinical outcomes, platelet refractoriness is currently managed by the provision of HLA‐matched or cross matched platelets. This review will address a practical approach to the diagnosis and management of platelet refractoriness while highlighting on‐going dilemmas and knowledge gaps.