bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Knowledge stock, ambidextrous learning, and firm performance
Authors: Lee Cheng‐Yu , Huang Yen‐Chih
Published: June 2012

Purpose

This study aims to examine the relationships among knowledge stock, ambidextrous learning, and firm performance while considering the moderating effect of firm size.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses R&D scoreboard database to produce a sample of 312 firms which operate in technologically intensive industries. To test the research hypotheses, regression analysis is employed.

Findings

The major findings are: the positive performance implications of ambidextrous learning; knowledge stock as an antecedent of ambidextrous learning; the mediating role of ambidextrous learning; and firm size as a contingency factor that strengthens the influence of ambidextrous learning on firm performance.

Research limitations/implications

Owing to the scope of the research, only patent data were used to measure knowledge stock and ambidextrous learning. However, the measurement of these variables may have been influenced by the availability of patent information.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that realizing superior performance is dependent on a firm's accumulated knowledge stock and its ability to balance exploratory and exploitative learning. Large firms extract more value from ambidextrous learning than small firms.

Originality/value

This study is the first to identify the mediating role of ambidextrous learning in the relationship between knowledge stock and firm performance and to confirm that firm size moderates the relationship between ambidextrous learning and firm performance. The value of this study lies in developing a model of ambidextrous learning that includes both mediating and moderating variables.
Environmental disclosure management: a constructivist case
Authors: Silva da Rosa Fabricia , Rolim Ensslin Sandra , Ensslin Leonardo , Joao Lunkes Rogério
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to present a framework to create a better understanding of the context and to aid the environmental disclosure management process. The paper seeks to present a case study illustrating the proposed methodology for assessing environmental disclosure management.

Design/methodology/approach

The ProKnow‐C process is used to identify the opportunities in the literature and the MCDA‐C methodology is used in order to build up the environmental disclosure management (MED) model.

Findings

First the ProKnow‐C process was used to identify opportunities in the literature about environmental disclosure and later the MCDA‐C methodology was used to discover the opportunities and to show a process for generating actions to promote improvement in environmental disclosure.

Practical implications

The case study allowed the manager to develop an understanding of environmental disclosure, showing that organizational performance is the key factor according to managers' perception. This knowledge allowed the manager to identify what the company needs to improve in its environmental disclosure regarding the following aspects: targets for using water, energy program, management of effluent and waste, biodiversity, adaptation to emergency plans, training and environmental awareness, expanding the coverage of the certification process and increasing operational performance in specific indicators relating to the electricity sector (pruning control, fire and oil spill).

Originality/value

The structured process of the MCDA‐C methodology enabled a model to be built that showed graphically and numerically the systemic diagnosis of environment disclosure, allowing the manager to know the consequences of a decision a priori and to suggest a set of improvement actions.
Client satisfaction in Indian banks: an empirical study
Authors: Gupta Aayushi , Dev Santosh
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors impacting customer satisfaction in Indian banks and analyze their effects the level of customer satisfaction through a regression analysis. The primary contribution of this study is the analysis and resulting insights on the critical factors impacting client satisfaction within the Indian retail banking sector.

Design/methodology/approach

A 28 item questionnaire was prepared based on literature review and discussions with current customers of Indian banks. The questionnaire was then sent out to current customers of 13 retail banks in India. In total, 420 completed questionnaires were received, out of which 400 were found to have been accurately and completely answered. The 28‐item instrument has been empirically tested for unidimensionality, reliability and validity using Cronbach alpha and exploratory factor analysis.

Findings

A factor analysis suggests that there are five factors driving customer satisfaction: “service quality”, “ambience/hygiene”, “client participation/involvement”, “accessibility” and “financial”. Subsequent multiple regression analysis revealed that “service quality”, “ambience and hygiene”, and “client participation and involvement” in that order are the most important factors impacting client satisfaction.

Practical implications

The identified dimensions are expected to bring clarity to the issue of customer satisfaction in retail banking, to aid retail bankers in improving specific parameters of service in order to increase overall customer satisfaction. This would help the management of the banks to create strategies and action plans to retain their current customers and to attract new customers.

Originality/value

The results from the current study are crucial because previous studies have produced scales that bear a resemblance to SERVQUAL, a generic measure of service quality, which may not be solely adequate to assess the perceived quality of service in the Indian banking sector. In contrast, the present study captured customers' satisfaction levels in a 28‐item questionnaire exclusively designed, keeping in mind the unique nature of the Indian banking sector.
The balanced scorecard: the effects of feedback on performance evaluation
Authors: Kang Gerui (Grace) , Fredin Amy
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The use of a balanced scorecard (BSC) for performance evaluation is meant to help evaluators make more complete decisions, as they have a variety of financial and non‐financial measures to assess. The problem is that users have difficulty taking all of the measures into consideration. The tendency to place more weight on common measures (measures that are the same across divisions) while either ignoring or placing very little weight on unique measures (measures are unique to a particular division) has become known as a “common measures bias”. The purpose of this paper is to extend a line of research that works to understand how this common measures bias might be mitigated.

Design/methodology/approach

This study examines whether the presence of task property feedback, a form of cognitive feedback, prior to a performance evaluation task, can help evaluators overcome the tendency to rely primarily on common measures. This study used a 2×2 experimental design where subjects were asked to evaluate the performance of two managers under either feedback or non‐feedback conditions. In the feedback condition, subjects were provided with their supervisor's suggestions about performance evaluation in the use of BSCs.

Findings

This study finds that when subjects were given task property feedback, a form of cognitive feedback, they tended to use more unique measures than if they were not given any feedback information at all.

Practical implications

In practice, more straight forward and simple feedback information is likely easier for companies to implement and easier for evaluators to follow. Feedback information that is too complex or that requires too much effort may frustrate evaluators, at which point they may abandon the effort. The authors' findings also indicate that direct and clear guidance from the top manager of a business may be seen as pressure by lower‐level managers. It is important for top managers to create such a performance evaluation environment so that all BSC measures are considered.

Originality/value

The paper finds that when evaluators judge the performance of managers through the use of a BSC, they tend to weight common measures more heavily than they do unique measures, unless they are provided cognitive feedback to cue them into the importance of using all measures. This study is one of many, following LS (2000), documenting a finding of common measures bias in the use of BSCs. Where this study contributes to the literature is in the use of task property feedback, a form of cognitive feedback, to overcome this bias. Since the use of unique measures is a key attribute of BSCs as they help users capture the nuances of a specific division's or firm's strategy, it is crucial that performance evaluators pay careful attention to them.
Implementation of the performance‐related pay in the general educational schools of Estonia
Authors: Irs Reelika , Türk Kulno
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The article aims to provide an insight into the perspectives and possibilities of implementing the performance‐related pay in the Estonian general educational schools. It also aims to test two propositions regarding factors that influence school performance and teachers' and school managers' opinions about performance management.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 298 school managers and 2,165 teachers from general educational schools in Estonia participated in the study. The factor, regression and correlation analysis, independent samples t‐test and one‐way ANOVA analysis were used to study claims related to school management and performance and educational processes.

Findings

The results of the analysis show that besides teachers' activities and effectiveness factors, various school management factors play an important role in the shaping of the school performance and the opinions towards the implementation of performance appraisal and performance‐related pay.

Research limitations and implications

The main limitation to the research is that it is difficult to measure the schools' outcome. Second, the study was mainly quantitative, with only a few open questions and thus, the respondents were neither able to give full answers nor provide explanations. Therefore, further case studies are needed to obtain a more precise overview.

Originality/value

Although performance‐related pay is seen as an important management tool for increasing schools' outcome, there is no clear overview as to how the school managers and teachers in Estonia look at the issue and which factors should be considered in implementing performance‐related pay.
Organizational culture as a source of change in trade unions
Authors: Martínez‐Iñigo David , Crego Antonio , Garcia‐Dauder Silvia , Domínguez‐Bilbao Roberto
Published: June 2012

Purpose

This study aims to analyze the relationship between the culture in one of the majority national trade unions in Spain and the difficulties in accomplishing the desired changes and innovations.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 15 focus groups comprised of trade union leaders were conducted. Transcriptions of the groups were analyzed from a grounded theory approach

Findings

The presence of an “inconclusive dialectic” structure (thesis‐antithesis‐no synthesis) in the leaders' rhetoric was identified. From a dialectic perspective of organizational change, this can be interpreted as a factor slowing change within the organization.

Research limitations/implications

The study reflects the role played by organizational culture in maintaining this inertia and in the delay of the reduction of divergence between internal and external dimensions implied in the working and survival of trade union organizations. The results of the study reflect the need to introduce changes in the trade union's language and to redefine some of the terms in the discourse. New standards for the evaluation of the efficiency of trade unions as a whole, teams and their members are also necessary. This redefinition implies proposals able to synthesize tensions between the ideological and instrumental and between activism and professionalism.

Originality/value

In order to face workers' demands in the current framework of labor relations, there is general consensus on the need for change and development in trade union organizations. There are numerous factors involved that have been analyzed and some initiatives have been implemented from different levels with unclear success. Although literature on organizational development gives culture a central role, in the case of trade unions this dimension has been neglected.
Why do organisations engage in HR initiatives? A test case of a health and wellbeing intervention
Authors: Greasley Kay , Edwards Paul , Baker‐McClearn Denise , Dale Jeremy
Published: June 2012

Purpose

Many studies look at the effects of human resource (HR) initiatives. Yet very few consider why organisations adopt them in the first place. Health and wellbeing interventions offer a critical case because they offer apparent benefits for all. Assessing the process of engagement reveals variations in managerial commitment, which has implications for studies of “effects”. This paper seeks to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The study offered a free health intervention to organisations; this was separate from the research study, which aimed to assess the effects. A total of 86 organisations were approached, of which 53 indicated some interest in involvement. After further withdrawals and selection against criteria of size and sector, nine remained. The paper assesses the degree of engagement with the study, looking in detail at three organisations. The methods utilised included structured telephone interviews, qualitative interviews and observation.

Findings

The organisations underwent a rigorous selection procedure to ensure their full commitment to the study. On this basis it is expected that the participating organisations would be highly engaged. However, it became clear that there were considerable variations in how they engaged. This reflected the favourability of the organisational context, but also the enthusiasm and commitment of key actors.

Originality/value

Engaged organisations were a highly self‐selected group. Studies of effects of interventions may thus be systematically biased. The interventions studies here were also shaped by how they were put into practice; they were not fixed things whose effects could be understood independently of their implementation. The study was also able to make predictions of the subsequent effects of the interventions based on the process of implementation. The results of a follow‐up study to test these predictions will be reported in a further paper.
Engineering education and performance: the German machinery and equipment sector
Authors: Paton Robert A. , Wagner Richard , MacIntosh Robert
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between management education, the performance of German engineering enterprises and the strategic knowledge status of the executives running those enterprises.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based upon the results of an online/posted self‐administered questionnaire conducted within Germany, augmented by micro case studies.

Findings

Findings suggest that the curricula in German Engineering Faculties fail to fully embrace business and management studies, in particular strategic management which has virtually no presence. Engineers dominate senior management positions within the German machinery and equipment sector yet they display limited knowledge of strategic management tools. There is also evidence that links performance with the application of management knowledge.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited to senior executives within German SMEs from the machinery and equipment sector. It is likely that the findings would be applicable throughout the German engineering industry; however, generalisability to other countries may be limited. Only a single year's performance (2007) was considered and this is also a limitation of the study. This was mitigated by a request that anomalies be noted, such as extraordinary write offs or a windfall profit, within the year in question, this was then taken into account during the analysis.

Practical implications

Based on the findings it is suggested that German faculties of engineering should enhance and expand management education, particularly strategic management, thus enhancing future performance potential within German SMEs.

Originality/value

This paper examines the level of management education attained by senior engineering executives with a key economic industrial sector in Germany, as such it is one of few such studies which investigates the link between management education and performance.
SKU classification: a literature review and conceptual framework
Authors: van Kampen Tim J. , Akkerman Renzo , Pieter van Donk Dirk
Published: June 2012

Purpose

Stock keeping unit (SKU) classifications are widely used in the field of production and operations management. Although many theoretical and practical examples of classifications exist, there are no overviews of the current literature, and general guidelines are lacking with respect to method selection for classifying SKUs. The purpose of this paper is to systematically synthesise the earlier work in this area, and to conceptualise and discuss the factors that influence the choice of a specific SKU classification.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper structurally reviews existing contributions and synthesises these into a conceptual framework for SKU classification.

Findings

How SKUs are classified depends on the classification aim, the context and the method that is chosen. In total, three main production and operations management aims were found: inventory management, forecasting and production strategy. Within the method three decisions are identified to come to a classification: the characteristics, the classification technique and the operationalisation of the classes.

Research limitations/implications

Drawing on the literature survey, the authors conclude with a conceptual framework describing the factors that influence SKU classification. Further research could use this framework to develop guidelines for real‐life applications.

Practical implications

Examples from a variety of industries and general directions are provided which managers could use to develop their own SKU classification.

Originality/value

The paper aims to advance the literature on SKU classification from the level of individual examples to a conceptual level and provides directions on how to develop a SKU classification.
The contingent nature of service recovery system structures
Authors: Smith Jeffery S. , Nagy Paul F. , Karwan Kirk R. , Ramirez Edward
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine to what extent the factors of the operating environment influence the structural dimensions and subsequent performance of a firm's recovery system.

Design/methodology/approach

Using contingency theory and a sample of 158 service firms, this research tests for structural differences in service recovery systems based on Schmenner's widely‐cited taxonomy, the service process matrix. To conduct the analysis, both multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) models were tested to assess overall system differences and to detect individual dimensional differences.

Findings

The results indicate that differences in the structure of service recovery systems do exist across divergent operating environments. Additionally, differences in performance measures were found only in capability improvements, while customer‐oriented performance did not vary across operating environments.

Originality/value

The paper is believed to be the first to empirically investigate how differences in operating environments increase the likelihood that firms will employ divergent recovery system configurations. This work yields valuable insights into how organizations can design their systems to more appropriately respond to the demands of the environments in which they operate. The results also lend credence to the concept of equifinality, which suggests similar ends are attainable through multiple means.
Mindfulness and product failure management: an engineering epistemology
Authors: Itabashi‐Campbell Rachel , Gluesing Julia , Perelli Sheri
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence of engineering knowledge creation in the context of product failure management, thereby extending knowledge about organizational learning and mindfulness to a largely unexplored context. The study addresses a gap in the literature by illustrating “engineering epistemology” as a critical knowledge asset that gives rise to superior problem solving – and potentially – superior business performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted qualitative research based on phenomenological interviews with product engineers to generate a grounded theory about organizational knowledge creation. Rigorous analysis of narratives detailing the “lived lives” of problem solvers relied on a research protocol recommended by Corbin and Strauss.

Findings

The findings show that engineers' real‐world problem‐solving practices mirror Nonaka and Takeuchi's five phases of knowledge creation and the three stages of sensemaking in enactment theory, the genesis of Weick's notion of mindfulness. A synthesized model illustrates how a five‐step problem‐solving process facilitated by environmental conditions resulting in organizational learning is influenced by an “engineering epistemology”.

Research limitations/implications

The sample was limited to engineers based primarily in the US Midwest. While the authors' methodology (grounded theory) was appropriate for theory generation, the results invite quantitative testing involving a larger and more diversified sample of engineers.

Practical implications

The paper highlights the social aspects of engineering problem solving that firms can optimize for effective problem investigation and higher organizational learning.

Originality/value

The paper conceptualizes problem‐solving teamwork as epistemic collaboration, with the often un‐optimized potential of generating organizational learning. It is, to the authors' knowledge, the first research to concentrate on modeling the dynamics of knowledge creation in an engineering problem‐solving context.
Mindlessness/mindfulness, classroom practices and quality of early childhood education
Authors: Capel Celine Marie
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how mindless/mindful classroom practices affect the quality of learning and overall experiences of children in an early childhood educational setting.

Design/methodology/approach

The method used in the study is auto‐ethnography. This qualitative research is based on self‐reflexivity in ethnographic research and intrinsic case study. The study draws substantially from the theory of mindfulness/mindlessness.

Findings

Quality can be marred through mindlessness. The same can be improved through mindfulness, child centric and friendly practices, recognising the needs of each individual child, and enhancing their learning experiences, as against merely fulfilling curriculum obligations. It is suggested that when mindful approaches are applied to classroom practices, the needs of young learners can be better met, thereby improving the experiences of learners, and eventually the curriculum quality.

Research limitations/implications

The scope of the study is limited to early childhood education in one location; more studies in other cultural settings are suggested.

Practical implications

The paper concludes that mindful classroom practices are effective strategies for improving the quality and overall performance of students and teachers, whereas mindless approaches will achieve the exact opposite.

Originality/value

Through auto‐ethnography, the paper adds value to existing approaches to understanding quality and how mindfulness/mindlessness can affect education quality.
Minding the contexts of mindfulness in quality management
Authors: Bjurström Erik
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to point out the potential for further theorizing of the concept of mindfulness, by extending and nuancing present accounts of East‐West dichotomies in relation to the concept.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper takes the form of a literature review.

Findings

Dichotomies of Western and Eastern approaches to mindfulness can be extended by analyzing key elements of their respective philosophies, notably through their different views on permanence versus impermanence, uni‐directional versus mutual causality and conceptual versus non‐conceptual knowledge. Through these key elements, a more nuanced picture of Eastern and Western elements can be identified in relation to quality management research and practice. The dual roots in Eastern and Western contexts point at the potential for further theorizing inherent in the concept of mindfulness.

Originality/value

This paper takes a broad and nuancing view on present dichotomies of Eastern and Western accounts on mindfulness and points at the concept's future potential.
Gender and entrepreneurship: a review and process model
Authors: Sullivan Diane M. , Meek William R.
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on gender, and specifically, women and entrepreneurship as well as present a process model of gender and entrepreneurship to guide future research.

Design/methodology/approach

Following research from Baron and Henry, the literature is organized into a process model of gender and entrepreneurship and a brief review of the research on each stage of the model is presented. Further, building on the process model, specific propositions associated with each stage that are motivated by expectancy theory are developed.

Findings

Research on women and entrepreneurship has increased over the last two decades and there is much research yet to be done.

Practical implications

Practical implications include that women may engage in networking activities focused on family and friends for obtaining financial resources.

Social implications

Based on this review, evidence suggests societal attributions and socialization processes relative to the sexes may create barriers to entry for women due to the uneven distribution of assets, educational foci, and daily life activity expectations amongst the sexes. These factors, in effect, create the glass ceiling that women are often described as facing that extends to entrepreneurship. To lessen these effects, women might be advised to pursue education within fields more closely linked to high‐growth industries.

Originality/value

The authors review research on women and entrepreneurship from 1993‐2010 and organize the literature within Baron and Henry's process model of entrepreneurship. As such, the paper illuminates a process model of gender and entrepreneurship that builds from and extends research linking the I/O psychology and entrepreneurship literatures.
Ageing and work motivation: a task‐level perspective
Authors: Stamov‐Roßnagel Christian , Biemann Torsten
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The paper aims to establish the position that discrete work tasks, rather than entire jobs, are the most useful level of analysis of age differences in work motivation.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 189 workers (aged 18‐65 years) from production and office jobs in the building industry completed a survey on personal and job resources, overall and task‐specific motivation, and job satisfaction.

Findings

Age was positively associated with motivation for generativity‐related, but not growth‐related tasks. Personal and job resources were positively and differentially related to task‐specific motivation.

Research limitations/implications

Building on the notion of age‐specific constellations of high and low‐motivation tasks, the findings inspire research into age‐related changes in work motivation. The authors studied only two task types; a more comprehensive task set will in future studies yield deeper insights into motivational regulation. Working with other industry sectors will enhance generalisability.

Practical implications

The results contribute to a theory‐based, empirically grounded platform to assess age‐related changes in work motivation, and to derive age‐differentiated motivational interventions.

Social implications

Supporting older workers' motivation in light of the demand for longer individual work lives is becoming an important agenda for employers and policy makers. This research contributes to developing tools for such motivation support.

Originality/value

The paper enhances the conceptual clarity of work motivation research by distinguishing global and task‐specific levels of motivation. The conceptualisation differentiates job design approaches by considering age‐related changes at multiple levels instead of focusing on major age effects only.
Relations between leader‐subordinate personality similarity and job attitudes
Authors: Oren Lior , Tziner Aharon , Sharoni Gil , Amor Iafit , Alon Pini
Published: June 2012

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the associations between organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), leader‐member exchange (LMX), perceived organizational justice, and similarity between subordinate and supervisor on the Big Five personality traits.

Design/methodology/approach

A research questionnaire was administered to 120 blue‐collar workers in a large industrial company in Israel. A structural equation model was conducted to test the proposed relations and mediating hypotheses.

Findings

OCBs were found to be related to LMX and organizational justice. In addition, LMX was found to mediate the relationship between organizational justice and OCBs. Contrary to expectations, a negative correlation was found between personality similarity and LMX.

Practical implications

Organizations may facilitate OCBs by improving LMX relationships and organizational justice. Supervisors should be encouraged to form high‐quality LMX relationships with dissimilar subordinates.

Originality/value

The study emphasizes the importance of LMX and organizational justice as motivational bases for OCBs. Among blue‐collar workers, LMX seems to be based on social exchange or reciprocity rather than attraction or personality similarity.
Self‐leadership and team members' work role performance
Authors: Hauschildt Kristina , Konradt Udo
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this present study is to extend previous research on self‐leadership by investigating the relationship between self‐leadership and work role performance of team members, including individual task and team member proficiency, adaptivity, and proactivity. Moreover, it aims to examine the moderating role of collectivism.

Design/methodology/approach

Organizational team members' self‐ratings of self‐leadership and six work role performance dimensions (i.e. individual task and team member proficiency, adaptivity, and proactivity, respectively) were collected in a cross‐sectional study and were analyzed using partial least squares modeling.

Findings

Results indicate positive relationships between self‐leadership and proficiency, adaptivity and proactivity directed both at the individual task and the team. Results also suggest that collectivism moderated the relation between self‐leadership and team member proficiency.

Practical implications

Managerial implications for personnel selection, leadership, training, and organizational development efforts are provided.

Originality/value

Previous research is extended by providing first evidence of self‐leadership's relationship with a differentiated set of individual task and team member work roles including adaptive and proactive performance aspects.
Organizational and supervisory support in relation to employee turnover intentions
Authors: Kalemci Tuzun Ipek , Arzu Kalemci R.
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The present paper aims to examine the relationship between perceived organizational support (POS), perceived supervisory support (PSS) and turnover intentions. The paper also aims to investigate whether employee's individual cultural values regarding collectivism and individualism moderate the relationship between POS and turnover intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were obtained utilizing survey from a sample of 304 full‐time employed adults working in insurance companies in Turkey. Employees completed regular survey that contained measures of the constructs of interest of this study.

Findings

Results revealed that employees who perceive high levels of PSS but report low levels of POS will also report high levels of turnover intentions compared to employees who perceive low PSS and low POS.

Practical implications

For increasing POS to be successful, managers must strive to find out the way to increase their social support, and then tailor support accordingly. Managers may benefit from considering cultural values during the support process. Furthermore organizations may develop different support policies for employees.

Originality/value

The study's findings add to the growing body of research concluding that supervisor‐related perceptions and attitudes can shape organization‐related perceptions and attitudes.
Lending relationships, auditor quality and debt costs
Authors: Causholli Monika , Knechel W. Robert
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the circumstances under which high quality audits reduce a firm's cost of debt. The paper extends previous research by Pittman and Fortin by considering how auditor quality relates to the capital cycle and industry of the firm.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a sample of US initial public offerings (IPOs) from 1986 to 1998 to analyze a firm's debt costs for the five years following the IPO. The paper uses a firm's private age as a proxy for its capital cycle and existing banking relationships to capture the likely extent of debt dependence prior to IPO. The authors separately analyze technology firms from other firms.

Findings

Consistent with prior literature, it is found that firms that are young at the time of an IPO pay higher interest rates and auditor quality plays a significant role in lowering the cost of debt financing. Consistent with the hypotheses made, the authors also observe that the effect of auditor quality is larger for firms in the high tech industry sector. Further, the relationship between auditor quality and age depends on industry, with the benefits of hiring a high quality auditor primarily accruing to younger tech firms and older non‐tech firms.

Originality/value

While the issue of auditor quality and cost of debt has been examined by previous researchers, the additional insight that the effect of auditor quality depends on both capital cycle (age) and industry of a firm, increases understanding of the circumstances under which the audit of financial statements is socially desirable and economically valuable to investors and other stakeholders.
Voluntary IFRS disclosures: evidence from the transition from UK GAAP to IFRSs
Authors: Emmanuel Iatridis George
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate how the provision of voluntary International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) disclosures in the pre‐adoption period has affected the IFRS transition process of UK listed firms. The study also seeks to identify the motivation of firms with financing needs to provide voluntary IFRS disclosures and determines whether the provision of voluntary IFRS disclosures in the pre‐adoption period leads to more value relevant numbers.

Design/methodology/approach

The study utilises logistic and linear regressions to test the hypothetical relations set up in the study. The categorisation of firms into voluntary and non‐voluntary IFRS disclosers is based on the (non‐mandatory) provision of material IFRS information prior to adoption about the upcoming adoption of IFRSs in 2005. Company categorization is particularly based on the construction of an index similar to the disclosure index formulated by the Center for International Financial Analysis and Research.

Findings

With regard to IFRS transition, firms that provided voluntary IFRS disclosures prior to adoption display a greater positive change in equity and earnings. Non‐voluntary IFRS disclosers exhibit a greater positive change in leverage and a decrease in liquidity. Voluntary IFRS disclosers exhibit higher equity and debt financing needs and tend to be audited by a big auditor and be cross‐listed.

Research limitations/implications

The study implies that the need to obtain financing on better terms would motivate managers to provide voluntary (IFRS) disclosures to show that they are familiar with the upcoming regulatory change and ready to implement it when it becomes effective. The provision of voluntary IFRS disclosures leads to more value relevant accounting measures, suggesting that less information asymmetry would lead to the disclosure of informative and higher quality accounting information assisting investors in making informed judgements.

Originality/value

Knowing about different firms' transition experience would assist accounting standard setters in issuing explanatory IFRS guidance in order to lead to an efficient transition to IFRSs for countries that intend to adopt IFRSs or perform an accounting change. The examination of IFRS transition for firms that have experienced the change is important and would provide insight to firms considering this option. The findings further assist accounting academics and students, accountants and investors in their effort to study the motivation for providing voluntary disclosures as well as the magnitude and materiality of IFRS transition on companies' financial accounts.
Semester‐specific ethical instruction for auditing students
Authors: O'Leary Conor
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to consider how ethics is currently taught to trainee auditors and to evaluate whether some ethical instruction techniques can be assessed as more effective than others.

Design/methodology/approach

Two separate cohorts of auditing students (262) provided responses to audit/accounting ethical scenarios. Each cohort was then subject to three separate ethics teaching techniques (either active or passive), from the two different teaching methodologies (active v. passive) over a semester. Their ethical attitudes to the scenarios were then re‐assessed and the teaching techniques evaluated.

Findings

Both methodologies were found to impact positively, as both cohorts selected more ethical responses to the scenarios post instruction. Some evidence of active techniques having more effect than passive techniques, on ethical decision making was revealed.

Research limitations/implications

More research is needed into the impact of active and passive teaching methodologies on trainee auditors, in the ethics area.

Practical implications

Teaching ethics to the audit practitioners of tomorrow is critical. If the optimum mix of ethical teaching methodologies can be assessed, it will result in more effective ethical instruction. This study's results imply careful consideration must be taken in designing ethical training programs for trainee auditors.

Social implications

Improvement in the ethical behaviour of auditors will provide more confidence for users of accounting information in the business environment.

Originality/value

This paper is original in that it evaluates the impact of a series of ethical instruction methods, as opposed to a single teaching method (the focus of many previous papers) on ethical training. The tentative finding of active methods proving more effective than passive methods is significant, and paves the way for future research.
Marketing travel services to senior consumers
Authors: Le Serre Delphine , Chevalier Corinne
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to identify the profiles of current senior travelers using accurate segmentation criteria based on ageing and behavioral tourism variables, shown to be useful in gerontology, marketing and tourism marketing literature.

Design/methodology/approach

A self‐complete questionnaire was administered to a work status‐based quota sample of 300 senior consumers (retired people aged 50‐76). Using behavioral variables, cluster analysis was performed. The clusters were then profiled using a discriminant analysis, involving demographic, ageing, and also some behavioral variables not included in the initial analysis. Finally, the current tourism offers were studied, considering the segments characteristics revealed.

Findings

Four distinct segments have been identified. Each segment differs considerably from one another on a set of variables, including consumer behaviors variables.

Research implications

This paper fills a research gap, outlined by several previous researchers in the senior consumer field, by identifying the current travel motivations of seniors and the role of subjective ages in the consumption of tourism.

Practical implications

The paper provides dedicated tools to better understand the senior market. It also provides practical guidance for tourism companies to improve their current offer, better target and better satisfy each senior segment.

Originality/value

This research provides the first known tourism French senior market segmentation. It also reveals an interesting (discriminant) segmentation variable for the senior market: the discrepancy age, which has until now been neglected in senior studies. Finally, it addresses an issue linked to one of the major current opportunity markets, i.e. the senior market, for one of the most important service industries, i.e. the tourism industry.
Giving and getting gift cards
Authors: Valentin Erhard K. , Allred Anthony T.
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The reported study was designed to provide insight into gift cards as gifts and their place among gifts of cash and goods. It also was designed to identify promising avenues for further research.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected using a structured questionnaire administered to a convenience sample of 317 respondents of both sexes who varied greatly in age.

Findings

Effective liquidity served largely as the basis for categorizing gift cards. The greater a card's effective liquidity, the more its economic impact on the recipient resembles that of cash. The results indicated the following: face value affects recipient preference for effective liquidity; the giver‐getter relationship affects recipient preference for effective liquidity; the gift cards givers give tend to have less effective liquidity than those they prefer to get; some gift cards are more appropriate gifts than others and some, but not all, gift cards are more appropriate gifts than cash; and people feel less guilt when paying for personal luxuries with gift cards than with cash.

Research limitations

The study was largely exploratory insofar as its breadth greatly exceeded its depth and findings derived from a convenience sample.

Originality/value

The study introduced effective liquidity as a basis for assessing similarities and differences between gift cards and gifts of cash and goods. Findings enhance scholarly understanding of gift cards and their place among gifts of cash and goods. Moreover, they afford insights into marketing gift cards and into promising paths for further research.
Measuring psychographics to assess purchase intention and willingness to pay
Authors: Barber Nelson , Kuo Pei‐Jou , Bishop Melissa , Goodman Raymond
Published: June 2012

Purpose

Marketing managers routinely use purchase intentions data to make strategic decisions concerning both new and existing products and the marketing programs that support them. Yet, the indication from empirical investigations regarding the link between respondents' stated intentions and their actual behavior is not as clear. Predicting which consumer will purchase an environmentally friendly product, the research remains split, particularly when it comes to perceived “trade‐offs” between the environmental benefits, quality, and cost. In this regard, previous research has fallen short in examining consumers' actual purchase behavior versus self‐reported purchase intentions. This paper seeks to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This study measured consumer psychographics and expressed purchase intention to predict actual purchase behavior using an online survey and the Vickrey auction method.

Findings

The results show that respondents expressing a high intention to purchase environmentally friendly wines also reported strong attitudes and values toward the environment. However, the gap between stated willingness to pay and the actual price paid was wide.

Research limitations/implications

The study was restricted to the investigation of one type of product. The model should be tested with a number of products that are purchased on a regular basis.

Practical implications

Given the wide disparity between stated willingness to pay and actual price paid for those expressing high purchase intentions, marketing should use caution when assessing this targeted group for new product launches and potential price changes.

Originality/value

This study assessed the same cohort using a survey and auction experiment to relate consumer values and purchase intentions with actual behavior.
The price‐category effect and the formation of customer value of high‐tech products
Authors: Munnukka Juha , Järvi Pentti
Published: June 2012

Purpose

This study aims to explore: first, the formation of the customer value of high‐tech consumer products through application of intrinsic and extrinsic cues of product quality; and second, the effect of the mental price category of the product on the construction of customer value.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted in the Finnish consumer market in 2008. In total, 453 completed interview forms were collected through the structured interview method. The factor model was constructed through explorative factor analysis and hypothesis testing was conducted through linear multiple‐regression analysis.

Findings

The high‐tech product's price category was found to have a significant effect on the construction of the customer value. The mental price category in which consumers located the product was found to dictate how the perceived value was constructed through the intrinsic and extrinsic dimensions of product quality. The customer value of high‐tech consumer products was composed of visual appeal, excellence, and price satisfaction. Intrinsic cues of product quality were emphasised.

Originality/value

The study provides new insights into how the formation of customer value is dictated by the mental price category perceived by consumers. Also, new information on how intrinsic and extrinsic cues of product quality affect the customer value of high‐tech consumer products was provided.