bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The effect oflocusof control in the reduction of corruption in the Nigerian police
Authors: Oyesoji Aremu Amos , Pakes Francis , Johnston Les
Published: March 2009

Purpose

Locusof control is the perception of an individual's perception about events in his or her life. This paper aims to improve police ethical standards using a counselling approach,locusof control to reduce police corruption in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

A pre‐test, post‐test and control group quasi‐experimental approach using a 2 × 2×2 factorial matrix was employed in the study. Participants were 200 police personnel conveniently sampled from Oyo and Lagos State Police Commands, Nigeria. Quantitative data were collected with a 100 per cent success rate using a valid and reliable instrument, the police ethical behaviour scale (PEBS).

Findings

Results of the study using analysis of covariance and t‐test statistics on three generated hypotheses indicated thatlocusof control as a counselling technique could significantly reduce police corruption. The moderating effect of gender and career status on the intervention (locusof control) showed that female participants and senior police officers demonstrated a stronger reduction on the corruption measure.

Research limitations/implications

This study was limited to only two State Police Commands out of 37 State Police Commands (including the Federal Capital Territory Command). The findings of the study have implications for police transformation in Nigeria; and on a specialised counselling practice through whichlocusof control as a counselling technique could be integrated into the police training.

Originality/value

The study fills the existing research gap by utilisinglocusof control as a counselling intervention strategy. It would therefore be of value to police authorities, anti‐corruption bodies, researchers, criminal justice, and academics and practioners.
Police organizational structure and child sexual abuse case attrition
Authors: Maguire Edward R.
Published: March 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the effects of formal police organizational structure on child sexual abuse case attrition.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from two surveys were merged for this analysis: a 1988 survey of child abuse enforcement in US police departments, and the 1987 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) database produced by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Based on the structure‐performance link that is rooted in structural contingency theory, this study examines the effects of both global and specific structural features on two case disposition ratios. Because structure is more easily malleable than other factors that may affect performance, such as environment and context, it is important to know whether certain structural arrangements produce more desirable outcomes than others.

Findings

The results indicate that the global structural variables included in this analysis play a small role in child sexual abuse case attrition. None of the variables included in the model influence the rate at which cases are designated as “founded”. The size and height of police agencies and the rate at which they designate cases as founded both influence their arrest rates for child sexual abuse cases.

Research limitations/implications

The small sample size made it difficult to estimate the models. Future research should test the findings reported here using larger samples.

Originality/value

To the author's knowledge this is the first study to compare the effects of global and specific structures on police outputs.
Management practices driving sustained business success
Authors: Grønholdt Lars , Martensen Anne
Published: March 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how different management practices drive key financial performance and business success in Danish companies.

Design/methodology/approach

Both qualitative and quantitative research is conducted to study the relationships between eight general management practices and key performance results. A survey among large companies in Denmark and the companies' key performance results form the empirical basis for the study. Two central key performance results are “increase in turnover” and “return on invested capital”. It can be argued that sustained increase in turnover and high return on invested capital at the same time indicate business success and return to shareholders in the long run.

Findings

The findings demonstrate that the eight management practices are linked to key performance results. The high‐performing companies are differentiated significantly from the low‐performing companies with regard to how well they perform on these management practices. All eight management practices are essential in achieving business success.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited to eight identified management practices in large Danish companies.

Practical implications

The study has clear implications in terms of identifying and measuring the importance of essential management practices, which influence key performance results, and thereby separate facts from fads.

Originality/value

The study identifies and measures eight essential management practices and links these to actual key performance results.
Importance‐performance analysis of service attributes and its impact on decision making in the mobile telecommunication industry
Authors: Pezeshki Vahid , Mousavi Alireza , Grant Susan
Published: March 2009

Purpose

Customer relationship management (CRM) strategies rely heavily on the importance and performance of the attributes that define a service. The aim of this paper is first to investigate the asymmetric relationship between performance of service attributes and customer satisfaction, and second, through a case study in the mobile telecommunication industry to prove that the importance of a service attribute is a function of the performance of that attribute.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical study using questionnaires with a focus on service enquiring about the performance of service key attributes and overall customer satisfaction was conducted. The data were fed into the Kano customer satisfaction model and the importance‐performance analysis (IPA) method for analysis and comparison.

Findings

The results indicate that there is a dynamic relationship between service attributes and overall customer satisfaction. Service attributes have a different impact on customer satisfaction regardless of their classification. The importance of service attributes can be derived from their performance and this can be proved in the Mobile Telecommunication sector. Also this research concludes that the major weaknesses in the Mobile Telecommunication industry that cause the highest customer dissatisfaction are the range of phones, the accuracy of billing and payment, and the service plans, whereas the major strengths as a source of customer satisfaction are customer service quality, value for money and network performance.

Research limitations/implications

The Kano model of customer satisfaction needs to be extended to other customer behaviour variables such as customer retention (e.g. purchase intention) and customer loyalty (e.g. word‐of‐mouth, feedback) for improved decision analysis. The paper does not include customer retention and loyalty factors.

Practical implications

The methodology employed here can be easily applied by marketers for evaluating customer behaviours and service quality performance for improved decision making and resource allocation.

Originality/value

There is little evidence that extensive work has been dedicated to studying the relationship between service attributes and customer satisfaction through Kano's model. The paper specifically investigates the applicability of the model and the key factors in the mobile telecommunication industry.
When capital market actors reduce the complexity of corporate personnel and work environment information
Authors: Almqvist Roland , Henningsson Johan
Published: March 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how capital market actors deal with information on personnel and work environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a qualitative research approach involving interviews with 14 fund managers and two bankers in Stockholm. The empirical analysis is influenced by a combination of system and network theories where social networks are imposed on capital market actors, when they observe corporate information vis‐à‐vis personnel and work environment.

Findings

Capital market actors are influenced by social forces when they reduce the complexity of information on corporate personnel and work environment. Four themes emerged in this study concerning emergent paradoxes which results from such a reduction. First, capital market actors seem to regard personnel in a variety of ways: sometimes as a resource, and sometimes as a risk or a non‐flexible cost problem. Second, they tend to reduce the complexity of information by depending on having the right management in organisations. Third, capital market actors refer to work environment matters as things that involve ethics and can affect their own reputation. Finally, they were continuously looking for signs that their initial analyses could be wrong. To various extents, the themes support each other by solving the emergent paradoxes that, according to systems theory, inevitably result from the reduction of external complexity.

Originality/value

This paper argues that the ambivalence and disinterest shown by capital‐market actors concerning information on personnel and work environment could be better understood by referring to how social forces influence capital‐market actors when they reduce the complexity of such information.
An econometric analysis of Shanghai office rents
Authors: Ke Qiulin , White Michael
Published: March 2009

Purpose

Shanghai is the most important economic centre in China. It also has the nation's largest modern office market in terms of floorspace and investment values. However, as with office markets in other cities and countries, the Shanghai market displays rental volatility. This paper aims to examine this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

Rental volatility is examined by econometrically constructing a long‐run equilibrium relationship between rent and underlying demand and supply side factors. In order to establish the validity of this model, it is tested for the presence of a cointegrating vector. From this a short‐run dynamic adjustment model is constructed. This is an error correction mechanism that links the short‐ and long‐run models. The impact of office vacancies, foreign direct investment, and changes in the real interest rate on the office market are explicitly considered.

Findings

The results indicate that both demand (as represented by gross domestic product (GDP)) and supply (stock) are significant determinants of rents. Space demand is found to be both price and income elastic. In the short‐run model the error correction term is significant and correctly signed. In comparison to other office markets, the Shanghai market adjusts rather slowly. Foreign direct investment is found to have a positive impact on long‐run rents and the vacancy rate is found to impact on short‐term rental adjustment.

Originality/value

The Shanghai office market is the most important in China. However, it has displayed significant rental volatility. This paper is the first to examine explicitly the rental adjustment process in this office market. The results suggest a market that is performing as expected by economic theory but which nevertheless displays relatively slow adjustment to market imbalances.
Special considerations for designing pilot REITs in China
Authors: Wang Hong , Sun Yining , Chen Yin
Published: March 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose advice on the design of pilot real estate investment trusts (REITs) and the future development of a REITs market in China.

Design/methodology/approach

This study presents a qualitative analysis on unique attributes of the Chinese market. Taking those attributes into account, it goes onto offer suggestions and ideas on how China can most successfully kick off its REITs industry.

Findings

The paper finds that REITs offer developers an alternative, less risky way to raise money. They would also provide owners with an exit strategy. REITs implementation should be a two‐stage process. Pilot REITs should be made available to institutional investors first and later to retail investors. Most importantly, current legislation and taxes do not provide an environment conducive to REITs. The paper also finds that it is presently a favorable market environment under which to launch REITs, owing to pent up demand for REITs amongst investors.

Practical implications

The greatest practical implications of this study are the suggestions offered in terms of what Chinese pilot and long‐term REITs should look like. Pilot REITs can be implemented using special regulations. For post‐pilot REITs, currently existing Chinese trust schemes and special asset management plans offer possible, but problematic, frameworks. Perhaps more promising is the possibility of legislation modeled after China's current securities fund law. This paper implies that new regulations and laws are needed before REITs can be launched in China, as well as gives advice as to what those laws should look like.

Research limitations/implications

There are no REITs yet in China, so a trenchant quantitative study is impossible. This paper is a preliminary work to be followed by a quantitative analysis once China REITs have been operating for long enough to offer sufficient data.

Originality/value

This is one of the only papers examining China pilot REITs in the context of China's economic, legal, and tax environment. It takes previous studies a step further by offering specific legal, regulatory, and tax frameworks that would aid the development of China REITs.
The significance and performance of infrastructure in China
Authors: Newell Graeme , Wing Chau Kwong , Kei Wong Siu
Published: March 2009

Purpose

The significant economic growth and urbanisation of China in recent years has seen increased importance given to infrastructure development in China; this includes airports, toll roads, communications, ports, power plants and water. The purpose of this paper is to assess the significance and investment performance of infrastructure in China, the linkages to commercial property markets and the increasing future role of international private infrastructure investors in China.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper analyses the performance of infrastructure in China over 1995‐2006. Using the Hong Kong‐listed China infrastructure companies, risk‐adjusted performance analysis is used to assess the added value of China infrastructure, with the portfolio diversification benefits of China infrastructure also assessed.

Findings

The paper finds that China infrastructure has delivered significant and improved risk‐adjusted returns, but there is evidence of some recent loss of diversification benefits by China infrastructure in a portfolio. The strong linkage between effective infrastructure and effective commercial property markets is particularly important, as international investors seek to increase their exposure to China's infrastructure and commercial property markets to add value in their international investment portfolios.

Originality/value

This is the first paper to rigorously assess the significance and performance of infrastructure in China. This risk‐adjusted analysis has enabled more informed and practical investment decision making by international investors regarding the significance and role of China infrastructure and the associated strong linkage to the commercial property markets in China. This will take on increased importance as international investors increase the significance of both China infrastructure and China commercial property in their portfolios.
Education for sustainable development beyond attitude change
Authors: Arbuthnott Katherine D.
Published: March 2009

Purpose

Many education for sustainable development (ESD) programs are designed to change attitudes and values toward the natural environment. However, psychological research indicates that several factors in addition to attitude influence behavior, including contextual support, social norms, action difficulty, and habitual behavior. Thus, if attitude change is to translate into altered behavior, education must extend beyond attitudes to assist people to act in ways consistent with their values. The purpose of this paper is to review the psychological research showing weak correlation between attitudes and behavior, the factors that mediate this relationship, and to describe the implications of these findings for university institutions and ESD programs.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is organized as a review and editorial article, describing relevant research, and outlining implications and suggested actions.

Findings

The results of the reviewed research indicate that attitude‐behavior correlations are mediated by several factors, including contextual conditions such as inconvenience and personal factors such as habits.

Practical implications

The implications of these findings are that ESD programs should specifically address factors that mediate the attitude‐behavior relationship, including contextual changes and the development of personal management plans. Examples for each type of change are suggested.

Originality/value

The implications of these findings for ESD programs have not previously been highlighted. Specifically, to achieve sustainable development requires attention to these mediating factors as well as to knowledge generation and attitude change. Thus, the value of this paper is to encourage ESD developers to expand their programs to encourage contextual change and personal behavior management plans.
ERISA for securities professionals: 2008 update
Authors: Matta Richard K.
Published: March 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of how the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) of 1974, as amended , applies to securities professionals such as registered investment advisers, registered broker‐dealers and individual registered representatives and financial planners who advise, manage, or trade for investment portfolios of private employee benefit plans and individual retirement accounts.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is designed as a primer to familiarize securities professionals with the terminology, scope and subject‐matter of ERISA as it applies to benefit plan investment transactions. When appropriate, the regulatory framework of ERISA is compared and contrasted with the more familiar securities law regulatory scheme.

Findings

The various Federal laws loosely known as “ERISA” significantly impact securities professionals in connection with the marketing of financial products and services to employee benefit plans, including IRAs, and it is critical that securities professionals have a general overview of how they do so.

Research limitations/implications

The research set out is only a broad summary, and covers an area of law that is rapidly developing. It should not be considered a definitive summary of the law but a starting‐point for further, in‐depth inquiry.

Practical implications

Any financial professional seeking to develop or market financial products and services to benefit plans can use the paper to become familiar with the framework and terminology of ERISA.

Originality/value

This is a reprint of a paper first published in 2004, with extensive revisions to reflect sweeping changes in the law and new developments in the financial marketplace, plus an overview of “hot topics”.
SEC amends disclosure and reporting
Authors: Parrino Richard J. , Sung Miyun
Published: March 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to explain the US SEC's final rules amending disclosure and reporting requirements for foreign private issuers.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper explains the purpose of and background to the amendments and summarizes those amendments, including acceleration of the filing deadline and the following requirements: disclosure of a change in or disagreement with certifying accountants, disclosure of ADR fees and payments, a concise summary of significant ways in which the issuer's corporate governance practices differ from those of US companies listed on the same exchange, full reconciliation of financial statements to GAAP except for issuers that prepare financial statements in accordance with IFRS, annual determination of issuer status, and Scheule 13E‐3 disclosure in the case of a company deregistering and going private.

Findings

The purpose of the amendments is to enhance the timeliness and quality of company information available to US investors and to make US public markets more accessible to these issuers. The amendments are part of a series of initiatives undertaken by the SEC to update disclosure and other requirements applicable to foreign private issuers in light of global market developments, the convergence of US and international accounting standards, and advancements in technology that have occurred since the SEC's adoption almost 30 years ago of Form 20‐F, which is the principal SEC disclosure form for these issuers.

Originality/value

The paper provides practical guidance from experienced securities lawyers on the US SEC's final rules amending disclosure and reporting requirements for foreign private issuers.
Summary prospectus may cause many to re‐consider e‐delivery and consent strategies
Authors: Driscoll Len
Published: March 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to describe current moves by the securities industry toward e‐consent and e‐delivery of prospectuses and other financial communications.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper discusses the costs of the current paper‐based approach to investor disclosure, the growing use of the web by investors, and the potential savings from e‐communications and recommends best practices for persuading investors to provide e‐consent and accept e‐delivery.

Findings

There is consensus that the current paper‐based approach to investor disclosure is too costly, cumbersome, and complex. Getting investors to cross over to the internet to accept e‐delivery requires an e‐marketing communications strategy personalized to each company and its demographics.

Practical implications

With a strong e‐communications program, a mutual fund can meet the needs of today's online investors, reap significant bottom‐line benefits, and achieve greater environmental responsibility.

Originality/value

The paper makes a strong argument for e‐communications, documents the cost savings that can be realized, and recommends implementation steps.
Summary of selected FINRA regulatory notices, September‐November 2008
Authors: Davis Henry A.
Published: March 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this summary is to provide excerpts of selected Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) regulatory notices issued from September to November 2008.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides excerpts from FINRA Regulatory Notice 08‐54, Guidance on Special Purpose Acquisition Companies; Regulatory Notice 08‐62, Limit on Close Case Submissions; 08‐66, Retail Foreign Exchange; and 08‐70, FINRA Investigations.

Findings

Notice 08‐54: Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) are shell companies that raise capital in initial public offerings (IPOs) for the purpose of merging with or acquiring an operating company. Notice 08‐62: Effective November 24, 2008, FINRA will limit the circumstances under which parties may make submissions to arbitrators in closed cases. Notice 08‐66: The retail over‐the counter foreign currency exchange (retail forex) market is opaque, volatile and risky. Broker‐dealers who engage in forex business with their retail customers must comply with the FINRA rules that apply to those activities. Notice 08‐70: FINRA is issuing this guidance to apprise firms of the circumstances in which extraordinary cooperation by a firm or individual may directly influence the outcome of an investigation.

Originality/value

These are direct excerpts designed to provide a useful digest for the reader and an indication of regulatory trends. The FINRA staff is aware of this summary but has neither reviewed nor edited it. For further detail as well as other useful information, the reader should visit www.finra.org
Antecedents of paperless income tax filing by young professionals in India: an exploratory study
Authors: Ojha Amitabh , Sahu G.P. , Gupta M.P.
Published: March 2009

Purpose

The aim of this study is to investigate the likely antecedents of young Indian professionals' behavioral intention (BI) to use the income tax e‐filing service.

Design/methodology/approach

Prior to data collection, for which a self‐administered survey was conducted, lecture‐demonstrations were arranged to familiarize the potential respondents with the income tax e‐filing service. The psychometric data were analyzed for reliability and construct validity of the measures, and thereafter a regression analysis was carried out.

Findings

Regression results showed that antecedents of young Indian professionals' BI to use the income tax e‐filing service are: perceived ease‐of‐use, personal innovativeness in information technology, relative advantage (RA), performance of e‐filing service, and compatibility (COMP).

Originality/value

Past studies on income tax e‐filing are beset by problems of adopter bias, and failure to treat trust as a multi‐dimensional. In addition, these studies are skewed towards two theories, namely technology acceptance model, and theory of planned behavior. Although perceived characteristics of innovating has held considerable promise as an alternative framework, it has a chronic problem of confounding between RA and COMP. In investigating the antecedents of young Indian professionals' intention to use the income tax e‐filing, this study also tries to deal with these issues, which are important to the practice of e‐government adoption research.
Decoding the code of excellence – for achieving sustainable excellence
Authors: Mi Dahlgaard‐Park Su
Published: March 2009

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to elaborate, interpret, discuss and decode excellence in a new way by focusing on some of the critical success factors for attaining and sustaining excellence.

Design/methodology/approach

The framework used for analysis is an old text which explains how to attain excellence. Literature references from 2,500 years back and to excellence literature from the last 25 years, together with a few case studies, are used to “de‐code” the meaning and the complexity of the old text.

Findings

After final reflections it is concluded that the old text contains deep meanings and cover the complex nature of attaining and sustaining excellence. The few sentences are a kind of code, a crystallized form explaining how excellence can be attained.

Originality/value

This kind of analysis has not been done before. It is believed that the findings will have a great value both for researchers and for practitioners as well as organizations which are trying to attain excellence.
e‐Service quality: overview and research agenda
Authors: Barrutia José M. , Gilsanz Ainhize
Published: March 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight research avenues for improving the understanding of electronic service quality (e‐SQ) management, based on a critical review of previous literature.

Design/methodology/approach

The conclusions are based on a critical review of previous literature. Computer databases (e.g. Google scholar) were the main tools used to identify relevant research in the area. Then, the electronic and physical bibliographical resources from universities in two different countries were used to obtain the papers.

Findings

The authors describe the current e‐SQ research gaps (research opportunities) and indicate possible routes for future investigation.

Practical implications

The orientation of this study aims to reduce the efforts of researchers who desire to enter this field.

Originality/value

The development of new orientations and focuses for the conceptualisation and measurement of e‐SQ are crucial for the effective management of e‐SQ and a major issue on the market research agenda.
A systemic approach to achieve operational excellence in hotel services
Authors: Cesarotti Vittorio , Spada Caterina
Published: March 2009

Purpose

The purpose of the framework here proposed is to introduce an industrial culture within the service organizations. Concepts such as employees empowerment, ownership, continuous improvement, together with the systematic implementation of quantitative methods builds the organizational basis for achieving operational excellence in services, reducing costs and increasing service quality. This has been deployed in two phases: a “hard” phase to support the design of the service and the construction of tangible and intangible elements of the service, and a “soft” phase to support the management, maintenance and improvement of the service delivery. All this has been applied to the hotel service sector where the interaction between tangible and intangible elements of the service are particularly evident.

Design/methodology/approach

The framework uses and integrates several methodologies. Quality function deployment (QFD) is largely used in order to support the “hard” phase of the framework. Kano's model of customer requirements has been integrated in the QFD structure by means of an original method developed by the authors, introducing a so‐called non‐quality priority number (similar to the failure modes and effects analysis' risk priority number) that in combination with a so‐called quality priority number drives the decisions for improvement towards operational excellence. Moreover, the “soft” phase of the framework introduces methods such as failure mode and effect analysis and total productive maintenance in order to improve the service organization's operational competence and culture, increasing at the same time the sense of ownership and the commitment for improvement of front line workers.

Findings

Through this paper, it has been shown that industrial methods for operational excellence can be adapted and transferred to the service sector with a potential for significant improvements in particular for those services with a high degree of tangible factors. Allowing in this way to achieve outstanding results also without significant investments.

Research limitations/implications

This paper does not have the intention of describing the state‐of‐the‐art of service design and management, but rather it focuses on the transfer of industrial methods and techniques to the service sector.

Originality/value

The value of this paper is related to proposal of a global systemic approach to operational excellence in services, by means of which industrial methods for operational excellence are transferred to the service sector. Only few works in literature have tried to transfer industrial methods for operational excellence to services, however the main value of this paper is not – or not only – in the specific methods proposed, but in their integration in the systemic approach.
Quality in higher education: linking graduates' competencies and employers' needs
Authors: Martensen Anne , Grønholdt Lars
Published: March 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on measuring competencies of higher education graduates and employers' needs, and using these measurements in the quality development of higher education study programmes.

Design/methodology/approach

Results of a survey among Danish employers and their perception of the competencies of MSc graduates from Copenhagen Business School (CBS) are presented and discussed. In addition to assessing the competencies, the respondents were also asked to assess the importance of the individual competencies.

Findings

The estimated importance score and performance score for each competency can be combined in a competency map, and it is shown how the four cells in the map can be interpreted in useful ways, when essential areas for quality improvement of the study programme are to be identified.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited to the Danish employers' perceptions of MSc graduates from CBS.

Practical implications

The presented linking of competencies to employers' needs have clear managerial implications in the strategic development of higher education study programmes.

Originality/value

The study identifies and measures 16 essential graduate competencies and links these to employers' needs in a competency map.
Service quality, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions in fast‐food restaurants
Authors: Qin Hong , Prybutok Victor R.
Published: March 2009

Purpose

This study aims to explore the potential dimensions of service quality, and examine the relationship among service quality, food quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions in fast‐food restaurants (FFRs).

Design/methodology/approach

The construct reliability and validity was assessed using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Structural equation modeling was employed to estimate the relationship among service quality, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions.

Findings

Results indicated that five dimensions were significant: tangibles, reliability/responsiveness, recovery, assurance, and empathy. Service quality and food quality were two main determinants of customer satisfaction. The insignificance of perceived value is potentially due to the homogeneous nature of the construct within the FFR group rather than the importance of the perceived value construct within food service.

Originality/value

The FFR success model, using the original five in the SERVPERF scale and another new dimension “recovery” to measure service quality, was empirically examined in the fast food industry. Several potential antecedents of satisfaction, including service quality, food quality and perceived value were also tested.
Continuous process improvement in Spanish local government
Authors: Suárez‐Barraza Manuel F. , Ramis‐Pujol Juan , Tort‐Martorell Llabrés Xavier
Published: March 2009

Purpose

In response to external pressures that Spanish City Halls have been experiencing since the late 1980s and beginning of the 1990s, some of the local administrations have become references of success among the rest of the Spanish City Halls by focusing their efforts on making improvements through continuous process improvement (CPI). Thus, the research question of this study was: how was CPI approached in Spanish City Halls that have become references in Spain? The objective of this study was to explore and shed further light on the literature about this subject, viewing CPI within the public context of a local administration.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a qualitatively based interpretive methodology, applying the case study as a research strategy through a dual design, which combines longitudinal and retrospective studies.

Findings

Spanish City Hall's approach CPI through a group of interrelated principles, techniques and tools that have been applied in a public context, resulting in certain benefits in municipal management.

Practical implications

As a result of the conclusions from the field study, a set of practical recommendations are presented here that can be useful for other local administrations involved in improvement efforts.

Originality/value

Academic literature on the application of CPI in the public sector has been approached from perspectives like new public management or total quality management. However, in the Spanish context, there are practically no studies that explore and analyze the Spanish City Halls that have had positive results in their management, by focusing their efforts of improving work processes and public services on CPI.
Investigation of customer satisfaction in student food service
Authors: Liang Xi , Zhang Shuai
Published: March 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between service quality, price fairness and customer satisfaction in student food service.

Design/methodology/approach

To construct a satisfaction model with these two antecedents and conduct a questionnaire survey among the student customers of SiB's cafeteria within NHH premises.

Findings

The survey results shows that quality factors such as food quality, variety, convenience and price fairness have a significant impact on students' satisfaction with the cafeteria, while the impacts from interaction and environment factors are not significant.

Research limitations/implications

More interesting findings would be shown if including the interaction of service quality and price fairness.

Practical implications

Management in student food service can utilize the result to improve students' satisfaction efficiently.

Originality/value

A new survey on students' satisfaction based both on service quality and price fairness, implication for an increasingly important student food service industry.
Same reform – different practices?
Authors: Nyland Kari , Johanne Pettersen Inger , Östergren Katarina
Published: March 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the dilemma that exists between the aims of public sector reforms and the ways organisations adjust to the management control reforms.

Design/methodology/approach

To study the research purpose, empirical data were collected from Norwegian Regional Hospital Enterprises. The aim was to describe how these institutions have chosen to implement formal and informal mechanisms of control for coordination and management of hospitals.

Findings

The results indicated a comprehensive map of the different formal and informal adjustments to radical institutional reform changes. The reform strategies were met with a mixture of intended adjustments, partly realised ambitions and ignorance in the organisations, and the change towards accrual accounting system was found to have reversed effects compared with the original ambitions.

Research limitations/implications

This study was based on a small sample of organisations and interviews. The dimensions were somewhat crude, and the findings can be generalised reliably only to the population studied here. More research is needed for further explorations of these findings. The study reveals as similar with prior macro level institutional research a complex view on the implications of government initiatives as only one of many potentially powerful actors in such regulatory processes.

Practical implications

This work adds to leaders' understanding of how intended governmental strategies follow diverse paths of implementation.

Originality/value

These results provide useful support of prior findings as to the deeper understanding of why organisations that are exposed to the same reform initiatives, turn out to behave differently.
An investigation of stakeholder prioritization and engagement: who or what really counts
Authors: Boesso Giacomo , Kumar Kamalesh
Published: March 2009

Purpose

Following the line of thinking that a firm is a nexus of contracts between stakeholders, with managers as “the central node,” the purpose of this paper is to examine how managers prioritize stakeholder relationships and to what extent firms engage in disclosures with the stakeholder groups they deem to be important.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were simultaneously collected from two different national business contexts, Italy and the USA. The sample for this study consisted of 244 managers.

Findings

Results of the study show that the power and legitimacy that managers associate with a stakeholder group cumulatively are the most important determinant of how managers go about prioritizing competing claims. The results also provide some evidence to the effect that the greater the priority accorded to a stakeholder group, the greater the efforts aimed at engaging the stakeholder groups (as evidenced by the voluntary disclosures made in the annual report).

Research limitations/implications

Use of self‐report measures, although widely used in behavioral and strategy research, may raise some concerns about the findings. Also, examining annual report's voluntary disclosures as the single source of assessing the stakeholder engagement efforts creates a potential limitation on the findings of the study.

Practical implications

The stakeholder salience framework as examined in this study offers some practical insights into the understanding of which stakeholders do really matter and why. Furthermore, in attempting to relate stakeholder salience accorded to engagement/disclosure efforts, this study shows some potential limitations that managers may face because of prevalent social values and the need to maintain organizational legitimacy.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this paper lies in testing and extending an inferential theory of stakeholder management. The research highlights the unique role that managers play in managing firm‐stakeholder relationships.
Management accounting information in micro enterprises in Gaza
Authors: Alattar Jalal M. , Kouhy Reza , Innes John
Published: March 2009

Purpose

Relatively little research exists about the information used by owner/managers (O/Ms) in micro enterprises (less than 10 employees). The purpose of this paper is to explore the management accounting information (MAI) generated and used by O/Ms for planning, decision making and control in micro manufacturing enterprises in the Gaza Strip (GS).

Design/methodology/approach

A grounded theory approach is used with case studies being the main research method.

Findings

Three main themes emerged during the five case studies. Firstly, how is the generation and use of MAI related to the O/M, enterprise and environmental features? Secondly, what is the impact of formal or informal procedures on the generation and use of MAI? Thirdly, what is the extent of written and oral MAI generated and used? From the five individual case studies 133 findings emerged and then a cross‐case analysis generated 21 overall findings.

Research limitations/implications

The case studies excluded micro enterprises less than three years old, micro enterprises with more than one O/M and micro enterprises from sectors other than manufacturing.

Originality/value

This project explores what impact various factors (such as political uncertainty, competition and the need for cost reduction) have on the generation and use of MAI in micro enterprises. Several findings are particularly relevant for O/Ms of micro enterprises in developing countries. Previous studies have not identified to what extent written or oral MAI is generated and used for each of the core business aspects of micro manufacturing enterprises.
Financial innovation: Wall Street's false utopia
Authors: Trimbath Susanne
Published: March 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to connect the dots between subprime mortgage lending and the financial crisis of 2008.

Design/methodology/approach

Descriptive analysis of structured securities.

Findings

The innovation of structured securities was incorrectly implemented in the case of mortgage‐related securities.

Research limitations/implications

There is no centralized source for data connecting mortgages with securities, thereby making a rigorous, statistical analysis impossible.

Practical implications

The US Congress authorized $700 billion to purchase “troubled assets,” defined as “residential or commercial mortgages and any securities, obligations, or other instruments that are based on or related to such mortgages … ” This paper exploits the difference between mortgages and those securities.

Originality/value

The paper extends knowledge on the topic of mortgage related securities.
The tolerance and efficacy of a postponed retreatment with infliximab in Crohn’s disease primary responders
Authors: LAHARIE D. , CHANTELOUP E. , CHABRUN E. , SUBTIL C. , KOWO M. , EL HANAFI K. , DE LÉDINGHEN V.
Published: March 2009

Background  In Crohn’s disease (CD) patients naïve to immunomodulators primary responding to infliximab (IFX) induction, maintenance with scheduled IFX or with immunomodulators is possible. The benefit of additional IFX infusions after failure of maintenance with immunomodulators is not known.

Aim  To assess the efficacy and factors associated with efficacy of postponed IFX retreatment.

Methods  All CD primary responders to an IFX induction regimen in maintenance with immunomodulators were retrospectively included when they received at least one additional IFX infusion after week 14. Efficacy was defined as clinical response at week 4 and absence of intolerance leading to discontinuation.

Results  Sixty‐one patients were retreated with IFX with a 38‐week median time from induction. Efficacy was achieved in 80% patients. Twelve patients had no clinical benefit: seven acute hypersensitivity reactions and five loss of response. By multivariate analysis, the only factor associated with no efficacy was a median time >50 weeks from induction to retreatment (odds ratio = 7.38; 95%CI: 1.38–39.59; P = 0.02).

Conclusion  Postponed retreatment with IFX in CD primary responders should be administered within 50 weeks after induction, for better efficacy and tolerance.
The natural history of surgically treated but radiotherapy‐naïve nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas
Authors: O’Sullivan Eoin P. , Woods Conor , Glynn Nigel , Behan Lucy Ann , Crowley Rachel , O’Kelly Patrick , Smith Diarmuid , Thompson Chris J. , Agha Amar
Published: March 2009

Background and objectives  Transsphenoidal surgery is indicated for patients with nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs) causing compressive symptoms. Previous studies attempting to define the rate of recurrence/regrowth of surgically treated but radiation‐naïve NFPAs were somewhat limited by selection bias and/or small numbers and/or lack of consistency of findings between studies. A better understanding of the natural history of this condition could allow stratification of recurrence risk and inform future management. We aimed to define the natural history of a large, mainly unselected cohort with surgically treated, radiotherapy (RT)‐naïve NFPAs and to try to identify predictors of recurrence/regrowth.

Design  Case‐note analysis of all patients who underwent surgery for NFPA in our hospital between 1980 and 2006 was undertaken. Median follow‐up was 5·7 (range 1–25) years.

Patients  A total of 212 patients were identified of which 159 were suitable for analysis. 93% did not receive post‐operative RT.

Measurement  Post‐operative recurrent/regrowth was defined by any increase in tumour remnant size on serial post‐operative pituitary imaging.

Results  Recurrence/regrowth was documented in 53 patients (33·5%). Multivariate analysis revealed size of the post‐operative tumour remnant and length of follow‐up to be the two major determinants of recurrence/regrowth. The presence of a tumour with an extrasellar remnant was associated with the highest risk of recurrence (odds ratio 3·73 [CI: 1·97–7·09]), while no recurrence was seen in those with no residual tumour post‐operatively and regrowth risk was intermediate for those with remaining intrasellar remnant.

Conclusion  These results indicate that patients with post‐operative tumour with an extrasellar remnant should be considered routinely for adjuvant RT to reduce the risk of tumour regrowth while those with no residual tumour can be safely observed. Individualized decisions should be made for patients with an intrasellar remnant.