bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The executive growth factor: how Siemens invigorated its customer relationships
Authors: Senn Christoph
Published: January 2007

Purpose

Many companies claim to have established senior executive relationship programs, but few have linked their account plans to senior executive actions, and consequently, only a few can report successful growth results. This article provides a systematic approach to create a replicable executive engagement process.

Design/methodology/approach

During 1997‐2005, five research consortiums on global account management (GAM), involving more than 30 companies around the world, were conducted. The objectives were to explore current successful practices and future competencies in GAM. In addition to the empirical investigation of the effects of successful GAM implementation, several case studies were developed.

Findings

The case of Siemens Information & Communication illustrates the benefits on both the supplier and the customer sides when companies make a systematic effort to link their account plans to senior executive actions. In the case of Siemens, the growth rate of the systematically “managed” accounts outperformed that of “non‐managed” accounts by a factor of two.

Practical implications

The results from the research in general and the case in particular suggest that executive engagement in customer affairs represents a strategic choice rather than an agenda filler. By following the described process, companies can create their own growth agendas.

Originality/value

This paper offers middle and senior managers a proven and inexpensive process for translating account plans into real growth. Companies that commit to creating such an executive engagement process can expect to benefit from hard‐to‐copy intimacy with their customers, which in turn results in new, sustainable sources of competitive advantage.
Shininess vs usefulness
Authors: Marren Patrick
Published: January 2007

Purpose

To provide the author's opinions about key issues in strategy and the future to the readership.

Design/methodology/approach

Opinion column.FindingsThe degree of generic vs specialized strategy is a key determinant of strategic success or failure.

Research limitations/implications

Based not on rigorous research but on the author's experience of planning engagements across a wide variety of private and public enterprises.

Practical implications

Illustrates a previously perhaps neglected dichotomy in business styles.

Originality/value

Expresses opinions that the author believes have not been expressed in quite this way before.
Over 50 and ready to shop: serving the aging consumer
Authors: Pak Cabrini , Kambil Ajit
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework to better understand the emerging aging consumer markets. It identifies new principles to better serve the ranks of the 50+ consumer market as those segments grow in number and economic influence.

Design/methodology/approach

The framework was developed following industry and literature reviews and analysis of secondary data from the Social Security Administration, Census Bureau, US Department of Labor, UN Population Division, and AARP.

Findings

Demographics point to a significant rise in the importance and complexity of consumer markets in the age 50+ segments. There are psychological, social, economic and biological changes that affect the spending habits and priorities of these consumers and, while there are excellent examples of companies taking these factors into account in designing products and services, it is clear that we have only begun to consider how best to serve aging and generally affluent consumers.

Practical implications

The aging consumer is rapidly moving from being something of a cursory footnote on corporate product/service plans to being a dominant market force. Companies with a deep understanding of the unique needs and priorities of the age 50+ segments, and which design products and services informed by this understanding, will gain a significant competitive advantage over those that overlook these characteristics and preferences.

Originality/value

This article provides both a framework for companies to assess the needs of the emerging 50+ consumer market, as well as examples of companies that have begun to innovate with an eye toward serving this increasingly complex and well‐heeled population.
A letter from the president: seduction, charm and obfuscation in French CEO letters
Authors: Bournois Frank , Point Sébastien
Published: January 2007

Purpose

Shareholders, investors and potential employees, all attach special importance to understanding a company through its annual report, the status of which has evolved over the years: from providing information for the adepts of competitive intelligence, it now provides information available to all stakeholders in the company. But one aspect has not changed: the keynote message of the president that prefaces the annual report. The present article indicates current practice in the matter in the case of 28 leading French companies.

Design/methodology/approach

We have made these companies the subject of a systematic and detailed computer‐assisted analysis.

Findings

Among the main conclusions to be noted are: a varied range of rhetorical cosmetics by way of embellishment, and attitudes either of prudence or optimism on the part of company heads; a type of discourse open to several levels of interpretation: from a literal level to a level allowing the reader to interpret the wider spirit and intention of the document.

Originality/value

In view of the time devoted to the preparation and fine‐tuning of a presidential letter, we feel justified in writing a modest letter of recommendations for the attention of the president at the end of this contribution.
Want to improve strategic execution? Simons says levers
Authors: Sheehan Norman T.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe four levers that managers can use to effectively implement strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

Draws on the performance management literature, in particular Simons' levers of control framework, to describe and illustrate practical examples of diagnostic, belief, boundary, and interactive controls.

Findings

To fully realize the potential of their firm's strategy, managers need to get the levers to work in concert. Failure to accomplish this may result in underperformance, a loss of reputation, or even extinction.

Practical implications

To successfully implement their firm's strategy, managers must: get employees to buy into the firm's belief system; delineate those activities that may place their firm in jeopardy and declare these off limits to employees; communicate strategy to employees by developing metrics, setting targets, and aligning incentive; and become personally involved in those decisions which relate to strategic threats and opportunities in order to shape the firm's future direction.

Originality/value

Provides current examples of each of the four levers and articulates how they need to inter‐relate with one another.
The strategic farmer: a cheese producer with cold feet?
Authors: McElwee Gerard , Anderson Alistair , Vesala Kari
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to explore the strategy of an enterprising farmer. The background problematic is that in Europe, agriculture has faced dramatic pressures for restructuring, and facilitation of the strategic skills of farmers and a stronger entrepreneurial orientation have been suggested as a possible solution for the emerging problems. We use an illustrative case to show how strategy formation and implementation may require different skills, competencies and attitudes.

Design, methodology and approach

A case study is used to examine the issues of strategy formation and implementation. Whilst the findings from the case may not be generalisable, our analysis provides an opportunity to conceptually reflect on the issues. These issues may have wider implications beyond the research site.

Findings

The theoretical and case study analyses reveal that the concept of entrepreneurial strategy is ambiguous. Yet, if proper care is taken to distinguish the concept from, and relate it to, the elements in which it is embedded, the notion is a useful tool for both theory and empirical investigation. By applying such a procedure, we show that the contexts of conventional farming and business diversification call for an understanding about the clearly different entrepreneurial skills and appropriate strategies and strategic implementation.

Practical implications

This research suggests that a major challenge for the agricultural sector is to enable farmers to develop their strategic, marketing and entrepreneurial skills. This requires economic support and greater emphasis on education and training. It is hoped that this research will assist in this challenge.
CEO succession: the times they are a‐changin'
Authors: Dalton Dan R. , Dalton Catherine M.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The paper aims to at CEO succession in light of regulations and post‐SOX dynamics.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines CEO succession in light of regulations and post‐SOX dynamics.

Findings

It has been increasingly argued that the formal CEO succession process is in disrepair. The post‐SOX dynamics described in previous sections promise to even further confound boards of directors' responsibilities for succession planning and execution.

Practical implications

The paper provides executives with information on issues boards must consider in succession planning.

Originality/value

The paper is of particular value to CEOs and other board members.
The strategy payoff for smaller enterprises
Authors: Beaver Graham
Published: January 2007

Purpose

This paper seeks to examine business strategy from the small firm and enterprise development perspective. It aims to advocate the value of a well‐considered strategy for the venture for superior business performance and consider the ways in which entrepreneurs can devise, control and communicate strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

Strategic thinking and planning are strongly related to small business financial performance. This is confirmed by the research reported here, that showed quite conclusively that strategic thinking is an essential ingredient in enterprise survival, performance and growth. The original research on which this paper is based, had as its central objective to investigate the nature, style, value and development of strategic management in a sample of 87 small businesses in six industry sectors based in the UK Midlands.

Findings

A central finding was that the principal value of strategic planning to those firms that practiced and valued it, was that they had a framework for their assessments of overall performance.

Research limitations/implications

Semi‐structured interviews were undertaken which included questions about the current fortunes, management attitudes and market position of the business. Specifically, the interviews aimed to find out: How the firm had dealt with any economic downturn: Problems arising from market changes: What major decisions were taken as a result of the problems and opportunities that surfaced: The level of satisfaction and confidence with the decisions taken and their outcomes and the value and contribution of strategic management.

Practical implications

Those small firms that have survived, prospered and grown, exhibited most or all of the following characteristics: They had a firm grip on their finances. They examined business forecasts carefully and returned to the original business plan to check principal assumptions made about sales volume and cash flow. They reduced the money that debtors owed by implementing an effective credit management system and/or used factoring. Many had a pricing plan and took a strategic view when setting price.

Originality/value

Strategy in the small firms that are referred to here is enacted in a highly personalised manner and is strongly influenced by the actions, abilities, personality and success criteria of the key role players. The successful firms examined here are adopting a more imaginative and strategic approach to risk.
Learning faster than the competition: war games give the advantage
Authors: Chussil Mark
Published: January 2007

Purpose

Business war games support competitive‐strategy decisions under uncertainty. They are especially useful in combating confirmation bias, the human tendency to look for reassuring evidence that a desired future will come true. There is no generally accepted definition of what a business war game is, and there are many ways to conduct them. This paper aims to describe why, when, and how to use different types of business war games.

Design/methodology/approach

The author has conducted some 100 business war games for major companies around the world, and has 30 years' experience in strategy analysis. The paper draws on the author's observations of thousands of managers in those war games, on his familiarity with simulation technologies, and on research in social psychology, to categorize and recommend war‐gaming techniques for different business needs. The paper includes two illustrative case descriptions.

Findings

The paper finds that business war game objectives include: stimulating excitement around a strategy; building skill on strategic thinking; creating strategy options and anticipating threats and opportunities; and testing strategy options and making decisions. When the war‐game objective calls for quantitative models, traditional financial or trend‐line analysis can be dangerous. The objective will also influence the scope and length of the game, and its “rules of engagement.”

Originality/value

Few managers have participated in a business war game, and even fewer are aware of the variety of war games. This paper describes the link between war gaming and competitive advantage, and helps managers (and those who advise them) know why, when, and how to use different types of business war games.
Down with strategy: in defense of short‐term thinking
Authors: Ezer Jonathan , Demetis Dionysios S.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to argue that the need for strategy is overstated and that organizations should celebrate short‐term thinking.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a case study of a medium‐sized software company in Canada, followed by an analysis in terms of the history of strategy and Ciborra's work on organizational change.

Findings

The study finds that strategy and structure are taken‐for‐granted assumptions that are not always appropriate. While strategy is important for contemporary business, it has overstepped its relevance and has been become the dominant organizing myth of modern management. Such a myth has become an obsession that quite often constrains the variety of organizational responses. The notion of strategy has become an “iron cage” which constrains manoeuvrability.

Practical implications

Short‐term thinking has tremendous benefits and should be embraced.

Originality/value

The paper provides a useful insight into the benefits of short‐term thinking.
Interoperability of bioinformatics resources
Authors: Vyas Hiten , Summers Ron
Published: January 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to supply an introduction to the bioinformatics discipline for information professionals, outlining how current information management issues are hampering the effective integration and interoperability of resources.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach taken is to outline some of the more challenging issues to illustrate their consequences, such as syntactic and semantic heterogeneity, data storage formats and media, and the existence of inconsistencies in information content in bioinformatics resources. A discussion of these topics indicates how semantic web concepts and technologies, together with e‐science initiatives, can be used to address these problems.

Findings

The paper reveals that, if one considers the use of semantic web technologies such as XML and ontologies for the development of information standards that allows integration of different information systems, these systems could then be placed into applications such as web services and GRIDS tailored for biological studies. Such applications would provide automated functionality for database integration, workflow management, inclusion of provenance data, and notification of services.

Originality/value

The value of this paper is that it exemplifies how information professionals can make an impact on the discipline of bioinformatics, which historically has not been addressed by experts with information skills.
Learning as associative patterning
Authors: Bennet Alex , Bennet David
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to link the associative learning process of the human brain to the relationship and emergence of really significant ideas on the global horizon.

Design/methodology/approach

First, learning is explored from the viewpoint of the brain/mind, with a focus on the creation of patterns and their relationships to our personal frames of reference. Second, the associations of three really significant ideas are explored, and a pattern of patterns is surfaced.

Findings

The paper finds that in concert with the functioning of the brain, significant ideas emerge in relationship with other ideas that have personal historical significance, i.e. external patterns from the environment are detected, recognized, made sense of and have meaning in relationship with our internal patterns of significance.

Originality/value

The paper creates an appreciation of the role of patterns in thinking and learning.
The sustainable innovation engine
Authors: Correia de Sousa Milton
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to present a model for sustainable innovation based on learning and knowledge.

Design/methodology/approach

Definitions of knowledge, innovation and learning are provided. Followed by a discussion on the link between knowledge and innovation, the concept of the nominal innovation probability space is introduced, built on the definitions of knowledge depth and knowledge diversity. Different learning styles are presented and how these can increase knowledge depth and knowledge diversity, improving a firm's position in the innovation probability space. A final description is provided of a model for the sustainable innovation engine.

Findings

The article finds that learning is essential to ensure sustainable innovation. Innovation probability is impacted by the organisation's knowledge depth and diversity. Learning styles are correlated to the firm's innovativeness and competitiveness. Experimentation as a learning style is essential for discontinuous innovation. Learning effectiveness is increased if supported by a knowledge management approach. Sustainable innovation requires a positive feedback loop between knowledge creation (learning) and innovation.

Originality/value

The article provides useful information on the introduction of the nominal innovation probability space based on a firm's knowledge depth and diversity; the concept of knowledge empathy; and the distinction between innovation and sustainable innovation and its importance for competitive and collaborative advantage.
Towards the new generation of web knowledge
Authors: Dotsika Fefie , Patrick Keith
Published: January 2007

Purpose

As the web evolves its purpose and nature of its use are changing. The purpose of the paper is to investigate whether the web can provide for the competing stakeholders, who are similarly evolving and who increasingly see it as a significant part of their business.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts an exploratory and reviewing approach to the emerging trends and patterns emanating from the web's changing use and explores the underpinning technologies and tools that facilitate this use and access. It examines the future and potential of web‐based knowledge management (KM) and reviews the emerging web trends, tools, and enabling technologies that will provide the infrastructure of the next generation web.

Findings

The research carried out provides an independent framework for the capturing, accessing and distributing of web knowledge. This framework retains the semantic mark‐up, a feature that we deem indispensable for the future of KM, employing web ontologies to structure organisational knowledge and semantic text processing for the extraction of knowledge from web sites.

Practical implications

As a result it was possible to identify the implications of integrating the two aspects of web‐based KM, namely the business‐organisational‐users' perspective and that of the enabling web technologies.

Originality/value

The proposed framework accommodates the collaborative tools and services offered by Web 2.0, acknowledging the fact that knowledge‐based systems are shared, dynamic, evolving resources, whose underlying knowledge model requires careful management due to its constant changing.
Agora
Authors: Georgolios Panagiotis‐Petros , Kafentzis Konstantinos , Metaxiotis Kostas
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose an approach for describing and discovering knowledge resources in distributed environments.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper proposes a solution that includes a framework model and a technological infrastructure to achieve distributed knowledge discovery. It provides the solution based on a combination of research from knowledge management and distributed processing areas.

Findings

The paper finds a faceted ontology and three discrete models that best achieve distributed processing in terms of knowledge items and knowledge objects. By these mechanisms are provided to: represent knowledge in a generic manner that will unchain knowledge from tight links to specific contexts, purposes and audiences; discover and retrieve knowledge stored in distributed sources; interpret different knowledge representations to enable comprehension of knowledge on the recipient side and tackle the heterogeneity problem; and simplify and accelerate knowledge exchange in distributed environments.

Research limitations/implications

The utilization of knowledge in distributed environments (intra‐ or inter‐organizational) presupposes the existence of a representation of knowledge in a commonly understandable manner. Knowledge resources are distributed in the web and databases in an unstructured manner.

Practical implications

The paper can be used as the basic consensus and infrastructure for the development of a coherent, manageable semantic web. The three models should be addressed in terms of commercial applications.

Originality/value

Knowledge management and distributed processing research fields are combined in order to provide a solution that best addresses the problem of distributed knowledge.
Direct immersion gold (DIG) as a final finish
Authors: Hashimoto Shigeo , Kiso Masayuki , Oda Yukinori , Otake Horoshi , Milad George , Gudaczauskas Don
Published: January 2007

Purpose

To report on research on the alternative surface finish “direct gold on copper”, including reaction mechanism, methods of deposition and end uses.

Design/methodology/approach

Examines the deposition reaction of the electroless flash gold plating bath, and the effects of the copper surface roughness and deposition time on the deposit and solderability characteristics.

Findings

Direct immersion gold is only partially immersion and mostly electroless in deposition mode. The surface is applicable to soldering for both leaded solder and lead‐free solders. The surface is also wire bondable.

Originality/value

The paper offers details of a new alternative surface finish for use in printed circuit board fabrication as well as in packaging applications. The paper shows the electroless deposition mode of the process. The finish is ideally suited where Rf losses must be minimized. It is suitable for soldering as well as for wire bonding.
A new fine‐grained matte pure tin for semiconductor lead‐frame applications
Authors: Whitlaw Keith , Crosby Jeff , Toben Mike
Published: January 2007

Purpose

To present a new tin plating process which provides deposits having a fine‐grained structure and stable crystal orientation with a combination of properties which are well suited for use as a lead‐free finish on semiconductor lead‐frames.

Design/methodology/approach

The new process was designed to produce tin coatings with a deposit grain size ca 20 per cent that of a traditional matte pure tin finish to ensure that the deposit retains good solderability after steam ageing.

Findings

The enhanced solderability from the finer‐grained deposit has been demonstrated and other functionally important deposit properties have been confirmed. A stable single crystal orientation 〈220〉 indicates low whiskering propensity and measurements have confirmed the excellent whisker performance, even without specific whisker‐preventing countermeasures. The deposit has high ductility. Analytical methods are available for all key components to ensure optimum process control. The process has been tested in a continuous production environment for over 12 months with excellent results.

Originality/value

The novel process described in the paper provides tin deposits having a unique combination of properties and with production‐proven capability to be an ideal lead‐free solution as a solderable finish for electronic components.
Economic development and geopolitics: a tale of two regions
Authors: Salih Thamir M.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to discuss aspects of successful and unsuccessful development experiences in southeast and southwest corners of Asia.

Design/methodology/approach

It provides historical background to practices, strategies and policies adopted by policymakers in both of these regions. It identifies factors that a successful development cannot do without.

Findings

The paper concludes that geopolitics can inspire and exploit religion and ethnicity to impede LDCs' development.

Originality/value

Examines the process of development from a practical standpoint in two different areas in Asia: first, Malaysia, Taiwan and South Korea, and, second, Iraq, to identify factors that development cannot be successful without.
Towards a conceptual framework in unitary economics
Authors: Thampapillai Dodo J. , Öhlmer Bo , Tiong Lim Boon
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The object of this paper is to demonstrate that the promotion of altruistic behavior can in fact be regarded as an instrument of public policy.

Design/methodology/approach

This objective is achieved by adapting the standard theory of consumer behavior in microeconomics to the context of an individual who is exposed to the pursuit of altruistic and self‐fulfilling egoistical goals.

Findings

The conceptualization permits the distinction between types of welfare benefits that emerge from the pursuit of these different goals and demonstrate the presence of a welfare benefit transformation frontier. The framework permits the evaluation of policy instruments such as tax incentives and legislations to promote altruistic behavior.

Originality/value

The paper combines concepts in behavioral economics with those in standard microeconomics to demonstrate policy measures that are usually not considered within policy circles.
Historical pattern of India's economic growth: salient features
Authors: Roy K.C.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to present a review of the main features of India's economic growth and human development during nearly 50 years of India's planned development.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines all major aspects of India's growth such as growth in net total national product and per capita product, changes in the production and occupational structure resulting from growth, changes in government revenue, infrastructure and social services, in income distribution and in poverty.

Findings

Although the growth was uneven and low up to 1980, the country recorded a reasonable and steady improvement in most aspects of growth. Nevertheless the effects of growth have not produced better results in poverty alleviation.

Originality/value

Reviews the main features of India's economic growth and human development.
Exposure to pesticides, ill‐health and averting behaviour: costs and determining the relationships
Authors: Wilson Clevo
Published: January 2007

Purpose

Farmers' exposure to pesticides is high in developing countries. As a result many farmers suffer from ill‐health, both short and long term. Deaths are not uncommon. Seeks to address this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

Field survey data from Sri Lanka are used to estimate farmers' expenditure on defensive behaviour (DE) and to determine factors that influence DE. The avertive behaviour approach is used to estimate the costs. Tobit regression analysis is used to determine factors that influence DE.

Findings

Field survey data show that farmers' expenditures on DE are low. This is inversely related to high incidence of ill health among farmers using pesticides.

Originality/value

The results of this study are useful, not only for Sri Lanka, but also for many countries in South Asia, Africa and Latin America in reducing the current high levels of direct exposure to pesticides among farmers and farm workers using hand sprayers. Farmers' exposure to pesticides is a major occupational health hazard in these countries.
Sustainable development and environmental accounting: the challenge to the economics and accounting profession
Authors: Herath Gamini
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of natural resources accounting in sustainable development. Natural resource accounting is important because the welfare of a nation measured in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) has several weaknesses.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper achieves this objective by identifying the present status, the constraints and the challenges for the economics and accounting professions.

Findings

The main weakness of GDP as a measure of development is that it does not take into account damages to environmental resources. However, the improvement of the concept to include environmental resource use is made difficult because of the difficulties of measuring environmental damage. The challenge to the economics and accounting profession is to ensure interdisciplinary collaboration, development of a framework to explicitly include the environment, development of credible valuation procedures for the environment, and inclusion of the various ethical positions advanced by various groups on the value of the environment.

Practical implications

Some headway has been made on these issues during the last decade but a major challenge still lies ahead in further improving these approaches so that sustainable development becomes an achievable goal.

Originality/value

This paper brings together diverse views and fusing them together providing a future path for research in environmental accounting to achieve sustainable development.
“The Captain”: the travelogues and twisted science of Thorstein Veblen
Authors: Giacomo Preparata Guido
Published: January 2007

Purpose

Thorstein Veblen, though recognized as a “classic” author, has been since his death in 1929 virtually ignored by the public (academic and otherwise). In light of the fact that he may possibly have been the most important social scientist of the modern era, such neglect is a shame that needs to be erased. This article, a conceptual paper, aims to focus on the particular philosophical view that supports the whole edifice of Veblen's social frescoes.

Design/methodology/approach

The article argues that the extraordinary tenor of Veblen's economic investigation stems from a semi‐hidden fascination of the author with “occult agencies,” that is, with the invisible realms of idolatry, devout belief, and national “genius.”

Findings

Veblen, the article maintains, is the first modern, unconfessed, explorer of the spiritual world, whose uncharted domains he mapped for laying the foundations of economic analysis. A radical, unique turn in the history of thought, whose effects, however, have suffered the most profound incomprehension owing to a certain queerness of style: this strangeness was the tormented combination of Veblen's confessed atheism with his instinctive draw towards the praeternatural.

Originality/value

This fundamental question surrounding the inner mechanics of Veblen's beautiful political economy – the only social scientist Einstein would read – is presented coherently in this article for the first time.
Veblen and globalization: a comment on Wellington and Zandvakili
Authors: McCormick Ken
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to examine the claim made by Wellington and Zandvakili that Thorstein Veblen would be opposed to globalization.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach of the paper is to examine what Veblen actually said in order to provide evidence from Veblen's own pen.

Findings

Veblen forcefully argued that trade barriers are another form of business sabotage. Trade barriers increase business profits but harm the community as a whole. That is because trade barriers inhibit specialization, and specialization is required for technological progress. Trade barriers therefore impede progress from the standpoint of humanity as a whole.

Practical implications

National boundaries impede technological development because they reduce specialization. Trade barriers make the problem worse, and therefore are harmful. Trade barriers help business at the expense of the general public.

Originality/value

The paper offers an argument for reducing trade barriers that is not derived from neoclassical economics. It should be of interest to anyone interested in the debate about globalization as well as those interested in Thorstein Veblen.
Russian attitudes toward paying taxes – before, during, and after the transition
Authors: Alm James , Martinez‐Vazque Jorge , Torgler Benno
Published: January 2007

Purpose

This paper examines citizens' attitudes toward paying taxes – what is sometimes termed their “tax morale” or the intrinsic motivation to pay taxes – focusing on the experience of individuals in the Russian Federation before, during, and after the transition from a planned socialist economy to a market‐based economy.

Design/methodology/approach

Micro‐level data for Russia from the World Values Survey and the European Values Survey for the years 1991, 1995, and 1999 are used to estimate the determinants of individuals' attitudes toward paying taxes. The data also allow the examination of the evolution of tax morale in the regions of Russia.

Findings

The estimation results show decay in tax morale in the first four years of the transition, and a small recovery in 1999. Significant regional differences in tax morale are also found.

Research limitations/implications

The results are consistent with the relevance of social norms in tax compliance, where the widespread perception of tax evasion and of a corrupt and inefficient state led initially to a decline of tax morale. The results also indicate that the restoration of a higher level of trust in the state, after some progress in the transition to a market economy, positively influenced tax morale.

Practical implications

The results suggest, once tax morale is crowded out, it is difficult for government to raise tax morale very quickly back to previous levels. Doing so requires designing tax systems, tax administrations, and government structures that inspire trust and pride in governmental and legal institutions.

Originality/value

A unique aspect of the analysis is the ability to study tax morale at the individual level before (1991), during (1995), and shortly after (1999) the Russian transition.
Goods and persons, reasons and responsibilities
Authors: Gasper Des
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present exploration of themes that interconnect six studies in environmentally and socially sustainable human development.

Design/methodology/approach

The article presents an overview of the papers included in this special issue.

Findings

As humanity threatens to undermine its habitat, a social economics returns to core concepts and themes that became expunged from neoclassical economics: serious examination of persons, seen as more than given points of desire; a broadened perspective on types of good, including a non‐neoclassical conception of public goods as publicly deliberated priority goods that are not well managed through free markets and “common goods” as shared bases vital for everyone; study of what commodities and goods do to and for people; a central role for public reasoning about which are public priority goods, rather than using only a technical definition of a public good; an acceptance of notions of ethical responsibility and responsibilities concerning the provision and maintenance of public priority goods determined through public reasoning; and attention to institutional formats for such deliberation. Amongst the greatest of public priority “goods” are the concepts of common good and responsibility.

Research limitations/Implications

The findings reinforce the agenda of socio‐economics for central attention to the mutual conditioning of economy, society, polity, and environment, including analysis of the sociocultural formation of economic actors and of ideas of “common good”.

Originality/value

Cross‐fertilization of theorization with cases from Costa Rica, Kenya, Nepal, Thailand, Rwanda, sub‐Saharan Africa and global arenas.
Public goods, global public goods and the common good
Authors: Deneulin Séverine , Townsend Nicholas
Published: January 2007

Purpose

Public economics has recently introduced the concept of global public goods as a new category of public goods whose provision is central for promoting the well‐being of individuals in today's globalized world. The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which introducing this new concept in international development is helpful for understanding human well‐being enhancement.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper considers some implications of the concept of the common good for international development.

Findings

The concept of global public goods could be more effective if the conception of well‐being it assumes is broadened beyond the individual level. “Living well” or the “good life” does not dwell in individual lives only, but also in the lives of the communities which human beings form. A successful provision of global public goods depends on this recognition that the “good life” of the communities that people form is a constitutive component of the “good life” of individual human beings.

Originality/value

The paper suggests that the rediscovery of the concept of the common good, and identification of how to nurture it, constitute one of the major tasks for development theory and policy.
Destabilising identity structures
Authors: Ballet Jérôme , Mahieu François‐Régis , Radja Katia
Published: January 2007

Purpose

To analyze the impact of policy on people's identities, and the conflicts which can result from this.

Design/methodology/approach

The case of the Rwanda genocide is used to examine identity disturbances related to policies.

Findings

Identity adjustments generated by policies can have devastating effects such as genocide. This raises the issue of national decision makers' responsibilities as well as those of the international institutions advocating and enforcing such policies.

Research limitations/implications

This study implies that we need to consider the impacts of policies on people's identities and to extend such empirical research.

Practical implications

The issue of institutions' responsibilities must be discussed, for both national and international institutions; and a precautionary principle in decision making must be set for expert advisors.

Originality/value

The paper addresses the links between economic policies and their effects on individual identity, an area which has not yet been examined in economic studies.
Mean‐variance analysis with REITs in mixed asset portfolios
Authors: Waggle Doug , Moon Gisung
Published: January 2007

Purpose

Aims to test to determine whether the selection of the historical return time interval (monthly, quarterly, semiannual, or annual) used for calculating real estate investment trust (REIT) returns has a significant effect on optimal portfolio allocations.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a mean‐variance utility function, optimal allocations to portfolios of stocks, bonds, bills, and REITs across different levels of assumed investor risk aversion are calculated. The average historical returns, standard deviations, and correlations (assuming different time intervals) of the various asset classes are used as mean‐variance inputs. Results are also compared using more recent data, since 1988, with, data from the full REIT history, which goes back to 1972.

Findings

Using the more recent REIT datarather than the full dataset results in optimal allocations to REITs that are considerably higher. Likewise, using monthly and quarterly returns tends to understate the variability of REITs and leads to higher portfolio allocations.

Research limitations/implications

The results of this study are based on the limited historical return data that are currently available for REITs. The results of future time periods may not prove to be consistent with the findings.

Practical implications

Numerous research papers arbitrarily decide to employ monthly or quarterly returns in their analyses to increase the number of REIT observations they have available. These shorter interval returns are generally annualized. This paper addresses the consequences of those decisions.

Originality/value

It has been shown that the decision to use return estimation intervals shorter than a year does have dramatic consequences on the results obtained and, therefore, must be carefully considered and justified.
REIT capital structure: is it market imposed?
Authors: Casey K. Michael , Sumner Glenna
Published: January 2007

Purpose

This study sets out to focus on the identification of determinants of real estate limited partnership (REIT) capital structure from a market perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses ordinary least squares regression to test whether REIT capital structure is impacted by various market variables.

Findings

The findings indicate that investors do appear to be attracted to specific debt characteristics of REITs or, simply put, REIT capital structure is influenced by market factors. REIT debt levels appear to be directly influenced by the price‐to‐book ratio and are inversely related to the percentage of institutional ownership and price‐to‐cash flow. Forecast growth rates do not appear to significantly influence debt while the type of REIT (mortgage, retail, etc.) does appear to influence the level of debt.

Research limitations/implications

Small sample size limits applicability of results, so further research with larger datasets is appropriate.

Practical implications

Investors do appear to consider capital structure when purchasing REITs. REIT managers should consider this when determining whether to incur additional debt.

Originality/value

The determination of various market factors linked to REIT capital structure.
Dividend behaviour of Indian companies under monetary policy restrictions
Authors: Pandey I.M.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The dividend payout behaviour of firms is a well‐studied subject in finance. In recent times, the influence of macro economic factors and understanding their implications far corporate financial decisions has assumed significant importance. The objective of this paper is to study the dividend payout behaviour of firms in India under monetary policy restrictions. Monetary policy restrictions are expected to affect the availability and cost of external fund relative to internal funds. The hypothesis is that during monetary policy restrictions the dividend payout policy changes and payouts reduce.

Design/methodology/approach

The Lintner framework is extended to examine the impact of these restrictions on the dividend payout. Balanced panel data of 571 firms for years are used, from 1989 to 1997 together with, the GMM estimator, which is the most suitable methodology in a dynamic setting.

Findings

The results show that Indian firms have lower target ratios and higher adjustment factors. The finding suggests that the restricted monetary policies have a significant influence on the dividend payout behaviour of Indian firms; they cause about a 5‐6 per cent reduction in the payout ratios.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this paper suggest that macro‐economic policies do have an impact on corporate financing decisions. The future research should examine the impact of various other macro‐economic policies and its components on the corporate financing decisions of firms.

Practical implications

The significance of the macro economic policy variables suggests that monetary policy restrictions do have an impact on the cost of raising funds, and the information asymmetry between lenders and borrowers increases, which forces companies to reduce their dividend payout.

Orginality/value

To one's knowledge this is the first study providing evidence of the restricted monetary policy constraining the dividend payout policies of firms in India.
Managerial opportunism and proportional corporate payout policies
Authors: Douglas Alan V.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relative preference for dividends vs share repurchases based on managers’ personal wealth and control benefits.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents an analytical model of managerial preferences and information advantages, and analyses how the choice between dividends and repurchases relates to the manager's personal objectives in this setting. The approach specifies preferences consistent with the agency theory of economics.

Findings

It is found that, when managers can influence share price prior to a repurchase, due to their superior information, repurchases present an opportunity to increase managerial wealth relative to dividends. In addition, if managers can influence the post‐repurchase share price, due to an upward sloping supply curve for the company's stock, repurchases present an opportunity to protect the managers’ personal benefits of control. The ability to protect control depends on the toehold purchased by potential acquirers, and on the source of the upward‐sloping supply. Repurchases are less protective when toeholds are small and the supply curve reflects tax lock‐in effects.

Practical implications

The results indicate that managerial concerns over their personal wealth or ability to maintain control of the firm can influence the method of corporate distributions. As such, market valuations and the market reaction to distribution announcements may reflect these managerial concerns. This could be an important determinant of investor stock choices.

Originality/value

The factors determining firms’ payout methods remains a topic of significant importance and debate. The method of analysis here is new, and the insights into managerial preferences, toeholds and payout decisions help to inform this debate.