bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Netflix Leading with Data: The Emergence of Data-Driven Video
Authors: Walker Russell , Jeffery Mark , So Linus , Sriram Sripad , Nathanson Jon , Ferreira Joao , Feldmeier Julia
Published: March 2017

By 2009 Netflix had all but trounced its traditional bricks-and-mortar competitors in the video rental industry. Since its founding in the late 1990s, the company had changed the face of the industry and threatened the existence of such entrenched giants as Blockbuster, in large part because of its easy-to-understand subscription model, policy of no late fees, and use of analytics to leverage customer data to provide a superior customer experience and grow its e-commerce media platform. Netflix's investment in data collection, IT systems, and advanced analytics such as proprietary data mining techniques and algorithms for customer and product matching played a crucial role in both its strategy and success. However, the explosive growth of the digital media market presents a serious challenge for Netflix's business going forward. How will its analytics, customer data, and customer interaction models play a role in the future of the digital media space? Will it be able to stand up to competition from more seasoned players in the digital market, such as Amazon and Apple? What position must Netflix take in order to successfully compete in this digital arena?

To examine the benefits and risks of investment in analytical technology as a means for mining customer data for business insights. Students will develop a strategy position for Netflix's investment in technology and its digital media business. Students must also consider how new corporate partnerships and changes to the customer channel model will allow the company to prosper in the highly competitive digital space.
New York City Audubon Society
Authors: Keating Elizabeth K.
Published: March 2017

The New York Audubon Society (NYCAS), founded in 1979, became the National Audubon's largest chapter, with a city-wide membership of more than 10,000 members. Prior to 1993, NYCAS' services were provided entirely by volunteers working in a committee structure, with the board composed primarily of committee chairmen. The nature of the organization transformed as it grew in size and complexity from focusing on bird conservation to broader environmental advocacy. In 1993, the board undertook a dramatic change and hired an executive director, primarily for fundraising purposes. Discusses fund accounting and nonprofit accounting practices, as well as the NYCAS' experiences dealing with organizational growth, investment management, grant acquisition and use, fundraising, nonprofit status, and financial disclosure.
Northlands Ledger (A): Management Style, Strategy, and Performance
Authors: Dewar Robert
Published: March 2017

Case (A) describes the situation at the Northlands Ledger, a newspaper on its way out of business due in large part to its publisher and editor's focus on what they do and want to keep doing rather than on what their customers (readers and advertisers) want. The value proposition to the reader is that “we deliver the paper reliably and give you the latest national and international news.” The value proposition to the advertisers is that “we print your ads accurately and runs them on time.” Both value propositions are outdated, and, even if they were what the customers wanted—which they are not—neither is executed well. The paper's key performance indicators—circulation, classified ads, and commercial advertising—are all in decline, despite the fact that the community it serves is growing. The senior management of the Paulus chain that owns this paper has forced the publisher, Allison, to retire and brought another publisher, Potter, in from one of its other papers, The Sun Belt City Star, where Potter was highly successful. However, he cannot simply transfer his success formula from the Star to the Ledger. Case (B) details his efforts and may be used as a classic example of good change management and leadership practices. Potter established a clear cut set of objectives, formulated a new strategy of responsiveness to readers and advertisers more in line with finding out why they hired the paper in the first place. To implement his new strategy he terminated senior managers and others who he did not feel could contribute to the new paper, and made significant changes in key dimensions of implementation: culture, structure, information and decision support systems, incentives and human resources. Throughout he used a mix of both authoritative and participative change management—a mix that may provoke an interesting class discussion.

Provide a realistic example of leading and managing change with successful transformation of a previously failing company while simultaneously illustrating key dimensions of implementation of strategy.
PageWell 2.0: Using Customer Research for Product Development
Authors: Sawhney Mohanbir , Goodman Pallavi
Published: March 2017

PageWell, an e-reading platform provider, was preparing to launch PageWell 2.0 to the larger full-time MBA student market after a successful trial of PageWell 1.0 in Executive MBA (EMBA) classes at the Kellogg School of Management. Research had shown that full-time MBA students would be very interested in using products that allowed electronic access to course materials everywhere and across many platforms and that allowed electronic note-taking and storage. To better understand this user group, PageWell conducted a market research survey of students, faculty, and administrators to gauge their needs, preferences, and potential interest in the PageWell product. The study revealed that MBA student usage patterns, scenarios, and behavior varied significantly from EMBA student needs and perceptions. PageWell now had the task of prioritizing the product requirements and recalibrating the market requirements document to more accurately reflect student needs and thus create a viable product

After students have analyzed the case, they will be able to:

Use customer feedback to help define requirements for a new product

Understand the role of personas and scenarios in defining requirements

Understand how to use scenarios and scenario templates to derive scenario implementation requirements

Understand how to prioritize scenarios based on customer, company, and competitive criteria

Write a market requirements document for a next-version technology produc
Pedigree Growth Strategy (B)
Authors: Calkins Tim , Deming Ann
Published: March 2017

Supplements the (A) case.
Pepita Disco PPM: Margins and Elasticity
Authors: Hennessy Julie , Meagher Evan
Published: March 2017

This exercise is one in a series intended to help students learn how to perform financial calculations in marketing contexts.

Carolina Araujo had recently taken control of her family's business, Pepita Disco PPM, Uruguay's second-largest producer of beef-based dog food, treats, and toys. While she respected the company's nearly eighty-year history, Carolina felt that Pepita Disco had grown complacent with its market share and was basically preserving the status quo. Her plan was to re-energize the employee base and grow Pepita Disco's business faster than the overall market.

This exercise poses a fictional problem about a company's efforts to predict the impacts of price, product cost, and spending moves on profitability.

After completing the exercise, students should be able to:

Calculate and explain changes in net margin

Calculate price and volume changes for a given price elasticity
ProSight: New Millennium Financial Technology Portfolio Management
Authors: Jeffery Mark , Olson Chuck , Barnes Robin
Published: March 2017

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are often very complex management endeavors. Analyzes the IT component of M&A for two financial institutions. Students are tasked with assisting Mike Farrell, the CIO of New Millennium Financial (NMF), a new company created through the merger of FinStar Financial and D&L Bank, in determining the optimal combined IT portfolio. To accomplish this task the strategic business objectives of the firm must be clearly understood and the IT projects in the pipelines of both institutions analyzed. Students must make an IT portfolio management decision and answer the question: What is the optimal IT strategy and project portfolio for NMF?

To apply a framework to manage a company's IT portfolio, i.e., understand the company's strategic context, develop business objectives that align with its strategy, assess IT investments, and develop a portfolio of IT projects that support the objectives. The framework is iterative, i.e., IT investments are assessed on a regular basis based on their performance and risk/return tradeoffs. Also to introduce a leading Web-based tool, ProSight, that helps managers organize IT portfolios.
Reintroduce Thalidomide? (B)
Authors: Diermeier Daniel , Hermitage Jason , Thaker Shail , Heinze Justin
Published: March 2017

An abstract is not available for this product.
Shock to the System: The Galante and Read Merger (D)
Authors: Rao Hayagreeva , Joseph John
Published: March 2017

Supplements the (A) case.
Spiegel Online
Authors: Schmedders Karl , Rott Armin
Published: March 2017

Spiegel Online (www.spiegel.de) is the leading news Web site in Germany. The site was first designed to accompany Der Spiegel, one of Europe's largest and Germany's most influential weekly magazine, which has a weekly circulation of around one million. The site's content is produced by a team of more than fifty journalists writing in several categories: politics, business, networld, panorama, arts and entertainment, science, university, school, sports, travel, weather, and automobiles. The original content is complemented by articles purchased from news agencies and selected articles from the print edition. Spiegel-Verlag is a major contributor to the Hamburg Media School, which offers professional master's degree programs in Media Management (MBA), film, and journalism. In their second year, MBA students typically engage in consulting projects with major media companies. In a recent assignment, Spiegel Online posed two questions to the MBA team: are there any chances for an economically successful entry into the market for interactive classifieds? And if so, what should the business model look like in detail? A student team analyzed markets for classified ads and found one market segment that appeared to be particularly promising: the market for art objects. During the development of a business plan for a new venture in this market it became apparent that there is much uncertainty about the key input parameters to the business plan. As a result, it is very difficult to assess the viability of the business idea. How can the team properly account for the uncertain input parameters? What is the impact of this uncertainty on the bottom line? Will a Web site for art objects earn or lose money? How can the team communicate this uncertainty to a group of high-level decision makers who want a simple “go or no-go” recommendation?

The objective is to make students aware of the applicability of Monte Carlo simulation to the analysis of complex business plans. Students should learn how to explicitly account for uncertain inputs in a business plan, how to assess the impact of uncertainty on the bottom line via Monte Carlo simulation, and how to communicate the results of their analysis to high-level decision makers.
Steve & Barry's: To Save or Not To Save?
Authors: Mazzeo Michael , Shwayder Ariel , Waikar Sachin
Published: March 2017

Steve & Barry's grew rapidly in the mid-2000s, transitioning from a chain of small stores selling inexpensive collegiate-branded merchandise near university campuses into a $1 billion mall-based giant selling a wide variety of low-priced, celebrity-endorsed apparel. While the company had a wide following, elements of its growth strategy—potentially exacerbated by economic conditions—contributed to its quick downfall. By 2008 Steve & Barry's had declared bankruptcy, and various private equity firms were investigating whether some or all of the company should be saved. This requires analyzing the underlying business strategy pursued by Steve & Barry's before and after its growth phase and specifically diagnosing the explanations for its failure.

This case presents an initially successful firm whose product positioning, marketing, financial, organizational, and operations strategies are highly complementary. In analyzing the case, students will identify how the complementarities broke down during the firm's growth phase, ultimately precipitating its downfall. The diagnosis may reveal elements of the firm's strategy that are worth saving, or suggest related opportunities for profitability using a similar business model and approach.
Stihl Incorporated: Go-to-Market Strategy for Next-Generation Consumers
Authors: Wilson Richard E.
Published: March 2017

Andreas Stihl AG is the world's leading manufacturer of chain saws and other outdoor handheld power equipment. Based on marketing challenges in its high-volume retail channel—mass merchants such as The Home Depot and Lowe's—Stihl's U.S. unit has narrowed its distribution system to a single channel: independent retail dealers specializing in yard maintenance equipment. This risky and highly publicized decision has proved extremely successful, raising profits, attracting more dealers into exclusive relationships with Stihl, and strengthening the brand's top-quality positioning. But Stihl management are concerned that this channel system may not fit tomorrow's demographics, dominated by homeowners from the so-called Generation X and Generation Y. The case outlines Stihl's business and channel systems and customer needs, then poses a series of questions that management believes must be answered to determine whether to maintain or move away from reliance on its specialty retailers and how to adapt its system.

To understand issues related to retail channel strategy development in fast-changing consumer markets, as well as the challenges of adapting legacy routes-to-market systems to changing consumer service output demands.
Supply Chain Outsourcing at DB Toys
Authors: Jeffery Mark , Bibbs David , Dowhan Michael , Grace Daniel , Jackson Lisa , Maynard Woody , Yung Derek , Johnson Steve
Published: March 2017

The case is based on a real supply chain outsourcing management decision at a major manufacturing company. The company has been disguised for confidentiality reasons. The case discusses different types of outsourcing, supply chain management, the benefits and risks of outsourcing, and various pricing models for outsourcing contracts. Students must make a management decision and answer these questions: Is supply chain outsourcing a viable option for DB Toys? What will the return on investment be? What is the best outsourcing model? What is the best pricing model?

Students learn the different types of outsourcing, supply chain management, the benefits and risks of outsourcing, and various pricing models for outsourcing contracts. Students also learn how to calculate the return on investment of supply chain outsourcing. Most important, the case enables students to understand the strategic context of outsourcing, and to decide which outsourcing model and pricing is appropriate.
Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard's Thai Whisky War of 2007
Authors: Hennessy Julie , Frazzano Rebecca , Meagher Evan
Published: March 2017

The case examines a competitive situation in the market for Scotch whisky in Thailand. Two multinationals fight for market share with a complex portfolio of products under the Chivas Regal, Johnnie Walker, and Ballantine brand names. Students must understand a broad array of branding, consumer behavior, pricing, and regulatory issues in order to arrive at recommendations for Chivas Regal to defend against recent gains of Johnnie Walker. The case can be taught with a focus on the Chivas Regal 12 Year product and recommendations for its growth, but also can be taught as a broader portfolio case, with students aligning a portfolio of Chivas and Ballantine products at different quality levels to maximize sales and profit.

Students will understand how category behavior changes in the context of a different culture. Students will gain insight into how consumers balance price/value and image in purchasing choices
The Whitney Clinic
Authors: Donnelly Anne Cohn , Scott Walter , Kathy Shaw , Millie Gong , Lydia Morris , Michael Roark
Published: March 2017

This case describes a community-based healthcare clinic and the issues facing the management and board of directors. The issues raised are common problems faced by all types of nonprofit organizations: insufficient fundraising and marketing policies to guide board decision making, confusion over staff and board roles in decision making, poorly thought-out bylaws that contribute to the confusion over board and staff roles, the challenge of harnessing the diverse backgrounds and opinions of a community-based board of directors, and lack of sound financial planning.

The Whitney Clinic case identifies common pitfalls in board governance and includes a roleplay to help students understand the difficulties inherent in implementing the basics of good governance.
ThoughtWorks (A): Targeting and Positioning Basics for a Services Firm
Authors: Tybout Alice M. , Ragsdale Kyle
Published: March 2017

ThoughtWorks, a medium-size IT systems integrator, was growing quickly but identified "lack of clear positioning around which to build a brand" as the biggest impediment to continued growth. The company had identified features that it believed differentiated it from its competitors and was considering alternative segments to target. Asks readers to choose a target and develop a positioning statement for that target as well as identify the assumptions underlying the recommended positioning strategy and suggest how market research could help establish the validity of those assumptions.
Vioxx: Too Risky for Merck?
Authors: Petersen Mitchell A. , Singhal Rashmi
Published: March 2017

Once a decision has turned out poorly—such as Merck's decision to launch and support the painkiller Vioxx—it is easy to criticize. However, are these bad outcomes the result of a good decision which turned out unlucky, or are they decisions where the bad outcome could have been predicted? This case follows Merck's pharmaceutical product Vioxx from initial development to launch and subsequent withdrawal, and considers the decisions made at each stage by the Merck executives involved. The case concludes by examining the financial impact of the Vioxx withdrawal on the company and on the Merck stock value.

This case allows the students to examine the various steps of Vioxx's development and launch. By doing so, they can consider whether the decision-making process broke down and why. By connecting the Vioxx launch and withdrawal to changes in Merck's cash flow and stock market value, the students can document the impact of such decisions on the value of the firm.
Washington Mutual (A): A Very Old Bank Can Grow—A Lot!
Authors: Dewar Robert D. , Rao Hayagreeva
Published: March 2017

Describes the ways in which Washington Mutual preserved and reinforced its brand through two phases of expansion, the first based on acquisition and the second on organic growth. The Washington Mutual brand is shown to be grounded in a well designed customer experience. This experience was the result of careful attention by Washington Mutual to hiring policies for its staff, incentives that encouraged entrepreneurship, empowerment of both “store” managers and “sales associates,” and a strong culture that valued the community, innovation, fairness in treatment of customers, care for its employees, and high-speed implementation.

To realize that true customer/market focus occurs when all decision makers act to create a customer experience that builds the company's brand, which implies an alignment of leadership, culture, information systems, incentives, and people.
Western-Southern Enterprise
Authors: Petersen Mitchell A.
Published: March 2017

Examines the problem facing Western Southern Enterprise (WSE), a mutual insurance company, at the end of 1996. Its investment in Cincinnati Bell stock was phenomenally successful, but left the company potentially overweighted in equities in general and a single stock in particular. The cost of diversification is declaring and paying tax on a large capital gain. Possible solutions include maintaining the position, selling the position, or protecting the position by issuing a Debt Exchangeable for Common Stock security (DECS). Asks students to trade off the benefits of diversification (which they have to justify) against the cost of declaring the capital gain (which they must quantify). In defending their choices, students are asked to evaluate the various tax and nontax benefits and costs of each solution. Because the client (WSE) has several potentially contradictory objectives, the case lays out a situation where security design can improve upon the simple alternatives. Provides structuring details of the DECS, allowing discussion of why various features were included in their design.

To discuss the costs of financial distress (or poor diversification) as well as teach security design.
Xbox One
Authors: Roese Neal J. , Meagher Evan
Published: March 2017

On April 4, 2013, a video game website reported that the next-generation Xbox console—due to be released by Microsoft the following month—would require an always-on Internet connection in order to operate. The new version of the SimCity game that had been released earlier that year with an always-on requirement had been a disaster. Hardcore gamers reacted negatively to the news.

When the Xbox One console was officially revealed on May 21, Microsoft effectively confirmed that it would require an always-on connection for validating digital rights. Predictably, gamers reacted negatively, a response that was exacerbated when Microsoft's president of the interactive entertainment business, Don Mattrick, made dismissive statements about their concerns

After reading and analyzing the case, students will be able to:

Address the challenge of marketing a product to multiple adjacent but very different customer segments

Understand the need for a unified vision before going to market

Develop a strategy that addresses the complexity of a world in which the company may no longer own the “loudest voice in the room”
Governance, risk-taking and default risk during the financial crisis: the evidence of Japanese regional banks
Authors: Yeh Tsung-Ming
Published: March 2017

Purpose

This study aims to provide additional insights by further investigating the governance aspects including board composition, risk monitoring and management by the board, ownership structures as well as the incentive compensation.

Design/methodology/approach

This study investigates the relationships between corporate governance, risk-taking behaviors and default risk by analyzing 78 publicly listed Japanese regional banks during the 2007-2008 crisis period.

Findings

Banks that were more diversified in the run-up to the crisis were associated with higher default risk during the crisis. Foreign shareholders may have prompted banks to engage in higher risk-taking activities in pursuit of higher returns, putting banks at a higher risk of default. On the other hand, board-level risk management committees may have mitigated the risks to protect firms from rising default. Finally, banks perceived to have better quality accounting information, by being audited by one of the Big 4 auditors, benefitted by mitigating price misevaluation and thus reducing default risk during the crisis.

Originality/value

Different from the majority of previous related studies on the relationship between governance and performance of stock returns, the current study focuses on the relationship between governance and default risk during the crisis which has a more direct link through which governance practices can affect risk-taking behaviors and thus the default risk during the crisis. In addition to examining conventional governance aspects, this study also focuses on the more relevant aspects of banks’ risk monitoring functions.
A cross-country comparison of the relationship between ownership concentration and firm performance: does judicial system efficiency matter?
Authors: Lepore Luigi , Paolone Francesco , Pisano Sabrina , Alvino Federico
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between ownership structure and firm performance, including judicial system efficiency as a moderator to investigate the joint effects of both explanatory variables. Although prior studies have considered judicial system efficiency by examiningde jureinvestor protection, this study identifies another useful proxy and exploresde factolegal protection.

Design/methodology/approach

Ordinary least square multiple regression models were used to examine the influence of judicial efficiency, which was measured using the disposition time (DT) and legal origin, as a moderator of the relationship between ownership concentration and firm performance for a sample of 565 non-financial companies listed in Italy, France, Germany and Spain in 2013.

Findings

This paper shows thatde factoinvestor protection ensured by an efficient judicial system is relevant to the relationship between firm performance and ownership structure. As a moderator variable, DT strengthens the intensity of this relationship in countries with low judicial efficiency, showing that ownership concentration leads to a better enhancement of firm performance and is, therefore, a more efficient governance mechanism in countries in which investor protection is weak.

Originality/value

The evidence presented expands the understanding of the link between firm performance and ownership structure. The institutional deficiencies suggest that internal governance mechanisms may substitute for external mechanisms in facilitating efficient governance. This study corroborates policymakers’ concerns regarding the efficiency of judicial systems and their role in protecting the rights of minority shareholders. The results suggest a need for more efficient external mechanisms of investor protection to facilitate investment in equity capital. Moreover, this study shows that DT is a more accurate measure of investor protection than the traditional measure ofde jurelegal protection.
Momentum investment strategies, corporate governance and firm performance: an analysis of Islamic banks
Authors: Nawaz Tasawar
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the effect of investments in organisational resources and corporate governance features on market-based performance of Islamic banks (IBs).

Design/methodology/approach

The required data to calculate different constituents of banks’ investment strategies and governance mechanism were hand collected from 268 annual reports. Different regression models were used to determine the impact of investment in human and structural capital and corporate governance features on market performance of IBs.

Findings

The paper finds that investments in knowledge resources (human capital, in particular) have a significantly positive impact on the market value of IBs. The results further reveal that IBs’ strategy to rely on long-term human capital accumulation can be seen as idiosyncratic problem-solving knowledge capital. Based on market measure, the paper finds role duality to have a significant positive impact and the size of the advisory board to have the opposite effect on market value.

Research limitations/implications

This study includes IBs only and ignores other Islamic financial services providers such as Takaful (insurance) companies. The study leaves this chasm to be filled by future researchers.

Practical implications

The findings may serve as a useful input for both Islamic bankers and regulators to apply knowledge management in their institutions. Furthermore, the dominant role of human capital also provides insight to managers with respect to business performance levers.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this paper is to provide insight into the Islamic banking business model using a unique hand-collected data set, to identify the effect of investments in organisational resources and bank governance on market value in before, during and after financial crisis.
Corporate boards and environmental offence conviction: evidence from the United Kingdom
Authors: Tauringana Venancio , Radicic Dragana , Kirkpatrick Alan , Konadu Renata
Published: March 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to report the results of an investigation into the relationship between corporate boards and the likelihood of a firm being convicted of an environmental offence in the United Kingdom (UK).

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses binary logistics regression analysis to model the relationship between corporate boards and the likelihood of a firm being convicted of an environmental offence in the UK, controlling for firm size, financial leverage and profitability.

Findings

The results suggest that the likelihood of a firm being convicted of an environmental offence increases with board size but decreases with the presence of a woman on the board. No support is found for the authors’ hypotheses about the proportion of outside directors and the presence of a lawyer on the board. Marginal effects’ results also show that adding one member to the board increases the chance of a firm being convicted for an environmental offence by 4.2 per cent, while having a woman on the board decreases the likelihood of a firm being convicted of an environmental offence by 31.8 per cent.

Research limitations/implications

The sample size of 55 firms is small which could affect the generalisability of the study.

Originality/value

The study uses proprietary data obtained from the UK Environmental Agency to provide evidence for the first time how corporate boards affect the chances of a listed firm being convicted of an environmental offence in the UK.
The relationship between corporate governance, corruption and forward-looking information disclosure: a comparative study
Authors: Agyei-Mensah Ben Kwame
Published: March 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the relationship between corporate governance, corruption and disclosure of forward-looking information in listed firms in two African countries, Botswana and Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses 174 firm-year observations between the period of 2011-2013 for listed firms in the two countries. Each annual report was individually examined and coded to obtain the disclosure of forward-looking information index. Descriptive analysis was performed to provide the background statistics of the variables examined. This was followed by regression analysis which forms the main data analysis.

Findings

The findings show that firms in the least corrupt country, Botswana, disclose more forward-looking information than firms in Ghana, one of the most corrupt countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This confirms the relationship between the transparency level of a country and the transparency level of the listed firms in that country.

Originality/value

This is one of the few studies in sub-Saharan Africa that considered the impact of corporate governance factors on transparency and disclosure of forward-looking information. This study contributes to the literature on the relationship between corporate governance and disclosure by showing that disclosure of forward-looking information in Ghana is associated with the proportion of independent board members. The disclosure of forward-looking information in Botswana on the other hand is influenced by board ownership concentration. The findings of this study will help market regulators in Ghana, Botswana and sub-Saharan Africa, Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Sub-Sahara African Exchanges in evaluating the adequacy of the current disclosure regulations in their countries.
Impact of gender diversity on social and environmental performance: evidence from Malaysia
Authors: Alazzani Abdulsamad , Hassanein Ahmed , Aljanadi Yaseen
Published: March 2017

Purpose

This study is guided by the upper echelon theory and argues that the role of females on boards of directors may differ between cultures. In a culture where the community has a significant humane orientation, female directors may pay much more attention to the social issues of corporate sustainability rather than environmental issues. Therefore, this study aims to differentiate between the social and environmental performances of companies to examine whether the presence of females on the boards of directors of Malaysian firms could affect social and environmental performances differently.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a sample of firms listed in Bursa Malaysia and develops two disclosure indices to measure social and environmental performances. Three proxies of female directors are used in the empirical models. The ordinary least square model is used to test the hypothesis.

Findings

The empirical results suggest a positive association between social performance and the presence of female directors on the board of directors of Malaysian firms. However, no association was found between environmental performance and the presence of female directors on those boards. These results confirm the prediction of this study that the female directors of Malaysian firms pay more attention to social issues than to environmental ones.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine the effects of the presence of female directors on Malaysian firms’ boards of directors on social and environmental performance. It also contributes to the upper echelon theory by illuminating the importance of gender diversity in influencing the social and environmental behaviors of corporate leaders. The results provide the important implication that the association between a firm’s social and environmental performance and gender diversity depends on the culture within which the company operates.
A context-centred, root cause analysis of contemporary terrorism
Authors: Sawalha Ihab Hanna
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is threefold: identifying the root causes and other causal factors of terrorism, exploring the recent shifts in terrorist activity, and proposing a context-centred framework for deterring terrorism risk.

Design/methodology/approach

The first part of this research is based on extensive up-to-date observations made by the author and extracted from real-life settings and social interactions. The second part is based on a survey questionnaire reflecting public views on terrorism and related issues.

Findings

The risk of terrorism risk is increasingly becoming a major concern of all societies including Jordanian. The results have shown that terrorism is context related and that there are several and different root causes for this phenomenon. Many other causal factors have the potential to increase the impact or probability of terrorism risk in Jordan. The existing framework(s) for deterring terrorism risk in Jordan is not adequate and need to be reformed extensively.

Practical implications

This study provides insight to the root causes of the potential terrorist activity in Jordan, as well as other causal factors. It is expected to establish a foundation for policy-makers and decision-makers to start considering the causes of social unrest and subsequently develop appropriate frameworks for mitigating terrorism risk.

Originality/value

This study is made in a time of unprecedented political instability and terrorist activity in the Middle East and the Arab World. It reflects genuine observations and public opinions, thus providing authentic findings and better understanding of the concerns of the society. Most importantly, the study proposes context-related framework for counteracting terrorism activity and future evolution of this phenomenon in the Middle East, in general, and Jordan, in particular.
Community-based social partnerships in crisis resilience: a case example in Greece
Authors: Drakaki Maria , Tzionas Panagiotis
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe in-depth a community-based social partnership, emerged in response to the financial crisis in Greece, with members from the private, public and civic sectors, using a case example of a grass-root self-organised national network.

Design/methodology/approach

Formal and informal interviews as well as written communication with members of the partnership mainly formed the basis for the analysis. Topics covered formation and implementation activities, outcomes, relationship issues, such as trust and links to social capital.

Findings

A shared community risk and a national media campaign to increase public awareness of the issue were catalysts for individuals’ sensitisation and participation in the partnership. The shared risk was the loss of community’s social cohesion, through poverty aggravated by the financial crisis. Self-organisation led to innovative relationships, whereas trust, collective action and collaboration show social capital attributes in the partnership enabling resilience development.

Research limitations/implications

The research contributes in the fields of community-based partnerships and engagement in building community and crisis resilience. The findings are based on a case example. More evidence is needed in order to derive generalised statements about the partnership’s contribution to crisis resilience.

Practical implications

The partnership has shown impact on community engagement, health and well-being.

Originality/value

This paper presents a partnership type for building community and crisis resilience with the case example of one such partnership in Greece, formed to alleviate community distress caused by the crisis.
Urban critical infrastructure interdependencies in emergency management
Authors: Baloye David O. , Palamuleni Lobina Gertrude
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to map the cascade effects of emergencies on critical infrastructure in a fast-growing city of a developing country. The paper specifically seeks to refocus the attention of decision makers and emergency managers towards a more effective way of reducing risk and costs associated with contingencies.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was based on a 2D representation of the three initiating events of fire, flood and automobile crashes. Detailed analysis was undertaken of the effects on the critical infrastructure, based on the probability of occurrence, frequency, spatial extent and degree of damage for the emergencies studied. Subsequently, a cascade matrix was generated to analyse the level of interaction or interdependencies between the participating critical infrastructures in the study area. A model of the cascade effects under a typical emergency was also generated using a software model of network trace functions.

Findings

The results show that while different levels of probability of occurrence, frequency and extent of damage was observed on the evaluated critical infrastructure under different emergency events, damage to the electricity distribution components of the critical infrastructure recorded the highest cascade effect for all emergency events.

Originality/value

This paper underlines the need to pay greater attention to providing protection to critical infrastructure in the rapidly growing cities, especially in developing countries. Findings from this study in Abeokuta, Nigeria, underscore the needs to expand the prevailing critical infrastructure protection beyond the current power and oil sectors in the national development plan. They also highlight the urgency for greater research attention to critical infrastructure inventories. More importantly, the results stress the need for concerted efforts towards proactive emergency management procedures, rather than maintaining the established “fire brigade, window dressing” approach to emergency management, at all levels of administration.
Secondary school students’ views of food and nutrition education in Kolkata, India
Authors: Rathi Neha , Riddell Lynn , Worsley Anthony
Published: March 2017

Purpose

School-based nutrition education programmes have the potential to reinforce healthy dietary behaviours in adolescents. The purpose of this paper is to understand the views of secondary school students in Kolkata, India, regarding the food and nutrition curriculum, food skill acquisition at school and home and barriers to learning food skills.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample of 1,026 year nine students was drawn from nine private, English-speaking secondary schools in Kolkata, India to participate in a cross-sectional, self-reported paper-based survey. Data analyses including descriptive statistics and χ2 analyses were performed.

Findings

The majority of the respondents (65.3 per cent) were female. Biology, Home Science and Life skills classes were the main places in which students acquired food and nutrition knowledge. Almost two-thirds of the respondents acknowledged the importance of acquiring food-related knowledge and skills. Approximately half (48.3 per cent) reported that the food and nutrition curriculum involved excessive memorisation while around the same proportion described the curriculum as interesting (47 per cent) and easy to comprehend (50.3 per cent). However, relatively few students said they enjoyed attending food and nutrition classes (38.7 per cent). Only a minority reported receiving food skills training, i.e. cooking skills (23 per cent), meal planning skills and food purchasing skills (12.3 per cent) at school. Despite some parental support received at home, time constraints (50.5 per cent) and lack of interest (26.3 per cent) were cited as prominent barriers to learning food skills.

Practical implications

These data underscore the need for a skills-focussed food and nutrition curriculum to improve Indian adolescents’ food-related skills, nutritional knowledge and dietary behaviours.

Originality/value

This is the first cross-sectional survey to investigate the delivery of nutrition education and food skills in the Indian school context.
Implementation of a health promotion programme: a ten-year retrospective study
Authors: Darlington Emily Joan , Simar Carine , Jourdan Didier
Published: March 2017

Purpose

Implementing health promotion programmes in schools is key to improving children’s health and well-being but difficulties in achieving expected results are often reported in the research literature. Discrepancies between expected and achieved outcomes can originate from differences in contexts. Understanding how interactions between contexts and programmes generate variable outcomes is, therefore, critical. The purpose of this paper is to explore the outputs of a programme implemented in different school contexts. The focus is to pinpoint outputs, understand the involvement of combinations of contextual factors and identify recurrences in these combinations.

Design/methodology/approach

This retrospective study covers a period from 2006 to 2016. Data collection includes two sets of data in eight high schools in the Rhône-Alpes Region in France: written documents and interviews with school staff. Realist evaluation is used to attempt to pinpoint outputs and relating contextual factors.

Findings

Results highlight the limited outputs of the programme. Differences between schools appear to originate from existing school policy prior to participation, existence of a project team, identification of the issue as priority and staff turnover. Analysis of contextual factors led to considering the implementation process as enabling health capacity building and enhanced the capacity of settings and communities to promote health.

Research limitations/implications

The data provided remain partial as there was high staff turnover, reluctance to participate due to failure to implement the project, and schools being over burdened with other requests.

Originality/value

Previous research suggests that top-down implementation of a standard programme is not an efficient strategy for all schools to engage in the development of suitable health promotion policies. A potential way forward is to base support for the local development of health promotion in schools on a better understanding of the contexts in which implementation occurs.
Teaching health education
Authors: Pickett Karen , Rietdijk Willeke , Byrne Jenny , Shepherd Jonathan , Roderick Paul , Grace Marcus
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand early career teachers’ perceptions of the impact of a pre-service health education programme on their health promotion practice in schools and the contextual factors that influence this.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 primary and secondary trainee and qualified teachers who had trained at a university in England. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Findings

The teachers found the training to be a useful introduction, particularly when it was relevant to their practice. They valued gaining practical skills at university, on placement and in school once qualified. They reported that witnessing pupils’ lives in school had increased their awareness that health education is important. Their personal qualities, life experience, the school’s ethos and competing pressures influenced their practice. Teachers considered that building relationships with colleagues, pupils and parents facilitated health promotion, and that health education needs to be relevant to pupils. Some teachers expressed that teaching about health could be a “minefield”. They also discussed whether schools or parents are responsible for educating pupils about health issues and the place of health promotion within education’s wider purpose.

Originality/value

Few studies have followed-up trainee teachers once they are in teaching posts to explore the longer-term perceived impact of pre-service health education training. The findings suggest that teachers’ development takes place via an interaction between training and practice, suggesting that training could particularly aim to provide teachers with a contextualised understanding of health issues and practical experience.
The impact of instructional leadership, professional communities and extra responsibilities for teachers on student achievement
Authors: Alam Abdullah , Ahmad Mushtaq
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of instructional leadership, professional communities and extra “non-teaching” responsibilities for teachers on student achievement.

Design/methodology/approach

For a sample of 214 teachers from 88 primary schools in Pakistan, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to study the factor structure of the items. Correlation and hierarchical regression analysis was done to study the impact of the independent variables on student achievement; directly and through the mediation effect of teacher commitment.

Findings

The analysis of the data reveals that teacher commitment mediates the relationship between the independent variables and student achievement.

Practical implications

This study has implications for the education management and policy community in the sense that they should not engage teachers into non-teaching roles and promote instructional leadership within the school managers and help in development of teacher networks which will subsequently add to student achievement.

Originality/value

The role of teacher commitment in explaining the student achievement has not been researched extensively in the past. The study at hand intends to fill this research gap. Furthermore, the impact of extra “non-teaching” responsibilities on teacher commitment and subsequently the student achievement has not been studied before. Hence, this study is expected to open up a new dimension in this regard.