bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bicycle patrols: an underutilized resource
Authors: Menton Chris
Published: March 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide information on the activities of police bicycle patrols.

Design/methodology/approach

A participant/observation research design was used. A five‐city, 32‐shift study on the output of police bicycle patrols was conducted. Same and similar ride‐alongs were conducted with bicycle and automobile patrols. All contacts (n=1,105) with the public were recorded and coded. These data included: number of people, tenor, seriousness and origination for each contact.

Findings

Analysis of these data provides evidence that bicycle patrols result in over twice as much contact with the public compared with automobile patrols. The field observation perspective revealed clear tactical advantages to bicycle patrols.

Research limitations/implications

With a limited prior study of a police bicycle patrol's activities, this study is a significant initial step.

Practical implications

With evidence of tactical and numerical public contact advantages, more attention and resources aimed at deployment of police bicycle patrols appear to be warranted.

Originality/value

With large US cities and other departments using bicycle patrols, preliminary information on effectiveness appears to be both original and of value.
State police investigative structure and the adoption of intelligence‐led policing
Authors: Ratcliffe Jerry H. , Guidetti Ray
Published: March 2008

Purpose – This paper aims to provide an overview of organizational changes in the New Jersey State Police (NJSP) Investigations Branch and how the Branch has adapted to the paradigm of intelligence‐led policing. The paper also reports on interviews conducted to assess the impact on key staff affected by the change, through the medium of a drug‐gang investigation, Operation Nine Connect. Design/methodology/approach – Both semi‐structured and less formal interviews were conducted with 20 detectives, intelligence analysts and managers. Extensive quotes are employed to demonstrate key points. Furthermore, content analysis of documents related to organizational change in the NJSP and to a large drug‐gang intelligence operation was conducted. Findings – The paper identifies the key tenets of intelligence‐led policing, and describes progress made both organizationally and culturally to move the Investigations Branch to an intelligence‐led policing mindset. Organizational successes were reported, but more limited success was achieved in relation to changing police culture. Practical implications – The paper clarifies the meaning of intelligence‐led policing, and identifies potential road‐blocks to implementation for police departments wishing to move to intelligence‐led policing. Originality/value – The paper identifies the key tenets of intelligence‐led policing, outlines how these were used to determine greater geographic focus in the organizational structure of the New Jersey State Police Investigations Branch, and is a rare examination of the internal workings of a state police investigations branch in relation to a drug‐gang investigation. The paper will be of interest to police executives and managers, and intelligence professionals.
Using personality traits to predict police officer performance
Authors: Sanders Beth A.
Published: March 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of personality traits, namely the Big Five, as a means of selection in good police officers.

Design/methodology/approach

The current study examines a sample of 96 police officers from eight non‐urban police departments.

Findings

Age and attitude were found to be better predictors of job performance measures than were personality traits. A cynical work attitude was negatively related to ratings of job performance. Officer age was found to have a non‐linear relationship to job performance.

Research limitations/implications

Difficulties in measuring police performance are discussed, as is the relative importance of individual officer personality versus organizational culture.

Originality/value

The study extends the research on police officer selection and issues of job performance and measurement.
Shock value
Authors: Ready Justin , White Michael D. , Fisher Christopher
Published: March 2008

Purpose

This paper sets out to encompass a comparative analysis of news reports and official police records of TASER deployments from 2002 to 2005.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology involves a content analysis of allLexisNexisandNew York Timesarticles involving police use of the TASER during the study period (n =353). Regional (New York Times) and national (LexisNexis) news reports describing police use of the TASER are compared with police reports of all TASER deployments by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) during the same timeframe (n =375).

Findings

Descriptive statistics and logistic regression are used to compare the data sources with respect to: the circumstances in which the weapon is deployed; the characteristics of the suspects involved in the TASER incidents; and the significant predictors of continued suspect resistance and repeated use of the TASER by an officer.

Research limitations/implications

The paper examines official police records on TASER deployments from one police agency. This limits the ability to generalize the research findings to other police agencies that have adopted different practices and policies regulating the deployment of CEDs. Additionally, the content analysis includes only articles in the mainstream print media.

Practical implications

The paper concludes with a discussion about some myths associated with news reports on police use of the TASER, and their potential impact on both public perception and police practices.

Originality/value

To date, research has not systematically compared media representations of the TASER with official reports on police deployments of the weapon. That is the focus of this paper.
Exploring managerial behavior in small international firms
Authors: Andersson Svante , Florén Henrik
Published: March 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the research on internationalization in small firms and research on managerial behavior, and it aims to develop new research questions that can enhance the understanding of the interface between these two areas.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review of internationalization of small firms is carried out. It is concluded that understanding of managerial behavior in small international firms is in need of improvement. Therefore, the literature on managerial behavior is described, scrutinized and deployed in the context of small firms' internationalization.

Findings

No previous research has combined the research on small‐business internationalization and managerial behavior. Hypotheses that can be empirically tested and new research questions that can yield a better understanding of the internationalization processes in small firms are developed.

Research limitations/implications

The hypotheses developed in this study have not yet been tested empirically. Further research is suggested to confirm and elaborate these propositions.

Practical implications

As the propositions in this study are not tested their practical implications are limited at present. However, earlier research has shown that there is a link between managerial behavior and firm behavior. Managers may be inspired by the study to reflect upon this link and adjust their behavior in ways that can improve their firms' international development.

Originality/value

In this paper the research on internationalization in small firms is merged with the research on managerial behavior. By adding knowledge from the latter research tradition, the understanding of small‐firm internationalization should be advanced through raising novel issues and applying new methodological tools.
The creation and evolution of new business ventures: an activity theory perspective
Authors: Jones Oswald , Holt Robin
Published: March 2008

Purpose

The paper seeks to draw on the work of Engeström to set out an activity theory framework for the analysis of entrepreneurs engaged in the creation of new business ventures (NBVs). Adopting an activity‐based approach involves analysing the actions of individual and groups that are mediated through a range of devices, including language and physical artefacts.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical data are based on a small sample of “scholars” taking part in a UK government‐sponsored initiative to promote enterprise: the New Entrepreneur Scholarship (NES). The data were collected by means of semi‐structured interviews with the entrepreneurs. NVivo software was then used to systemise the data according to the six dimensions of the activity theory triangle.

Findings

The cases illustrate the contradictions and tensions that confront nascent entrepreneurs as they consider the horizon of possibilities associated with their business idea. The paper demonstrates that the new business actually emerges from a contested set of relationships within which the entrepreneur plays a critical, creative, but far from solitary, role.

Research limitations/implications

The use of activity theory helps provide a better understanding of how entrepreneurs engaged in relatively mundane business start‐ups actually identify and develop “new” opportunities. This is in contrast to many studies of entrepreneurial activity which focus on “high‐tech” or fast‐growing firms.

Originality/value

This is an exploratory study which utilises the activity theory framework to understand the difficulties and rewards for individuals with limited human and social capital to create successful new firms.
A conceptual role interaction model for supply chain management in SMEs
Authors: Thakkar Jitesh , Kanda Arun , Deshmukh S.G.
Published: March 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to propose a role interaction model for understanding a supply chain orientation of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper defines various role players and logic for the quantification of conceptual role model. This process enlists some 13 possible combinations of various roles and defines them on a coordinated geometry of cube. An applicability of proposed logic is demonstrated for a case of XYZ tin‐container manufacturing SME.

Findings

The study provides an identification of various roles, development of role interaction model and its 13 combinations to gain insights into the supply chain management (SCM) issues of SMEs are the major contributions.

Practical implications

The paper proposes a simple, logical and easy‐to‐use approach that could even be understood and applied by SMEs managers with a limited knowledge base.

Originality/value

The contributions of the paper are three‐fold: it reports contemporary literature on supply chain management in SMEs, it develops a conceptual role interaction model; and it demonstrates the application of proposed approach for the real life case example.
Product launch, product advantage and market orientation in SMEs
Authors: Ledwith Ann , O'Dwyer Michele
Published: March 2008

Purpose

The importance of new product development to the survival and success of firms is well supported in the literature; however, few studies have investigated new product development in small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). This study aims to examine the impact of product launch, product advantage and market orientation on new product development performance and organisational performance in SMEs.

Design/methodology/approach

This model was tested using data collected from 48 small and large sized firms in Ireland. Findings from 33 small and 15 large firms were compared, and a correlation analysis was used to establish the relationships defined in the model for both small and large firms.

Findings

The study identified several significant differences between the impact of product launch, product advantage and market orientation on new product development and organisational performance in small and large firms. It also indicated several areas in which small firms can improve their new product and organisational performance.

Research limitations/implications

This research builds on prior empirical research that has established a positive link between customer and competitor orientation and performance of small firms.

Practical/implications

The managerial implications suggest that managers need to place a greater emphasis on product launch proficiency, new product characteristics and market orientation.

Originality/value

The results show that a market orientation, as well as having a direct impact on organisational performance, also affects new product development activities.
The relationship between an entrepreneur's culture and the entrepreneurial behaviour of the firm
Authors: Altinay Levent
Published: March 2008

Purpose

This paper seeks to evaluate the relationship between Turkish entrepreneurs' cultural attributes and the entrepreneurial behaviour of their firms.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reports and analyses the findings of 227 face‐to‐face structured interviews with Turkish entrepreneurs.

Findings

This study illustrates that there is a strong relationship between the religion of an entrepreneur and the firm's recruitment, market segmentation and advice‐seeking practices. The English fluency of the entrepreneurs also influences their choice of using formal channels for advice.

Research limitations/implications

Data collection was limited to London, and non‐Turkish entrepreneurs were excluded. Therefore, care should be taken in making generalisations from the sample.

Practical implications

This paper identifies those cultural attributes of the ethnic entrepreneurs that need to be aligned with the wider economic environment of the host country.

Originality/value

This study focuses on the most critical player in an ethnic firm – the owner. It evaluates the linkage between the cultural attributes of the owner and the entrepreneurial behaviour of the firm.
Owner characteristics and health of SMEs in Pakistan
Authors: Khurrum S. Bhutta M. , Rana Arif I. , Asad Usman
Published: March 2008

Purpose

A major frustration for most policy researchers in the small to medium‐sized enterprise (SME) area is the virtual non‐existence of scientific data on this sector in the country. This paper aims to provide some data.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey of 651 SMEs from the manufacturing sector of Pakistan was conducted in 2003 and statistical analysis was carried out to analyze the data. This paper focuses on the relationship between the health indicators namely, sales/employee, increase/decrease in sales, and investment plans and the different personal characteristics of the owner/entrepreneur.

Findings

This analysis suggests that education, generation setting up the business, and number of partners have a significant relationship with the health of SMEs. Health of the firm is also dependent on owner habits like watching television, reading newspapers and using computers for office work. Other factors like caste of the owner and occupation of the owner's relatives were also analyzed, but no significant relationship with the health of an SME was observed.

Practical implications

The implications of this study are far reaching in understanding the profiles of owners of SMEs in Pakistan and how these profiles impact the profitability of the firms.

Originality/value

To date no other such study has been carried out in Pakistan. Similar studies on owner profiles have previously been carried out in other countries such as the UK and USA.
Home‐based internet businesses as drivers of variety
Authors: van Gelderen Marco , Sayers Janet , Keen Caroline
Published: March 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show that the way home‐based internet businesses (HBIBs) are operated and the reasons for which they are started enable HBIBs to bring about variety, and to argue that this variety has a broader impact on the industry and the economy.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts a multiple case study approach, studying the best practices of eight HBIBs.

Findings

The study finds that HBIBs generate variety because of the unique way in which they operate, and because of the reasons why they are started. How HBIBs operate can be captured in the acronym SMILES: Speed, Multiple income, Inexpensive, LEan, and Smart. They are founded (amongst other motives) for reasons of autonomy, freedom and independence. Both aspects – the how and why – of HBIBs are conducive to the creation of variety as they facilitate trial‐and‐error commercialisation of authentic ideas.

Research limitations/implications

Five theoretical perspectives posit that variety is important for the industry and the economy: evolutionary theory, strategic management, organic urban planning, opportunity recognition, and the knowledge economy. The findings are discussed in the context of each perspective, showing how HBIBs play a role in each perspective.

Practical implications

Policy makers should be aware of the importance of HBIBs, which can be promoted, providing generic facilities for business information, training, and mentoring, and by making compliance burdens more proportional to business size.

Originality/value

The paper shows how and why HBIBs are drivers of variety. This paper argues, by means of five theoretical perspectives, that because of the variety HBIBs generate, they contribute to the economy over and above their direct and indirect contributions in terms of revenue and employment.
The shifting consultant involvement
Authors: Klyver Kim
Published: March 2008

Purpose

This article aims to investigate the practice adopted by entrepreneurs regarding their use of consultants through the business life cycle.

Design/methodology/approach

A representative sample of Danish entrepreneurs was surveyed with response rates of 73 percent and 92 percent. The Danish GEM population survey was merged with own follow‐up surveys and statistically analyzed.

Findings

The survey results reveal that involvement of consultants increases as entrepreneurs move forward in the business life cycle. As entrepreneurs gain access to more resources, and as their problems become more fragmented, specialised, discrete and business oriented, the feasibility and benefit of consultant involvement becomes more viable. It was further found that older entrepreneurs have a higher tendency to involve consultants and that entrepreneurs mostly discuss economic and financial issues with consultants to whom they are mostly weakly connected.

Research limitations/implications

Compared to other people in entrepreneurs' social networks, entrepreneurs mostly discuss financial issues with consultants with whom they are mostly relatively weakly connected.

Practical implications

It is suggested that a publicly‐supported advisory system should continue its effort in the early stages where entrepreneurs have only scarce resources. Further it is suggested that this advisory should be even more concentrated towards other issues than financial issues such as marketing, strategy, coordination, and specific opportunity development.

Originality/value

The research extends previous studies by integrating advisory literature and social network literature. The introduction of the business life cycle is also new. The results are based on a very solid research design.
The shotgun clause
Authors: Schnabel Jacques A.
Published: March 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the economic rationale for the shotgun clause, a legally specified protocol for the dissolution of a partnership or a private corporation that empowers one investor to acquire ownership of all the venture's assets.

Design/methodology/approach

Employing simple mathematics, the behavior of the initiating party or offeror is modeled in a situation of informational asymmetry and then optimized. The implications of offeror optimal behavior are then examined.

Findings

The paper finds that the introduction of a shotgun clause lowers the offeror's optimal offer price. Whereas in the absence of the clause, the offer price must exceed the offeror's private valuation of the business, in the presence of said clause the offeror's price may not exceed the offeror's private valuation. Situations where the shotgun clause improves versus impairs economic efficiency are delineated. For high (low) offeror private valuations of the business, the shotgun clause induces a greater (lower) discrepancy between said valuation and the offer price. Offerors with high private valuations of the business are shown to prefer the inclusion of the shotgun clause.

Practical implications

The behavioral ramifications of the shotgun clause are presented, thus providing potential partners and private corporation shareholders a guide for the clause's inclusion or exclusion when the small business is structured.

Originality/value

This is the first paper to provide an analysis of the shotgun clause in the context of informational asymmetry, employing refinements and simplifications of extant models that address other small business dissolution procedures.
Institutional strategies for developing enterprise education
Authors: Pittaway Luke , Hannon Paul
Published: March 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to identify criteria for assessing the viability of institutional strategies for enterprise education and to develop models that describe methods of organising enterprise education.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper identifies and explains a number of key criteria including: educational impact, financial sustainability, academic credibility, human capital, structural embeddedness, context and infrastructure, alignment with institutional strategy and policy, community engagement, and alignment with policy context and funding. The paper then considers a number of models. These models are separated into two clusters: single department‐led models and campus wide models. The evaluative criteria are applied to each model to explore the impact of particular strategies and the criteria are used to assess the long‐term viability of each model. The paper concludes by making judgements about each criteria and their usefulness for helping understand long‐term sustainability of enterprise education.

Findings

The paper shows that different models may be valuable in different higher education contexts and illustrates the temporal nature of the relationships between the models.

Research limitations/implications

This is principally a conceptual paper that can be developed further by the application of the evaluative criteria empirically. The models developed can be tested and analysed further through reference to observations of practice.

Originality/value

The paper makes a valuable contribution to knowledge in this subject area by describing and analysing the various models of organisation that could be used to support enterprise education in higher education institutions.
A review on benchmarking of supply chain performance measures
Authors: Peng Wong Wai , Yew Wong Kuan
Published: March 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to redress the imbalances in the past literature of supply chain benchmarking and enhance data envelopment analysis (DEA) modeling approach in supply chain benchmarking.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is sorted into sections: benchmarking, definitions, concepts and literature survey, supply chain benchmarking, problems in supply chain benchmarking, existing tools used in benchmarking, problems in existing tools and motivation of using DEA as a supply chain benchmarking tool. A range of recently published (1995‐2004) works is referred and aims to provide insights into possible new research focus in supply chain benchmarking.

Findings

Provides information about new trends in supply chain benchmarking and what are the existing problems. Recognizes the lack of mathematical modeling tool in addressing this issue.

Research limitations/implications

Supply chain benchmarking is gearing towards a holistic approach. DEA is deemed to be an appropriate benchmarking tool with modifications in existing model.

Practical implications

Provide insights to managers on the use of DEA in decision making at strategic level.

Originality/value

This paper fulfils an identified information/resources need and offers insights to the future research focus in supply chain benchmarking.
Developing and validating total quality management (TQM) constructs in the context of Thailand's manufacturing industry
Authors: Das Anupam , Paul Himangshu , Swierczek Fredric W.
Published: March 2008

Purpose

To provide reliable and valid constructs of total quality management (TQM) and a measurement instrument in the context of manufacturing industries in newly industrialized countries for evaluating the TQM implementation process and to target improvement areas.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a review of TQM literature and expert opinions, ten TQM constructs (nine implementation constructs and one outcome construct) were identified. A detailed questionnaire was developed with the items for ten TQM constructs along with the questions on quality performance and information about the respondents. The questionnaire was then sent to randomly selected ISO 9000 certified manufacturing companies in Thailand. Out of 1,000 questionnaires sent, 275 usable samples were returned giving a response rate of 27.5 percent. Based on the data from the survey, exploratory factor analysis was done to ensure that items in each scale reflected sufficiently the scope of each construct. Internal consistency analysis was done to ensure the reliability of the constructs. Criterion‐related validity and construct validity were evaluated statistically to ensure that the set of measures correctly represents the constructs, and the degree to which they are free from any systematic or non‐random error.

Findings

This paper identified ten reliable and valid TQM constructs. Nine are implementation constructs and an outcome construct. These constructs have a total of 52 items, fewer compared to other instruments available in the TQM literature, with higher reliability compared to them.

Research limitations/implications

Owing to time and resource constraints, this study was conducted only in the manufacturing sector of Thailand and hence generalization is somewhat limited. This study could be extended to the service sector in Thailand and the same sector in other countries.

Practical implications

The instrument presented will provide Thailand's manufacturing companies with a practical understanding in the area of TQM implementation. Moreover, researchers and practitioners from other newly industrialized countries may be able to use these constructs in future TQM research. Compared to other instruments, this instrument will be easier to administer and the response rate may be better.

Originality/value

Quality/production managers will be able to use the instrument to evaluate their TQM implementation initiatives and identify problem areas requiring improvement. Researchers will be able to use this instrument to enhance understanding of the process and to develop applicable TQM theory.
A study on the ISO 14000 certification and organizational performance of Indian manufacturing firms
Authors: Padma P. , Ganesh L.S. , Rajendran Chandrasekharan
Published: March 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the critical factors (CFs) of ISO 14000; to determine if ISO 14000 certification results in improved organizational performance; and to analyze the levels of and changes in these CFs and levels of and changes in the indicators of organizational performance (IOPs) in relation to firm attributes considered in the present study.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employs questionnaire‐survey approach to obtain the practitioners' perceptions of ISO 14000 certification, levels of presence of CFs and changes in CFs due to certification, levels of presence of IOPs and changes in IOPs due to certification. The data collected have been analyzed by using statistical techniques.

Findings

The firms regard the preparation for emergencies as an integral part of environmental management system (EMS), and they seem to initially struggle to identify environmental issues that are to be given higher importance. Further, the certified firms find it difficult to continuously improve their environmental management processes. There are significant changes in all the CFs and IOPs due to ISO 14000 certification. Furthermore, more‐experienced firms have higher mean values of levels of all CFs, in comparison with less‐experienced firms. In the course of time, these firms appear to understand the EMS and effectively implement it in order to realize long‐term benefits.

Research limitations/implications

Results of the study are dependent on the nature and number of respondents, i.e. on the perceptions of the top management responsible for quality certification, and the sample size (number of respondents in the current study is 36 due to limited response rate and other operational constraints).

Practical implications

The present study would enable the practitioners to benchmark their organizations (in respect of levels of presence of CFs and levels of presence of IOPs) with those of their competitors, with the best‐in‐class, and also with the industry's mean level. The study also enables one to compare different categories of firms (e.g. firms with low, medium and high levels of turnover; national and international firms; etc.). Since, there is a significant improvement in the organizational performance due to certification, the study provides a strong empirical justification for non‐certified firms to go in for ISO 14000 certification.

Originality/value

The study conceptualizes ISO 14000 as a seven dimensional framework. Further, it has also identified several IOP related to ISO 14000 certified firms. A questionnaire has been developed to obtain the perceptions of top management about the ISO 14000 certification and related factors and indicators; the proposed instrument can be used for several purposes such as functional benchmarking.
The propagation of benchmarking concepts in Indian manufacturing industry
Authors: Jain Rakesh , Yadav Om Prakash , Pal Singh Rathore Ajay
Published: March 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the propagation of benchmarking concepts among Indian manufacturing companies after liberalization of Indian economy.

Design/methodology/approach

To determine the propagation of benchmarking concepts in the Indian manufacturing sector, first, a postal survey was conducted on 500 Indian manufacturing companies. Only 97 companies participated in the survey. Subsequently, interviews with 20 managers of six manufacturing companies were undertaken.

Findings

Research showed that benchmarking in Indian manufacturing sector is still in the nascent stage, but there is a positive attitude towards adoption of benchmarking concepts. The industry sectors, which typically show above average levels of benchmarking activity, are motor vehicle, electric and electronic industries. By contrast, it is the process sectors, which record the lowest incidences of benchmarking. Identification of suitable benchmarking partner was considered to be the most important problem among Indian manufacturing companies.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation of research is the number of respondents, which precludes the generalization of findings.

Practical implications

The study can help managers of manufacturing companies understand the problems and inhibitors to successful benchmarking.

Originality/value

The paper provides an attempt to find out propagation of benchmarking concepts in Indian context. The paper should be of interest to those researching or managing in the Indian manufacturing sector. This is one of the first studies on dissemination of benchmarking in developing countries and should encourage further research in these countries.
Real estate private equity: the case of US unlisted REITs
Authors: Corgel John , Gibson Scott
Published: March 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how fixed‐share prices, as a structural flaw in private equity funds targeted to small‐unit investors, economically disadvantages those investors in favor of sponsors.

Design/methodology/approach

The theoretical model incorporates fixed share prices with continuous investment opportunity and evaluates the wealth transfer from long‐term investors to marketing affiliates and soliciting dealers in the form of fees paid on the sale of shares to follow‐on investors.

Findings

This result holds in the presence of high‐payout dividend policy that attempts to compensate for wealth transfer.

Research limitations/implications

Should share prices be marked‐to‐market using real estate appraisals or another method, the unlisted REIT and related offerings, such as tenant‐in‐common funds, will be profitable for sponsors without economically disadvantaging long‐term investors.

Practical implications

The findings from this research are useful to fund sponsors who design real estate investment products for small‐unit investors. These products may retain the advantageous characteristics of existing products while eliminating the disadvantageous features.

Originality/value

This is the first academic research on private equity capital raised from small‐unit investors.
Real estate security and other investment assets
Authors: Abdul‐Rasheed Amidu , Bioye Tajudeen Aluko , Muhammad Bashar Nuhu , Muibi Olufemi Saibu
Published: March 2008

Purpose

Quite a substantial number of academic papers have examined the performance of both direct and indirect real estate relative to other investment assets. While these studies are valuable in the field of real estate investment performance measurements, a gap still exist in the literature on the comparative performance of investment assets in the various sectors of the stock markets of most emerging economies. This paper aims to fill the gap by providing analysis of the historical performance of real estate and other securities in the Nigerian capital market.

Design/methodology/approach

Annual open and closing market prices of shares and dividend of sampled listed companies in addition to data on all share index (ASI), consumer price index (CPI) and yield on 90‐days T‐Bill were obtained for the period 1999‐2005. These were then analysed using descriptive, risk‐adjusted measures and regression models.

Findings

The empirical evidence suggests that while real estate outperformed the market on a nominal basis, it underperformed the market stock on a risk‐adjusted basis over the time period of analysis. Unexpectedly, real estate security did not provide a good protection against inflation and is also uncorrelated with the stock market.

Originality/value

This paper provides empirical evidence of the investment characteristic of indirect real estate investment in Nigeria. The results suggest that real estate security does not after all provide a good substitute to direct real estate investment.
Real estate portfolio strategy and product innovation in Europe
Authors: Hoesli Martin , Lekander Jon
Published: March 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to review major changes on real estate markets in Europe and to analyse the impacts of such changes.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides an overview of the various equity real estate investment vehicles available to investors, with particular focus on the pros and cons of each type of vehicle. The paper also includes an analysis of the impacts of product innovation on real estate markets and on portfolio strategy.

Findings

The changes on real estate markets have led to considerable amounts of capital being allocated to the asset class. Portfolio strategies should be substantially more flexible.

Research limitations/implications

As many of the new products have been created in bullish real estate markets, it is important to assess the impacts of a market downturn on portfolio performance.

Practical implications

A good understanding of available products with their pros and cons is necessary for a sound investment strategy.

Originality/value

The paper is one of the very few papers that discuss the major institutional changes that have occurred on European real estate markets.
A settled structure for the TMT sector remains a mirage in 2006/2007
Authors: Curwen Peter
Published: March 2008

Purpose

This article is the eighth in a series that seeks to analyize the constantly changing structure of the TMT sector. It aims to cover the period 25 March 2006 to 24 March 2007.

Design/methodology/approach

The article is designed so as to contain at its core the creation of a series of databases in tabular form that can be used to analyze structural trends over a period of many years.

Findings

The article finds that, prior to March 2002, the TMT sector spent two years in the doldrums, and the overall trend continued to be broadly negative during the ensuing year, partly driven by the implosions at the likes of WorldCom. The following two years saw companies coming to terms with a radically different environment. The year commencing March 2005 witnessed a sharp upsurge in restructuring activity somewhat reminiscent of the late 1990s and this continued unabated throughout 2006 and the first half of 2007.

Originality/value

Empirical research based upon current data is very scarce in the public domain. This series of articles makes a major contribution to the analysis of how and why the structure of the TMT sector is evolving.
European telephony numbering space
Authors: Sutherland Ewan
Published: March 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to describe the development by the European Commission of numbering policies for the internal market.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides an historical narrative of the development with an analysis of the responses of the various parties. The development of the operational regulatory and legal instruments for European telephony numbering space described. Recent work on a 116 pan‐European code is explained, and then finally conclusions are drawn.

Findings

The development of trans‐European operators has proved to be very limited. This is in stark contrast to the success of the North American equivalent of freephone services using 1‐800, 1‐888 and 1‐866. These have been highly successful in demand from corporations and also in their use by end customers.

Research limitations/implications

Further work is required on the development of pan‐European services on fixed and on mobile networks.

Practical implications

A proper framework is required to evaluate this type of initiative, including those based on VoIP.

Originality/value

Nothing has, to date, been published on the European telephony numbering space.
WiMAX in Tanzania: a breakthrough for underserved areas
Authors: Sedoyeka Eliamani , Hunaiti Ziad
Published: March 2008

Purpose

This paper seeks to briefly present the review on the key WiMAX features, describing its strengths over other technologies. It also seeks to review the result of the survey conducted presenting opinions from a number of country's ICT professionals. The aim is to show how using WiMAX to address connectivity problems faced by developing countries will bridge digital divide.

Design/methodology/approach

An in‐depth literature review was conducted to study the WiMAX standard. Also, the study was conducted to gather opinions of ICT professionals by asking their views about connectivity problems and solutions. The study uses a low number of internet users as an indication of low ICT penetration in the country. To conduct a survey, a questionnaire was uploaded to the website and emails were distributed to online communities and email groups with the link to the questionnaire and results were analyzed.

Findings

The study shows that if well planned, WiMAX will be a breakthrough technology to provide connectivity to undeserved areas.

Originality/value

The study gives an insight to the problems facing developing countries. The study contributes to the industry and body of knowledge by giving an in depth summary to WiMAX technology. The findings can be used by network planners, policy makers, scholars and industry in general.
Communication platforms in electronic commerce: a three‐dimension analysis
Authors: Xin Xu Sean , Yan Xu , Zheng Xiaona
Published: March 2008

Purpose

This study seeks to develop a general framework for evaluating communication platforms in e‐commerce, and then apply the framework to investigate what factors have impeded m‐commerce from taking off in the specific context of China.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper proposes a three‐dimension framework for evaluating a communication platform in e‐commerce, which features reach, richness, and costs of communications as its salient characteristics. Grounded on the framework, a comparative analysis is conducted using data from a survey sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of China. The analysis, from the user's perspective, compares facilitators and inhibitors for using communication platforms in two different contexts, the mobile communication platform in m‐commerce vs the fixed communication platform in the “classical” e‐commerce.

Findings

The study finds that, compared with e‐commerce over the fixed communication platform, the m‐commerce in China enjoys relatively great communication reach but suffers from relatively low communication richness. In the mean time, costs of communications do not seem to be a major barrier for m‐commerce growth.

Originality/value

The three‐dimension framework can serve as an underlying model not only to evaluate currently available communication platforms for e‐commerce, but also to address economic calculus of benefits and costs of emerging communication platforms.
Trends in mobile services in Finland 2004‐2006: from ringtones to mobile internet
Authors: Bouwman Harry , Carlsson Christer , Walden Pirkko , Molina‐Castillo Francisco J.
Published: March 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the development in the Finnish telecommunication market and trends in actual and future user behavior with regard to three groups of mobile services. It is the authors' view that service characteristics cannot be ignored.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is based on data collected over a period of three years using independent samples. To test the core of our conceptual model the study used structural equation modeling.

Findings

The analysis based on the data collected over three years shows that we cannot understand the actual and future use unless we take the subtleties and usability of services, i.e. the specific characteristics, and user values of the services involved, into account. The research clearly indicates that complementary services are dependent on positive attitudes towards mobile innovations and on perceived flexibility. Service composition is of critical importance to the success of 3G and beyond.

Originality/value

This paper is unique due to the fact that longitudinal data are presented concerning one of the most successful countries in Europe in terms of the adoption and use of advanced mobile services.
Christine Borgman and scholarly communication
Authors: Gorman G.E.
Published: March 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address the issue of scholarly communication.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper discusses the problems of scholarly communication, focusing on the work of Christine Borgman.

Findings

Scholarship is living through turbulent times and one must engage with the challenges of the emerging scholarly infrastructure to contribute to a better infrastructure.

Originality/value

The paper provides a personal view of the import of Borgman's newest book,Scholarship in the Digital Age.
Web of Science and Scopus: a journal title overlap study
Authors: Gavel Ylva , Iselid Lars
Published: March 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to provide the scientific community with some quantitative data of relevance to the evaluation of two major citation databases. In addition, various aspects of the methodology of database coverage comparisons are discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

Calculations of the overlaps between the journal lists of Web of Science and Scopus and some other major scientific databases are presented.

Findings

The results provide some measures of the overall title coverage as well as the amount of unique material in the sources studied.

Research limitations/implications

The journal title overlap calculations are based on journal lists provided by the database producers rather than searches in the databases themselves. Any inaccuracies in the lists may be reflected in the results. Also, the lists do not provide any information about the depth and consistency of the coverage. The nature of possible error sources is discussed.

Originality/value

The methodology chosen allows comparatively quick comparisons between the contents of databases. This makes it suitable for analysis of trends in database coverage.
Bridging the gap between anonymous e‐mail and anonymous web browsing
Authors: Tillwick Heiko , Olivier Martin S.
Published: March 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to propose an anonymous web‐browsing protocol that harnesses some of the advantages of store‐and‐forward anonymity solutions whilst retaining some of the interactive properties of web browsing. Anonymity research on high latency, store‐and‐forward mediums such as e‐mail have led to comparatively well‐researched anonymity technologies. However, similar achievements have proven to be more difficult for low‐latency communications such as web browsing.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of existing anonymity solutions notes the advantages of mix technologies versus the advantages offered by Onion Routing. A solution is presented that features a combined approach of both solutions.

Findings

The proposed protocol differentiates between web requests and web responses – a request is treated as a store‐and‐forward message whilst the response is handled as a data stream.

Originality/value

The solution described can be used by existing anonymous web browsing solutions in order to improve the level of anonymity whilst minimising the overhead of anonymously distributing web content.