bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Managing race equality in Scottish local councils in the aftermath of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000
Authors: Hussain Asifa , Ishaq Mohammed
Published: August 2008

Purpose

More than six years have elapsed since the much‐heralded Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 (hereafter also referred to as the “Act”) came into force. The Act had been prompted by concern at the lack of progress made in the sphere of racial equality despite the existence of the 1976 Race Relations Act. There were accusations that the 1976 Act was outdated and lacked the political teeth to be effective. The new Act imposed for the first time specific requirements on public sector institutions to be more proactive in promoting race equality. The duties would apply to public bodies that were previously exempt such as the Police and the National Health Service. This paper aims to focus on Scottish local councils and to examine the progress made by these public sector organisations in the field of race equality since the new Act came into force.

Design/methodology/approach

The researchers carried out a postal survey of Scotland's 32 local authorities in order to assess the progress made in the area of race equality. Questions focused on examining the scale of progress in relation to both employment and service delivery.

Findings

The results revealed a mixed picture. On the positive side, most councils had initiated race awareness training programmes. The majority had also incorporated aspects of race equality into their equal opportunities policies and most had instituted measures to engage with ethnic minority communities. However, there are still areas where performance is unsatisfactory, including inadequacies in the ethnic monitoring of staff, failure to reflect the size of the ethnic minority community in the workforce, and the absence of a clear and distinctive policy on racial harassment in the workplace.

Originality/value

This research will be of great value to anyone who is interested in assessing whether the legislative duties imposed by the Act have been satisfied by Scotland's local authorities. It is the first study of its kind in Scotland and is likely to appeal to both practitioners in the public sector and to academics.
The NPM agenda in small developing countries
Authors: Uelese Amosa Desmond
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine claims that the removal of tenure in favour of fixed‐term employment contracts has led to some politicization of top‐level appointments in the Samoa public service. The intention is not only to shed light on how politicization is perceived in a small developing society, but also to determine whether such claims are well founded and if so, what the implications are for a small public service like that in Samoa.

Design/methodology/approach

Data are gathered from government documents, literature review and the experience of the author as a former senior public servant in Samoa.

Findings

While the claims cannot be fully endorsed at this stage, it is clear that there was some politicization of senior public service appointments and, importantly, the outcomes in most cases were unfavourable for Samoa's public service.

Originality/value

Politicization of the appointment of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in Samoa's public service since the shift to employment contracts in the early 1990s has not previously been reviewed. Apparently the ramifications of politicizing the appointment of CEOs have, in most cases, proved unproductive for the public service and its stakeholders. Hence the Public Service Commission, which is the main advisory body, urgently needs to recommend necessary changes to avert political appointments in the future.
Research management and policy: incentives and obstacles to a better public‐private interaction
Authors: Kalpazidou Schmidt Evanthia
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the public‐private linkage within the Danish research and technological development (RTD) and innovation system, seen from the point of view of the private sector. The relationship between public and private research is an issue of growing interest to management and public policy.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on interviews with business managers, the article identifies obstacles that enterprises experience when cooperating with public research institutions and highlights conditions that influence the relationship.

Findings

The paper points to ways to strengthen linkages and provides information on how to further stimulate public‐private interaction and thus make better use of resources through synergy.

Originality/value

The analysis in the paper offers an insight that can serve as a reference for researchers, managers and policymakers in countries with conditions similar to those of the Danish.
Publishing on publishing: streams in the literature
Authors: Polonsky Michael Jay
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose and examine streams in the literature related to academic publishing, with a focus on works in marketing. The content of the works within each theme are then explored to identify what issues have been examined and their implications.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a literature review, drawing on 30 years of research on academic publishing in marketing. The review is designed to cover the underlying issues examined, but is not designed to be comprehensive in terms of all the works exploring each stream of research.

Findings

There are five main streams in the literature focusing on: rankings; theory and knowledge development; how to publish;, criticisms of publishing; and other issues. Within each stream, a number of sub‐areas are explored. The works tend to be fragmented and there is generally limited in‐depth qualitative research within streams exploring the underlying assumptions on which publishing is based.

Research limitations/implications

The focus of the research is on the streams of works, rather than the findings within each stream and future research could explore each of these streams and sub‐streams in more detail. Generally, the works appear to becoming increasingly sophisticated in terms of their analysis, which is only possible with the new technologies available. New metrics proposed in the literature that can be used to better understand publishing and additional qualitative research exploring some of the basic assumptions could also be explored.

Practical implications

The research suggests that some streams with regard to academic publishing may have reached saturation and future publishing in these areas will need to be innovative in its approach and analysis, if these works are to be published.

Originality/value

This paper is the first attempt to develop streams within the literature on academic publishing in marketing and thus draws together a diverse cross‐section of works. It provides suggestions for directions for future research in the various streams.
How our schools can be more synergic: determining the obstacles of teamwork
Authors: Karakuş Mehmet , Töremen Fatih
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The main purpose of this study is to find out the importance levels of obstacles to teamwork in the view of teachers and thus inspire school leaders to remove these obstacles and to make teamwork more effective.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey‐based descriptive scanning model was used. This study was performed in Elazig city centre during the 2006‐2007 academic year. A four‐dimensional and 32‐itemed “ordering questionnaire” was administered to 424 teachers working at primary schools.

Findings

In the light of related literature, the most significant factors for the effectiveness of teamwork have been classified in four dimensions. These are leadership actions, structural characteristics of work group, individual characteristics of members, and interrelationships among members. Administrators' inequitable applications, lack of a group climate in which each teacher is appreciated and valued, teachers' lack of motivation, competitive and not cooperative relationships were sorted by teachers as being the most important obstacles to teamwork. There were meaningful differences among teachers' views according to the gender and tenure variables.

Research limitations/implications

Since teamwork is a necessity for school effectiveness, it is very important to determine and to remove the obstacles on the way to effective teamwork.

Practical implications

The study gives cues for school leaders on how teachers should be treated in general and in the aspects of their personal characteristics to attain effective teamwork in schools.

Originality/value

With an original classification of the components of effective teamwork, the study seeks to determine teachers' perceptions about the importance level of obstacles of effective teamwork through an ordering questionnaire in a different perspective.
An analysis of small business in Chile: a correlational study
Authors: Lussier Robert N. , Halabí Claudia E.
Published: August 2008

Purpose

This paper sets out to investigate small business success factors in Chile.

Design/methodology/approach

The research on which this paper is based involves a survey correlational study involving a sample of 145 small business owners in Chile that replicates Lussier's success variables validated in the USA.

Findings

The results of this research study show that there were 26 significant correlations between the success variables. A major finding shows that business owners tend not to make much use of professional advisors, yet this factor was correlated with six other variables.

Research limitations/implications

There were no other small business success factor studies of Chile found in the specialist literature, thus the results could not be compared with findings of similar studies.

Practical implications

The findings indicate that small business owners and managers may benefit from using more professional advisors. Public policy makers should consider providing more professional help to small business, such as offering services similar to that of the US Small Business Administration.

Originality/value

This is the first major small business success factor study conducted in Chile. Researchers have a foundation for further research and comparisons.
Factors impacting participation of Hispanic small businesses in government contracting in the USA
Authors: Temponi Cecilia , Cui Wen
Published: August 2008

Purpose

This study aims to examine the relationship among three main constructs of financial status, e‐commerce components, and Hispanic small businesses' (HSBs') perceptions regarding the contracting process of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as they pertain to HSBs and their current capacity to gain access to government procurement.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper employs descriptive statistics and association analysis conducted on survey data from a random sample of 206 HSBs.

Findings

The analysis indicates that the HSBs' financial status has no impact on HSBs pursuing contracts with the USDA; instead, it impacts HSBs' ability to secure contracts. E‐commerce components seem to have no impact on HSBs' ability to pursue and/or secure contracts. The perceptions of services provided by the USDA to HSBs were found to be different depending on whether an HSB has secured a USDA contract.

Research limitations/implications

Findings on HSBs in government contracting with the USDA might also be relevant to small businesses, regardless of ethnicity. This study was conducted for the USDA procurement process, but the process may vary due to the types of services contracted or the function of the agency/business itself. Non‐response biases were tested and found not significant.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature in two complimentary ways. One contribution supports some of the earlier research on barriers for engagement of small business in government procurement. The second contribution offers specifics on Hispanic small businesses.
Small business performance in MNC suppliers' networks
Authors: María Cubillo‐Pinilla José
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to analyse the influence of a multinational company (MNC) on its local supplier's network. In particular, how the MNC influences the performance of supplier as well as non‐supplier local companies.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper studies a local productive system involved in the manufacturing of lighting systems for automobiles, and made up of small and medium sized companies and led by a single multinational corporation which contracts out to the local industry. The analysis includes both suppliers to the multinational as well as non‐suppliers.

Findings

The study shows how the existence of knowledge transfer influences productivity through the productive linkage established with local suppliers and their hiring of MNC former managers. Direct local suppliers experience higher productivity than do local suppliers from lower levels of the supply chain. Similarly, local suppliers hiring MNC former managers show higher productivity than those who have hired only local managers.

Research limitations/implications

One of the limitations of this paper is the size of the population studied. This paper focuses on one local supplier's network, and it only shows a very local experience. Another limitation is the difficulty in measuring the intensity of every channel of knowledge transfer. Thus, in the case of direct suppliers, it is very difficult to separate the effects of the knowledge transfer derived from the productive link and the effects derived from workers' mobility.

Originality/value

This paper identifies the key factors that influence the performance of the knowledge transfer into multinational corporation suppliers' networks related with the productitivy of local companies.
CAPM‐based capital budgeting and nonadditivity
Authors: Magni Carlo Alberto
Published: August 2008

Purpose

In investment decision making, the net present value (NPV) rule is often used alongside the well‐known capital asset pricing model (CAPM). In particular, the use of disequilibrium NPV is endorsed in corporate finance for both valuation and decision. The purpose of this paper is to test the reliability of this approach to capital budgeting valuations and decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

The use of disequilibrium values for computing a project's NPV is considered, and the consistency with the CAPM is checked. The resulting valuation and decision are contrasted with the no‐arbitrage principle, which is universally considered a benchmark for rationality.

Findings

The paper finds that the disequilibrium NPV is logically deducted from the CAPM for decision‐making purposes. However, this NPV provides nonadditive values, which makes it inconsistent with the no‐arbitrage principle.

Practical implications

The use of the CAPM+NPV procedure for valuing projects is invalid if disequilibrium values are used. Its use for decision making is logically valid but practically unsafe, because decision makers may frame equivalent courses of action in different ways, resulting in different decisions, which implies that they may incur arbitrage losses.

Originality/value

The literature does not distinguish between equilibrium and disequilibrium NPV nor between valuation and decision. This paper explicitly makes this distinction and the resulting consequences are highlighted.
The specific risk of the UK real estate securities market
Authors: Kovac Vladimir , Lee Stephen
Published: August 2008

Purpose

Evaluation of risk/return relationship in public real estate market in the UK is vital for investors. In particular sector risk is being assessed, which is increasingly important due to expansion of index linked investments. The aim of this paper is to assess the risk inherent in public real estate securities.

Design/methodology/approach

To extract the specific/systematic risk from UK FTSE Real Estate Index (FTSERLT), the single index model (SIM) is employed over the period 1986‐2003. Four benchmark indices are used for this purpose in line with previous studies. The main part of the analyses is to find the index which best distinguishes between the systematic and specific factors affecting the real estate index. Monthly data are collected and grouped into one‐, three‐ and five‐year periods so that short‐ and long‐term trends are better observed and identified.

Findings

The findings show that the link between FTSERLT and all four indices has been declining over the observed period. In addition, it is noticed that the high and irregular specific risk levels in the sector over the last 15‐year period have created some form or “risk cycle”. In case of downturn on the market, it is identified that public real estate is more vulnerable than private market due to its high liquidity. This is identified as a major threat to its long‐term sustainability.

Originality/value

A unique breakdown of specific and systematic risk has been given based on three different duration periods and four benchmark indices. A particular attention has been given to the periods characterized with greater specific risk element. The paper has supported the existence of the “common real estate risk element” between public and private markets by establishing a strong correlation between public and private markets by establishing a strong correlation between the performance of direct real estate monthly market index (IPDMI) and abnormal performance (Alpha) of the public real estate sector.
Extreme returns and value at risk in international securitized real estate markets
Authors: Hiang Liow Kim
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and compare the extreme behavior of securitized real estate and stock market returns as well as their value‐at‐risk (VaR) dynamics in international investing. Extreme value theory using the block maxima method is applied to ten securitized real estate and equity market indices representing Asian, European and North American markets.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper models the maxima and minima of all return series within the extreme value theory (EVT) framework and derive the VaR estimates. It then compares the VaR estimates derived from the EVT and the normal distribution and investigates the impact of clustered returns on the VaR estimates. Finally, both the conventional standard deviation measure and VaR method are conducted to evaluate and compare the impact of the Asian financial turmoil on the real estate and stock market risk profiles.

Findings

Evidence shows that Asian real estate and equity maxima and minima return series are characterized by a fat‐tailed Fréchet distribution. The frequency and severity of extreme Asian real estate returns are greater than their European and North American counterparts. Securitized real estate markets are riskier than the broader stock markets before and during the Asian financial turmoil. In contrast, many stock markets become riskier after the financial crisis with their VaRs higher than the equivalent VaR estimates for the real estate series.

Research limitations/implications

Knowledge about real estate market returns exhibit extreme behavior can help investors and fund managers understand the distribution of real estate market returns better and obtain potentially more accurate real estate return forecasts.

Practical implications

International real estate portfolio risk management should include both extreme risks and standard deviations. Accordingly, global investors should be even more cautious in formulating their diversification strategies since gains from diversification can be reduced significantly by the severity of extreme return levels.

Originality/value

The paper characterizes the distribution of extreme returns for a broad spectrum of international securitized real estate markets from three continents. The extreme value investigation is also conducted for broader stock markets corresponding to the individual real estate markets. The July 1997 turmoil that occurred in Asian financial markets provides interesting exploratory opportunities within which this paper estimates and compares the extreme market risk with the conventional standard deviation measure.
Towards an architecture for open archive networks in agricultural sciences and technology
Authors: Subirats Imma , Onyancha Irene , Salokhe Gauri , Kaloyanova Stefka , Anibaldi Stefano , Keizer Johannes
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore addressing the accessibility, availability and interoperability issues of exchanging agricultural research output by means of the AGRIS application profile – an exchange metadata standard – and controlled vocabularies or subject‐specific knowledge organisation systems.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on an analysis of the open access (OA) publishing model and the open archives initiative (OAI), the authors share their proposal for the architecture for open archive networks in agricultural sciences and technology.

Findings

The lack of adequate information exchange possibilities between researchers in food and agricultural sciences represents a significant weakness, limiting the research system to properly help address the issues of agricultural development. The OA publishing model promotes the availability of content online, including grey literature, which is not available through commercial distribution channels but which significantly contributes to agricultural research and development. The new architecture proposed in this paper is based on these OA and OAI paradigms and has three components: the creation of content with agreed content description standards, the harvesting of the content using common exchange standards and the value‐added services provided to the users using the exchanged standard content.

Originality/value

The paper presents how the agricultural sciences and technology community can adopt the OA model and OAI tools. The paper will be useful to information professionals who are planning to improve the accessibility and interoperability of the agricultural research produced in their institution by the creation of institutional repositories.
ScienceTreks: an autonomous digital library system
Authors: Ivanyukovich Alexander , Marchese Maurizio , Giunchiglia Fausto
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide support for automation of the annotation process of large corpora of digital content.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents and discusses an information extraction pipeline from digital document acquisition to information extraction, processing and management. An overall architecture that supports such an extraction pipeline is detailed and discussed.

Findings

The proposed pipeline is implemented in a working prototype of an autonomous digital library (A‐DL) system called ScienceTreks that: supports a broad range of methods for document acquisition; does not rely on any external information sources and is solely based on the existing information in the document itself and in the overall set in a given digital archive; and provides application programming interfaces (API) to support easy integration of external systems and tools in the existing pipeline.

Practical implications

The proposed A‐DL system can be used in automating end‐to‐end information retrieval and processing, supporting the control and elimination of error‐prone human intervention in the process.

Originality/value

High quality automatic metadata extraction is a crucial step in the move from linguistic entities to logical entities, relation information and logical relations, and therefore to the semantic level of digital library usability. This in turn creates the opportunity for value‐added services within existing and future semantic‐enabled digital library systems.
Concept naming vs concept categorisation: a faceted approach to semantic annotation
Authors: Prasad A.R.D. , Guha Nabonita
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show that concept naming alone in document annotation is not sufficient to convey the thought content of the information resource. The paper presents an outline of semantic document annotation which combines two major processes: facet analysis and concept categorisation. This is also an effort to show how RDF schema can be designed and implemented so that the properties of the schema are able to express the basic structure of the subject matter of the resource.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a methodology for representing the subject matter of a document in terms of RDF. For the purposes of faceted subject annotation, it has developed an extended RDF schema for simple knowledge organisation system (SKOS). The facets and relationships of the faceted subject indexing language postulate‐based permuted subject indexing system (POPSI) have been transformed into RDFS classes. The elementary categories of POPSI form the property classes in the POPSI/RDF Schema. These property classes have been used to formulate the subject description of a document.

Findings

The subject annotation of a document using this schema expresses all the components of the thought content of an information resource.

Practical implications

The examples given in this paper show the applicability of this schema in describing resources in web directories and annotating scholarly documents in digital libraries. In a broader perspective, this provides a methodology for formulating the subject metadata of web resources. This schema helps in formulating the subject string(s) for a resource outlining the skeleton structure of its thought content.

Originality/value

SKOS has been developed as an RDF schema representation of the traditional knowledge organisation systems. But the schema has limited room to accommodate subject indexing languages. The present schema extends the SKOS schema to accommodate the representation of faceted subject indexing languages. The faceted subject annotation system has been adopted for the very reason that it has precedence over the enumerated classification systems, controlled vocabulary lists, etc. The potential to describe the specific subject of the document with more accuracy and representation of context gives the faceted subject indexing languages strength to make the subject description explicit and machine processible.
E‐science and information services: a missing link in the context of digital libraries
Authors: Osswald Achim
Published: August 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse whether, and how far, library and information services (LIS) are involved in e‐Science and grid computing projects funded by authorities in the European Union and Germany. It explains and emphasises the relevance of LIS‐based information services and expertise in e‐Science activities.

Design/methodology/approach

Projects were analysed to determine the extent to which institutions or persons with LIS expertise were involved and information services provided.

Findings

Very few of the e‐Science projects made use of LIS‐based services. This omission could reduce the quality of e‐Science‐related research in the long term and LIS experts could lose their role and expertise in serving scientists. Further research is needed to verify this. Additionally research is needed to determine whether e‐Science projects in other countries are also lacking LIS services.

Research limitations/implications

The research was undertaken during the preliminary phase of the projects.

Practical implications

Funding should emphasise the inclusion and provision of LIS services.

Originality/value

The findings show a lack of LIS services in e‐Science projects, which could otherwise enhance the projects' development and the distribution of their results.
Analysis and overview of industrial solid waste management in Kuwait
Authors: Alhumoud Jasem M. , Al‐Kandari Fatima A.
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the amount of different kinds of solid wastes produced, segregated, collected, stored, transported and disposed off by the different industries/business in Kuwait.

Design/methodology/approach

Available industry information along with the use of monitoring data from a waste management system were used to analyze the generation, type and composition of industrial waste. Industrial activities were classified as follows: crude oil and chemical products industry; food and beverage industry, textiles and leather industry, wood industry, paper and printing industry, non‐metallic mineral products; metal industry and other industries. The wastes generated were classified according to their composition.

Findings

Kuwait has more than 5,000 industries and as a result more than 47,169 tons of industrial wastes are produced every year in Kuwait. It was observed that paper and cardboard, plastic, wood, and metals were the most common types of waste, mainly generated from packaging (45 percent of the total volume), as well as material used in containers and for wrapping products.

Practical implications

In the management of these industrial solid wastes, it was observed in most cases they were disposed of by dumping, and very rarely did businesses resort to reuse, recycling or valorization.

Originality/value

The paper systematically assesses the obstacles in the existing industrial solid waste management system in the different industries and businesses in Kuwait. In addition, it examines the legislation set by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in Kuwait. Subsequently, recommendations and improvements are suggested.
Improving environmental performance through integrated management systems (IMS) in the UK
Authors: Griffith Alan , Bhutto Khalid
Published: August 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to report on a government funded doctorate research project examining the developments in and applications of integrated management systems (IMS) applied to the environment, quality, and safety of construction projects in the UK. The research focused on how the integration of standards‐based management systems used by major contractors operating within the construction sector could contribute to improvements in the environmental performance of their corporate organisation and their projects.

Design/methodology/approach

The research project utilised a triangulated approach collating qualitative and quantitative data acquired by multiple collection methods of a questionnaire survey, structured and semi‐structured interviews and case studies. Qualitative approach involved the development of theory from data, or grounded theory, and evaluation of data, or analytic induction, whilst quantitative approach used data‐sampling methods and database coding and analysis.

Findings

The findings show that a number of prominent UK principal contracting organisations have introduced effective integrated standards‐based systems for managing a construction project's environment, quality, and safety. Notwithstanding these exemplars, industry‐based problems are manifest and include: lack of management systems awareness; passive environmental standpoints; litigious project‐participant relationships; and cost‐driven, rather than environmentally empathic, cultures. Survey data have identified where and why current problems exist whilst detailed interviews and case studies have identified effective methods of integrating management systems, together with the critical success factors and potential benefits.

Originality/value

The research examines environmental performance within the project environments of the construction industry. The findings add to the current body of knowledge and will be of value to contractors seeking to address environmental aspects of their business through effective management approach. Furthermore, the research has wider value through its experiences and transferable‐applications to other industry sectors.
Corporate social and environmental reporting: a survey of disclosure practices in Egypt
Authors: Rizk Riham , Dixon Robert , Woodhead Anne
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to survey the corporate social and environmental reporting (CSR) practices of Egyptian corporate entities. It aims at contributing to the body of knowledge on the CSR disclosure phenomenon in developing/transitional economies.

Design/methodology/approach

A 34‐item disclosure index covering environmental, energy, human resources, customer and community involvement issues was used to rank corporations.

Findings

A review of a random sample of 60 annual reports for the 2002 financial year revealed significant differences in reporting practices among the members of the nine industry segments surveyed. Findings of this research also lend support to the significance of ownership structure on the reporting decision.

Research limitations/implications

The study is based on the annual report disclosures of corporations in the industrial sector. Hence, the conclusions arrived at should not be generalised to the non‐industrial sector. A longitudinal study based on a reasonably large sample, which includes the non‐industrial sector, is needed to highlight trends in CSR reporting practices in Egypt. In‐depth case study‐type research would also facilitate understanding of not only what, but also why and how companies are making social and environmental disclosures in Egypt.

Originality/value

Reviews of disclosure practices in different parts of the world are always welcome and are arguably somewhat limited in developing countries.
The abandoned mandatory OFR: a lost opportunity for SER?
Authors: Solomon Jill Frances , Rhianon Pel Edgley Carla
Published: August 2008

Purpose

An important outcome of the UK Company Law Review (CLR) involved draft regulations for a mandatory operating and financial review (OFR). The unprecedented abandonment of this mandatory OFR in November 2005 threw debate about the genuine motivations underlying the CLR into disarray. This paper seeks to reinterpret the abandonment of a mandatory OFR using interview research.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a series of 24 interviews with companies from the FTSE100 between May and August 2004, prior to the abandonment.

Findings

The interviews showed that the OFR was perceived as an appropriate vehicle for social and environmental reporting (SER). The interviewees considered that a mandatory OFR would provide a means of forcing SER into the mainstream and making it mandatory at a basic level. The interviews revealed that processes for the identification of material SER differ widely between organisations, ranging from embryonic to highly structured. Further, interviewees believed that directors had the final veto on inclusion of information. Despite directors' inclination to hide behind materiality as a means of avoiding SER, interviewees did not view the proposed mandatory OFR as “greenwash” but as a vehicle that would increase stakeholder confidence, as processes underlying the proposed OFR would be audited.

Practical implications

The research implies that abandoning the mandatory OFR represented a lost opportunity for SER.

Originality/value

The paper provides new evidence on the processes of materiality decision making in the SER area as well as strong endorsement of the mandatory OFR, contrary to the government turn‐around.
Environmental information: special reference to greenhouse gas emissions in Spain
Authors: Gallego Álvarez Isabel
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the situation in Spain after the Kyoto Protocol with respect to greenhouse gas emissions and the national allocation plan published in 2005, which assigns CO2 tonnes to approximately 1,920 Spanish firms for the 2005‐2007 period.

Design/methodology/approach

The author analysed the international norms related to the Kyoto Protocol and the situation in Spain.

Findings

From the conclusions of the study it can be derived that, although in recent years notable progress has been made, there is still a series of issues that can only be resolved, in the author's opinion, with practical application on the part of firms over time. These issues, both on an international level and in Spain, are: how to reflect the greenhouse gas emissions allowance in accounting; what information firms should include about greenhouse gas emissions in their annual reports; environmental reports and web sites; and what the economic impact of the Kyoto Protocol will be on the world economy, considering that some countries have already ratified it, while others have not.

Research limitations/implications

This work should also be extended to more countries and not just be limited to Spanish companies. There is still much to be done to cover the possible gaps in this topic.

Originality/value

It is believed that the issues posed by the different sets of regulations are developing little by little, as seen in the fact that different countries are passing their respective national allocation plans, which specify the individual allocation of greenhouse gas emission allowances of different industries.
Evaluate corporate social responsibility disclosure at Annual Report Companies in multifarious group of industry members of Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX), Indonesia
Authors: Mirfazli Edwin
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to draw disclosure of corporate social responsibility from annual reports of companies which went public on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX). The objective of this research is to show the pattern of the companies in practicing social disclosure. The pattern includes category and item, focus, amount and difference per category including high and low profile companies in multifarious group members of JSX.

Design/methodology/approach

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) was identified, evaluated and measured, along with the effect on the company and communication to stockholders, as it was seen how much the disclosure about social responsibility accounting was present in the annual report.

Findings

Its use of coding processes in the annual report, with use of content analysis, was specifically for indexing a “yes” or “no” approach. There are 16 members of JSX for Multifarious Group of Industry including High‐Profile and Low‐Profile companies. The research results show the significant difference between High‐Profile and Low‐Profile for disclosure about corporate social responsibility in annual reports.

Originality/value

The paper suggests that the behavior of a company disregarding its social responsibility will harm that company.
Corporate governance in Turkey: reform and convergence
Authors: Poroy Arsoy Aylin , Crowther David
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent of convergence of regulations and of practice regarding corporate governance between a developing country (Turkey) and a developed country (the UK).

Design/methodology/approach

The development of the codes is described and compared and then research is conducted into the top 100 companies on the stock exchanges of each country.

Findings

It is shown that, although the codes, and their iterative development, are similar, the degree of compliance is dissimilar.

Research limitations/implications

These findings suggest that further research in other countries is also needed to see if the explanations are robust.

Originality/value

Much research has been undertaken into corporate governance and national differences but the paper is different in that it makes a comparison between countries and also between regulation and practice to show that these diverge.
Do expert ratings or economic models explain champagne prices?
Authors: Bentzen Jan , Smith Valdemar
Published: August 2008

Purpose

Champagne is bought with low frequency and many consumers most likely do not have or seek full information on the quality of champagne. Some consumers may rely on the reputation of particular brands, e.g. “Les Grandes Marques”, some consumers choose to gain information from sensory ratings of champagne. The aim of this paper is to analyse the champagne prices on the Scandinavian markets by applying a hedonic price function in a comparative framework with minimal models using sensory ratings.

Design/methodology/approach

Consumers optimize the quality–price relationship when buying champagne by seeking only the necessary market information. Within a search model framework, they choose between costless information from sensory ratings and using time for seeking information on the quality attributes of the champagnes. The model is tested on data for the Scandinavian markets in an econometric skeleton.

Findings

The retail prices of the champagnes on the Scandinavian markets can be fairly well explained by a hedonic price function. However, the ratings by the wine experts, especially Robert Parker, do just as well in terms of explaining the retail prices of champagnes.

Practical implications

Assuming that sensory ratings by wine experts reflect the true quality of champagne, which is supported by the results in this paper, it hardly pays for normal consumers to use resources on seeking detailed information on champagne quality. Thus, sensory rating is an efficient guide to optimize the quality–price relationship.

Originality/value

Champagne prices are normally analysed using experimental techniques. In our paper, champagne prices are analysed using a search model and tested on market data. Furthermore, the issue on expert ratings vs quality attributes as the optimal price predictor is expanded to the champagne market too.
Accounting for social taste: application to the demand for wine
Authors: Terrien Christophe , Steichen Daniel
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to put forward the hypothesis that the demand for wine can be partly explained by social phenomena.

Design/methodology/approach

A general framework considers social phenomena. A literature review in the domain of wine shows that these aspects may constitute an interesting line of study in order to explain the demand for wine. This paper proposes an original model taking into account phenomena of imitation or phenomena of opposition between different social groups, in order to explain changes in the demand for wine. The paper shows the existence or the absence of stable equilibriums

Findings

The proposed model is applied here to three different products conveying a strong social dimension (in the domain of Wine) but it could surely be applied to other goods (luxury goods, fashion, cars, etc). Amplifying this work will consist in characterizing the conditions for the existence of stable points in the model according to the social and idiosyncratic parameters of the system.

Originality/value

This original approach of the demand for wine has important managerial implications. The paper suggests, in fact, a price strategy based on the rate of buyers observed in different social groups.
Contradictions of traditions and change in German winemaking: an exploratory study
Authors: Harrington Robert J. , Ottenbacher Michael C.
Published: August 2008

Purpose

This exploratory study aims to investigate the national adoption of international wine industry trends in Germany. Specifically, the paper consider this adoption as perceived by luxury German wine producers in three wine regions. This study addresses two main questions: what impact do regional German traditions have on techniques used by small wine producers in the super‐premium + segment? Are these traditions balanced with the adoption of New World techniques and trends in viticulture and viniculture?

Design/methodology/approach

Due to the complex nature of the research questions and to provide rich, meaningful descriptions, this study adopted a qualitative method. The researchers did semi‐structured interviews with five highly respected German winemakers in the Rheingau, Württemberg and Baden regions.

Findings

This study shows that German wine producers are heavily influenced by Old World philosophy and traditions as well as New World concepts and technology. Successful wine producers appear to create a balance between the gastronomic identity of the region with advantages of new technologies, business models and trends. Research limitations/implications – The study has been conducted in only three wine regions in Germany. In addition, this study employed the case study approach. Future research could use large sample proposition testing to investigate if the findings from this study can be statistically confirmed and are applicable to other countries.

Practical implications

German wine producers can learn much from New World business models. In particular, revised organizational forms that allow wine producers increased access to travel and promotion of products can assist in increasing demand for quality products as well as on‐going learning through interaction with others in the industry.

Originality/value

German wine is an important subject for academic study, however, it is under‐researched. This exploratory study provides several implications for small to medium‐sized wine producers in Germany.
Influence of urban design master plans on property sub‐markets: two case studies in Brisbane
Authors: Kozlowski M. , Huston S.
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to consider the impact of urban design master plan projects in the Australian context of Brisbane. It first reviewed the general ramifications of urban design projects on property markets. The local impacts of two major projects were then analysed and compared. A limited statistical analysis was conducted to investigate whether local price growth could be attributed to the projects or resulted from generally buoyant market conditions.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopted a largely descriptive approach. It first reviewed the theoretical outcomes urban design projects should deliver. It then looked at the specific details of two distinct urban design projects in Brisbane and descriptively assessed their impact on adjacent local housing markets. It then compared relative aggregated location price growth to isolate discernable project price effects. Finally, the paper anecdotally selected some master designed properties and considered whether their prices were excessive compared to average location rents.

Findings

The paper found conflicting evidence to support the view that urban design projects significantly lifted aggregated location prices. On the one hand, aggregated project location price growth was relatively muted. Other generic demand factors and local differences in housing stock quality swamped project effects. On the other hand, at the individual property level, there was some anecdotal evidence to suggest premiums were paid for urban designed homes. The paper indirectly suggests, then, that any price impacts of urban design projects are subject to rapid distance decay.

Research limitations/implications

The paper conducted only a limited historical review of revitalisation and urban design. A systematic individual, project‐adjacent, property price analysis was not conducted. Rather, the aggregated dwelling price analysis and anecdotal rental review suggested, albeit inconclusively, that the effects of urban design are spatially restricted to the immediate vicinity of projects.

Practical implications

Investors should note likely price impact of planned infrastructure projects is spatially restricted to the immediate environs of the project.

Originality/value

The paper combines an overview of urban design and property market analysis.