bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Slicing of CAD models in ETL format
Authors: Wang Dong‐Xing , Leng Hui‐Wen
Published: January 2007

Purpose

ETL format is a newly proposed CAD format, which is both simple enough that CAD models in this format can be easily sliced, and capable of describing solids with arbitrarily complex surface details. This paper aims to provide a method for slicing CAD models in ETL format.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed slicing method is based on a method for slicing CAD models in colour STL format. Affine mapping method is used to calculate the colour of the intersection polygon of a voxel in the slicing result volume dataset, and a triangular facet that constitutes the geometry of the described object, when the facet has texture mapping definition.

Findings

The proposed slicing method is simple and robust. Implementations have demonstrated its feasibility.

Originality/value

The proposed slicing method is meaningful to preparing data for the rapid formation of models with complex surface details, including colour and textures.
The impact of gender, social capital and networks on business ownership: a research agenda
Authors: Neergaard Helle , Shaw Eleanor , Carter Sara
Published: January 2007

Purpose

To advance knowledge about the relationship between small firm networks and social capital by considering the network experiences of women business owners. To engage in such research, the paper proposes a conceptual model of business owner networking which is informed by social support theory.

Design/methodology/approach

To develop a conceptual model of business owner networking the paper reviews extant small business network research and argues that, while network theory can provide an understanding of the impact which social capital may have on the entrepreneurial process, a concentration on quantitative methodologies has restricted understanding of this. To address the gender bias in small firm network research the paper integrates social support theory into a conceptual model of business owner networks.

Findings

The conceptual model proposed recognises the interplay between network structures, interactions and contents and argues that consideration of these three network dimensions may provide insights into the impact of gender on business owner networks, social capital and experiences of business ownership. The paper also discusses the methodological implications of this model and proposes a research agenda for future business owner network research.

Originality/value

The paper addresses a recognised gap in extant small business network research and proposes a conceptual model of business owner networking which may be better suited to and more reflective of women business owners' networking experiences.
The entrepreneurial firm internationalization process in the Southern African context
Authors: Mtigwe Bruce
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The objectives of this paper are to: examine the specific process that small entrepreneurial firms follow in their internationalization; identify the key influences on the entire process; and identify the process outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

Four research questions are proposed to achieve the stated objectives. A cross‐industry, cross‐sectional survey involving a judgment sample of 1,900 small entrepreneurial firms that are engaged in international business was used. A total of 494 (26 per cent) usable responses were obtained. Correlation coefficients, frequency tables, factor analysis and discriminant analysis were used to analyse the data.

Findings

There are four micro‐processes that have a bearing on the shape and pace of the internationalization process. These relate to: accelerators, export barriers, selectors of intra‐stage foreign market development and foreign market outcomes. The paper concludes that, based on the internationalization experience of small entrepreneurial firms within Southern Africa, there is a common: set of influences on the process; preference for exporting; set of intra‐stage alternatives; and set of market outcomes that modify future internationalization. Therefore, there is a common integrated model of entrepreneurial firm internationalization.

Research limitations/implications

Wide generalizations cannot be made because of the localized context of the research. Therefore, the usefulness of the research is limited to the Southern African region. Future research could perhaps test the Southern African entrepreneurial firm internationalization model in other environments to facilitate comparisons.

Practical implications

Entrepreneurial firms with international ambitions must emphasize an international orientation in their recruitment and training of key managerial staff, while policy‐makers need to sharpen the focus of their interventions on profiling individuals first, and firms second, while at the same time building mechanisms that sustain small to medium‐sized enterprises (SME) international business growth.

Originality/value

The paper addresses a knowledge gap in respect of the entrepreneurial firm internationalization process in the context of Southern Africa. This knowledge is of value to academics, SMEs and policy‐makers alike. The paper also provides an integrative conceptual framework and practical advice on how SME international business growth can be encouraged, given its importance to economic growth prospects within the Southern African region.
Taking stock of small business and entrepreneurship research
Authors: Ritchie Bob , Lam Wing
Published: January 2007

Purpose

To map and evaluate current research and policy evidence from a major conference against the seven strategic themes published in the UK's Small Business Service policy document; draw conclusions concerning the research underpinning; and provide guidance for the future direction of research.

Design/methodology/approach

Evidence is presented from an analysis of 180 papers and research presentations combined with expert opinions and perspectives from participants at the 28th Annual Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference in November 2005. The evaluation framework is formulated on the seven themes and includes an analysis of the research methods employed.

Findings

Rapid growth evidenced in volume and diversity in small business and entrepreneurship research activity. The international community of researchers is growing with a greater preparedness to share findings and experiences. The engagement of more policy makers, advisors and practitioners together with researchers may improve the utility and effectiveness of research in terms of policy development and the communication of best practice.

Research limitations/implications

A wide‐ranging definition of research is employed, i.e. incorporating the more usual refereed papers but also working papers, practitioner papers and outcomes from the debates in plenary sessions and tracks. The evidence does, however, provide a snapshot of the research in the field, encompassing a significant proportion of ongoing work.

Practical implications

Researchers need to utilize more effectively prior research to inform their own research and more effort is needed to integrate existing research within the relevant theme or field, both nationally and internationally.

Originality/value

This represents a unique study which takes a snapshot of the current research in the SME field, incorporating the work of researchers, policy makers and practitioners.
Absorptive capacity, knowledge management and innovation in entrepreneurial small firms
Authors: Gray Colin
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to explore SME capacity to absorb and manage knowledge as a prior condition to the successful adoption of innovations and entrepreneurial growth.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on the findings from more than 1,500 SME owners across regular quarterly SERTeam surveys and from other large scale studies, this article examines the effects of experiential and formal knowledge on the development of SME absorptive capacity.

Findings

There were significant age, educational and size effects that influence SME acquisition and assimilation of knowledge. Primarily, it is the small firms of 15+ employees that have the capacity to absorb and use new knowledge – especially those with higher educational levels and clear growth objectives. These firms are not startups but they do tend to be younger firms with younger founders.

Practical implications

Given the main policy aim is the development of clusters and of knowledge‐based firms, policy makers should focus on SMEs recently started by graduates or people with technical qualifications; educators need to develop technology and innovation management programmes for these firms.

Originality/value

This article makes an important contribution to the identification of priorities for public SME development support and areas where business schools and enterprise trainers could maximise their economic and developmental impact.
The financing of disadvantaged entrepreneurs
Authors: Rouse Julia , Jayawarna Dilani
Published: January 2007

Purpose

This paper asks whether enterprise programmes are overcoming the finance gap faced by their disadvantaged participants. Specifically, the paper seeks to assessthe level of finance invested by participants on a leading UK enterprise programme, the New Entrepreneur Scholarships (NES).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on a postal and e‐survey of participants on a leading UK enterprise programme, reporting on 472 respondents. Three capital structure variables (personal investment, external private investment and grants) are employed to analyse the importance of various types of funding in NES businesses. These figures are compared with published data about use of different types of finance, including principal sources of funding, in UK start‐ups. Descriptive statistics of perceptions of under‐capitalisation, and needs for additional funding, are also reported.

Findings

NES Scholars make significantly lower start‐up investment than is typical in UK small businesses, particularly in terms of personal finance. Finance provided by the programme is important but does not compensate for poor access to personal and loan investment. Perhaps as a consequence, almost half of the Scholars were under‐capitalised.

Practical implications

Implications for policy are discussed at length. In particular, practical options for addressing the under‐capitalisation of businesses started under enterprise programmes are analysed, including increasing and targeting grant finance, providing soft‐loans, improving access to existing sources of public funding for small businesses, easing access to private finance, providing more support for the self‐employed through the welfare and tax credit systems and paying childcare subsidies.

Originality/value

The paper presents novel analysis of the capital structure of businesses started under an enterprise programme and employs this to explore the critical question of whether – and in what ways – these firms are under‐capitalised. It also presents new analysis of the policy options available for improving finance to disadvantaged groups. It fills gaps in the literatures relating to small business finance and small business and social inclusion.
Reconsidering Schumpeterian opportunities: the contribution of interaction ritual chain theory
Authors: Goss David
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to develop a conceptual framework that recognises the significance of emotional and interactional factors in shaping the development and enactment of entrepreneurial opportunities.

Design/methodology/approach

Provides a theory development illustrated through a case study based on secondary sources.

Findings

Demonstrates how emotion and interaction ritual chains can extend the scope of entrepreneurial theorising.

Research limitations/implications

Suggests how novel concepts could be deployed to add explanatory power to accounts of entrepreneurial behaviour.

Practical implications

Suggests new approaches to spotting potential entrepreneurial opportunities.

Originality/value

Emotion has received little attention from entrepreneurship researchers. This paper offers one way of filling this gap by developing a strand of microsociological theory that has not previously been applied to the explanation of entrepreneurial behaviour.
Entertainment software: suddenly huge, little understood
Authors: Alpert Frank
Published: January 2007

Purpose

In less than three decades the entertainment software industry has emerged as a huge industry, with sales larger than Hollywood movie box office sales. Yet, little is known about this industry. Stereotypes about the industry may not be correct. This paper seeks to address this knowledge gap.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper identifies what is known, and what needs to be known. The paper reviews the literature and adds data from the most recent reports available.

Findings

The literature has been slow to address this industry. It has not even been clear what to call this industry. (Some people still call it the video game industry.) The most basic marketing issues still need to be researched, i.e. customer benefits sought and segmentation. A typology of game genres is proposed.

Originality/value

This paper is the first overview of the entertainment software industry from a marketing perspective.
The value of language: concept, perspectives, and policies
Authors: Dhir Krishna S.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

Three distinct trends are evolving that characterize the challenges facing corporate planners in managing language as a corporate asset. These are the evolution of the knowledge economy, the globalization of business and economy, and the increasing diversity of the workforce. These trends call for attention to the role language plays in the creation of intellectual and organizational capital. Linguists have been hampered by their inability to model how linguistic conditions affect economic processes. They have long attempted to assess the economic value of language as a commodity, but with little success. The purpose of this article is to describe language as an asset, and argue that recent advances in decision sciences have sufficiently removed the deficit in theoretical and empirical research that challenged the linguists.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing an analogy between language and currency, this article identifies the functions that language must perform in terms of exchange, accounting and storage of information, knowledge and know‐how.

Findings

Factors that contribute to the value of a language are discussed through comparative analysis of these functions from the perspectives of linguists, economists and decision analysts. Based on the Social Judgment Theory, the article develops a judgment‐analytic framework for the assessment of the value of a language.

Practical implications

Concluding that the corporate and community planning perspectives are divergent, the paper identifies the direction for future research to inform formulation of language policies. The value of a language may be affected by the degree to which the language is used in the demographic community defining an organization's strategic environment, the investment in the language relative to other available languages, demand for the language as a commodity within the organization's strategic community, and so on.

Originality/value

With such conception of language, corporations can begin to think in terms of a portfolio of language assets much in the same way as it thinks of portfolio of financial currency assets.
PR practitioners' experiences of, and attitudes towards, the internet's contribution to external crisis communication
Authors: Fjeld Kristin , Molesworth Mike
Published: January 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to promote better understanding of how the internet is used as part of crisis communication.

Design/methodology/approach

The internet may be changing the way PR operates in a crisis. It has been reported that the web has a significant role in disseminating information and that many‐to‐many online communication allows organisations to achieve “excellent” communication. However, it has also been suggested that in practice there is a need for more flexibility that the “excellence” model suggests. This study reports on data collected from in‐depth interviews with ten senior PR‐practitioners in order to understand their experiences and attitudes.

Findings

A range of attitudes are identified, informed by recent experience. Although participants indicated knowledge of and preference for two‐way communication with stakeholders, in practice they found this impractical or undesirable. This, their preference for existing approaches, and ignorance about the internet informed their views about online communication. The result was that some regarded the internet as inferior in terms of its ability to achieve “traditional” tasks and because of its potential for undesirable dialogue. When the web was acknowledged as useful it tended to be considered as supplementary to existing approaches. There was little recognition of the need for online dialogue.

Originality/value

This paper articulates a range of positive and negative attitudes towards the use of the internet for crisis communication, based on the experiences of senior PR practitioners.
Integration, regulation, and policy of securities market infrastructures in the euro area
Authors: Schmiedel Heiko , Schönenberger Andreas
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the state of integration of securities market infrastructure in Europe.

Design/methodology/approach

Given the lack of quantitative and price‐based measures, this paper adopts a rather qualitative approach to evaluating the degree and evolution of integration in the securities market infrastructure within Europe. Future challenges, policy options for regulation and market design are discussed.

Findings

Despite its single currency, the euro area securities infrastructure remains highly fragmented due to cross‐border differences in tax regimes, procedures, laws, and vested interests. Cost savings and increased efficiency can be expected from further integration.

Originality/value

This is the only paper which provides a comprehensive and comparative analysis of the current level of integration of the securities infrastructure in the euro area and its implications for regulation and market policy.
The corporate governance of banks
Authors: Mullineux Andy
Published: January 2007

Purpose

To consider the implications of the banks fiduciary duty to their depositors (as well as the shareholders) and the government's fiscal duty to taxpayers (in the presence of deposit insurance) for the corporate governance (CG) of banks.

Design/methodology/approach

Recent contributions to the literature are outlined and assessed in the context of the asymmetric information literature relating to banking.

Findings

The good CG of banks requires regulation to balance the interests of depositors and taxpayers with those of the shareholders.

Originality/value

Linking the bank regulation in literature based on information asymmetry to the CG literature.
US regulators release joint‐rule proposal regarding futures contracts on debt indexes and securities
Authors: Cross Andrew P.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide professionals in the global financial services industry with a useful summary of the proposed rules set out in April 2006 by two US regulatory agencies – the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper begins with background information regarding this regulatory structure and concludes with an overview of the proposed rules.

Findings

The issuance of these proposed rules is part of the continuing evolution of the regulatory structure in the US related to securities‐based futures contracts and is, therefore, best understood within that broader context.

Originality/value

The discussion of the proposed rules situates the continuing evolution of the securities‐based futures contracts in the broad context of the US regulatory structure.
Court castigates BCCI liquidators' claim against Bank of England
Authors: Gray Joanna
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe how BCCI liquidators' claim against the Bank of England has been castigated.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper outlines the facts surrounding this decision and the action involved.

Findings

The UK's longest running and most expensive civil litigation has been labelled a farce by both the trial judge and the head of the judiciary.

Originality/value

The paper highlights how these proceedings raise fundamental questions about the rule of law and the appropriateness of the use of legal technique to achieve redress for such large‐scale and high profile losses out of the failure of financial firms and how they also contain cautionary lessons for the way in which regulators employ and use what are notions of “risk” and “risk based financial regulation”.
Money laundering control and suppression of financing of terrorism
Authors: de Koker Louis
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between anti‐money laundering (“AML”) and combating of financing of terrorism (“CFT”) customer due diligence (“CDD”) measures in the financial services industry, and exclusion from financial services.

Design/methodology/approach

An introduction to the concept of financial exclusion is provided as well as an overview of international AML/CFT CDD standards. The paper highlights a softening of national CDD measures in South Africa and the UK to lessen the impact on financial exclusion.

Findings

Countries should consider the impact that CDD requirements may have on financial exclusion when they design their AML/CFT systems.

Research limitations/implications

Multi‐discilinary research is required to improve the understanding of the broader interaction between AML/CFT objectives, financial exclusion and economic development, especially in countries with a large informal economy.

Practical implications

CDD requirements may unnecessarily exacerbate financial exclusion if they are not formulated with care to reflect the reality of the particular country setting.

Originality/value

The paper offers insights into the international standards resulting to the identification of clients and the experiences in the UK and South Africa regarding the implementation of these standards on financial exclusion.
Problems controlling fraud and abuse in the home health care field
Authors: Payne Brian K.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The purpose of the current study is to assess the efforts to control fraud in the home health care industry in the USA by examining the problems that criminal justice officials confronted in their attempts to control home health care fraud and abuse.

Design/methodology/approach

Attention is given to the history of the home health care industry in the USA, the types of fraud found in the health care field in general, and the officials who are given the duty of controlling health care fraud.

Findings

The results of this study suggest that the problems fraud control officials face in their response to home health care offenders are similar to those confronted in the response to white‐collar offending, but also similar to those confronted in the response to many conventional offenses.

Originality/value

Highlights the problems in controlling fraud and abuse in the US home care health field.
Organized crime in business
Authors: Sliter John
Published: January 2007

Purpose

To provide a viewpoint and a stronger awareness of the increased involvement of criminal activities in the capital markets through organized crime and the need for integrated policing.

Design/methodology/approach

The writer has over 25 years of experience with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with over 15 of those years conducting white collar crime investigations and/or managing teams of investigators.

Findings

Canada is having good success in using the concepts of integrated policing in the implementation of our Integrated Market Enforcement Teams (IMETs) to detect, investigate and prevent capital markets crime.

Originality/value

This paper identifies the need for integrated policing in order to facilitate and foster close working relationships with key stakeholders in the various levels of regulatory enforcement and disciplinary agencies in order to target those who commit some of the larger organized financial crimes.
International police co‐operation: a Norwegian perspective
Authors: Larsson Paul
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The aim of the paper is to describe and explain the importance of informal co‐operation and networking between police officers when it comes to international police co‐operation. The paper goes on to ask “what works” and what can be done to make international co‐operation function better.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on research done in connection to the author's ongoing project on the Norwegian cannabis market. The data from this study is supplied by a limited number of personal interviews by Norwegian police experts on international police co‐operation.

Findings

One finding is that personal relations and networks are of great importance in practical international police co‐operation. The paper also stresses the importance of a sheared understanding and a common language expressing “what the central tasks and problems of policing are”. This finding points to the importance of cultural differences between the police forces.

Originality/value

Most studies of police co‐operation are focusing on either the formal laws regulating this activity or pointing at the dangers of such co‐operation. Instead the author raises the questions: what do the police actually do when they co‐operate internationally and when does it run smoothly and what are the obstacles to co‐operation? The paper ends with recommendations on what can be done to make police co‐operate better.
Investor protection and criminal liabilities for defective prospectuses
Authors: Solaiman S.M.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to critically examine the applicability of disclosure‐based regulation in a pre‐emerging securities market.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents, by using archival data, an analysis of prerequisites for the usefulness of the disclosure philosophy making reference to some Asian securities markets with special reference to the contemporary experiences of the Bangladesh securities market.

Findings

The paper concludes that the disclosure philosophy itself is not a panacea, an effective disclosure regime requires a certain level of structural and infrastructural development of the market, and that a particular securities market should follow a paternalistic merit regulation until the attainment of that progress.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the understanding of effectiveness of the disclosure philosophy for the regulation of securities markets from the perspective of investor protection.
Developing effective tools to manage the risk of damage caused by economically motivated crime fraud
Authors: Wright Rosalind
Published: January 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to examine what is meant by economically motivated crime (ECM) and to look at the typologies of offences considered to fall into this category, to analyse the effects of ECM on financial services business and assess the efficacy of steps taken by law enforcement and business to prevent, investigate and mitigate the damage caused by ECM on business.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on the session: “Risks to financial institutions presented by economically motivated crime” at the Cambridge 24th International Symposium on Economic Crime.

Findings

Much ECM is perpetrated by organised crime on business and the tools available to law enforcement, through legislative instruments and available resources to investigate it, are inadequate. Business does not accord sufficient recognition to the risks posed by ECM and accordingly fails to manage those risks. Models for a Fraud Policy and a Fraud Policy Statement are set out and a higher priority for fraud on the Government agenda for policing is advocated.

Originality/value

The paper addresses the impact fraud has on business and the economies of the world and highlights the threat of financial crime which is affecting everyone.
The devil made me do it: business partners in crime
Authors: Beare Margaret E.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The objective of this paper is to challenge some of the rhetoric pertaining to the “harm” caused by “dirty” money infiltrating into the “legitimate economy.” The arguments regarding the impact of dirty money have been used to justify enhancements to law enforcement powers, and increasingly invasive investigative strategies and intelligence gathering regimes.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews the literature pertaining to the intersection between “dirty money” and “legitimate business” and looks at how some of the most notorious criminal operations have been handled by the press and the courts. The paper examines corporate complicity in situations involving premeditated, ongoing criminal conduct and discusses two specific ways in which societies acknowledge and accommodate criminality within the operation of these corporations.

Findings

The paper argues that one must never minimize the amount of legitimate business that involves dirty money or uses dirty opportunities or was once dirty and is now legitimate or was legitimate and is now dirty.

Practical implications

The pretense of a clear separation between criminality and corporate operations is “useful” and is occasionally correct – but not as the norm and ought not to be the operating law enforcement expectation.

Originality/value

The paper encourages the reader to question the easily repeated claims about the financial threats from stereotypical forms of “organized crime,” while either dismissing or re‐defining the equally serious, or more serious, activities of professions (lawyers, accountants, bankers, politicians, government officials, corporate CEOs, etc.) operating supposedly legitimately.
Official corruption and the dynamics of money laundering in Nigeria
Authors: Okogbule Nlerum S.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the interface between official corruption and money laundering in Nigeria and suggest ways of curbing these crimes.

Design/methodology/approach

The relevant laws dealing with these offences were examined to assess the adequacy or otherwise of the statutory provisions. The key provisions of the Criminal and Penal Codes were discussed in addition to the new enactments dealing with these crimes, namely, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act, the Money Laundering Act as well as the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal provided for in the 1999 Constitution.

Findings

It was found that these recent enactments have gone much further than the earlier provisions dealing with these crimes. They contain some far‐reaching innovations such as the provision for the appointment of an Independent Counsel to investigate allegations of corruption against the president, vice president, governors and deputy governors. It was also found that a number of problems could, if not properly handled, hinder the effective enforcement of these enactments.

Practical implications

The implication of these findings is that the aforesaid statutory provisions can only be effective if the identified problems of enforcement are adequately tackled and the monitoring mechanism strengthened.

Originality/value

The paper demonstrates in a unique manner, the close relationship that exists between official corruption and money laundering and suggests a fundamental re‐structuring of the social and economic basis of the Nigerian society to minimize the temptation by public officers to engage in official corruption and money laundering.
The risks to business presented by organised and economically motivated criminal enterprises
Authors: Singh Sarabjit
Published: January 2007

Purpose

Based on a presentation at the 24th International Symposium on Economic Crime, September 2006, at the University of Cambridge, this paper aims to discuss the risks to business from organised crime.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on the author's experience as head of the Punjab police and from data gleaned from the Punjab police as well as other sources.

Findings

The paper shows that collusion exists between some parts of business and criminal groups and the ever present danger of terrorism.

Originality/value

The practical experience of the author shows that organized and economically motivated criminal enterprises target legitimate business in order to whitewash themselves into respectability.
Identification of factors affecting continuity of cooperative electronic supply chain relationships: empirical case of the Taiwanese motor industry
Authors: Yeh Ying‐Pin
Published: January 2007

Purpose

To explore the factors affecting continuity of cooperative electronic supply chain relationships in Taiwanese motor industry.

Design/methodology/approach

This study has developed a research framework that integrates the three perspectives of resource dependence, risk perception, and relationship marketing to identify the factors affecting the continuity of a cooperative electronic supply chain. After constructing a structural equation model, empirical testing on 851 raw material and spare parts suppliers for the Taiwanese motor industry was conducted.

Findings

All path coefficients in the proposed model were statistically significant, and were as hypothesized. Resource dependence, trust, and relationship commitment are positively related to the continuity of the cooperative electronic relationship. Risk perception is negatively related to the continuity of the cooperative electronic relationship.

Research limitations/implications

This paper has theoretically developed an extensive set of interrelationships among these variables (resource dependency, perceived risk, trust, relationship commitment, and continuity of cooperative electronic relationships), illustrating their comparative effects on supplier intention to use the internet for on‐line transactions.

Practical implications

This empirical study provides consistent support for the proposed business‐to‐business (B2B) e‐commerce acceptance model. Given the high explanatory power of the resulting model, it is likely to serve as the basic model for predicting supplier behavior, and the continuity of enhanced understanding of cooperative electronic relationships.

Originality/value

Previous studies did not fully address the relevant influential factors related to the continuity of cooperative electronic supply chain relationships or the causal relationships among these factors. The primary contribution of this research is the integration of constructs associated with resources, environmental uncertainty, and relationship marketing, into a coherent model that jointly predicts supplier acceptance of e‐commerce.
Corporate turnaround through effective supply chain management: the case of a leading jewellery manufacturer in India
Authors: Kannabiran Ganesan , Bhaumik Saumen
Published: January 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to examine how creative industries can adopt supply chain management (SCM) approaches to achieve business excellence.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on case research of supply chain (SC) integration in a jewellery‐manufacturing organisation.

Findings

Organisations in the creative industries such as jewellery can achieve superior performance through systematic supply chain planning and implementation. Integrating SC planning with business planning, persistent commitment of the top management and making use of cross‐functional teams for implementation are some of the key determinants of SCM.

Research limitations/implications

The paper presents a basis for understanding the scope for adopting SCM approaches in creative industries. Future research may be directed to identify and evaluate the parameters of successful adoption of SCM approaches in other creative industries. The research has the generic limitation of generalisability. However, it provides an insight into understanding the issues of SCM adoption in a developing country context.

Practical implications

Practitioners are required to use cross‐functional teams for SCM implementation, choose unique approaches to manage supply chain performance and exploit native talents in creative industries.

Originality/value

The paper brings out the key aspects of supply chain integration in creative industries with specific reference to a developing country.
Evaluating the impact of the internet on barriers to entry in the music industry
Authors: Lewis Gerard J. , Graham Gary , Hardaker Glenn
Published: January 2007

Purpose

Music can be copied and distributed almost without cost via the internet, while payment and distribution technologies are reducing the transaction costs of its commercial exchange. In the case of MP3 the cost of swapping music files is negligible, for both the supplier uploading the file and the receiver who is downloading the music. In light of these developments, this paper seeks to put forward the proposition that the main barrier to entry in the music sector has been the ownership and protection of artistic content in the supply chain.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper focuses on a review of the concepts relating to “barriers to entry”, since entry into the music industry is central to the explanation of the incumbents’ strategic responses. The pre‐ and post‐web supply chains are also assessed from a “barrier to entry” perspective.

Findings

This paper argues that the internet is destabilising the supply chain for music by challenging the pre‐web role and domination of the music industry supply chain; and by changing the primary entry barrier in the sector from the incumbents exploiting their ownership of copyright to one of trying to protect it.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to understanding the strategic responses of music industry incumbents, as well as presenting some of the implications for consumer welfare.
Outsourcing decision support: a survey of benefits, risks, and decision factors
Authors: Kremic Tibor , Icmeli Tukel Oya , Rom Walter O.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this study is twofold. The first is to provide a structured review of the vast amount of outsourcing literature that has accumulated in the past two decades using a decision support framework. The second purpose is to statistically analyze the contents of the studies to identify commonalities as well as gaps, in order to suggest directions for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

The contents of more than 200 publications are analyzed using a variety of approaches. A decision support framework is used to first classify whether the studies address outsourcing benefits, risks, motivations or factors. Next, each classification is further described by the type of benefits, risks, etc. Additional relevant contents such as type of organization, and the location of the outsourcing practice are also considered. Multivariate analyses consisting of cross tabulations, chi‐square testing and cluster analysis are used for categorizing the studies with the aim of identifying relationships among the studies which are not apparent when they are considered individually.

Findings

A number of trends and relationships are identified. For example, most studies focus on US for‐profit organizations and are typically theoretical, discussing benefits, risks and motivators. On the other hand, the research on outsourcing practices of non‐profit organizations, where objectives for outsourcing are typically politically driven, is found to be scarce. Furthermore, the results of the cluster analysis indicate that the studies can be grouped into six clusters where the five small clusters are characterized by strong relationships with a few variables while the large cluster is characterized by variables that are not addressed in the studies.

Practical implications

Outsourcing has become commonplace in today's businesses. In addition to outsourcing in profit seeking organizations, there is considerable outsourcing effort in governmental and non‐profit organizations also. It is not easy for managers who are exploring outsourcing opportunities for the very first time and academicians who want to build upon existing studies to search the literature to find what they are looking for. This study addresses this difficulty by providing different classifications of the literature based on a variety of research criteria.

Originality/value

This study is a first attempt to organize the outsourcing literature using statistical as well as decision support tools. Using cluster analysis and discriminant analysis to explore the relationships among the contents of the studies is a new approach.
Implementation costs and redistribution mechanisms in the economic evaluation of supply chain management initiatives
Authors: Wouters Marc
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to analyze how the choice of entity‐level investment criteria (net present value, or accounting rate of return) and negotiation terms (redistribution mechanisms for costs and assets) affect each entity's willingness to participate in supply chain management initiatives.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on numerical examples for a supply chain that consists of a single manufacturer and a single distributor. We assume information symmetry and a willingness of each company to participate only if its own entity‐level investment criterion is not adversely affected. The innovation may lead to positive or negative changes in the manufacturer's and distributor's unit costs and asset levels, as well as to implementation costs. We investigate the redistribution of these effects. The paper is also based on empirical results from a short case study.

Findings

Price adjustments are not always feasible for creating an acceptable redistribution of overall benefits. More opportunities exist if it is possible to transfer assets while the ownership remains with the company that has the lower discount rate or target for their accounting rate of return. Implementation costs reduce the possibilities for finding a solution, but this can only be analyzed using a net present value approach.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature on economic barriers for supply chain implementation by providing an application of economic theory to a supply chain setting. The paper also provides a real‐world illustration of some of the issues identified.
Buying behaviour of “tweenage” girls and key societal communicating factors influencing their purchasing of fashion clothing
Authors: Grant Isabel J. , Stephen Graeme R.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

To examine the key communicating factors which influence 12‐13 year old girls in their purchasing decisions for fashion clothing.

Design/methodology/approach

A series of four, structured focus group interviews, consisting of six girls, with questions developed after analysing the available literature. A qualitative method of data analysis was conducted based around five related themes and the “reflective stage”, 11‐16 years of John (1999).

Findings

This stage is highly fashion‐sensitive. The findings show the key decision factors when buying are parental and peer group approval, and the purchasing of fashion items is strongly influenced by brand name and its associations. The findings revealed the respondents were prepared to pay a premium for branded clothing, placing a high emphasis on the product being deemed cool.

Research limitations/implications

The study utilises purely qualitative methods to explore the role of branding and purchasing influences from the perspective of these girls in order to gain a richer and deeper understanding of their behaviour. The findings provide the basis for further research into the buying behaviour of older girls.

Practical implications

The results of this study could be used by fashion retailers, marketers and their advertising agencies when planning a media campaign targeted at 12‐13 year old girls.

Originality/value

Understanding the importance of the selected themes can help fashion retailers study their consumers based on the key dimensions reported in this research and ensure that the key communication factors identified, are considered prior to developing a campaign for this target group.
When leisure and work are allies: the case of skiers and tourist resort hotels
Authors: Boon Bronwyn
Published: January 2007

Purpose

There are signs that leisure is becoming increasingly important in contemporary working lives. This paper seeks to contribute to the career literature by examining how work and leisure can operate as allies.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative data from fieldwork engaging with hotel employees located within the tourist resort of Queenstown, New Zealand are used to explore the positive interdependencies between work and leisure for both the leisure‐orientated employee and the hotels.

Findings

The results suggest that skiing‐orientated employees are able to engage in skiing due to the money and time resources they receive from their hotel employment. At the same time, hotels have access to a seasonal, non‐standard work‐time and leisure competent labour pool as a result of the employees' orientation and participation in skiing.

Originality/value

The results support the existence of a leisure‐orientated career identity that conforms to the contemporary individualistic revision of career. In addition, the results emphasise the significant impact that the employment relationship, industry setting and geographic location have on the leisure‐work relationship.
Autonomy in communication
Authors: Bowen Shannon A.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine three perspectives on autonomy: communication management or public relations autonomy, autonomy in management theory, and the autonomy of moral philosophy.

Design/methodology/approach

These arguments for autonomy are combined and studied to ascertain their impact on: the contribution of the communication function to strategic management of the organization, and, the enactment of an ethics counselor role by public relations. This research examines autonomy in communication at two global organizations through 43 interviews, observation, and document analysis. Factors influencing and contributing to autonomy are discussed.

Findings

Autonomy was found to be necessary for optimal contribution to strategic management and acting as ethical counsel in the public relations function. In both ways, autonomy contributes to the stature of the communication function within an organization and the development of public relations as a profession. Autonomy should be high on the research agenda of public relations scholars and a primary goal of communication professionals.

Practical implications

Communication managers should work for autonomy, inclusion in the strategic management team, and a rational approach to problem solving.

Originality/value

This research provides important theoretical value and enormous implications for communication professionals. Many conclusions about autonomy can be drawn from this conceptual and empirical research. Using systems and excellence theory as a framework, then building on that basis with empirical research in two world‐wide organizations, the research takes a novel approach in applying and studying the autonomy concept from moral philosophy in modern business. Data show that autonomy is necessary for excellence in communication, defending against encroachment, inclusion in strategic management, using empowering or collaborative management, and enacting the role of ethics counselor. These important implications for communication management have the potential to make business more ethically and socially responsible and to enhance the overall value of the communication function within organizations.