bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Recognising workplace learning: the emerging practices of e‐RPL and e‐PR
Authors: Cameron Roslyn
Published: February 2012

Purpose

The use of e‐portfolios in recognition of prior learning (RPL) processes in workplace and professional practice contexts has attracted little attention in the literature due to its emergent nature. This study seeks to explore the growing incidence of e‐portfolio‐based RPL (e‐RPL) and professional recognition (e‐PR) processes in Australia and the implications this has for recognising workplace learning.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper utilises an exploratory study and involves a content analysis of a selected sample of data sources. The sample includes the abstracts and papers presented at the 2009 VET E‐portfolios Showcase and the 2010 ePortfolios Australia conference and the Australian Flexible Learning Framework (AFLF) funded E‐portfolio implementation trials 2009 and 2010.

Findings

The paper finds an array of e‐RPL and e‐PR operationalised across multiple fields/disciplines and contexts. The incidence of e‐PR is more dominant than that of e‐RPL. The findings result in the development of a framework that provides the conceptual scaffolding for recognition systems in the workplace.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited to Australian based data sources. Further analysis could be expanded to international contexts to increase the data and evidence on e‐RPL and e‐PR processes and the implications these have for recognising workplace. The framework developed from the study provides a conceptual launch pad into future lines of inquiry which can critically explore the underlying pedagogies and knowledge paradigms which have dominated in formal learning systems.

Practical implications

The paper includes implications for the correct matching of practices and tasks to appropriate types of e‐portfolio based RPL and PR along a continuum of formal to informal learning and varying degrees of learner control.

Originality/value

This paper presents an analytical framework for exploring e‐RPL and e‐PR as distinct processes of recognition through a synthesis of RPL and e‐portfolio research and theoretical constructs. The framework includes a typology of e‐RPL and e‐PR based on Smith and Tillema's typology of portfolios and Cameron's models of RPL. The framework will assist in analysing recognition processes undertaken in workplace contexts.
Academic perspectives on college‐level learning
Authors: Travers Nan L.
Published: February 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore faculty definitions of college‐level learning in order to develop a universal definition to assist employers, career counselors, and academic institutions in assessing college‐level workplace learning.

Design/methodology/approach

Faculty were administered an electronic survey to gather definitions of below college‐level, undergraduate level and graduate level learning at a USA university.

Findings

A total of 20 per cent of the faculty completed the survey, representing an even distribution across disciplines offered at the university. Data were analysed using qualitative methods to determine themes arising from the faculty definitions; member checking occurred through a representative faculty group. The resulting framework had commonalities to other current college‐level learning schemas (e.g. American Association of Colleges and Universities). Terminology used by the faculty indicated students must understand and utilise different relationships across knowledge.

Research limitations/implications

The framework shifts the perspective from assessing skills and competencies to assessing the ways in which individuals relate knowledge to different ideas, perspectives and global issues. Future research is needed to verify these themes across multiple institutions.

Practical implications

This framework could assist employers, career counselors, students and educators in determining if an individual's workplace knowledge can be assessed at a college‐level. This could be advantageous to know prior to investing in higher education.

Originality/value

The results imply that simply assessing workplace skills is insufficient to determine college‐level learning. Rather, the ways in which individuals relate their knowledge to different issues and solve problems is critical.
Assessing prior experiential learning: issues of authority, authorship and identity
Authors: Pokorny Helen
Published: February 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine how students with workplace learning experience the process of the assessment of prior experiential learning (APEL) in higher education.

Design/methodology/approach

This is an inductive and exploratory study drawing on methodology from the field of academic literacies. It addresses two questions: “How do different tutors and students approach the APEL process?” and “How do students with workplace learning experience the APEL process?”. Interviews were undertaken with students and tutors around the students' assessment documents. The data werre analysed according to Lillis' and Ivanič's concept of “addressivity”. This type of analysis indicates how students and tutors are positioning one another, and facilitates the drawing out of similarities and differences in these positionings between the different participants.

Findings

The paper finds that, although all students had been successful in their APEL claims, their narratives were quite polarised. Using a heuristic developed by Lillis the data clearly demonstrate the impact on the student experience of two different tutor approaches, that of monologic teaching and dialogic mediation.

Research limitations/implications

This is a small scale, single institution study. Replicating the study in different contexts may further explain the differences between APEL processes that learners find empowering and those which they do not.

Originality/value

The original perspective afforded by the theoretical lens of academic literacies suggests a valuable re‐conceptualisation of the traditional assessor‐candidate relationship with implications for assessment practice. The paper also provides a student perspective on the process that is largely absent in the research literature.
Accreditation of experiential learning at doctoral level
Authors: Armsby Pauline
Published: February 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to outline some of the issues related to enabling the accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL) in doctoral level awards, and illustrate the effects for candidates, others involved in the process and higher education (HE).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a mainly qualitative evaluation study of those involved with 12 graduates from a professional doctorate that uses an in‐depth reflective and critical analysis of prior high level work based learning as its main product for assessment. In‐depth semi‐structured telephone interviews, focus group and questionnaires were used to gather data from candidates, their advisers and consultants, internal and external examiners, and chairs of their presentation.

Findings

Findings included the development of understanding about work‐based epistemologies by all the participants and changes in the candidates' understanding of their professional identity. The recognition of scholarliness and the evaluation and accreditation of professional knowledge was a key issue for external examiners.

Research limitations/implications

As a small‐scale evaluation case study the results are indicative and presented alongside experience of facilitating and assessing prior learning in this UK‐based professional doctorate, in order to stimulate further discussion.

Practical implications

APEL is a valuable and valued, student‐centred learning and teaching method for experienced professionals that could provide a useful entrée to other pedagogies that develop a personal understanding of professional knowledge production and ability to reflect on practice.

Originality/value

The paper provides some evidence for claims in the current literature that there is an important place for work‐based knowledge in contemporary HE. The pedagogic processes described in this paper appear to work effectively with doctoral level candidates.
KM governance: the mechanisms for guiding and controlling KM programs
Authors: Schroeder Andreas , Pauleen David , Huff Sid
Published: February 2012

Purpose

To establish and sustain their KM programs organisations need to establish mechanisms to ensure their governance. KM programs require business integration, senior management involvement and decision making authority. The present research aims to investigate the KM governance mechanisms organisations use to guide and control their KM programs. The research seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the governance of KM and to support organisations in the development of their KM programs.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employs multiple case research methodology to analyse the KM governance arrangements of 12 international organisations and identify patterns in their governance configurations.

Findings

The analysis identifies a range of structural, process and relational mechanisms that are critical for governing an organisational KM program. Different patterns among the KM governance mechanisms are identified which lead to the development of generic KM governance typologies.

Research limitations/implications

The development of the KM governance framework allows future research to systematically investigate the KM governance phenomenon. As the present study is based on a configurational analysis, future research should particularly target the performance implications of different KM governance configurations.

Practical implications

The research provides insights into the diversity of KM governance mechanisms and their impact on a KM program. The KM governance framework can assist managers in reviewing their present and prospective KM programs and thereby support benchmarking or re‐organisation efforts.

Originality/value

Building on prior research that has focused on individual KM governance aspects, the present study adopts a comprehensive perspective integrating structural, process and relational governance mechanisms.
A new approach to the concept of knowledge strategy
Authors: Donate Mario J. , Canales J. Ignacio
Published: February 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to present a novel way to conceive knowledge strategy (KS). It suggests that a firm could outperform another by establishing a coherent and integrated KS depending on the objectives pursued and the understanding of knowledge management (KM) by managers, the use of KM tools, and organizational aspects to support KS implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

A cluster analysis was used to study the effect of KS on business performance and innovation based on a cross‐sectional sample of Spanish firms. Additional statistical analyses were used in order to develop a taxonomy of KSs.

Findings

The paper shows that the way an organization approaches knowledge management has major implications on the development of their strategy and the outcomes of KS application. Four types of KS are thus described based on the empirical analysis, i.e. proactive, moderate, passive and inconsistent, each of them having different effects on business performance and innovation.

Research limitations/implications

The research is limited to high rate innovation industries. Future studies could include other industries and a more diverse sample of firms.

Practical implications

The conception of KS presented here is a powerful approach that can lead an organization to achieve further innovation and higher levels of business performance.

Originality/value

An integrated and coherent KS has the potential to produce optimal results in terms of technological innovation and business performance.
Leadership transitions, tacit knowledge sharing and organizational generativity
Authors: Peet Melissa
Published: February 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present results from a two‐part study that tests the efficacy of a methodology for tacit knowledge retrieval, validation and sharing known as generative knowledge interviewing with a group of senior leaders in a non‐profit organization, and then assesses the impact of that process on leaders, managers and knowledge creation efforts across the organization two years later.

Design/methodology/approach

Researchers triangulated several different types of qualitative data collection and methods of analysis during a 30‐month period.

Findings

Earlier results showed the retiring leader's tacit “core capacities” were successfully retrieved, validated and shared with the new leaders in just four interviews. Two years later, these core capacities and aspects of the generative knowledge interviewing methodology were being used across the organization to improve knowledge sharing as well as recruitment, mentoring, coaching and training processes. The changes that emerged focused talent management and human resource efforts, leading to considerable cost reductions.

Practical implications

Results are applicable to leadership development, succession planning, talent management and knowledge creation efforts within public, non‐profit and private sectors.

Originality/value

The author proposes the concept of “organizational generativity” to describe the dynamics that facilitated positive organizational change. Although there is growing evidence regarding the types of conditions that enable knowledge creation, these conditions often take years to create. This paper demonstrates how a specific methodology can be used to identify, document and transfer senior leaders' tacit knowledge during the short period of time that often accompanies leadership transitions, and then use this knowledge to leverage long‐term talent management gains.
Knowledge acquisition's mediation of social capital‐firm innovation
Authors: Martínez‐Cañas Ricardo , Sáez‐Martínez Francisco J. , Ruiz‐Palomino Pablo
Published: February 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to empirically examine the mediating role of knowledge acquisition between social capital and innovation for firms located in science and technology parks (STPs).

Design/methodology/approach

Partial least squares offers the primary statistic technique for assessing survey data collected from 214 Spanish tenants.

Findings

Knowledge acquisition fully mediates the relationship between social capital and firm innovation. Moreover, social capital at the firm level has a significant influence on both knowledge acquisition and innovation.

Research limitations/implications

Further research should include more independent variables to understand the complex phenomenon of firm innovation.

Practical implications

Tenant firms in STPs must develop strategic management tactics for their interfirm relations to acquire and exploit key resources such as knowledge. For specialized firms, close social interactions in specific contexts can enhance both knowledge acquisition and innovation to compensate for their resource constraints.

Originality/value

By demonstrating the impact of social capital on knowledge acquisition and innovation in the specific context of STPs, whose artificial environment encourages and promotes close social interactions among tenants, this article overcomes previous and contradictory findings regarding the relationship between social capital and innovation. A key element is the contingent and mediating role of knowledge acquisition. Finally, this study considers social capital at the firm level as a multidimensional, second‐order latent construct that includes structural, relational and cognitive aspects simultaneously.
Knowledge sharing in the Dubai Police Force
Authors: Seba Ibrahim , Rowley Jennifer , Delbridge Rachel
Published: February 2012

Purpose

This study aims to contribute to understanding of knowledge management and sharing in the public sector in the Middle East through a case study based investigation of knowledge management initiatives and associated challenges and barriers.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 15 police officers of different rank and position. Questions focussed on knowledge management strategies and approaches to encouraging employees to exchange and share knowledge, and difficulties associated with encouraging officers to share knowledge. Interviews were either recorded and transcripts created, or notes were taken. A three‐stage thematic analysis of the interview transcripts was undertaken.

Findings

The Dubai Police Force has made a strategic commitment to the development of knowledge management to enhance performance. It established a Skills Investment Programme in 2003, a Knowledge Management Department in 2005, and more recently, in 2009, a Curriculum Department. However, the evidence from interviews suggests that the force has yet to succeed in embedding a knowledge culture. Four key factors were identified repeatedly as potential barriers to knowledge sharing: organizational structure, leadership, time allocation, and trust.

Originality/value

This article demonstrates the importance of leadership, time allocation, and trust in promoting a knowledge culture and encouraging knowledge sharing. In Arab cultures, leadership and trust, and associated rewards such as respect have a particular role to play.
What one feels and what one knows: the influence of emotions on attitudes and intentions towards knowledge sharing
Authors: van den Hooff Bart , Schouten Alexander P. , Simonovski Stojan
Published: February 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to provide theoretical and empirical insight into the relationship between emotions and knowledge sharing.

Design/methodology/approach

Hypotheses concerning the influence of pride and empathy on knowledge sharing attitudes and intentions are developed, based on prior research. The hypotheses were tested by means of a survey within the Dutch branch of a global IT organization, in which respondents (n=252) were asked to evaluate one of four different scenarios, invoking either pride or empathy. Respondents were asked their attitude and intention towards knowledge sharing in the situation sketched in the scenario.

Findings

Pride and empathy were found to affect eagerness and willingness to share knowledge. Furthermore, these emotions also influenced knowledge sharing intentions, partly mediated by eagerness and willingness. Both eagerness and willingness mediate the relationship between pride and knowledge sharing intention, whereas only willingness turned out to mediate the relationship between empathy and knowledge sharing.

Research limitations/implications

An important limitation is that the scenarios which were used were hypothetical. A suggestion for further research is to conduct a lab experiment (for instance, using a role play situation) in which emotions are manipulated in an interactive setting.

Originality/value

Emotions have not been related to knowledge sharing in a systematic way before. By connecting these two areas of research, this study provides new interdisciplinary insights.
Knowledge exchange using Web 2.0 technologies in NGOs
Authors: Matschke Christina , Moskaliuk Johannes , Cress Ulrike
Published: February 2012

Purpose

Members' knowledge is the most important resource in NGOs and it is important to stimulate its exchange. Knowledge that is needed to act in complex situations is hard to exchange, but Web 2.0 technologies provide a toolbox to develop a knowledge management strategy. The paper aims to specify optimal conditions and necessary measures that NGOs should take in order to successfully use Web 2.0 technologies for knowledge exchange.

Design/methodology/approach

NGOs and Web 2.0 technologies have specific characteristics in common. It is suggested that these characteristics require certain prerequisites in order to make the use of Web 2.0 technologies successful. Using an iterative and participative design method, a case study is presented that investigated prior boundary conditions and implemented a Web 2.0‐based platform as knowledge management strategy in a large NGO.

Findings

NGOs and Web 2.0 are based on strong voluntariness, they are democratic, contribution and personality are strongly tied to each other, and education is rarely formal. Therefore, there is a strong need for contact between members, internal motivation and organizational identification, for quality criteria, for protected spaces and pattern‐structures, if Web 2.0 technologies shall lead to successful knowledge management. The case study demonstrates that considering these circumstances enabled the successful implementation in a large NGO.

Practical implications

The current research helps NGOs to successfully implement Web 2.0 technologies as a means to support knowledge management. A figure with the crucial questions and the means that have to be taken in dependence of the answers is provided.

Originality/value

NGOs do not have the same means to develop formal management strategies as other organizations. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the circumstances that enable knowledge exchange with Web 2.0 technologies is needed. The current research provides information about optimal circumstances and about possibilities to improve less promising circumstances.
Family businesses' succession planning: a seven‐country comparison
Authors: Lussier Robert N. , Sonfield Matthew C.
Published: February 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to measure and compare differences in levels of family business planning for succession in seven countries: Croatia, Egypt, France, India, Kosovo, Kuwait, and the USA.

Design/methodology/approach

The research methodology was survey research collecting data from seven countries. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was run to test for differences in family business succession planning between countries, controlling for years in business, number of employees, industry, and type of ownership. ANCOVA was followed by a post hoc pairwise comparisons least significant difference (LSD) to determine which countries did have significant differences in their extent of succession planning.

Findings

The paper finds that there were statistically significant differences in family business succession planning between Croatia, Egypt, France, Kosovo, Kuwait, and the USA. However, there were no statistically significant differences between India and the other six countries.

Research limitations/implications

There is a growing body of literature focusing on family business succession, as researchers attempt to better understand the problems of passage that can exist in family firms. Thus, an important research question is: why are some family businesses able to successfully manage succession while others are not? Further research is needed to answer this question.

Originality/value

This research is original in that it is the first study to test differences in family business succession planning in multiple countries; thus taking the succession planning literature in a new direction.
Are freelancers a neglected form of small business?
Authors: Kitching John , Smallbone David
Published: February 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that freelancing is neglected by researchers as a form of small business activity. It aims to consider whether it is possible and useful for researchers to distinguish freelancers from other types of small business owner.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper does this in three ways: first, by conceptualising freelance status; second, by examining the research literature on freelance workers; and, third, by estimating the size of the UK freelance workforce to demonstrate their importance.

Findings

The definition proposed permits identification of many types of freelancer hitherto neglected by researchers. Freelancers are a large and growing proportion of the UK business stock and the recent recession has led to a further expansion.

Originality/value

Given the size and distinctiveness of the freelance workforce, researchers might explore the similarities and differences between freelancers and other small business owners with regard to: their motivations for starting and continuing to operate on a freelance basis; experiences of business ownership and management; the heterogeneity of the freelance workforce; and the wider social, economic and political causes and consequences of freelance working.
Impact of owner's knowledge of information technology (IT) on strategic alignment and IT adoption in US small firms
Authors: Chao Chia‐An , Chandra Aruna
Published: February 2012

Purpose

This study seeks to examine the impact of owner's knowledge of information technology (IT) on business and IT strategic alignment, as well as on IT use in the small firm context, using the resource‐based view as a theoretical foundation.

Design/methodology/approach

A random sample of 217 small manufacturers and financial services firms in the USA answered a two‐page survey containing questions pertaining to the company's business strategies, the extent IT supported each business strategy, types of IT used, and the level of owner's IT knowledge.

Findings

Owner's knowledge of IT was found to be a significant predictor of IT strategic alignment, as well as adoption of traditional IT and internet technologies, while controlling for differences in firm attributes (size, age, industry affiliation, and strategic focus).

Practical implications

Small firm owners are well advised to seek ways of improving their knowledge of IT, integrating IT use in firm‐level business planning, as well as reexamining their business strategy and IT use to detect and correct misalignments, if any.

Originality/value

From the resource‐based view, the owner's IT knowledge is a critical resource that cannot be easily codified, hence less susceptible to competitive erosion, since it is embedded in the owner's tacit knowledge and expressed in the unique but complementary use of IT in support of the firm's strategic goals. This study confirmed small firm owner's knowledge of IT as an important, knowledge‐based capability and a vital component of business‐IT strategic alignment.
Business sustainability: empirical evidence on operational skills in SMEs in South Africa
Authors: Urban Boris , Naidoo Reggie
Published: February 2012

Purpose

Activities in the manufacturing sector are often considered the bedrock of an economy and a key driver of growth and development. Within the South African manufacturing sector, operations skills are reported to be deficient and are often cited as a main cause of failure in small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs). This study aims to explore and test this fragile relationship between operations skills and SMME sustainability. It also aims to conduct empirical investigations in a high density SMME manufacturing environment.

Design/methodology/approach

Building on previously established literature on SMME sustainability and operations skills, various measures are developed and tested for reliability and validity. Factor analysis is used to identify relevant factors in terms of operations skills. Correlational analysis is then employed to test the hypothesized relationship. The study is cross‐sectional in design and relies on trained fieldworkers administering surveys to a diverse set of SMMEs.

Findings

Five clear factors for operations skills are identified which further show links with business sustainability. The hypothesis is supported where significant correlations reveal that several operations skills are positively associated with sustainability.

Practical implications

SMME owners, educators and service providers can all benefit from the study's findings by the increased awareness on the nature and associations that operational skills have on developing sustainable SMMEs.

Originality/value

The study focused on a neglected area of SMMEs – the importance of operations towards business sustainability, and has made a contribution towards theory development through empirical explorations. This is a first in South Africa where an instrument measuring operations skills has been validated and associated with SMME sustainability in a manufacturing context.
A comparative study of recruitment and training practices between small and large businesses in an emerging market economy
Authors: Greenidge Dion , Alleyne Philmore , Parris Brian , Grant Sandra
Published: February 2012

Purpose

This study seeks to determine differences between recruitment processes and methods and training practices used in small and large businesses in the retailing, manufacturing, and tourism sectors in an emerging economy, Barbados.

Design/methodology/approach

The research utilized a quantitative survey covering 49 retailing, manufacturing and tourism‐oriented organizations to ascertain whether small organizations practice the procedures and methods outlined in the prescriptive literature on recruitment and training compared with large organizations. Institutional theory and resource‐based view informed the research.

Findings

It was found that recruitment processes and methods and training practices vary among small and large organizations. It suggests that, in Barbados, small businesses are likely to rely on informal recruitment methods and informal training practices compared with large businesses.

Research limitations/implications

This study is only conducted across the retailing, manufacturing and tourism sectors in Barbados. The findings may have implications for management in other sectors, and small and large businesses in emerging economies.

Practical implications

The results provide academics and managers in both large and small businesses with insights into recruitment and training practices in small and large businesses in an emerging economy.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the limited research done on recruitment and training activities among small‐sized and large‐sized firms in the English‐speaking Caribbean.
The pros and cons of Microsoft Academic Search from a bibliometric perspective
Authors: Jacsó Péter
Published: February 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to look at the pros and cons of Microsoft Academic Search (MAS) from a bibliometric perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper describes the major content and software features of MAS, and its shortcomings.

Findings

The paper recommends some further enhancements, and the use of care and caution when interpreting the metrics produced by cited reference enhanced databases, especially those created on the basis of the idea of autonomous citation indexing.

Originality/value

The paper reveals pros and cons of MAS. A free bibliometric service is a project of great interest to those interested in metrics‐based research performance evaluation.
The non‐monotonic governance effects of large shareholdings in Chinese listed companies: an overinvestment perspective
Authors: Luo Jin‐hui , Wan Di‐fang
Published: February 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of large shareholdings from the agency problem perspective of overinvestment, and re‐test the role of board independence in the context of concentrated ownership.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a five‐year panel data of Chinese non‐financial listed companies between 2001 and 2005, the paper estimates both a fixed‐effects model and a random‐effects model.

Findings

The paper finds evidence of a significant non‐monotonic relationship between large shareholdings and firm level overinvestment. It also finds that state‐owned firms and firms with more independent directors experience lower level of overinvestment. However, firms with more frequent meetings experience a higher level of overinvestment.

Research limitations/implications

The paper's findings indicate that concentrated ownership is not always a bad thing. The crux of the matter is how to induce large shareholders' incentive to monitor managers' opportunistic behaviors and restrict their motivation to expropriate minority shareholders.

Practical implications

In the context of concentrated ownership, the key to improve corporate governance is to strengthen board independence.

Originality/value

The paper provides useful information on non‐monotonic governance effects of large shareholdings in Chinese listed companies and overinvestment.
UK audit committees and the Revised Code
Authors: Avison Lynn , Cowton Christopher J.
Published: February 2012

Purpose

The audit committee is one of the most prominent board sub‐committees, having a potentially important role to play in ensuring sound corporate governance. This paper aims to examine and discuss the behaviour of companies following revisions to the UK's Revised Code.

Design/methodology/approach

A variety of annual report data from a sample of 50 UK companies, stratified according to size, is collected and analysed.

Findings

General compliance with many provisions of the Revised Code was found. All but one company had an audit committee comprising solely non‐executive directors. However, in about a quarter of cases the chairman was a member, and in some cases directors were not “independent” according to the Code's definition. Nevertheless, many companies exceeded the minimum stipulated requirements, for example the number of non‐executive directors on the audit committee or the number of meetings held. Some companies, though, did not follow recommended practice, particularly regarding the disclosure of information, and some explanations for non‐compliance were weak.

Research limitations/implications

Compliance with disclosure demands regarding audit committees could be improved, as could the quality of explanations when the recommendations of the Code are not followed. It would be sensible for regulators to monitor this, provide more detailed guidance and highlight examples of good practice. Given the resistance of many companies to corporate governance regulation and accusations of “box ticking”, future research should probe why many companies do more than is required or recommended. The research should be repeated when further revisions to the Code are made in respect of audit committees, and practice in countries other than the UK should be researched to provide comparative insights.

Originality/value

This paper provides useful information on the behaviour of companies following revisions to the UK's Revised Code.
Shareholder wealth reaction to officer leave of absence announcements
Authors: Ouyang Bo , Picou Armand , Elzweig Brian
Published: February 2012

Purpose

This paper seeks to explore empirically the shareholder reactions to an officer leave of absence (OLOA) announcement.

Design/methodology/approach

A standard event study methodology is applied to daily stock holding period returns. The sample studied consists of 104 firms announcing an OLOA and is further delineated by both reasons offered and the title of the officers in the event. A cross‐sectional analysis is used to study the reactions found.

Findings

The paper documents a statistically significant negative response from shareholders: a 4.9 percent mean loss across 104 firms in the sample. Cross‐sectional results indicate that board independence and the passage of the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) influence abnormal returns.

Practical implications

The evidence in this study clearly suggests the value‐relevance of the OLOA announcements. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the impact of OLOA announcements on firm value is important to investors.

Originality/value

Event studies of management turnover primarily focus on the event of formal executive turnover per se and largely ignore events of temporary turnovers. This paper examines market response to OLOA (a corporate event that may precede permanent management turnover). It uncovers varied significant market reactions. Some insignificant results in prior event studies may be partially explained by information released through preceding events of temporary turnovers.
CSR norms and organizational learning in the mining sector
Authors: Dashwood Hevina S.
Published: February 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an explanation for the global influences and dynamics that have led major mining companies to adopt corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies, and frame them in terms of sustainable development. Bad reputations stemming from environmental disasters and social disharmony led mining multinationals to adopt CSR policies and improve their practices. Rationalist expectations about what is driving firm responses to external pressures are a necessary, but insufficient, explanation of how and why mining companies have sought to improve their reputations. Three elements are necessary to explain firm responses, including strategic adaptation to external pressures, learning processes associated with CSR, and internalization of sustainable development norms, understood as standards of appropriate behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a multidisciplinary theoretical framework for explaining the adoption of CSR policies and practices on the part of mining companies, and applies that framework to case studies of two major mining companies with global operations.

Findings

An account of learning processes and norms socialization as they relate to CSR provide a more comprehensive explanation of how and why mining companies adopt CSR policies. Incorporation of these elements provides a better explanation of why mining companies began to frame their CSR policies in terms of the global norm of sustainable development.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the theoretical understanding of how and why firms adapt to changing societal expectations about appropriate corporate behavior by integrating two sets of literatures; constructivism from international relations theory, and learning from organization theory.
Risk mitigation strategies for guaranteed maximum price and target cost contracts in construction
Authors: Chan Joseph H.L. , Chan Daniel W.M. , Chan Albert P.C. , Lam Patrick T.I.
Published: February 2012

Purpose

There is a lack of empirical research on risk mitigation strategies for those construction projects procured by guaranteed maximum price contracts (GMP) and target cost contracts (TCC). The paper aims to identify and analyse the risk mitigation strategies for GMP/TCC construction projects from the Hong Kong perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 94 industrial practitioners with both sound knowledge and abundant hands‐on experience of the GMP/TCC methodology participated in an industry‐wide empirical questionnaire survey to indicate their levels of agreement on those 18 risk mitigation strategies identified from reported literature and in‐depth interviews which were later analysed by factor analysis.

Findings

The results of factor analysis revealed that the 18 individual risk mitigation strategies can be consolidated into seven underlying grouped factors: relational contracting and mutual trust; clear contract provisions and well‐defined scope of works; involvement of contractor in decision making process; right selection of project team; third party review of project design at tender stage; standard contract clauses for GMP/TCC schemes; and fair treatment of contractor.

Research limitations/implications

Although both GMP/TCC contracts have been increasingly popular in the construction market of Hong Kong, not all of these projects have been equally successful and some of them have been exposed to very high risks or uneven allocation of risks. A detailed analysis and an implementation of recommended effective risk mitigation strategies are essential to the success of GMP/TCC schemes.

Originality/value

The research findings of this study are expected to help the decision makers to generate useful insights into risk mitigation strategies when administering GMP/TCC contracts at an early stage of project delivery and lay a solid foundation for further research on GMP/TCC in both local and international contexts.
Factors contributing to successful public private partnership projects
Authors: Cheung Esther , Chan Albert P.C. , Kajewski Stephen
Published: February 2012

Purpose

With the increasing interest in public private partnership (PPP), there is a need to investigate the factors contributing to successful delivery of PPP projects. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the perceptions of respondents from Hong Kong, Australia and the UK on the importance of 18 such factors.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical questionnaire survey was conducted in Hong Kong and Australia. The survey respondents were asked to rate 18 factors which contribute to delivering successful PPP projects.

Findings

The findings from this survey were further compared with the results achieved by a previous researcher in a similar survey conducted in the UK. The comparison showed that amongst the top five success factors ranked by Hong Kong respondents, three were also ranked highly by the Australians and British. These success factors included: “Commitment and responsibility of public and private sectors”; “Strong and good private consortium”; and “Appropriate risk allocation and risk sharing”. Therefore, it can be concluded that there are certain common critical success factors for conducting PPP projects, irrespective of the geographical locations.

Originality/value

The findings presented in this paper have highlighted the most significant critical success factors which may be applicable to all jurisdictions, and also those which are specifically for Hong Kong and Australia. It is believed that the participants of future PPP projects can use these findings to maximize the success of conducting similar projects.
Developing a heat stress model for construction workers
Authors: Chan Albert P.C. , Yam Michael C.H. , Chung Joanne W.Y. , Yi Wen
Published: February 2012

Purpose

Heat stress, having caused preventable and lamentable deaths, is hazardous to construction workers in the hot and humid summers of Hong Kong. The purpose of this paper is to develop a heat stress model, based on the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index.

Design/methodology/approach

Field studies were conducted during the summer time in Hong Kong (July to September 2010). Based upon 281 sets of synchronized meteorological and physiological data collected from construction workers in four different construction sites between July and September 2010, physiological, work‐related, environmental and personal parameters were measured to construct and verify the heat stress model.

Findings

It is found that drinking habit, age and work duration are the top three significant predictors to determine construction workers' physiological responses. Other predictors include percentage of body fat, resting heart rate, air pollution index, WBGT, smoking habit, energy consumption, and respiratory exchange rate. The accuracy of the model is verified against data which have not been used in developing the model. The accuracy of the heat stress model is found to be statistically acceptable (Mean Absolute Percentage Error=5.6 percent, Theil's U inequality coefficients=0.003).

Practical implications

Based on these findings, appropriate work‐rest pattern can be designed to safeguard the well being of workers when working in a hot and humid environment.

Originality/value

The model reported in this paper provides a more scientific and reliable prediction of the reality which may benefit the industry to produce solid guidelines for working in hot weather.
Do CEO compensation incentives affect firm innovation?
Authors: Sheikh Shahbaz
Published: February 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine if the structure and design of CEO compensation has any effect on firm innovation. It further investigates the effectiveness of each component of portfolio of compensation incentives in encouraging innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses systems of simultaneous equations to model the interdependence between compensation incentives and measures of firm innovation.

Findings

Results indicate that the pay‐performance sensitivity of the CEO portfolio of compensation incentives is positively related to investment in R&D expenditures, number of patents and citations. Options in general are more effective than stocks. However, within the options portfolio, recently awarded and unvested options are more effective than previously awarded and vested options. Restricted stock is more effective than unrestricted stock.

Research limitations/implications

Measuring innovation output is difficult as innovation could take different forms, including business model innovation, which does not appear in the patent data.

Practical implications

Stock options encourage investment in value‐increasing innovations and should remain a significant part of managerial compensation. If the firm awards stock, it should only award restricted stock.

Originality/value

This study uses comprehensive measures of compensation incentives and firm innovation. It views incentives as a portfolio of stock and options and uses incentives in their entirety. It examines the effectiveness of each component of the portfolio in encouraging innovation. It measures innovation as investment into the innovation process (R&D expenditures) and the resulting success of that investment (patents and citations).
Option grants and investor reaction to restatement‐induced litigation
Authors: Amoah Nana Y.
Published: February 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between CEO option grants at the beginning of the class period (BCP) and investor reaction to announcement of restatement‐induced securities litigation.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a restatement‐induced lawsuit sample over the period 1997‐2005, this study performs cross‐sectional linear regressions of three‐day litigation announcement cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) on CEO option grants, cash compensation, corporate governance and control variables. CARs are calculated over the three‐day (−1,1) interval relative to the lawsuit announcement date using a single‐factor market model, the CRSP equally‐weighted market index, and a 255‐day estimation period ending 45 days prior to the announcement.

Findings

A negative association is reported between CEO option grants and investor reaction around restatement‐induced lawsuit announcement.

Research limitations/implications

It is possible that some restatements may have triggered a securities lawsuit but because it was not explicitly stated, they were not included in the restatement‐induced lawsuit sample. Another limitation of the study is that the qualitative aspects of the internal corporate governance variables may not have been sufficiently captured in the analyses.

Originality/value

The reported result suggests that the market considers CEO option grants as an indication that a restatement‐induced securities lawsuit has merit. The finding also implies that although CEO option grants may not be exercised during the class period, the market imposes higher penalties on firms that offer higher equity compensation to their CEOs at the beginning of the class period.