bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessing greenhouse gas emissions from university purchases
Authors: Thurston Matthew , Eckelman Matthew J.
Published: July 2011

Purpose

A greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory was conducted for Yale University's procurement of goods and services over a one‐year period. The goal of the inventory was to identify the financial expenditures resulting in the greatest “indirect” GHG emissions. This project is part of an ongoing effort to quantify and reduce the university's environmental impacts.

Design/methodology/approach

The impacts of institutional purchases were analyzed using publicly available economic input‐output life cycle assessment software. This model allows users to estimate the indirect GHG emissions of procured goods and services using expenditure data for different categories of purchases. The results are based on national averages for the USA.

Findings

The findings of this inventory indicate that indirect GHG emissions from procured goods and services are the greatest source of the university's emissions. A total of 15 of the university's 142 financial expenditure categories accounted for 80 percent of the GHG emissions. Many of these categories were expected, including energy purchases, construction activities, and air travel. Others were more surprising, particularly architectural and engineering services, laboratory supplies, and software.

Practical implications

This study is expected to assist Yale University in its efforts to reduce GHG emissions by providing a quantitative basis for prioritizing green supply chain management decisions.

Originality/value

This study demonstrates that universities and other organizational entities can proficiently assess indirect GHG emissions from goods and services using publicly available software, and that these efforts are significant for understanding the environmental impacts of higher education.
Catching leopards in the library; or, of panthers and posterity
Authors: Heaney Michael
Published: July 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show the value of measuring usage of cultural heritage materials held by libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper studies how best to record usage patterns of cultural heritage material.

Findings

Digitization has been found to make the measurement of usage of collections more useful. Experience so far has been that where older material is concerned, digitisation of the content does not mean that people neglect the physical volumes – instead, it tends to increase usage.

Originality/value

The paper looks at the complex issue of older material consisting of numerous volumes, and how best to record usage of such material.
Understanding helping intention and its antecedents among instant messaging users
Authors: Lin Chieh‐Peng , Chiu Chou‐Kang
Published: July 2011

Purpose

Helping intention is an important value that holds the key to the continuous user growth of instant messaging (IM). The purpose of this study is to validate a research model that examines online helping intention from a perspective of online social capital.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical testing of this model, through a survey of employees from seven large companies, confirms some theoretical expectations of this study. Two of the seven companies are from general service industries and the other five companies are from high‐tech industries. Of the 500 questionnaires distributed to participants, 364 usable questionnaires were returned for an effective response rate of 72.8 per cent.

Findings

Helping intention is influenced by reciprocity, shared narratives, centrality, and network ties, whereas commitment and shared codes and language are not significantly related to helping intention.

Research limitations/implications

Based on the test results of this study, helping intention is affected by different social capital dimensions. In particular, low helping intention is attributed to a lack of online social capital, which can result from weak reciprocity, shared narratives, centrality, and network ties. This study has some limitations that relate to the measurement and interpretation of results. A major limitation is the possibility of a common method bias by using a single questionnaire to measure all constructs, which may inflate the strength of the relationships among these research constructs.

Practical implications

This study recommends that those who support the establishment of helping culture among instant messaging users place emphasis on relational, cognitive, and structural capital. Both IM service developers and users should be aware that helping intention can be discouraged if any single dimension of social capital is ignored.

Originality/value

This paper fulfils an identified need to study how online helping intention can be strengthened.
Improving self‐organising information maps as navigational tools: a semantic approach
Authors: Lin Yi‐ling , Brusilovsky Peter , He Daqing
Published: July 2011

Purpose

The goal of the research is to explore whether the use of higher‐level semantic features can help us to build better self‐organising map (SOM) representation as measured from a human‐centred perspective. The authors also explore an automatic evaluation method that utilises human expert knowledge encapsulated in the structure of traditional textbooks to determine map representation quality.

Design/methodology/approach

Two types of document representations involving semantic features have been explored – i.e. using only one individual semantic feature, and mixing a semantic feature with keywords. Experiments were conducted to investigate the impact of semantic representation quality on the map. The experiments were performed on data collections from a single book corpus and a multiple book corpus.

Findings

Combining keywords with certain semantic features achieves significant improvement of representation quality over the keywords‐only approach in a relatively homogeneous single book corpus. Changing the ratios in combining different features also affects the performance. While semantic mixtures can work well in a single book corpus, they lose their advantages over keywords in the multiple book corpus. This raises a concern about whether the semantic representations in the multiple book corpus are homogeneous and coherent enough for applying semantic features. The terminology issue among textbooks affects the ability of the SOM to generate a high quality map for heterogeneous collections.

Originality/value

The authors explored the use of higher‐level document representation features for the development of better quality SOM. In addition the authors have piloted a specific method for evaluating the SOM quality based on the organisation of information content in the map.
Influence detection between blog posts through blog features, content analysis, and community identity
Authors: Kien‐Weng Tan Luke , Na Jin‐Cheon , Theng Yin‐Leng
Published: July 2011

Purpose

This study aims to investigate three common approaches – quantitative blog features analysis, content analysis, and community identification – to detect influence in the blogosphere (i.e. among blog posts).

Design/methodology/approach

Quantitative analysis of blog features, together with manual sentiment and agreement analysis and community identification, were performed on blog postings and their content. Correlation studies of the selected influential variables were conducted to determine the effectiveness of each variable.

Findings

Agreement expressed by the linking blogger with the linked blogger, similar sentiments expressed by both bloggers on common topics, and community identity are statistically significant features for detecting influence in the linked blogs.

Research limitations/implications

A small data set of 196 blog posting pairs was used for the study as the blog features and content are analysed manually. Nonetheless statistical analysis on the data set identified significant features that could be used in future studies to automate the influence detection process.

Practical implications

Knowing the effects of blog features and content analysis in detecting influence among blog posts allows a better influence detection method to determine the main chain of information propagation within the blogosphere and the identities of influential bloggers.

Originality/value

The approach of using blog features, content analysis, and community identity provides a comprehensive evaluation of influence in the blogosphere. Unlike previous content analysis approaches that measure document similarity (i.e. common terms) between linked blog posts, our study applies sentiment and agreement analysis to consider the context of the whole blog post content.
The value relevance of intellectual capital disclosures
Authors: Vafaei Alireza , Taylor Dennis , Ahmed Kamran
Published: July 2011

Purpose

This study aims to examine whether or not listed companies' disclosure of intellectual capital is value‐relevant in share markets and to assess its moderating role in the value‐relevance of reported earnings and equity following the adoption of international financial reporting standards (IFRS).

Design/methodology/approach

A measure of intellectual capital disclosure (ICD), based on a content analysis of the text in annual reports sampled from listed companies in Britain, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore, is incorporated in the models to examine the direct and moderating roles of ICD in a firm's valuation.

Findings

The results reveal that ICD is positively associated with market price (i.e. has value relevance) in companies in two of the four countries and in non‐traditional industries. Further, the incremental value relevance of earnings and net assets is mostly non‐significant; however, interaction of these variables with ICD considerably increases the basic coefficients and the explanatory power of the models.

Research limitations/implications

Prior research on the value relevance of reported accounting numbers has not considered the incremental effect of textual ICD in annual reports. This study extends value relevance models by combining textual ICD with accounting numbers in an attempt to assess investors' valuation of firms.

Practical implications

From the findings, a case is made for corporate management (particularly in certain countries and industries) to integrate its accounting policy choices regarding good will and intangibles with its strategies for disclosure of broad intellectual capital information.

Originality/value

First‐time evidence is provided that text‐based ICD is value‐relevant in capital markets and on its moderating effect for the value‐relevance of reported accounting numbers.
Usefulness of intellectual capital information: preparers' and users' views
Authors: Ousama A.A. , Fatima A.H. , Hafiz Majdi A.R.
Published: July 2011

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate preparers' and users' perceptions on the usefulness of intellectual capital (IC) information disclosed in annual reports of listed companies. In addition, it aims to examine the significant differences in the perceptions of usefulness of IC information and IC categories of the preparers and users.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper used a questionnaire survey method to collect the data (i.e. primary data). The questionnaires were distributed to companies (i.e. chief financial officers and accountants) as preparers, and brokers (i.e. analysts) and banks (i.e. credit officers) as users. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, t‐test and ANOVA.

Findings

The paper found that both preparers and users perceive the IC information disclosed in the annual reports of listed companies to be useful for their decision making purposes. Furthermore, the paper found that there are significant differences in the perception of usefulness between preparers and users.

Research limitations/implications

The paper only focused on certain preparers' and users' perceptions. Nevertheless, it provides evidence that IC information is useful for decision‐making purposes. Future research on this issue may include more users.

Practical implications

The findings provide evidence that IC information disclosed by listed companies is perceived to be useful by preparers and users. In addition, it provides evidence that there is significant difference between the perceptions of the usefulness of IC information by preparers, users and amongst the different user groups. Thus, these findings could be useful for regulatory authorities in Malaysia (e.g. Malaysian Accounting Standards Board and Bursa Malaysia) for the improvement of the disclosure practices (e.g. voluntary basis) by the Malaysian listed companies and enhance transparency in the capital market.

Originality/value

The paper can be considered as the first empirical study to examine the usefulness of the IC information from both views; preparers and users in Malaysia. In addition it contributes to the limited literature on IC in Malaysia.
A methodology for investigating intellectual capital information in analyst reports
Authors: Abhayawansa Subhash
Published: July 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe a methodology that enables the generation of valid and reliable inferences on what and how intellectual capital (IC) information is communicated by sell‐side analysts in their research reports.

Design/methodology/approach

The method described in this paper involves content‐analysing initiating coverage analyst reports using a four‐dimensional IC coding framework and a detailed coding instrument, which is founded in the literature and indigenous to analyst reports. The paper explicates methodological decisions associated with content analysis: selecting the appropriate sampling unit; recording unit and measurement unit; developing the categorisation scheme and coding instrument; the need for test coding; the approach to data collection; and assessment of reliability and validity.

Findings

The methodology described is applied to a sample of analyst reports to illustrate inferences that can be drawn on what and how IC information is communicated in analyst reports.

Practical implications

Various practical issues arising in the application of content analysis method are discussed and a methodology for investigating IC communications by sell‐side analysts is described in this paper. This knowledge can be useful to future researchers conducting content‐analytic studies involving analyst reports in general, and IC communications in analyst reports in particular.

Originality/value

This paper extends the methodology developed previously to examine IC information in analyst reports. Although inspired and heavily influenced by these works, the methodology presented in this paper differs from theirs on several fronts. The paper introduces an alternative methodological paradigm to the study of analyst reports by emphasising them as a communication medium through which sell‐side analysts may pursue an agenda of their own. This is contrasted with the view held by several prior researchers that analyst reports just provide a record of analysts' thought processes.
Visualizing greenhouse gas emissions from construction activities
Authors: Hajibabai Leila , Aziz Zeeshan , Peña‐Mora Feniosky
Published: July 2011

Purpose

Construction activities, particularly related to transportation, have a considerable impact on the environment and air quality. This paper aims to present a geographic information systems (GIS) and computer‐aided design (CAD)‐based approach for visualizing, communicating and analysing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from construction activities.

Design/methodology/approach

A methodology using GIS is developed to graphically represent spatial aspects of construction. The approach adopted involves use of a 3D model developed in CAD environment, which was synchronized with a construction schedule stored in Excel spreadsheets. GIS environment is used to link spatial and scheduling information relevant to GHG emissions from construction activities. A baseline was created to enable effective monitoring of construction emissions.

Findings

The presented GIS model has the potential to enhance visualisation of distribution and dynamic variations of GHG emissions and could help stakeholders better analyse and understand how construction activities impact the environment.

Originality/value

This paper presents a novel method of graphically presenting GHG and other hazardous air emissions from construction activities using a GIS‐based approach. The paper presents the result of comparing the 3D surface representation of simulated estimated and actual construction emissions to show the impact of construction activities on the environment to support the engineering analysis and decision‐making process.
Aligning teaching and practice: a study of SME marketing
Authors: Resnick Sheilagh , Cheng Ranis , Brindley Clare , Foster Carley
Published: July 2011

Purpose

This study aims to explore the role of marketing in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) and to consider how amendments can be made to the UK higher education (HE) teaching curriculum to inform marketing teaching and learning around a small business context.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative, exploratory approach using semi‐structured in‐depth interviews amongst ten owners of SMEs in the East Midlands region of the UK was used.

Findings

Marketing in SMEs is centred on customer engagement, networking and word of mouth communication. HE academic institutions should take account of these findings and work towards introducing SME‐specific marketing material in its teaching and learning curricula.

Research limitations/implications

This study uses a small number of SME companies in one region and therefore the generalisability of the findings may be limited. Further research could extend the number of SME companies and to other regions of the UK.

Practical implications

The findings have a bearing on the UK HE marketing curriculum. This study offers insights into how the marketing curriculum in HE needs to be adapted in light of the findings to ensure marketing graduates are equipped to enter SME employment.

Originality/value

Studies aligning how marketing in SMEs is practiced compared to HE teaching curriculum are limited. This research contributes to the body of literature by further exploring the characteristics and marketing activities of SMEs and highlighting the need to align teaching and practice of marketing in UK HE institutions.
The evolution of the governance model in instances of highly innovative strategic mergers
Authors: Meier Olivier , Missonier Audrey , Soparnot Richard
Published: July 2011

Purpose

This paper aims to answer two questions: firstly, how does the mode of corporate governance evolve following a merger between two specific companies looking for a joint innovation policy? Secondly, what are the factors that guide decision makers towards choosing one governance model over another?

Design/methodology/approach

In order to answer these questions, this study focuses on two unlisted SMEs within the information and communication technology (ICT) sector, where joint innovation plays a key role. The authors studied the corporate governance decisions made during a strategic alliance between a small enterprise (called eStat) and a medium‐sized enterprise (called Médiamétrie), formed with a view to building a strategic partnership based on technological innovation. The method chosen to carry out this research involved a single case study based on passive observation (153 days of observation), participant observation, the conducting of 70 semi‐structured interviews and the analysis of internal documents such as the memorandum of understanding.

Findings

From a critical reading of the “standard” (disciplinary/shareholder, relating to process profitability issues in particular) and the “strategic” (the importance of human capital, relating to innovation issues in particular) approaches, the authors demonstrate how the managers of the newly‐created company (Médiamétrie‐eStat) gradually opted for a renewed, resource‐based corporate governance model.

Originality/value

Contrary to what underlies existing literature addressing corporate governance, this paper shows the need to consider the dynamics involved in the adoption of the corporate governance model when a merger deals with strategic innovation issues.
Maximizing social return in the banking sector
Authors: Relaño Francesc
Published: July 2011

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to show that there are other options for a firm (or a bank) than just following the mainstream logic of maximizing financial profits. This is the case of the so‐called “social banks”, which appeared in the mid‐1980s. Unlike the “financial green‐washing” of traditional banks, social banks have shown in their everyday practice that a bank can still be a competitive institution whilst committing wholeheartedly to the concept of sustainable development.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis compares social banks to traditional universal banks at two levels: analysis of what they say, namely by looking at their annual report; and analysis of what they do, namely by looking at their activities as reflected in their balance sheet.

Findings

Concerning traditional banks, there is a major gap between what they say and what they do, whereas social banks are much more consistent in this regard. This is simply because social banks have put in place a different organization and different management structures and, overall, because they apply a different business model.

Originality/value

All banks are not the same. Beyond the “declarative ethics”, the methodology used in this paper helps to make the difference among them by using concrete evidence for measuring their “social added value”.
The need to implement Malaysia's Building and Common Property Act 2007 (Act 663) in building maintenance management
Authors: Haniza Fakhrudin Isma , Zailan Suleiman Mohd , Talib Roslan
Published: July 2011

Purpose

Nowadays, strata living represents a modern lifestyle (or luxurious lifestyle for those occupying the high‐end strata unit). The uniqueness of strata living is that it has facilities and common areas, which encompass multi‐purpose hall, playground, lift, corridors, etc. These facilities and common areas are shared between the residents. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the involvement of Commissioner of Building (COB) and the rights of the Joint Management Body (JMB), as well as developers' responsibilities, after the formation of a JMB. In order to do so, this paper looks into the role of the COB, the powers and duties of a JMB and developers' obligations.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper looks at how the Building and Common Property (Maintenance and Management) Act 2007 (Act 663) (BCPMMA) helps the JMB and the developer in maintaining and managing a multi storey building.

Findings

It is found that maintenance of these facilities and common areas is essential to ensure its optimal performance over its life cycle. This has to be carried out efficiently and professionally by developers. Nevertheless, the authors often came across complaints by unsatisfied residents on the maintenance and management of the buildings and facilities.

Practical implications

Prior to the establishment of this Act, multi storey buildings were governed by the Strata Title Act 1985 (Amended 2007) which stipulates that the Management Corporation can only be formed after a quarter of the aggregate share units has been transferred to the owner.

Originality/value

On the other hand, the developers usually provide a minimum amount of services based on the income from the maintenance collection. Realizing the issues have become crucial, the government, in 2007, introduced the BCPMMA to provide guidelines in order to have proper maintenance and management of buildings and facilities in multi storey buildings.
The influence of work‐cells and facility layout on the manufacturing efficiency
Authors: Aghazadeh Seyed‐Mahmoud , Hafeznezami Saeedreza , Najjar Lotfollah , Huq Ziaul
Published: July 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the use of a product‐oriented layout and a work‐cell strategy in order to maximise efficiency. These two categories of layout strategies are discussed separately, and are then used collectively in an analysis of the company. The aim is to understand how improvements on layout design could positively impact the future efficiency of the case study company.

Design/methodology/approach

A model was developed and measured using 26 weeks of data between the fourth quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of 2010 during layout transformations at the case study company based in upstate New York. The model compared variables such as the distance traveled to retrieve parts, average daily output of engines, labour cost per unit produced, and the amount of time the engine remains in each cell; the aim of which is to increase the efficiency of the facility.

Findings

The findings indicate that there is a strong correlation between the variables improved at both the cell‐structures and the product‐structures of the facility and the overall efficiency of the manufacturing facility itself. The results also show that an overall higher efficiency allows for the facility to handle much larger workloads and also drives down both short‐run and long‐run costs. The outcomes also allow for a suggestive redesign of the facility in order to further maximise efficiency. However, it was found that the amount of time a product remains in each cell on the assembly line does not have an effect on the overall output of diesel engines.

Research limitations/implications

Various studies have been conducted focusing on the “facility layout problem,” yet thorough analyses of the redesigning of layout in regards to efficiency are not as available. Instead, an understanding of the topic was derived through sources focusing on the specificities of manufacturing layout.

Originality/value

This paper describes layout efficiency through redesigns and layout using work‐cells in a product‐oriented environment. This study would be useful to manufacturers having low variability in their product and having the ability to use work‐cell layout within their facility.
Leadership that promotes organizational learning: both sides of the coin
Authors: Jogulu Uma
Published: July 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how leadership has the capacity to both positively influence learning processes and negatively inhibit organizational learning.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual paper that brings together an analysis of leadership and organizational learning literature. The argument is centered on transformational leadership and the responsibility for creating an organizational learning culture.

Findings

There is a conventional belief that leaders have solitary control and influence when it comes to setting up organizational learning processes. However, a top‐down approach to facilitate and implement learning in organizations is not always an effective method because learning should be a collaborative practice. Thus, to rely fully on leaders to initiate and sustain the learning processes can be counter‐productive.

Practical implications

Good and effective leadership is the key to organizational learning. Learning is the only sustainable method of achieving competitive advantage for contemporary organizations because of rapidly changing environmental forces. Corporations with aspirations for long‐term survival must facilitate, through their leadership, “the impulse to learn” amongst their members.

Originality/value

Knowledge is lacking in the area where leadership is linked to learning. Such knowledge is important because leaders play a central role in the learning framework and leaders also offer the required guidance for organizations to integrate and sustain learning processes through policy and practice.
Who cares wins: owning the learning transition
Authors: Cord Bonnie , Sykes Chris , Clements Michael
Published: July 2011

Purpose

Higher education is seeking ways to close the perceived gap between employer's expectations of graduates and the current preparation these graduates receive. Experiential learning programs offer students one such opportunity to develop professionally and acquire generic workplace skills. This transition however, from the classroom to the workplace, can be a challenging process for students, and is the focus of this paper.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper discusses the importance of programs and their supervisors integrating “caring” into work placements. Several stages of the transition process are discussed before seven principles of a successful student transition are outlined.

Findings

This paper demonstrates how a beyond duty of care approach can be adopted in experiential learning programs through seven key principles.

Practical implications

It is anticipated that prioritizing a transition that enlarges the notion of student “care” and adoption of the seven key principles will narrow the perceived gap between employers and higher education's expectations of graduates.

Originality/value

While experiential learning programs involve three stakeholders, the literature has not yet recognised the importance of each of these roles in the students' progressional development in the workplace. This paper outlines these roles and identifies seven ways the approach can be incorportaed into the pratices of an expereintial learning program.
The social responsibility of international business scholars
Authors: Peng Mike W. , Li Sun Sunny , Blevins Dane P.
Published: July 2011

Purpose

The paper aims to argue that the social responsibility of international business (IB) scholars is to seek truth, disseminate learning, and make a difference on issues crucial to the global economy.

Design/methodology/approach

Instead of making philosophical and abstract arguments on the importance of the social responsibility of IB scholars, this article focuses on a leading debate of the times: how to view the rise of China's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI)? The article argues that the so‐called “China threat” brought by such OFDI, as it is often portrayed by the (Western) media, is a myth that cannot be substantiated by evidence‐based scholarly analysis.

Findings

At present, China's OFDI stock represents a mere 1.21 percent of global OFDI stock. It would be absurd to believe that such a tiny sum can “buy up the world”. Based on findings, three hypotheses on what is behind the myth about China's OFDI are offered.

Practical implications

Although some IB (and management) scholarships have been criticized for their alleged lack of relevance to practitioners and policymakers, this paper disagrees. IB scholars need to engage with issues of grave importance not only to the IB field but also to the wider world, such as China's OFDI.

Social implications

The article ends with a series of suggestions on how IB scholars, driven by social responsibility, can shed light on, clear the air, and steer the course of public perception, by drawing on time‐honored, evidence‐based scholarly tradition.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first article in the literature on IB scholars' social responsibility.
The role of firm‐specific advantages in UK export initiation
Authors: Beleska‐Spasova Elena , Glaister Keith W.
Published: July 2011

Purpose

The aim of this study is to identify potentially significant differences in perception of export motives based on the variations in the firm‐specific advantages (FSAs) and the firm's export strategy. It proposes that Rugman's (1981) (FSA/country‐specific advantage (CSA)) framework provides a sound theoretical base for integrating findings from different studies.

Design/methodology/approach

A set of export motives are identified as key initiation stimuli and their significance is tested on an original data set of 356 British exporters. The factor analysis produced four conceptually meaningful groups of motives. Propositions were developed to test the discriminating effect of the firm‐specific resources and capabilities on export stimulation and the potential variations in critical export motivators when executing different export strategies.

Findings

Findings endorse the study's main propositions: internal proactive motives are the most significant export initiation factors; distinct firm‐specific resources and capabilities play a significant differentiating role in the firm's perception of specific export stimuli; and the spread and scope of the firm's export strategy was found to have significant impact on the firm's sensitivity to specific export stimuli.

Research limitations/implications

The study's findings contribute to the body of knowledge of export initiation motives by: endorsing the FSA/CSA matrix as an integrative approach in studying export stimuli; producing novel empirical evidence of the differentiating effect of particular FSAs on export stimulation; and investigating the potential variations in critical export motives according to the number and distance of export markets entered and the number of export market entry modes adopted. The nature and characteristics of the sample present limitations.

Originality/value

The study provides a guideline that may help sporadic and non‐exporters to develop a strategy to migrate their activities from a passive response to unsolicited orders and customer followership to an active pursuit of international opportunities.
Resources and performance of international joint ventures: the moderating role of absorptive capacity
Authors: Kim Changsu , Zhan Wu , Krishna Erramilli M.
Published: July 2011

Purpose

Drawing on the resource‐based view and organizational learning theory, this study aims to examine the effect of resources and capabilities on international joint venture (IJV) performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Departing from the extant research which largely assumes a bipartite relationship, the present study views an IJV as representing a tripartite relationship involving the IJV, its foreign parent and its local parent. Accordingly, it examines the effect of resources contributed by both foreign and local parents on IJV performance. It also examines how the IJV's absorptive capacity moderates the relationship between resource acquisition and performance.

Findings

Results from a survey of 102 IJVs in China provide general support for the argument that performance of IJVs seems to be driven by the complementary resources of partner firms in combination with absorptive capacity of IJV.

Originality/value

The findings from this study are useful for researchers interested in performance of iIJVs.
Implications of non‐tariff measures on international business operations: a case of India's textiles and clothing firms
Authors: Saini Gordhan K.
Published: July 2011

Purpose

This paper attempts to examine the implications of non‐tariff measures (NTMs) on firms' international business operations through a survey of India's textiles and clothing exporting firms. The main objectives of the study are to identify and assess the impact of NTMs, and analyze the cost incurred in complying with them.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on the survey which was jointly undertaken with the Market Research Division of Textiles Committee, Mumbai.

Findings

The results reveal that the EU and USA‐based buyers are more restrictive with significantly higher NTM incidences. The technical barriers, product and production process standards, and conformity assessment requirement for technical barriers are the widely used NTM categories. The compliance expenditure may vary according to firm size, and an inverse relation is revealed by this study. The larger and smaller firms demonstrate important differences in compliance due to their varying resource endowments. Further, the regression results suggest that the US and EU markets and firms' product profile/type are an important determinant of compliance cost.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the understanding about the implications of NTMs on Indian firms, and the inferences may be tested in other similar Asian markets. However, a further empirical validation of the issues such as NTMs as promotion and marketing tools is warranted.
Quality management and quality care
Authors: Chavan Meena
Published: July 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine an operational process through the use of a clinical practice improvement method to implement clinical pathways in the Amber Hospital's (name changed for privacy reasons) cardiology unit. This quality framework has been adopted as a means of preventing adverse events, to ensure quality of care is provided to all patients.

Design/methodology/approach

A quality assurance case study approach was adopted along with the clinical practice improvement method – a framework that allows continuous quality improvement to be applied in a practical way to clinical processes, in order to improve delivery of care. The clinical practice improvement method is broken into five cycles: project, diagnostic phase, intervention, impact, and sustaining improvement. The paper explains these cycles, demonstrating how each was achieved.

Findings

The clinical practice improvement method at Amber Hospital was found to provide superior performance in the clinical pathway allocation process and improved patient care. Having an appropriate and effective action plan involving clinical pathways helps to prevent service hindrances that may have adverse impact on hospital management processes leading to adverse events. The Amber Hospital case study has not only identified the physical constraints but also the constraints in relation to organization policies and operation procedures.

Research limitations/implications

The paper highlights the need for organizations to have a “no blame” culture, which acknowledged that errors do and will occur. However, it is also recognized that it is important to have reliable data collection on these errors, in order to reduce the frequency and severity of adverse events. Lack of available data was a severe limitation.

Practical implications

The practical aim of this project was to improve recommended drug treatment in patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome through the implementation of clinical pathways. The author also wanted to measure the utilization rate of these pathways. While there were four pathways implemented, the majority of patients were allocated to pathway 1B. Hence, data were collected on those specific patients.

Originality/value

Quality operational framework, using a clinical practice improvement method, demonstrated how clinical pathways for Acute Coronary Syndrome were implemented successfully at the Amber Hospital. The report provides evidence that through conducting a CPI project, quality improvements were made in recommended drug treatment for patients diagnosed with Acute Coronary Syndrome, and to correct pathway allocation.
The quality impact of governance change on board decision making
Authors: Wook Kim Soo
Published: July 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how a regulation has influenced board structures, board processes, and board decision making and specifically, to explore the structural differences of a board before and after enforcing a regulation. This paper also investigates the change in operational processes of a board and determines which factors can influence the board's decision making.

Design/methodology/approach

To expand the scope of board studies, this study used the board minutes which were recorded in a stenographic form. Data from the board minutes provide the following information: date, director name, attendance rate, agenda, and spoken details by outside directors, etc. The minutes are taken from 24 public institutions in Korea.

Findings

The study on governance structure and processes has demonstrated the following outcomes. First, the number of directors has increased since enforcing the regulation. Second, the percentage of outside directors has increased. Third, the number of board meetings has increased. Fourth, the attendance rate in the board meetings showed a constant rate. Fifth, the number of agenda items in both reports and decisions has increased. Sixth, the SPCA unit of outside directors appeared different according to their job. Seventh, the number of decisions with amendments has increased. Eighth, there are several factors that influence board decisions.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to a better understanding of boards' decisions.
Advanced scheduling with genetic algorithms in supply networks
Authors: Ławrynowicz Anna
Published: July 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to improve efficiency of the traditional scheduling methods and explore a more effective approach to solving the scheduling problem in supply networks with genetic algorithms (GAs).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper develops two methods with GAs for detailed production scheduling in supply networks. The first method adopts a GA to job shop scheduling in any node of the supply network. The second method is developed for collective scheduling in an industrial cluster using a modified GA (MGA). The objective is to minimize the total makespan. The proposed method was verified on some experiments.

Findings

The suggested GAs can improve detailed production scheduling in supply networks. The results of the experiments show that the proposed MGA is a very efficient and effective algorithm. The MGA creates the manufacturing schedule for each factory and transport operation schedule very quickly.

Research limitations/implications

For future research, an expert system will be adopted as an intelligent interface between the MRPII or ERP and the MGA.

Originality/value

From the mathematical point of view, a supply network is a digraph, which has loops and therefore the proposed GAs take into account loops in supply networks. The MGA enables dividing jobs between factories. This algorithm is based on operation codes, where each chromosome is a set of four‐positions genes. This encoding method includes both manufacture operations and long transport operations.
“Stock‐touting” through spam e‐mails: a data mining case study
Authors: Zaki Mohamed , Theodoulidis Babis , Díaz Solís David
Published: July 2011

Purpose

Although the financial markets are regulated by robust systems and rules that control their efficiency and try to protect investors from various manipulation schemes, markets still suffer from frequent attempts to mislead or misinform investors in order to generate illegal profits. The impetus to effectively and systematically address such schemes presents many challenges to academia, industry and relevant authorities. This paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper describes a case study on fraud detection using data mining techniques that help analysts to identify possible instances of touting based on spam e‐mails. Different data mining techniques such as decision trees, neural networks and linear regression are shown to offer great potential for this emerging domain. The application of these techniques is demonstrated using data from the Pink Sheets market.

Findings

Results strongly suggest the cumulative effect of “stock touting” spam e‐mails is key to understanding the patterns of manipulations associated with touting e‐mail campaigns, and that data mining techniques can be used to facilitate fraud investigations of spam e‐mails.

Practical implications

The approach proposed and the paper's findings could be used retroactively to help the relevant authorities and organisations identify abnormal behaviours in the stock market. It could also be used proactively to warn analysts and stockbrokers of possible cases of market abuse.

Originality/value

This research studies the relationships between the cumulative volume of spam touts and a number of financial indicators using different supervised classification techniques. The paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of the market manipulation problem and provide part of a unified framework for the design and analysis of market manipulation systems.
A combined measure for representative information retrieval in enterprise information systems
Authors: Ma Baojun , Wei Qiang , Chen Guoqing
Published: July 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for describing and evaluating the representativeness of a small set of search results extracted from the original results: this is deemed desirable in information retrieval in enterprise information systems.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper proposes a combined measure, namely RFβ, to evaluate the extracted small set in terms of the notions of coverage and redundancy. Data experiments were conducted on three different extraction strategies to evaluate the representativeness, i.e. coverage and redundancy.

Findings

Both from intuitive and experimental perspectives, the proposed coverage measure, redundancy measure and RFβ measure could effectively evaluate the representativeness.

Research limitations/implications

The search results, e.g. in the form of documents and texts, are modeled using a vector space model and cosine similarity. Semantic models and linguistic models could be further introduced into this research to improve the proposed measures.

Practical implications

With the rapidly growing need for information retrieval in enterprise information systems, the representativeness of search results become more desirable and important for search engine users. The well‐designed representativeness measures will help them achieve satisfactory results.

Originality/value

The originality of the paper lies in the definition of representativeness of a small set of search results extracted from the original results. This focuses on the two aspects of coverage rate and redundancy rate both from intuitive and experimental perspectives.
A mobile‐based emergency response system for intelligent m‐government services
Authors: Amailef Khaled , Lu Jie
Published: July 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present an intelligent mobile based emergency response system (MERS) framework, a text information extraction and aggregation algorithm to integrate information from multiple sources in the MERS system, and an ontology‐supported case‐based reasoning system for the MERS system.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper explains the components of information extraction and aggregation process, and a CBR‐Ontology approach for the MERS system.

Findings

The result of this study will offer a new opportunity to the interaction between government, citizens, responders, and other non‐government agencies in emergency situations, and therefore improve the services of the government in an emergency situation.

Originality/value

The paper indicates the need for usage of mobile technologies to assist the government to get information and make decisions in responding to disasters anytime and anywhere.