bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
France's new economic regulations: insights from institutional legitimacy theory
Authors: Chelli Mohamed , Durocher Sylvain , Richard Jacques
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The paper seeks to adopt an institutional view of legitimacy to examine how a sample of French companies reacted to the introduction of the “New Economic Regulations” in French law in 2001 requiring that publicly listed companies disclose environmental information.

Design/methodology/approach

– The approach used in the paper is both quantitative and qualitative. A content analysis of environmental disclosure provided in annual reports, environmental reports and web sites by 26 French companies listed in the CAC 40 is performed throughout the period 2001-2011.

Findings

– The findings of this study show a significant and enduring improvement in the quality and quantity of environmental disclosure from 2001 to 2011. Even in the absence of penalties for non-compliance, the NRE law stimulated a stark and positive lasting change in the way that French companies account for their environmental information. These findings are consistent with the institutional view of legitimacy theory whereby legislation provides corporate managers with a representation of relevant audiences' perceptions about social and environmental reporting, prompting them to comply with the law to ensure organizational legitimacy.

Originality/value

– Social and environmental reporting studies generally adopt a strategic view of legitimacy to examine how organizations use social and environmental reporting to respond strategically to legitimacy threats. This study provides early empirical evidence about the relevance of institutional legitimacy theory in explaining environmental reporting.
Management, accounting and philosophy
Authors: Takeda Hiroshi , Boyns Trevor
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of the “Kyocera approach” to business, i.e. the relationship between the Kyocera philosophy, the amoeba management system (AMS) and the associated management accounting system.

Design/methodology/approach

– Utilising a variety of secondary sources, including semi-autobiographical works written by Inamori, the architect of AMS, the authors examine in detail the links between the underlying Kyocera philosophy and the management and accounting principles derived therefrom. These sources are used to examine the historical origins of these principles, their influence on both the AMS and the management accounting system, and how these have developed over time.

Findings

– Both the AMS and the associated management accounting system can be shown to contain a mixture of influences, including traditional Asian/Japanese factors, but also Inamori/Kyocera-specific factors linked to Inamori's underlying philosophical approach to life and specific life experiences encountered by him. This suggests that while the Kyocera approach may be applicable more widely in Japan or Asia, outside of this context, the conflicts between Western and Asian cultures, although not necessarily insurmountable, may provide barriers leading to incomplete applications of the Kyocera approach

Originality/value

– This study adds to the understanding of the interrelationship between management philosophy and management accounting practices, and the ability of individuals to determine culture within organisations. It illustrates the importance of historical research in obtaining a detailed understanding of the philosophical, cultural and religious underpinnings of current management and accounting practices.
Matching physicians to newly arrived refugees in a context of physician shortage: innovation through advocacy
Authors: Brunger Fern , S. Duke Pauline , Kenny Robyn
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– Access to a continuum of care from a family physician is an essential component of health and wellbeing. Refugees have particular barriers to accessing medical care. The MUN MED Gateway Project is a medical student initiative in partnership with a refugee settlement agency that provides access to and continuity of health care for new refugees, while offering medical students exposure to cross-cultural health care. This paper aims to report on the first six years of the project.

Design/methodology/approach

– Here the paper reports on: client patient uptake and demographics, health concerns identified through the project, and physician uptake and rates of patient-physician matches.

Findings

– Results demonstrate that the project integrates refugees into the health care system and facilitates access to medical care. Moreover, it provides learning opportunities for students to practice cross-cultural health care, with high engagement of medical students and high satisfaction by family physicians involved.

Originality/value

– Research has shown that student run medical clinics may provide less than optimum care to marginalized patients. Transient staff, lack of continuity of care, and limited budgets are some challenges. The MUN MED Gateway Project is markedly different. It connects patients with the mainstream medical system. In a context of family physician shortage, this student-run clinic project provides access to medical care for newly arrived refugees in a way that is effective, efficient, and sustainable.
The negative consequences of culture change management
Authors: Wankhade Paresh , Brinkman John
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyse the culture change management programme in one UK NHS ambulance service, documenting various perverse consequences of the change management and suggest further research implications.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper reviews the literature on “culture” and “culture change” and identifies several perverse consequences of a culture change management programme through an in-depth case study analysis, based on interviews with trust staff and policy experts along with non-participant observation. Study was given ethical approval by the local NHS research ethics committee.

Findings

– Significant negative consequences of the culture change management programme in the ambulance service are systematically documented. The paper argues that any worthwhile study of organisational culture change management must take into account the perverse consequences of such a process and its overall impact on employees.

Research limitations/implications

– These findings come from detailed investigation from only one large ambulance trust in the UK. However they have significant implications for the organisational “culture-performance” debate.

Practical implications

– The paper draws out several policy and practice implications from this empirical study. Any meaningful evaluation of culture change initiatives should be seen not only in relation to success in achieving planned objectives, but also by keeping in mind negative consequences of culture change programmes.

Originality/value

– This paper makes an original contribution in identifying and systematically documenting the disjuncture between stated and unintended consequences of ambulance culture change management programme, which will be of value to academics, practitioners and policy makers including theory building.
Reflections on the PING! table tennis initiative
Authors: Mackintosh Chris , Cookson Graham , Griggs Gerald
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to establish the impact and effectiveness of the national PING! project implemented by a national governing body of sport (NGB) and key public sector partners in England. It establishes lessons learnt and areas to improve future programme development in this area of public sports management. In addition it is also evidencing a new approach to engaging with physical activity and sports development in local communities.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research study is based on a user survey with 375 respondents and two qualitative ethnographic case studies in two of the eight cities that were involved in the programme. These case studies encompassed 30 individual or group interviews, informal observations and site visits across the two cities.

Findings

– The research project has identified some of the key factors that lie behind the positive outcomes of the scheme, including a strong sense of participant community, diverse participant profiles, a hidden workplace impact and building an entry point for non-engaged sports participants to sport and physical activity. In addition, lessons have been learnt in terms of future programme management, design and development in this field of informal and recreational sports project. These include strengthening opportunities for sustainable continued participation, sharing information with other NGBs that are beginning to work in this style of delivery and building alternative pathways to the traditional club as an outlet' for novice participants.

Research limitations/implications

– The study is based in England and is limited to a one year research project. The qualitative case studies were also only conducted in two of the main partner cities.

Originality/value

– Very few empirical studies have examined this growing trend towards informal table tennis programmes and facilities. Likewise the paper also offers a novel evaluation approach for NGBs to gain richer more insightful depth of research lessons. It is also part of the growing literature that is questioning the foundations of “traditional sports development” practice and its associated sphere of public sector activity.
Delivery networks and community sport in England
Authors: Harris Spencer , Houlihan Barrie
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The paper aims to utilise Adam and Kriesi's network approach to policy analysis to examine the range of exogenous factors that affect interactions in the community sport policy process from a local authority perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research is based upon two case studies. Each case study involved semi-structured interviews with three local authority middle/senior managers, three senior County Sport Partnership (CSP) representatives, and eight regional/county national governing bodies of sport (NGB) representatives.

Findings

– While the two cases exhibit distinctive socio-economic and structural profiles they provide valuable evidence regarding the operation of the network of partners involved in community sport and also illustrate the utility of Adam and Kriesi's analytical framework. In relation to Adam and Kriesi's power/interaction model both cases illustrate the fragmentation of power at the community level although interaction in one case exhibits a pattern best characterised as “competition” whereas interaction in the other is more closely associated with “horizontal cooperation”.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper highlights the need for improved theorisation of partnership arrangements in community sport, in particular: examining the relationship between issues such as resources, organisational capacity, and traditional involvement in sport development and attitudes toward the community sport policy process; linked to this, mapping the causal relationships in partnerships, i.e. what factors lead to what actions or behaviours; and investigating the utility of various strategies in developing a more cohesive and effective sub-regional policy system.

Originality/value

– Local authority perspectives of community sport policy is an under-researched topic. It is timely to study these perspectives due to the refreshed community sport policy for 2013-2017, the traditional status of local government as the major funder of community sport, and the public sector budget reductions and reported implications for non-statutory services, such as community sport
A development curse: formal vs informal activities in resource-dependent economies
Authors: Papyrakis Elissaios
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The paper aims to examine the coexistence of formal and informal resource sectors in resource-dependent economies, whose production depends on an exhaustible (e.g. minerals) and a renewable resource stock (e.g. forest), respectively. It then examines the implications of declining mineral stocks on public revenues, labour movements between sectors, and economic growth in an attempt to elucidate the poor economic performance of many mineral-dependent countries.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper presents a theoretical model that describes the coexistence of a formal and informal resource-dependent sector, where individuals can direct their work effort. It then assesses how declining mineral stocks influence labour mobility across sectors and environmental degradation.

Findings

– Decreasing mineral stocks induce a relocation of labour towards informal production and deprive local authorities from public revenues collected within the formal economy. This constrains the ability to improve infrastructure and welfare over time and simultaneously imposes pressure on the local environment.

Originality/value

– The paper provides a novel theoretical mechanism that attempts to elucidate the “resource curse”, i.e. the poor economic performance of many mineral-rich economies. It purposely explores the implications of a coexistence of formal and informal resource activities on economic development for resource-dependent economies, in order to obtain new insights into this direction.
Guyanese remittance motivations: altruistic?
Authors: Depoo Tilokie
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to examine the remittance behavior of Guyanese immigrants living in three communities of New York City, USA to assess their remittance behavior and if these are motivated by altruism or the intent to return to live in Guyana. Over the last two decades, remittances accounted for approximately 17 percent of the GDP of the Guyanese economy and continue to grow. The bulk of these remittances are significant from its native sons and daughters residing in the USA.

Design/methodology/approach

– This case study uses non-experimental survey research design with survey data collected from 300 participants living in New York, with 236 selected for analysis.

Findings

– Guyanese living in New York City remit monies to Guyana because of a pure altruistic motive as well as believing that their contributions have a positive impact on the economic development of their nations regardless of their intention to return to Guyana. These findings support the altruistic model on remittance motivation.

Research limitations/implications

– The data gathered for this survey are restricted to three communities in the USA where Guyanese are significant in numbers, thus limiting generalizations and findings to other countries such as Canada, England, where there are significant enclaves of Guyanese immigrants.

Practical implications

– New York-based Guyanese deem their remittances as contributing to the economic development of their country. This suggest that there may room for a coordinated policy on the part of the Government of Guyana to develop a coordinated plan to engage overseas-based Guyanese to remit more to help with Guyana economic development efforts.

Originality/value

– This is the first study to survey Guyanese in their host countries to gather information on remittances motivation and the perceived impact of these remittances from the sender's perspective. The paper highlights the significant remittance contributions of US-based Guyanese and their net private flows to Guyana.
Understanding teacher entrepreneurship in the globalized society
Authors: Oplatka Izhar
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– Social entrepreneurship aims at creating social value for the public good rather than personal wealth or private gain as in the case of commercial entrepreneurship. The purpose of this study was to explore the entrepreneurial activities of self-starter teachers and analyze the factors that facilitate or inhibit the appearance of these activities using the concept of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) that are neither part of the formal reward system nor a part of an employee's mandatory job description.

Design/methodology/approach

– Semi-structured interviews with 30 teachers and ten principals from the Israeli elementary and secondary educational system.

Findings

– It was found that self-starter teachers engage in simple forms of innovative work behaviors (e.g. developing new curricula and teaching methods, initiating and implementing new projects, including school events). Additionally, the teacher's decision to go the extra-mile and initiate new projects or devise new curricula is related, though, to four major determinants, two of them external (e.g. the principal, the local education authority) and two internal (personal experiences, educational calling and emotional commitment).

Originality/value

– The paper sheds light on educational entrepreneurship through the concept of OCB.
The changing nature of advertisements inThe Freeman's Journal: a case study, 1763-1924
Authors: McCarthy Mary
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The aim of this paper is to examine the nature of newspaper advertisements published in the Irish newspaperThe Freeman's Journal. This is approached by examining the construction of a selection of printed advertisements, including the strategies used in each, which appeared inThe Freeman's Journalbetween 1763 and 1924.

Design/methodology/approach

– The central primary source used isThe Freeman's Journaland the selected advertisements. A number of primary and secondary sources are employed in the analysis of the featured advertisements in respect to the format, language and marketing strategies used in each.

Findings

– The case study finds that there were a number of constants in the advertisements examined, as well as a number of advertising strategies employed from the eighteenth century onward, that have more commonly been associated with the 1918 to 1939 interwar period. It also found that the use of illustrations did not solely depend on twentieth century printing advances, but that printing developments did much to expand and progress advertising in Ireland.

Originality/value

– This case study explores a little researched area in Irish advertising history.
Gendering the Victorian Irish child reader as buyer
Authors: Clark Lauren
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The aim of this paper is to examine the role of children in an emergent Irish consumer culture and advertising from 1848-1921. In particular, the significance of children's gender and reading materials in the process of consumption will be evaluated.

Design/methodology/approach

– An analysis of primary sources, literature and secondary sources substantiates this research.

Findings

– By evaluating advertisements, magazines, school textbooks and children's literature from the 1848-1921 period, this article argues that Irish children were encouraged to engage with an emergent consumer culture through reading. This article also evaluates the importance of gender in considering children as consumers and it focuses upon a number of critically neglected Victorian, Irish, female authors who discussed the interface between advertising, consumption and the Irish child.

Originality/value

– This article is an original contribution to new areas of research about Irish consumerism and advertising history. Substantial archival research has been carried out which appraises the historical significance of advertisements, ephemera and critically neglected children's fiction.
Technology outsourcing in human resource activities in hospitality
Authors: J. Norman Thomas , Christodoulidou Natasa , Rothenberger Marcus
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– Human resource technologies in the hospitality industry are a means by which an organization can gain competitive advantage technologically. The technology-oriented human capital embedded in an organization's human resources is a source of sustainable competitive advantage in an industry that is heavily dependent on people and makes it unique and inimitable. This study uses data collected on 34 different practices to provide a snapshot of current practices in the hospitality sector, which can be used to benchmark individual technology operations against the current norms. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper uses survey data collected from dozens of managers working in the hospitality sector on the level of outsourcing of 34 different HRM practices to provide a snapshot of current practices in the hospitality sector.

Findings

– Starting with the theoretical predictions of total cost of ownership and transaction cost analysis, multiple regression models are used to test whether or not human resource outsourcing (HRO) technology-related activities in hospitality are associated with negative outcomes, such as higher voluntary turnover of good employees.

Research limitations/implications

– This is one of the first articles to explore HRO technology in the hospitality sector and the findings suggest that what an organization outsources matters.

Practical implications

– These results can be used by hospitality managers to benchmark their operations against the current HRO technology norms.

Originality/value

– It is expected that the type of HR technology-related activities outsourced in hospitality will affect how employees and employers view and react to HRO in hospitality.
An empirical examination of guests' adoption of interactive mobile technologies in hotels
Authors: Wendy Zhu Wenyue , Morosan Cristian
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– Interactive mobile technologies (IMT) offered to hotel guests during their stay represent an interesting development in consumer technologies in the hotel industry. Such technologies are designed to facilitate transactions and enhance the quality of guest experience. This research explains how hotel guests develop attitudes and intentions to use IMT in hotels. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using data from students enrolled in a large hospitality program located in the Southwestern USA, the study validates a variant of the technology acceptance model, extended with constructs such as cognitive absorption and security that capture better the context of IMT in hotels.

Findings

– The conceptual model explained a large part of variability in intentions to use IMT. Among several predictors, cognitive absorption was the stronger predictor of attitudes. The analysis also revealed the dimensions of cognitive absorption as a second-order factor in the context of mobile commerce in the hotel industry.

Research limitations/implications

– This research offers a number of notable theoretical contributions. First, it provides an unique perspective on adoption of immersive technologies that enhance the experiential value of the hotel stay. Second, it revisits and validates the multidimensional construct of cognitive absorption. Finally, it ascertains the roles of cognitive absorption, playfulness, and security in the adoption of IMT.

Practical implications

– This research provides specific suggestions to integrate IMT in hotels based on system characteristics and users’ perceptions.

Originality/value

– To date, the research examining the immersive aspects of technology is scant. This research provides a novel platform for the systematic examination of the adoption of immersive technologies as they mediate the experiences in hotel service settings.
Perceptions of innovativeness among Iranian hotel managers
Authors: Tajeddini Kayhan , Trueman Myfanwy
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– Despite the undisputed importance of organizational innovation and decades of academic research on the subject, there is surprisingly little agreement on what innovativeness is or how to achieve successful innovation in practice. Furthermore, the difference between the theory and practice is often interpreted in anad hocmanner, which limits the potential for innovation to provide a competitive advantage. This research aims to explore perceptions of innovativeness from the perspective of senior managers in the hotel industry from a sample of 11 high-class hotels located in the developing country of Iran.

Design/methodology/approach

– A stratified purposeful sampling method will be employed, in which in-depth interviews with top managers and owners will be carried out over a five-month period. Meaning units (MUs) will be extracted, which are compared and discussed with the interviewees until a basic agreement of terms can be made.

Findings

– The findings relate to themes such as Leavitt's diamond of task, structure, people and technology, with technology featuring quite strongly in a number of responses. It reflects how top managers and owners perceive that innovativeness can gain a competitive advantage by differentiating one hotel from another; and the role of national culture in developing that advantage. There are implications that a strong relationship with government and local business stakeholders could underpin innovativeness at local and regional level.

Originality/value

– This research provides a valuable contribution to the understanding of some important drivers of innovativeness in the context of the hotel industry in a developing country.
Application of precautionary principle in international trade law and international environmental law
Authors: Haseeb Ansari Abdul , Wartini Sri
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of writing this paper is to present a comparative but critical assessment of the applicability of the precautionary principle (PP) under the SPS Agreement, which is a part of the WTO regime by implication, and under the Cartagena Protocol, which has been made under the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper presents an analytical exposition of both the sets of laws, trade law and environmental law. The methodology adopted is library based. The approach is to bring about an amicable co-existence of both the laws so that they could serve the dual purpose, i.e. promotion of trade and protection of “human, animal and plant life and health” and conservation of the environment.

Findings

– The DSB of the WTO should give due importance to the PP and should apply it liberally, keeping also in view the environmental aspects, so that along with free trade human, animal and plant health and life, and conservation of the environment are also protected.

Practical implications

– It will change the present paradigm and will bring both the sets of laws together.

Originality/value

– It focuses on the life and heath of poor people around the world. It, thus, pleads for application of strong PP.
Emissions trading and the GATS financial services provisions
Authors: Jane Deane Felicity
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to determine whether greenhouse gas (GHG) tradeable instruments will be classified as financial products within the scope of the World Trade Organization (WTO) law and to explore the implications of this finding.

Design/methodology/approach

– This purpose is achieved through examination of the units of the Australian carbon pricing mechanism (the CPM), namely eligible emissions units. These units are analysed through the lens of the definition of financial products provided in the General Agreement for Trade in Services (the GATS).

Findings

– This paper finds that eligible emissions units will be classified as financial instruments, and therefore the provisions that govern their trade will be regulated by the GATS. Considering this, this paper explores the limitations that are introduced by the Australian legislation on the trade of eligible emissions units.

Research limitations/implications

– This paper is limited in its analysis to the Australian CPM. In order to draw conclusions on the issues raised by this analysis, it is necessary to consider the WTO requirements against an operating emissions trading scheme. The Australian CPM presents a contemporary model of an appropriate scheme.

Originality/value

– The findings in this paper are crucial in a GHG-constrained society. This is because emissions trading schemes (ETSs) are becoming popular measures for pricing GHG emissions, and for this reason the units that are traded and surrendered for emissions liabilities must be classified appropriately on a global scale. Failing to do this could result in differential treatment that may be contrary to the intentions of important global agreements, such as the WTO-covered agreements.
Eighteen shades of grey?
Authors: Wetzel Ralf , Van Gorp Lore
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore, how organization theoretically diverse research on OCR is actually grounded, since insights into the organization theoretical foundations of OCR are completely lacking.

Design/methodology/approach

– A selection of 85 articles on organizational change was made, published in top tier journals in 2010. The authors conducted a reference analysis based on 18 prominent organization theories and their main contributing authors.

Findings

– The findings show firstly a very strong theoretical selectivity, focusing on cognitive, learning, and neo-institutional theories. Other theories are almost fully neglected. Secondly, this analysis suggests that current OCR struggles hard with transforming the cognitive frames of topical OT into fruitful accesses to the own object. The resulting theory application appears as a dissatisfying escape strategy, performed to cover theoretical antagonisms and to avoid a deeper confrontation with the underlying assumptions of OCR.

Research limitations/implications

– The authors are fully aware that the depth of their analysis is worth broadening. A more comparable scope in the amount of the theories, journals, articles, and of the covered time span would help to substantiate their results.

Practical implications

– Pragmatic change approaches rely strongly on organizational change research. If OCR itself is not topical in terms of using available theoretical knowledge, pragmatic approaches fail to stand on solid ground. The paper therefore provides a background for the link between failing empirical change projects and the usage of available scientific knowledge.

Originality/value

– An analysis of the organization theoretical topicality of organizational change research is completely missing. The paper therefore not only contributes to the discovery of a blind spot in organizational studies, it possibly helps to explore the reasons for the high percentage of failing change projects.
A case study on adoptive management innovation in China
Authors: Lin Haifen , Su Jingqin
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to address how management practices successfully implemented somewhere else, namely adoptive management innovation, have been introduced into Chinese firms and then effectively implemented, or to investigate key activities of the generative mechanism through which an adoptive management innovation occurs.

Design/methodology/approach

– Since the purpose of management innovation is to utilize organizational resources more efficiently and further their goals, with little intention to pursue differentiation and without any protection from patent, adoptive management innovation has been prevailing around China and even the whole world. Based on the conception of what makes adoptive management innovation unique, this paper attempts to investigate the case of the Organizational Efficiency Management of Jiangxi Mobile in China to identify key activities of adoptive management innovation and develop a two-interlinked-subprocess framework of adoption decision and implementation, aiming to offer suggestions for firms in adopting new management practices.

Findings

– The results indicate that adoption of existing management practices or methods from somewhere else is a more complex and logical process rather than a simple one of knowledge transferring. It needs to integrate existing practices into new organizational context and establish their innovative value during implementation. One core element of the process framework is the emphasis on activities of problem diagnoses and realization of the fitness between management practices adopted and the new organizational context, and another one is the sequence of activities in the whole process.

Research limitations/implications

– This research is constrained by at least three limitations. First, the authors' findings for the two-subprocess framework of adoptive management innovation need to be further confirmed for more organizations. Second, little attention has been paid to relative advantages of different sequence of activities. Third, when focusing on adoptive management innovation from a process perspective, this research does not address problems such as why some managers pursue innovative opportunities by introducing new practices, how contextual elements, internal elements, and top management teams affect management innovation, or how the performance of adoptive management innovation could be improved in China.

Originality/value

– The findings offer some valuable insights for further research in how to explore the generative mechanism of organizational changes or innovations in China and hold important implications for management practices.
Primary health care services: workplace spirituality and organizational performance
Authors: Faro Albuquerque Isabel , Campos Cunha Rita , Dias Martins Luís , Brito Sá Armando
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The paper aims to study the influence of three dimensions of workplace spirituality (inner life, meaningful work and sense of community) on perceived and objective organizational performance in two primary health care settings: health centres (HCs) and family health units (FHUs), differing in terms of work organization.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data on workplace spirituality and perceived organizational performance were collected from a sample of 266 health care workers (doctors, nurses and administrative staff). Data on objective performance were obtained from the respective regional health authorities. Multiple regression, GLM, and tests of mediation were carried out.

Findings

– In both groups, perceived and objective organizational performance are predicted by sense of community. Additionally, FHUs presented significantly higher values in perceived and objective organizational performance, as well as sense of community and meaningful work. Finally, workplace spirituality and sense of community were found to mediate the relationship between work group and perceived and objective organizational performance.

Research limitations/implications

– The study's limitations include the convenience sample, as well as lack of control for the social desirability effect. Patient satisfaction surveys as well as the inclusion of predictive variables such as leadership should be considered in future studies.

Practical implications

– Primary health care services, and particularly FHUs, revealed the importance of workplace spirituality. Work teams with higher sense of community had higher performance results, which may therefore be an input in policy decisions regarding primary health care.

Originality/value

– This study compared the scores of workplace spirituality and perceived and objective organizational performance in two types of primary health care services, in a setting that approximates the quasi-field experiment. Workplace spirituality emerged as significantly mediating the relationship between work unit type and organizational performance.
Impediments to CSR assurance in an emerging economy
Authors: Darus Faizah , Sawani Yussri , Mohamed Zain Mustaffa , Janggu Tamoi
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– This study explores the factors that impede the growth of the voluntary adoption of independent corporate social responsibilities assurance (CSRA) practices among manufacturing companies in Malaysia. Despite the argument that independent CSRA appraisals would improve the credibility of information disclosed, the majority of CSR reports in Malaysia are still not independently assured. The aim of this study is to understand the factors that impede CSRA practices among public-listed manufacturing companies in Malaysia. The theory of reasoned action was used to underpin arguments on the reluctance of managers to undertake CSRA.

Design/methodology/approach

– Online questionnaire surveys were employed to obtain respondents' perceptions on the factors that hinder CSRA practices. The target respondents comprised of CSR managers, corporate communications executives and customer relations personnel.

Findings

– This study provides evidence that the behavioural reluctance of managers to undertake CSRA was due to their attitudes and subjective norms towards independence assurance. The subjective norms due to the risk towards corporate reputation and the exposure to public scrutiny were the main factors that impede CSRA practices among manufacturing companies in Malaysia. The managers' attitude towards cost, data management systems and the uncertainty of the merits of CSRA were also compelling factors that hinder independent CSRA. These factors seemed to override incentives to provide credible information to stakeholders.

Research limitations/implications

– The findings of the study are limited to the perceptions of CSR managers, corporate communications executives and customer relations personnel responsible for CSR activities of the manufacturing industries in Malaysia. The results of the study suggest that further initiatives or pressure from stakeholders or regulatory authorities may be needed to convince the companies of the benefits of undertaking third-party assurance practices as such actions would provide a platform for the companies to enhance the credibility of their CSR reporting.

Practical implications

– The findings gleaned from this study would be of interest to the relevant corporate bodies and regulatory authorities with a view to formulating strategies to improve CSRA practices among organisations in Malaysia.

Originality/value

– The findings from the study offer initial insights into the impediments to CSRA practices in an emerging economy. It adds substantially to the existing literature that focuses mainly on CSRA practices in developed countries.
The impact of audit reforms on objectivity during the performance of non-audit services
Authors: G. Brody Richard , M. Haynes Christine , G. White Craig
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– This research aims to explore whether recent audit reforms have improved auditor objectivity when performing non-audit services.

Design/methodology/approach

– In two separate experiments, the authors tested whether external and internal auditors' inventory obsolescence judgments are influenced by their client's (or company's) role as the buyer or seller in an acquisition setting.

Findings

– External auditors assessed the likelihood of inventory obsolescence objectively, regardless of their consulting role in the acquisition setting. Internal auditors assessed the likelihood of inventory obsolescence as higher when consulting for the buyer than when consulting for the seller, consistent with the supposition that the buyer would prefer to write-down inventory and negotiate a lower purchase price, whereas the seller would prefer the inventory not be written down.

Practical implications

– From a regulatory perspective, external auditors may be relying too much on the work of internal auditors if internal auditors' lack of objectivity as consultants extends to their assurance role.

Originality/value

– This paper extends prior research in the area of internal and external auditor objectivity and is the first paper to include both subject groups in the same experiment. It also addresses the current policy issues that may have a significant effect on audit quality and auditor liability.
Combining rapid prototyping techniques in mechanical engineering and electronics for realization of a variable capacitor
Authors: Stojanović Goran , Mandić Vesna , Ćurčić Milan , Vasiljević Dragana , Kisić Milica , Radosavljević Nikola
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to present combination of poly-jet technology and ink-jet technology in a multidisciplinary way in order to exploit advantages of these rapid prototyping techniques in manufacturing a demonstrator device – a variable interdigital capacitor.

Design/methodology/approach

– The platform of 3D complex geometry, with optimized design and cavity under the capacitor's fingers (plates), was fabricated using Alaris 3D printer, whereas silver conductive segments were fabricated using Dimatix ink-jet printer and thanks to the mechanical flexibility the platform has been covered using these segments.

Findings

– When one side of the capacitor's structure changes angular position (in the range from 0 to 90°) with reference to the fixed part, the variation in total capacitance is obtained. The total capacitance decreases (in the range from 20.2 to 1.5 pF) with decrease in effective overlapping area for the variation of angular position from 0 to 90° The maximum measured tuning ratio for the proposed design of the variable capacitor was 13.5:1.

Research limitations/implications

– Presented variable capacitor can be used for detection angular position in the range from 0 to 90°.

Practical implications

– The new horizon has been opened combining the rapid prototyping equipment in electronics and mechanical engineering in an interdisciplinary way to manufacture, for the first time, variable capacitor using poly-jet and ink-jet technologies. These techniques do not require higher mask counts which makes the fabrication fast and cost-effective.

Originality/value

– This work, for the first time, demonstrates the combination of ALARIS 30 3D printer and Dimatix DMP-3000 materials deposition printer in order to fabricate the interdigital capacitor with complex 3D geometry. ALARIS 3D printer has been used for manufacturing plastic platform (with the possibility to precisely adjust angular position of one comb related to another) and Dimatix printer has been used to print silver conductive inks on flexible substrates (Kapton film), and this mechanically flexible structure was used to cover capacitor's fingers on the platform (assembly).
Retaining students by embedding librarians into undergraduate research experiences
Authors: A. Knapp Jeffrey , J. Rowland Nicholas , P. Charles Eric
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify an important area for librarians to positively impact student retention.

Design/methodology/approach

– This programmatic and conceptual piece describes how embedding librarians into the growing enterprise of undergraduate research experiences (UREs) lays a framework for a context in which libraries and librarians directly contribute to the retention of undergraduate students.

Findings

– Librarians are capable of directly contributing to the retention of students. While their efforts, it is contended, contribute routinely and to the actual retention of students, it is difficult for their efforts to register in the assessment of retention used by administrators. This discrepancy can be solved if librarians play a more explicit (and quantifiable) role in retaining students.

Research limitations/implications

– UREs are a growing, but generally untapped trend for librarians; however, because UREs generally correlate with academic success and student retention, they offer librarians a useful entry point to contribute to the academic mission of colleges and universities, and in a measurable way.

Practical implications

– Embedded librarianship poses a number of hurdles for its practitioners; however, it also has the potential for libraries and librarians to become more explicitly connected to overall institutional goals and strengthen their positions in the academy more broadly.

Social implications

– Improving the scientific literacy of undergraduate students and aiding them on their path toward graduation is meaningfully enhanced through the embedding of librarians into the college curriculum.

Originality/value

– Systematically embedding librarians into UREs is not strongly represented in the literature.
Support your staff employees: they support the academy
Authors: Samson Sue , Swanson Kimberly
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The aim of this paper was to serve both as an informational tool identifying library services and resources and as a mechanism to gather input from campus staff to inform outreach services.

Design/methodology/approach

– Surveys were distributed to all non-faculty and non-administrative support staff. Questions included direct choice and open-ended responses in four categories: demographics; general library use; information needs; and student interactions.

Findings

– The results confirm that knowledge and awareness of the library can empower staff employees and that support staff are eager to learn about and use library resources and services. The results give guidance to liaison librarians to facilitate an effective outreach program to improve the ability of support staff to do their work and to share information with the students and faculty with whom they come into contact.

Research limitations/implications

– While these survey findings cannot be extrapolated to all academic settings, they build on similar research and authenticate the significance of library outreach to academic support staff.

Practical implications

– Enormous potential exists in adapting these survey findings to expand information literacy programs across the academy.

Originality/value

– Academic support staff are a frequently untapped user group whose information needs are essential to the academy. This case study highlights the value of staff outreach within the context of extending the Library Instruction Program by enhancing the information literacy skills of personnel who are in frequent contact with students and faculty across the campus.
Leadership in organizational practice: closing the knowing-doing gap
Authors: Zheltoukhova Ksenia
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– This article aims to question the narrow focus of the existing approaches to leadership development, and guide organizations to a more systemic perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

– The findings are based on the review of academic literature on the subjects of leadership and management, as well as surveys of 2,069 UK employees (including 806 individuals with managerial responsibilities), 467 HR professionals from the CIPD membership database, 128 senior HR professionals, and 250 senior decision-makers.

Findings

– Although most organizations today provide leadership development activities to their employees, the focus of those activities, and the lack of enabling organizational systems and processes, may inhibit leader behaviors in practice, potentially explaining the lack of leadership and management skills in UK organizations.

Practical implications

– In developing a leadership development strategy that is aligned with business priorities, organizations should consider which segments of the workforce can add value by demonstrating leader behaviors, which aspects of organizational context might act as enablers or barriers to individuals demonstrating those behaviors, and which incentives are in place to stimulate leader behaviors.

Originality/value

– The argument steps away from discussing the construct of “leadership”, assuming that its definitions will vary among organizations, and emphasizes the context in which leaders operate and HR practices as having impact on the effectiveness of leaders.