bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of inflation uncertainty, output uncertainty and oil price on inflation and growth in Australia
Authors: Mallik Girijasankar , Chowdhury Anis
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the relationship between inflation, inflation uncertainty, growth and growth uncertainty for Australia.

Design/methodology/approach

Multivariate EGARCH models has been used to estimate the relationship between inflation, inflation uncertainty, growth and growth uncertainty for Australia.

Findings

Using quarterly data in multivariate EGARCH models, this study finds that both inflation uncertainty and output uncertainty have negative and significant effects on output growth. The paper also finds that, while inflation uncertainty has a positive and significant effect on inflation, output uncertainty has a negative and significant effect on inflation. The study uses a newly constructed oil price dummy as a control variable and finds that oil price changes significantly increase inflation uncertainty. The study also finds that inflation uncertainty and the inflation level have both declined since the adoption of a formal inflation‐targeting monetary policy in Australia.

Research limitations/implications

Multivariate EGARCH model can be used to estimate the effects of inflation, inflation uncertainty, growth and growth uncertainty for cross‐country analysis.

Originality/value

This is the first study of the effect of inflation uncertainty and growth uncertainty on inflation and growth in Australia using a newly constructed oil price dummy in a multivariate EGARCH framework.
The diffusion of ATM technology in Indian banking
Authors: Kumar Lakshmi , Malathy D. , Ganesh L.S.
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand technology diffusion in the banking sector in India by analyzing ATM (automatic teller machine) technology and its replacement of the teller (labor). ATMs are fast emerging as an important IT investment for a bank in India. Hence, in this paper the authors use the ATM as a proxy for capital and the teller as a proxy for labor.

Design/methodology/approach

The debate on the “IT paradox” is the motivation for this paper. The constant elasticity of substitution (CES) model is used, as the degree of substitution can be estimated. The degree of substitutability of one form of input for another namely, ATM (capital) for teller (labor), is discussed by developing an appropriate model to understand the same.

Findings

The rapid diffusion of the ATM was clearly large from 1998, nine years after it was first adopted. This was also a time when the number of tellers was falling and the wage bill for tellers increasing. The CES production function model used in this paper is clearly a good predictor of the data compared with the other cases. The estimate shows that the degree of substitutability of the teller by the ATM is high. However, the ATM is not a perfect substitute. By running counterfactual experiments, it can be concluded that both a fall in the price of ATMs and an increase in the wage bill for tellers contributed to the diffusion of the ATM.

Practical implications

The excess labor in public sector banks needs to be redeployed rapidly, or staff need to be trained in other functions as do private banks, so that they do not become redundant as technology diffuses.

Originality/value

The paper is original in its data, its model building and testing in the banking sector.
The decision to outsource management advisory services
Authors: Kent Pamela
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper, using transaction cost economics as a theoretical framework, is to seek an understanding of a company's decision to purchase Management Advisory Services (MAS) from their external auditors and other consultants as opposed to assembling MAS internally within the company.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from annual reports for a pooled sample of 3,154 company years were collected for listed Australian companies to determine MAS from auditors. Data for a second sample were collected by undertaking a survey of listed companies to provide a figure for total management advisory services paid to auditors and other consultants. Ordinary least squares regression was used to analyse the data and predict companies' decision to outsource or internally generate MAS.

Findings

It is found that purchases of MAS from external auditors and other consultants are associated with, restructuring, number of controlled entities (subsidiaries), number of geographical segments, management change and frequency of contracting. Other company characteristics, including company's industry membership, short‐term growth, leverage, return on assets, use of a “big 5” auditor, type of audit report, and audit fees also explain the quantity of MAS purchased by a company from their external auditors and other consultants.

Originality/value

Transaction cost economics has not previously been applied to explain the decision to generate MAS internally by assembling knowledge within the company versus outsourcing from auditors and other consultants. The study makes use of unique data sets because it covers the period when regulations were not foreshowed restricting accounting firms supplying their audit clients with MAS.
Corporate heritage identities, corporate heritage brands and the multiple heritage identities of the British Monarchy
Authors: Balmer John M.T.
Published: September 2011

Purpose

This article scrutinises the nature and salience of corporate heritage identities via the lens of the British Monarchy. A corporate heritage identity framework is introduced. The heritage identity construct is positioned vis‐à‐vis other related constructs such as nostalgia, tradition, and custom.

Design/methodology/approach

An embedded case study informed by desktop research and a literature review of the British Monarchy and by an empirical‐collaborative study on the Swedish Monarchy. The paper is also informed by the literature on heritage and other historically‐related constructs.

Findings

The notion of relative invariance is introduced. The latter is important since it explains why heritage identities can remain the same and yet have changed, namely: The Relative Invariance Notion. Corporate heritage identities and brands are invested with special qualities in that they are a melding of identity continuity, identity change and are also invested with the identities of time (times past, present and future). Heritage identities are an accretion of various identities, which are variously linked to institutions, places, cultures, and to time frames. The notion of Institutional Role Identities is introduced. The study suggested that heritage identities have multiple institutional role identities. These identities can be utilised in various contexts and for a variety of purposes: this might account for their strength. One explanation of why heritage identities are powerful is because they meet customer and stakeholder needs by encapsulating and, importantly, by giving identity. Heritage identities, potentially, are an important dimension of a group's collective memory.

Practical implications

A revised corporate heritage identity framework relating to the British Monarchy is introduced. The model can be adapted so as to appraise our comprehension of corporate heritage identities in more general institutional contexts. The importance of bi‐lateral institutional and stakeholder trust to the framework and the need for (institution) heritage authenticity – or perceived authenticity – and stakeholder affinity are noted.

Originality/value

The paper focuses on heritage identities in institutional contexts and a distinction is made between corporate heritage identities and corporate heritage brands identities.
Brand heritage and the renaissance of Cunard
Authors: Hudson Bradford T.
Published: September 2011

Purpose

Brand heritage is an emerging concept within the marketing discipline, which suggests that the historical status of older companies is often explicitly linked to their brand identity and consumer appeal. The aim of this paper is to illustrate and validate this concept.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper provides a profile of the Cunard Line, which offers limited evidence to support prior conceptual work by other scholars. The paper uses historical research methods to illustrate the principles of brand heritage within a specific circumstance.

Findings

Heritage is central to the brand identity of Cunard and was a significant factor in the recent turnaround of the company. This paper demonstrates the nature and power of the brand heritage concept, even within a future‐oriented repositioning effort.

Research limitations/implications

Although the example of Cunard validates the brand heritage concept in a specific instance, it does not offer evidence that brand heritage is a universal phenomenon.

Practical implications

Brand heritage should be included within the repertoires of marketing strategists and brand managers. Executives of older companies should be aware of this approach and should consider the potential to exploit heritage for competitive advantage.

Originality/value

This paper offers original research to support prior conceptual scholarship on the emerging topic of brand heritage.
Old fossils and accounting history
Authors: Bisman Jayne
Published: September 2011

Purpose

This poem aims to present a satirical critique and a defence of the role of accounting historians.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach takes the form of traditional Italian ottava rima poetic form of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. This features eight‐line stanzas with six, 11‐syllable (hendecasyllable) lines of alternating rhymes, concluding with a rhyming couplet.

Findings

The work explores common stereotypes and misconceptions about accounting historians and addresses these by explaining the value of the accounting historian in providing “insights into accounting's present and future through its past”.

Originality/value

By using a poetic form developed around the time (and place) of the “birth” of double entry accounting, there is a resonance of form with theme, given the focus on the endeavours of accounting historians.
Influence of organizational culture on quality healthcare delivery
Authors: Carney Marie
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify if aspects of organizational culture may indicate a new terrain in the cultural influences‐quality healthcare relationship. This research stems from the author's belief that viewing the role of head of department or directorate as pivotal to health care management is critical to health care planning and quality healthcare delivery.

Design/methodology/approach

Interviews were undertaken among 50 professional clinician and non‐clinician managers working in the role of head of department, in acute care hospitals in Ireland. The sample was drawn from the total population of 850 managers, utilized in a previous survey study.

Findings

Organizational culture is more complex than was previously thought. Several cultural influences such as excellence in care delivery, ethical values, involvement, professionalism, value‐for‐money, cost of care, commitment to quality and strategic thinking were found to be key cultural determinants in quality care delivery.

Research limitations/implications

Health care managers perceive that in order to deliver quality focused care they need to act in a professional, committed manner and to place excellence at the forefront of care delivery, whilst at the same time being capable of managing the tensions that exist between cost effectiveness and quality of care. These tensions require further research in order to determine if quality of care is affected in a negative manner by those tensions.

Originality/value

Originality relates to the new cultural terrain presented in this paper that recognizes the potential of health service managers to influence the organizations' culture and through this influence to take a greater part in ensuring that quality health care is delivered to their patients. It also seems to be important that value‐for‐money is viewed as an ethical means of delivering healthcare, and not as a conflict between quality and cost.
Cost‐analysis of nutrition support in patients with severe acute pancreatitis
Authors: Mutch Kelly L. , Heidal Kimberly B. , Gross Kevin H. , Bertrand Brenda
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this research was to assess the preferred route of nutrition support (enteral versus parenteral) for treatment of severe acute pancreatitis in the acute care setting. Further, in cases when enteral nutrition is the preferred route, is nasal‐bridling a lower‐morbidity and cost‐effective method?

Design/methodology/approach

A retrospective review of pre‐existing data from an 870‐bed hospital system. Medical records were reviewed via an online database system (n=25\; patients) with severe acute pancreatitis. Length of stay and cost were analyzed.

Findings

More patients received TPN versus the nasal‐jejunal (post‐pyloric) tube feeds group. No significant relationship was found between total cost and number of co‐morbidities or between either of the two treatment groups. However, a medium to large effect size was shown which could indicate a significant relationship in a larger sample size.

Originality/value

The findings of this research add to the literature already available and will be of interest to those who specialize in this area.
Exploring effects of online shopping experiences on browser satisfaction and e‐tail performance
Authors: Pentina Iryna , Amialchuk Aliaksandr , Taylor David George
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically identify categories of online shopping experiences and web site functions facilitating these experiences, and to test the effect of those experiences on browser satisfaction, conversion, and online store performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Two analytical methods (survey‐based exploratory factor analysis and secondary data‐based regressions) were employed to test the mediating role of browser satisfaction between online shopping experiences and e‐tail performance for 115 top online retailers during 2006‐2008.

Findings

In addition to supporting the existence of such parallel in‐store and online experiences as sensory, cognitive, pragmatic, and relational, a new type of online shopping experience (interactive/engagement) was identified. It comprises customer involvement with the online store and with friends and other shoppers via the online store interface. The mediating role of browser satisfaction in increasing sales and traffic to online stores was confirmed.

Research limitations/implications

Future research should account for potential multi‐channel effects of online shopping experiences.

Practical implications

Investing in web site features that facilitate such social experiences as product reviews and ratings sharing, and interacting with the site itself (site personalisation and mobile interface), and through the site with others (social networking, wish list, e‐mail‐a‐friend, etc.), can positively influence site visitor satisfaction and lead to increased traffic and sales.

Originality/value

This paper is among the first to explore the nature and drivers of online shopping experiences. It uses multi‐method approach to identify which online shopping experiences significantly affect browser satisfaction and, consequently, store performance.
Social learning in managing disasters in Malaysia
Authors: Roosli Ruhizal , O’Brien Geoff
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to argue that there is still much scope for improvement in planning and training, for both actors and disaster victims, in the front line of disaster management in Malaysia. Although the established ethos of Malaysia's public service sector has tended to be one of control from above, there is promise and virtue in seeking to promote a professional culture. Ideas and recommendations in finding new solutions to old problems can move upwards as well as downwards due to the technical design in rules and regulations which is now to be accompanied by organisational design.

Design/methodology/approach

Research was undertaken to determine attitudes of actors in disaster management mechanism in Malaysia.

Findings

The actors in public service sectors in Malaysia had a negative attitude towards disaster planning implementation because they are usually not familiar with the Standard Operational Procedure in handling land disaster management in Malaysia called the MNSC Directive 20. Social learning is about initiative of organisations and policy makers in learning through actor's interactions with others and through the knowledge and expertise of others.

Originality/value

The paper shows that the MNSC Directive 20 document is not available for public scrutiny and restricted for reasons of national security, which limits the policy's effectiveness. Even then, documents were circulated for office use only. Learning from status of current policy implementation and suggestion will promote awareness raising and capacity building from the inside of organisations.
The role of accruals as a signal in earnings and dividend announcements
Authors: Koerniadi Hardjo , Tourani‐Rad Alireza
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether managers deliberately use accruals to convey information regarding firm future profitability.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses contemporaneous earnings and dividend increase announcements in New Zealand as the research setting. This setting reduces the possibility of opportunistic income smoothing by managers and, hence, increases the validity of the inference on the accrual signaling hypothesis. The paper employs a refined accrual model that controls the performance effects in estimating the part of accruals subject to managerial discretion.

Findings

The paper finds evidence consistent with managers using both accruals and changes in dividends to communicate private information regarding firm future profitability to the market. In particular, dividend‐increasing firms are observed to report positive accruals that are correlated with the positive market reaction to dividend increase announcements and future profitability. These findings are robust to performance, growth, and post‐earnings announcement drift effects.

Originality/value

This paper provides evidence that managers use accruals in conjunction with a corporate event to convey their private information regarding firm profitability. The results of the study are expected to shed more light on signaling aspects of accruals and to some degree alleviate the negative perception of managerial discretions over accruals vastly documented in the earnings management literature. This will hopefully add supporting evidence to the signaling hypothesis of accruals, which has so far received limited attention in the literature.
Future‐oriented narrative reporting: determinants and use
Authors: Hussainey Khaled , Al‐Najjar Basil
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of future‐oriented information in UK annual report narrative sections. The paper also investigates the association between corporate dividend policy and levels of future‐oriented information, as a proxy for information asymmetry.

Design/methodology/approach

A computer‐based‐content analysis is used to measure levels of future‐oriented information. Tobit and logit regressions are then applied in order to examine the impact of firm characteristics, and corporate governance characteristics on future‐oriented disclosure. In further tests, Tobit and logit regression models are used to investigate the association between corporate dividend policy and levels of future‐oriented information.

Findings

The authors find that firm size is the main factor affecting the firms’ levels of future‐oriented information. This variable is statistically significant in five regression models. In addition, the authors find that profitability, outsider directorships, and insider ownerships affect the levels of future‐oriented information. However, the significance of these variables depends on whether fixed effects or random effects models are used and whether year dummies are included or excluded in the analyses. Finally, the authors find a positive association between corporate dividend policy and information asymmetry (measured by the levels of future‐oriented information).

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the existing disclosure studies in two crucial ways. First, it offers the first evidence that levels of future‐oriented information are driven by some firm characteristics, and some corporate governance mechanisms. Second, it offers the first UK evidence of the association between corporate dividend policy and information asymmetry. The results show that dividends and information asymmetry are negatively associated.
Privatizing state‐owned enterprises: a model for developing countries
Authors: Luqmani Mushtaq , Quraeshi Zahir
Published: September 2011

Purpose

This paper aims to describe a planning and implementation model for privatizing state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) in developing countries.

Design/methodology/approach

The privatization model, developed within the context of selection, transition, and sustainability phases, identifies certain SOEs and how they transition into privatized firms that are socially responsible and contribute to economic development. Illustrative examples and cases drawn from the Pakistani privatization experience demonstrate how the model applies various frameworks.

Findings

The active support of key stakeholders is essential for privatization in developing countries to succeed. Targeted marketing strategies, together with financial considerations and public sector initiatives and oversight, can bolster successful implementation of privatization objectives and initiatives.

Practical implications

Privatization of failed or poorly performing SOEs into viable private sector firms can improve market efficiencies, reduce government deficits, offer better service alternatives, meet public service expectations, and promote economic development. Privatization also improves resource use and fosters collaboration between the public and private sectors.

Originality/value

The paper fills a literature gap by presenting an inclusive model that incorporates both public and private sector influences and considerations in the planning and implementation phases of privatization. It highlights the critical role of marketing in achieving success with private and public partnership initiatives.
Vijay Govindarajan: innovation coach to the developed and developing world
Authors: Leavy Brian
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present an interview by Strategy & Leadership with Professor Vijay Govindarajan, one of the world's foremost experts on innovation execution and the co‐author of The Other Side of Innovation (2010), which discusses innovating for emerging markets, building the right innovation team, innovation planning as learning, and his newest concept, emotional infrastructure.

Design/methodology/approach

Govindarajan explains how companies use the “forget‐borrow‐learn” framework to drive innovation execution. They “forget” the core business success formula, “borrow” key assets from core business, and “learn” to resolve unknowns.

Findings

The paper finds that to manage innovation a special plan should be created to guide disciplined experiments for quicker learning. Quicker learning leads to better decisions, and better decisions lead to better results. A special innovation initiative team should also be created: a partnership between a dedicated team (using a mix of insiders and outsiders, with new job descriptions) and shared staff, who support the project while sustaining its performance engine responsibilities.

Practical implications

Do not “isolate” new businesses or “spin them off.” This forfeits the advantage of using existing assets, such as brands, manufacturing facilities, relationships with customers, areas of technical expertise and much more.

Originality/value

Today reverse innovation, taking unique business models from poor countries to rich ones, is a winning formula. But new organizational systems are required so that full business capabilities for reverse innovation in emerging markets – including product development, manufacturing, and marketing – are possible.
From social media to social customer relationship management
Authors: Heller Baird Carolyn , Parasnis Gautam
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the augment of the authors, who are IBM consultants, that companies need to meld social media programs with customer relationship management (CRM). This new paradigm – Social CRM – recognizes that instead of just managing customers, the role of the business is to facilitate collaborative social experiences and dialogue that customers value.

Design/methodology/approach

Social media holds enormous potential for companies to get closer to customers and, by doing so, increase revenue, cost reduction and efficiencies. However, using social media as a channel for customer engagement will fail if the traditional CRM approaches are not reinvented,

Findings

According to IBM research, there is a large perception gap between what the customers seek via social media and what companies offer. Consumers are far more interested in obtaining tangible value, suggesting businesses may be confusing their own desire for customer intimacy with consumers' motivations for engaging.

Practical implications

To reinvent the company's CRM strategy it is important to recognize social media is a game changer and the customer is in control; make the customer experience seamless – across social media and other channels; start thinking like a customer – if one isn't sure what customers value, they should be asked; and monetize social media, if that is what customers want.

Originality/value

Social CRM is a new approach that recognizes consumers have strong opinions about relationships as customers being managed in a social media context and that their willingness to engage with companies should not be assumed or taken for granted.
The margin of safety principle and corporate strategy
Authors: Calandro Joseph
Published: September 2011

Purpose

This paper seeks to analyze the applicability of the time‐tested margin of safety principle from value investing to corporate strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

The main source of this paper is the book Margin of Safety, supplementation materials, including a discussion with the book's author, Seth Klarman, were also referenced.

Findings

The paper finds that the margin of safety principle is broadly applicable to corporate strategy in areas such as M&A, hedging, balance sheet management, share buybacks, special dividends, divestments, and cash management. Each of these areas is discussed in the paper and illustrated by way of timely examples as part of the analysis.

Research limitations/implications

Further research could be conducted into valuation methods in general, including the method practiced by noted value investors. Research could also be conducted into the margin of safety principle and its applications in corporate strategy, corporate finance, strategic risk management, shareholder communications, and operations management.

Originality/value

This is the first paper that the author is aware of that analyzes the applicability of the investment‐based margin of safety principle to corporate strategy and strategy‐related initiatives.
Managers as visionaries: a skill that can be learned
Authors: Millett Stephen M.
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether visionary management be learned.

Design/methodology/approach

The author, an experienced futurist, asks and answers the question, “Can visionary management be learned?“

Findings

The paper finds that new research suggests that managers can develop skills associated with successful visionaries.

Practical implications

One particularly important aspect of visionary management is the use of intuition, which experts describe as unconscious pattern recognition. The pattern recognition of trends for futurists and visionaries needs to be based on high quality information and disciplined imagination. An excellent approach to pattern recognition is the use of scenarios for anticipating and planning for the future. Scenarios prepared according to best practices share certain characteristics that provide high quality information and disciplined imagination.

Originality/value

The scenario method certainly can be learned by managers to the extent that they include information and pattern recognition within a prescribed rigor, scenarios are a viable way to teach intuitional skills to managers. These skills of intuition expand the manager's capability to become visionary.
Informational intermediation: a tool to assess SMEs’ ability to access financing
Authors: Levratto Nadine , Paranque Bernard
Published: September 2011

Purpose

This paper aims to highlight a typology of small firms which, beyond the criteria of size or industrial field, makes it possible to distinguish the quality of firms according to their internal organisation and the type of market on which they act with the objective of reducing the capital gap and credit rationing.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a global approach using qualitative and quantitative data.

Findings

Still at the experimental stage, this method of assessing the ability of small firms to access financing from their various external partners could, if widely used, offer a means of increasing the transparency of small businesses and thereby enhancing their positioning and their chances of survival.

Research limitations/implications

The research is at an early stage and needs to be validated empirically.

Originality/value

While this paper describes a method of assessing an economic policy intended to benefit SMEs in France, its main purpose is to show how such a tool can help to target assistance and financing for small businesses more effectively.
The relationship between pay contingency and types of perceived support
Authors: Pazy Asya
Published: September 2011

Purpose

This study aimed to test how the effects of types of support on employees’ performance and commitment were moderated by structure of pay, namely by the degree to which pay was contingent on level of performance. The constructs of Perceived Organizational Support (POS) and Perceived Supervisor Support (PSS) were decomposed into two types, according to whether the support was directed at doing the task or at the welfare of the person. The study proceeded to examine how each type influenced performance and commitment under different pay structures.

Methodology

The survey was conducted in Israel. A self‐report questionnaire was administered to a sample of managers and professionals. The questionnaire consisted of new scales for person‐focused and task‐focused support along with measures of performance, commitment and structure of pay. The main interaction predictions were tested with regression analyses.

Findings

Pay contingency interacted with task‐focused POS and with person‐focused PSS in affecting performance. The interactions related to commitment were not significant. The results justify the differentiation of support to the two types. They indicate that different kinds of support that are perceived to be provided either by the organization or by the supervisor boost performance under different pay structures. The effect of support on commitment is not affected by the structure of pay.

Research limitations/implications

Similar surveys should be conducted in additional cultural contexts and with samples representing diverse populations, so that the conclusions from this research can be further generalized. In order to establish causality, a longitudinal design should be used in future research. It is also advised that performance should be measured through outside agents, for example through supervisor evaluation.

Practical implications

In contexts where employees’ pay is contingent upon their level of performance, employers should emphasize task‐related organizational support and supervisors should exert person‐related support in order to boost performance. A reverse pattern is effective when pay is relatively invariable, namely when it is not contingent on performance.

Originality/value

The study is a first attempt to differentiate organizational support, which so far has been studied as one global construct. It introduces further differentiation by proposing that features of the pay structure influence which support type is effective in influencing performance at work.
Bank branch‐level DEA to assess overall efficiency
Authors: Tsolas Ioannis E.
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of the research presented in this paper is to provide a new approach related to the definition of variables in disaggregating branch expenses and income for evaluating the overall technical efficiency of bank branches by means of data envelopment analysis (DEA).

Design/methodology/approach

By applying an input minimization DEA model to a sample of bank branches of a large commercial bank in Greece, this study identifies pure technical and scale inefficiencies, efficiency and size relationship and returns to scale patterns. Moreover, it explores target setting strategies for inefficient branches.

Findings

Results indicate that branch size has an important influence on efficiency and that superior insights can be obtained by pure technical efficiency (PTE) and scale efficiency (SE), as constituent components of global technical efficiency (TE) than the information obtained from the analysis based on selected key performance indicators (KPIs) used by the bank under study.

Research limitations/implications

A direction of future research would be to extend the analysis to incorporate environmental factors, such as branch location, local competitive environment, investment portfolio risk, among others, into the DEA assessment.

Practical implications

The study shows that DEA which provides an overall summary measure with respect to global TE and its constituent components PTE and SE can be used to complement the in‐house performance management system of the bank under study for the evaluation of its branch network.

Originality/value

From a policy perspective, this study highlights the use of DEA combined with statistical analysis to support the reduction of burden by means of either expense reduction or revenue enhancement.
Risk‐reducing regulatory strategies for protecting minors in social networks
Authors: Lievens Eva
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to present the preliminary results of a research project which aspires to identify requirements for risk‐reducing regulatory strategies aspiring to protect children and young people in social networks. It aims to provide an insight into the changing role of law in today's networked society and the innovative regulatory solutions that will be able to deal with the paradigm shift from mass media and passive, vulnerable consumers to media for mass self‐communication and active “prosumers”.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the legal impact of social networking sites (SNS) risks for children and young people that have been identified in social science research is assessed, as well as the applicability of existing legal instruments. Second, legal trends in this field and a number of recent (alternative) regulatory initiatives and their implementation are discussed. In a final part, the use of such alternative regulatory instruments and their compliance with the broader legal (human rights) framework are analysed. To conclude, a number of elements for risk‐reducing regulatory strategies for the protection of minors in online social networks are identified.

Findings

The first research results point towards the importance of multi‐stakeholder involvement, proportionality of measures, procedural guarantees (such as transparency) and the careful combination of regulatory strategies targeted at illegal as well as harmful conduct and content risks for a balanced protection of minors in social networks.

Originality/value

Although social networks are very popular among young users, the risks that are associated with these networks are not at all or not appropriately addressed by existing legal or regulatory instruments. This article aims to contribute to developing innovative regulatory instruments which are effectively addressing these risks.
The bill of lading as a document of title
Authors: Schmitz Torsten
Published: September 2011

Purpose

This paper seeks to analyse the different characteristics a bill of lading holds as a document of title, including the proprietary effects a transfer of goods in transit can have and the bill's use as a means of security as well as its limitations in mo6dern international commerce.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines the document's nature and the evolution of its traditional legal functions. The analysis includes, among other things, the implications different types of bills have as an instrument in commercial trade. Special attention is given to the attributes that are likely to limit the bill's application in modern international trade, concerning both its scope and value. Finally, the paper offers a set of conclusions and suggests reform measures.

Findings

The paper shows how technological innovations in recent years have resulted in the emergence of new forms of transport documentation that might challenge the bill's role in the future. The paper provides a clear understanding of the problems associated with the bill's current form and outlines the main approaches proposed to meet its need for reform.

Practical implications

The paper offers a conceptual analysis of the bill's weak points and discusses how simplification and standardisation, a central registry system and electronic transmission of information may be able to increase efficiency.

Originality/value

Critical assessment undertaken may pave the way for an open discussion on the subject. Legal culture and mercantile customs should be taken into consideration if a successful and sustainable reform is to be achieved.
Determining the throughput of a CONWIP system using adjusted ARM
Authors: Lee Carman K.M. , Hu He , Lin Danping , Lianfeng Zhang Linda
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose an adjusted approximate regenerative model (ARM) for a constant‐work‐in‐process (CONWIP)‐based production system that solves the problem of deciding the number of intermediate bulk container in a pharmaceutical company to hold the work in process.

Design/methodology/approach

The problem was modeled as a CONWIP system and the ARM was adjusted to estimate the throughput.

Findings

By comparing the results from the original ARM and adjusted ARM, a clear superiority of the proposed method is shown for the real case. In addition, the robustness of the adjusted ARM is demonstrated in terms of the violation of rigid assumption and the impacts brought by the limitation of buffer space before the bottleneck station.

Originality/value

The novelty of the proposed model is to take the long transportation time between machines into consideration.
How to improve the use of industrial robots in lean manufacturing systems
Authors: Hedelind Mikael , Jackson Mats
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify how industrial robotics fits into lean manufacturing systems. This paper presents results from case studies where Swedish and Japanese manufacturing industries have been compared in order to identify differences on how advanced manufacturing technologies and industrial robotics are utilized.

Design/methodology/approach

The research has been conducted via case studies where researchers from academia have worked together with industrial companies. During the case studies, the results of interviews, observations and data collection in the form of performance measures and historical production data have been analyzed.

Findings

This paper highlights some of the differences between how Swedish and Japanese companies work with industrial robotics. It also proposes some key areas where development could lead to better integration of industrial robotics into lean manufacturing systems.

Originality/value

This research has been performed with the intention of identifying how manufacturing industries could increase their competitiveness through industrial robot automation. The companies involved in the research project have received feedback on their automation solutions. The overall goal is to create a guideline for how to design industrial robotic work cells that can easily be integrated into lean manufacturing systems. This research area is important in order to increase competitiveness in industry. It is thus of value for both industry and the scientific community.
Application of object‐oriented framework on manufacturing domain
Authors: Pullan Thankachan T. , Bhasi M. , Madhu G.
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address the capture and documentation of essential design for manufacture (DFM) pieces of information to make design decisions. Essential manufacturing information is that which can affect the fulfilment of functional requirements and product constraints. The hierarchical structure of the main components for the open architecture‐process planning model (PPM), manufacturing activity model (MAM) and manufacturing resource model (MRM) are discussed The aim of the approach is to define manufacturing knowledge structures and develop a knowledge‐based application for DFM.

Design/methodology/approach

This work addresses the capture and documentation of essential DFM pieces of information to make design decisions. Essential manufacturing information is that which can affect the fulfilment of functional requirements and product constraints. The hierarchical structure of the main components for the open architecture‐PPM, MAM and MRM are discussed. The aim of the approach is to define manufacturing knowledge structures and develop a knowledge‐based application for DFM.

Findings

This paper gives details of the application framework development by integrating object‐oriented technology and component‐based development. This will help to achieve large‐scale software reuse for manufacturing application development projects. This paper also gives an overview of a computer system for automated concurrent engineering, and more particularly, to a method for the concurrent design of parts, tools and processes.

Originality/value

The workability of this approach was tested in a machine‐tool manufacturing firm and the same has been presented as a case.
Servitization within manufacturing
Authors: Baines Tim , Lightfoot Howard , Smart Palie
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The debate about services‐led competitive strategies continues to grow, with much interest emerging around the differing practices between production and servitized operations. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this discussion by investigating the vertical integration practice (in particular the micro‐vertical integration, otherwise known as the supply chain position) of manufacturers who are successful in their adoption of servitization.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve this the authors have investigated a cross‐section of four companies which are successfully delivering advanced services coupled to their products.

Findings

Manufacturers who have embraced the servitization trend tend to retain capabilities in design and production, and do so because this benefits their speed, effectiveness and costs of supporting assets on advanced services contracts.

Research limitations/implications

These are preliminary findings from a longer term research programme.

Practical implications

Through this research note the authors seek to simultaneously contribute to the debate in the research community and offer guidance to practitioners exploring the consequences of servitization.

Originality/value

Successful servitization demands that manufacturers adopt new and alternative practices and technologies to those traditionally associated with production operations. A prevailing challenge is to understand these differences and their underpinning rationale. Therefore, in this research note, the authors report on the practices of four case companies, explore the rationale underpinning these, and propose an hypothesis for the impact on vertical integration of successful servitization.
Innovation and dynamic capabilities in a traditional service sector
Authors: Tsekouras George , Poulis Efthimios , Poulis Konstantinos
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the types and the nature of innovations developed by small companies in a traditional service sector, as well as the ways that innovations impact their strategic capabilities.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides evidence from three case studies captured through a number of interviews with senior managers within the companies. The paper adopted a comparative analysis, selecting two cases that have managed this process with great success and one showing evidently less success.

Findings

Organisational and process innovations are critical aspects of a dynamic strategy in small service companies. Although a successful innovation strategy does not require the development of technological systems and knowledge intensive services, it does necessitate their sophisticated usage. Innovation enables the firms to access new markets and the reconfiguration of strategic capabilities in the long term.

Research limitations/implications

The paper identifies the existence of strong linkages between organisational and process innovation and dynamic capabilities in the small companies in a traditional service sector. The research has used qualitative methods and a case study methodology. Further research (e.g. other service industries) and ideally statistical evidence are required to generalise these findings into the wider service sector.

Practical implications

This work calls for managers in small companies in a traditional service sector which wish to grow to pay more attention to their active involvement in organisational and process innovations and the sophisticated usage (or development) of knowledge intensive services.

Originality/value

The paper brings together a number of concepts from the innovation studies and the strategic management literature to investigate management practices and strategies of small companies in a traditional service sector, the tramp shipping sector.