bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The determinants of banks' profits in Greece during the period of EU financial integration
Authors: Kosmidou Kyriaki
Published: February 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the determinants of performance of Greek banks during the period of EU financial integration (1990‐2002).

Design/methodology/approach

The approach is to use an unbalanced pooled time series dataset of 23 banks.

Findings

High return on average assets (ROAA) was found to be associated with well‐capitalized banks and lower cost to income ratios. Size was positive in all cases but statistically significant only when the macroeconomic and financial structure variables entered the models. Turning to macroeconomics and financial structure, the growth of gross domestic product (GDP) has a significant and positive impact on ROAA, while inflation has a significant negative impact.

Originality/value

The paper's value lies in showing that money supply growth has no significant impact on profits, whereas the ratios banks' assets to GDP, stock market capitalization to banks assets and concentration are all statistical significant and negatively related to ROAA.
Consolidation in the Greek banking industry: which banks are acquired?
Authors: Pasiouras Fotios , Zopounidis Constantin
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The present paper aims to examine the relationship between bank's characteristics and market characteristics and the probability of acquisition in the Greek banking industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Logistic regression is used to examine a sample of 24 banks, 9 of which were acquired between 1998 and 2002.

Findings

It is found that profit and cost efficiency, liquidity and capital strength do not seem to have an impact on the acquisition likelihood. Market share in terms of deposits, the number of branches, the annual growth of bank's total assets and the size of banks are negatively related to the acquisition likelihood. From the three market characteristics that were examined, the concentration of the five largest banks, the mean return on average assets of the industry and the average total assets growth, only the first one was found to have a negative and statistically significant impact on the acquisition likelihood.

Research limitations/implications

Variables related to management incentives and corporate governance, which may have an impact on the acquisition likelihood, were not available and therefore have not been considered. It is hoped that future research will improve upon this.

Practical implications

The results could be of interest to bank managers of potential targets that would like to know whether their bank is developing a profile similar to the typical target. Furthermore, knowledge of bank's and market characteristics that increase the probability of acquisition can be of particular interest to policy makers.

Originality/value

The investigation of the characteristics that affect the likelihood that a bank will be acquired has been largely ignored with most studies in banks M&As using event study, operating performance or X‐efficiency methodology to examine the effect of M&As on the stock prices or the performance of banks. Furthermore, the limited studies that have examined the characteristics of acquired banks have focused on the US market. The present paper adds to the literature by examining the Greek banking sector, which is different from the US one in many aspects.
A comment on paradox and middle‐range theory: universality, synthesis and supplement
Authors: Saren Michael , Pels Jaqueline
Published: February 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to highlight the value of adopting a middle‐range theory approach in conceptualizing and investigating marketing practices.

Design/methodology/approach

Building on the work of Merton, the paper discusses O'Driscoll's article on the role of paradoxes (both theoretical as well as methodological paradoxes).

Findings

The paper argues that it is important to rescue and stress the benefits that adopting a multi‐paradigmatic view has in providing a better understanding of current marketing practices.

Originality/value

This position allows one both to avoid the incommensurability “trap” of being “boxed” into the explanatory dimensions of the chosen paradigm and to develop a richer holistic view. The discussion is grounded on the Contemporary Marketing Practices (CMP) research project.
Research‐informed teaching and teaching‐informed research: the Contemporary Marketing Practices (CMP) living case study approach to understanding marketing practice
Authors: Little Victoria , Brookes Richard , Palmer Roger
Published: February 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to demonstrate how a Contemporary Marketing Practices (CMP)‐based living case study approach can be used to enhance student learning, and to develop new theory about marketing practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper compares and contrasts teaching cases and research cases to create context. It then describes two examples of the living case study approach: one project directed at understanding the impact of information technologies (IT) on marketing practice, and the other at examining managerial understandings of customer value.

Findings

The study finds that a living case approach extends insight into antecedents and consequences of marketing practice, consistent with CMP research objectives. New conceptual frameworks for the IT adoption process and conceptions of customer value are co‐created by executive students and the authors. It shows that managers are able contributors to theory development. The paper concludes that the living case approach provides a rich “zone of mutuality” between research and teaching.

Research limitations/implications

Action learning can be used in business schools to enhance theoretical and practical understanding of complex process‐based phenomena.

Practical implications

The living case study is suited to post‐experience students rather than undergraduates. In addition to considering the nature of the student body, faculty should also consider fit with their personal competencies and the curriculum prior to taking this approach. However, it should be done so advisedly.

Originality/value

The study stimulates reflection on alternative approaches to teaching and learning in executive education, and to theory development in marketing practice.
The walls speak: the interplay of quality facilities, school climate, and student achievement
Authors: Uline Cynthia , Tschannen‐Moran Megan
Published: February 2008

Purpose

A growing body of research connecting the quality of school facilities to student performance accompanies recent efforts to improve the state of the educational infrastructure in the USA. Less is known about the mechanisms of these relationships. This paper seeks to examine the proposition that part of the explanation may be the mediating influence of school climate.

Design/methodology/approach

Teachers from 80 Virginia middle schools were surveyed employing measures including the School Climate Index, a seven‐item quality of school facilities scale, as well as three resource support items. Data on student SES and achievement were also gathered. Bivariate correlational analysis was used to explore the relationships between the quality of facilities, resource support, school climate, student SES, and student achievement. In addition, multiple regression was used to test school climate as a mediating variable between the quality of facilities and student achievement.

Findings

Results confirmed a link between the quality of school facilities and student achievement in English and mathematics. As well, quality facilities were significantly positively related to three school climate variables. Finally, results confirmed the hypothesis that school climate plays a mediating role in the relationship between facility quality and student achievement.

Originality/value

As we face fundamental issues of equity across schools and districts, leaders struggle to convince taxpayers of the need to invest in replacing and/or renovating inadequate facilities. Deeper understandings of the complicated interplay between the physical and social environments of school, and how these dynamics influence student outcomes, may help educators build a compelling case.
The place of leadership in turnaround schools
Authors: Murphy Joseph
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature from the organizational sciences to develop a grounded narrative of turnaround leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a review of literature, which employs a ten‐step process to explore and make sense of the turnaround literature from the organizational sciences. The paper relies on strategies appropriate for document analysis, and borrows analytic strategies (e.g. memoing, coding) employed with interview data.

Findings

The paper finds three defining themes that flow from the review of empirical and theoretical work on organizational recovery in firms, non‐educational public agencies, and not‐for‐profit organizations: leadership as the critical variable in the turnaround equation; change of leadership as a generally essential element in organizational recovery; and type of leadership, but not style, as important in organizational reintegration work.

Practical implications

The paper posits that the literature on turning around failing organizations in sectors outside of education provides blueprints for recovery activity in failing schools. The implications for turnaround leadership are particularly strong.

Originality/value

This paper is the first systematic effort to mine research in the corporate, not‐for‐profit, and public sectors to develop insights for leadership in failing schools.
When parents choose to start up a school
Authors: Eyal Ori
Published: February 2008

Purpose

By exploring the unique networks of parents, this paper attempts to shed light on the assumptions of social capital theory, showing the advantages of combining bonding and bridging social capital for educational entrepreneurship.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper focuses on a group of Israeli parents who founded a new school. Data collection and analysis were based on the grounded theory perspective. In total, 20 in‐depth interviews were conducted. Triangulation was achieved by studying the phenomenon from different perspectives: those of the founders, school employees, and people who supported the founding of the school. The data were analyzed using categorization techniques.

Findings

The paper finds that bonding and bridging social capital complemented each other. Whereas the former was employed to take advantage of existing opportunities in the community, the latter was used to explore new opportunities that would otherwise not be available. Moreover, it was found that both strong and weak ties may be used by parents to obtain scarce resources. The study shows that parents with cultural capital know the “rules of the game” and can therefore take advantage of network opportunities to ensure the school's survival.

Originality/value

This paper reframes parental involvement, using social capital as a theoretical perspective. From this perspective, it uncovers the deeper aspects of the network dynamics and unique circumstances created when bonding and bridging social capital are combined.
Demographics and patronage motives of supercenter shoppers in the United States
Authors: Carpenter Jason M.
Published: February 2008

Purpose

This paper seeks to provide an updated, general understanding of supercenter shopping behavior in the USA.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employs a sample generated from Retail Forward panel data to assess the impact of demographic variables, including gender, age, ethnicity, education, income, marital status, and household size, on supercenter shopping frequency across four product categories (apparel, health and beauty, home furnishings, and consumer electronics). Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques (regression, ANOVA) are used to evaluate the data.

Findings

The paper identifies demographic groups who frequent supercenters and examines patronage motives as drivers of supercenter shopping behavior.

Research limitations/implications

Generalizations of the findings of this study to markets outside the USA are limited due to the differences in consumers and retail formats available in various countries. Future research could compare shopping behavior within large formats across international markets.

Practical implications

This research provides supercenter retailers who operate within the USA with specific knowledge of the patronage motives driving cross‐category shopping in supercenters (e.g. value, one‐stop shopping convenience, brands, product assortment) and identifies the demographic characteristics of cross‐category shoppers. The results suggest marketing strategy implications for supercenter operators in the US market. As competition in the sector continues to evolve and consumer demographics change within the US market, understanding cross‐category shopping will be critical to retailer performance in the industry.

Originality/value

This study uses demographics and patronage motives as a framework for profiling cross‐category shoppers in the US supercenters. The paper is unique because there are few similar empirical studies which focus on consumer behavior within supercenters.
An empirical analysis of the components of retailer customer loyalty programs
Authors: Gable Myron , Fiorito Susan S. , Topol Martin T.
Published: February 2008

Purpose

This paper sets out to determine the benefits offered to customers and activities taken by retailers, whether or not they have formal customer loyalty programs, whether there are differences in the benefits/activities of retailers with and without formal loyalty programs and finally, whether specific benefits/activities of retailers can predict whether or not they have formal loyalty programs.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was sent to a random sample of retailers in one US state. In addition, respondents reporting that they had formal loyalty programs received a telephone call lasting less than ten minutes designed to gather further information regarding their loyalty program. χ2, Kendall's W and logistic regression analysis were used to test the purposes of this study.

Findings

The most used benefits/activities of participating retailers are: demonstrating having the customers' interests at heart, providing financial incentives to selected customers, sending thank you notes to customers, and identifying customer preferences and recording them to guide future actions. In addition, a model was developed that was used to predict those retailers that had formal loyalty programs.

Research limitations/implications

Given the nature of the sample, there is a need for replication to corroborate these findings. A larger‐sized sample would be needed to determine the presence of moderating and mediating factors that should be taken into account, such as size, environment, and competition.

Practical implications

Customer loyalty is one critical key to business success and retaining an existing customer costs far less than acquiring new ones. One way to do this is to create customer loyalty programs that effectively reward one's best or potentially important best customers. Further, these program participants will spend more than the non‐participants.

Originality/value

This empirical research provides support for retailers' usage of loyalty programs. Further, insights are provided into the activities that can be used to retailers' competitive advantage by identifying the types of benefits they can offer.
Shelf management of store brands: analysis of manufacturers' perceptions
Authors: Gómez Mónica , Rubio Natalia
Published: February 2008

Purpose

This paper seeks to analyze the shelf management actions undertaken by dealers between manufacturer and store brands, from the manufacturer perspective. Particularly, to know whether there is an agreement in manufacturers' perceptions on the merchandising of the different brands on the shelf or, on the contrary, whether different groups of manufacturers can be identified – in the latter case, to characterize these groups of manufacturers.

Design/methodology/approach

The data come from a survey aimed at the business units of mass commodity companies in Spain. The variables are: seven items on agreement degree regarding the shelf management carried out by distributors, manufacturer's descriptive variables and manufacturer's competitive strategy variables. The manufacturers' perceptions are analyzed by univariate and bivariate descriptive analysis techniques. Different groups of manufacturers in relation to their merchandising and shelf space perceptions are identified by multivariate techniques of cluster and hierarchical segmentation.

Findings

On average, manufacturers consider that retailers are favoring unequal competition terms between manufacturer and store brands through better merchandising management for their own brands. Nevertheless, different groups of manufacturers are identified according to their perceptions.

Originality/value

The potential contribution of this research lies in the identification and characterization of different groups of manufacturers regarding their opinions about shelf management actions undertaken by retailers. Moreover, the results evidence an increasing power of retailers and show manufacturers how they can respond.
Does national culture affect hotel managers' approach to business strategy?
Authors: Ayoun Baker , Moreo Patrick J.
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the potential impact of the cultural dimension of power distance on hotel managers' approach to business strategy development.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was administered to hotel top managers in four countries, namely, the USA, Thailand, Malaysia, and Turkey. The questionnaire measured several aspects of strategy‐making process that are subject to differences in culture. Four research questions were answered using analysis of variance.

Findings

The results were less supportive to the proposed relationships in each of the research questions, which predicted that managers from varied power distance cultures would exhibit varied degrees of participative style, openness to strategic change, formality of strategic control, and people‐focused orientation when setting strategic goals.

Research limitations/implications

Generalizability of the findings is limited due to the non‐response bias that could not be assessed in the present study, and the reliance on self‐report data.

Practical implications

Hotel managers engaging in international alliances, affiliations, joint ventures, and other forms of collaboration with other managers in other countries should be less concerned about their counterparts' differences in strategic behavior and philosophy.

Originality/value

This study began to fill in the gap in the literature identified by previous researchers by providing empirical support for propositions about the relationship between culture and strategic management. The study provided insights into the process, as well as directions for the progression of the research stream dealing with the behavioral aspects of the strategic management of hotel organizations.
Technological innovation supporting different food production philosophies in the food service sectors
Authors: Rodgers Svetlana
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify technological challenges and innovative solutions in each of the food production philosophies in the food service sector, namely: industrial cuisine, fast food and fresh food.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews industry reports on cooking equipment and preparation techniques. Conceptual links are made with possible future developments as well as operational/strategic advantages they represent.

Findings

Innovation in food preparation commands multi‐disciplinary approaches stemming from engineering and food science. Industrial cuisine would benefit from automation, units with intensive heating, robust food product design and shelf‐life extension; fast food from reduced oil absorption by food, better cooking oils, automation and short frying time; and fresh food from rapid cooking, visually appealing serving units and analytical instrumentation for testing raw produce. Future innovations may originate in the field of robotics, food engineering and laboratory equipment design including miniaturisation and portability of units. Sophistication in product development can be achieved through application of the principles of molecular gastronomy in combination with computer modelling.

Practical implications

Managers can conceptualise their operations in terms of the philosophies presented in the paper. Technological innovation is critical to sustain competitiveness (cost leadership and differentiation). The list of underpinning disciplines in food production can be used by educators wishing to enhance their programs with fundamentals supporting innovation.

Originality/value

Food preparation philosophies are presented in the light of impacts on food sensory and microbiological quality, nutritional value and operational efficiencies. The possibilities for future innovation stemming from developments in other technologically advanced fields are identified.
ROI is MIA: why are hoteliers failing to demand the ROI of training?
Authors: Kline Sheryl , Harris Kimberly
Published: February 2008

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the approaches used by leading lodging properties to assess the costs and contributions of training. The study also investigates the barriers to collecting data required for the calculation of return on investment (ROI) and begs the question, “when are hotel companies going to design a system that tracks the value of employee development?” Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a purposeful sampling method and focuses on a small number of hotel companies rather than a large sample. The interview questions were developed through an extensive literature and are based upon Kirkpatrick and Phillips' framework. The qualitative method employed for this study uses Littrell and Dickson's adaptation of Marshall and Rossman's qualitative research cycle. Findings – The paper reveals the haphazard approach to corporate spending and tracking training, one of the major expenses in the lodging industry. It explores the failure of hoteliers to expect accountability for the investment into employee development. Research limitations/implications – This study is exploratory and therefore may not be generalized to the entire population of human resources and training departments within the hotel industry. Practical implications – This exploratory study identifies the barriers of calculating the ROI of training. It also suggests strategies human resource managers can use to develop ROI for training programs and access employee development programs and budgets. Originality/value – This paper explores the unique perspective held by lodging managers on the issue of ROI in training. Very little research has been done on this aspect of ROI in training in the hotel industry.
Resort spas: how are they massaging hotel revenues?
Authors: Madanoglu Melih , Brezina Sherie
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate financial benefits of spa operations in resorts by developing a spa revenue contribution technique/method.

Design/methodology/approach

This purpose is achieved by utilizing current industry and academic literature in the fields of hospitality and resort management.

Findings

The results show that a hypothetical resort with 300 rooms would achieve a spa revenue per occupied room of $40.08 which translates into additional annual revenue of more than $3,500,000.

Practical implications

One of the implications of this study is that a well‐run spa may contribute approximately US$28 per available room. Another practical implication is that spas are important generators of additional revenue as they may contribute, at times, over 20 percent to room revenue by using considerably less space than resort/hotel rooms do.

Originality/value

This paper derives its value from developing a specific technique to support the common notion that a well‐operated spa makes a significant contribution to resort revenues.
The role of trust in employee‐manager relationship
Authors: Gill Amarjit S.
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of trust on an employee's job satisfaction and dedication. This study also extends Flaherty and Pappas's findings regarding the role of trust in salesperson‐sales manager relationships and Gill and Mathur's findings related to employee dedication and pro‐social behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

Employees from hospitality industry were interviewed to examine if employee trust in a hospitality manager improves job satisfaction and dedication.

Findings

Degree of employee job satisfaction and dedication is related to degree of employee trust in a hospitality manager.

Practical implications

If employees perceive higher degree of trust in a hospitality manager, the degree of their job satisfaction and dedication is perceived higher and vice‐versa.

Originality/value

This paper offers useful insights for hospitality managers based on empirical evidence.
Managing human resources for service excellence and cost effectiveness at Singapore Airlines
Authors: Wirtz Jochen , Heracleous Loizos , Pangarkar Nitin
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of Singapore Airline's human resource (HR) management practices that enable the company to deliver consistent service excellence in an efficient manner and achieve sustainable competitive advantage.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents an in‐depth case study based on primary and secondary data, and especially in‐depth interviews of senior management and senior flight crew.

Findings

The study finds that Singapore Airlines' HR practices involve stringent selection and recruitment processes, extensive training and retraining, successful service delivery teams, empowerment of front‐line staff to control service quality, and motivating staff through rewards and recognition.

Practical implications

This research has implications for organisations that aim to deliver consistent service excellence, by outlining HR practices that assist in this goal; and for senior management, particularly highlighting the importance and contribution of HR to competitive advantage, and the importance of strategic alignment between functional strategies and business‐level strategies.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the understanding of how HR practices contribute to service excellence and competitive advantage, this being a key dimension of strategic alignment.
Twenty years of service quality performance in the US airline industry
Authors: Rhoades Dawna L. , Waguespack Blaise
Published: February 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to review the conceptual background for service quality as applied to the airline industry and use data from the Air Travel Consumer Report to examine airline quality performance on such key indicators as on‐time arrival, customer complaints, denied boarding, and mishandled baggage to determine the trend in airline service performance over the past two decades.

Design/methodology/approach

Data collected for this study included customer complaints on flight problems, ticketing, refunds, fares, customer service, advertising, and other problems, overall carrier on‐time performance, involuntary denied boardings, and mishandled baggage. Total yearly departures by carrier were obtained from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and used to normalize the service data. Service quality rates were calculated for the industry overall and by individual carrier. The total quality rate represents the sum of the following data: the percentage of late flights, total number of consumer complaints, total number of involuntary denied boardings, and total number of mishandled baggage reports divided by total yearly departures for a particular airline. In a real sense, this rate is a measure of disquality and can be interpreted as the number of quality problems per departure.

Findings

The data show that during periods of retrenchment when airlines are reducing flight schedules due to economic downturns the level of on‐time arrival tends to improve while customer complaints, denied boardings, and mishandled baggage decline. Part of the explanation for the changes is the lack of airport and air traffic capacity to handle periods of higher traffic volume.

Originality/value

As a critical component of the transportation system, the ability of the airline industry to provide reliable, timely service is important. Understanding the factors that contribute to service problems can help guide airline decisions about process and government decisions about infrastructure needs.
No more heroes… as all managers become leaders at Lancashire County Council
Authors: McPherson Blair
Published: February 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to advance the view that, as organizations realize the limitations of working in isolation and accept the need to develop partnerships and coalitions, they seek a new type of leadership model in which the charismatic individual who, by sheer force of personality, drives through changes and makes thing happen – the hero – is replaced by a type of leadership in which all managers are leaders.

Design/methodology/approach

Provides a case example of how Lancashire County Council's Directorate of Community Services introduced this new leadership through management development.

Findings

Describes the origins and implementation of the directorate's executive‐coaching initiative, and how this was rolled out to the next tier of management through learning sets or management‐development groups facilitated by management consultants. Following this, the program focused on the 300‐plus first‐line managers, by using the management‐development groups facilitated by volunteers from the top 30 managers working in pairs.

Practical implications

Reveals how management development in the Directorate of Community Services is being used to equip managers for the fast‐changing world of local government.

Originality/value

Highlights the way in which two management consultants have been used over four years, in contrast to the usual model of hiring consultants for short‐term assignments.
Designing a supply chain management academic curriculum using QFD and benchmarking
Authors: Gonzalez Marvin E. , Quesada Gioconda , Gourdin Kent , Hartley Mark
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to utilize quality function deployment (QFD), Benchmarking analyses and other innovative quality tools to develop a new customer‐centered undergraduate curriculum in supply chain management (SCM).

Design/methodology/approach

The researchers used potential employers as the source for data collection. Then, they used QFD and benchmarking to develop a Voice of Customer matrix. Using information from the matrix, a new customer‐oriented SCM undergraduate programme was designed.

Findings

The researchers outline a practical solution to the problem of designing academic programmes which satisfy the main expectations of potential employers (customers).

Research limitations/implications

The study is specifically concerned with the design of an SCM curriculum, but the researchers argue that the design methodology could be applied in other academic contexts.

Practical implications

The application of QFD and benchmarking as a joint analysis tool is an interesting approach in education because the information is analysed from different perspectives simultaneously. The new programme successfully meets customer/employer expectations and requirements.

Originality/value

This study demonstrates the effective application of quality design tools to enhance academic programmes. The approach can clearly be extended to other areas for the design of specific courses and programmes. The most important needs in programme design are those of identifying the programme's main customers and of clarifying their expectations.
The development and testing of a nonconsequentialist decision‐making model
Authors: Elaydi Raed
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to show that new conceptual work in the judgment and decision‐making research arena has suggested a nonconsequentialist perspective to decision‐making. The current study successfully tested and found support for a decision‐making model, which serves an alternative to expected utility theory.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a natural decision‐making setting, 578 participants completed a one time study using questionnaires attempting to test a nonconsequentialist decision‐making model, which includes indecisiveness as a vital construct.

Findings

Full mediation was found for the Nonconsequentialist Decision‐Making Model (NDMM), allowing us to discuss directionality and causality. Further, 81 percent of the 578 participants felt indecisive about their personal decision, highlighting the importance of examining this understudied construct. Research limitations/implications – The current study suggests that individuals facing a difficult decision would soon rather make a detrimental decision than stay in the decision‐making process. This means that the actual act of making a decision functions as a coping behavior in and of itself.

Practical implications

Understanding the decision‐making process is complex, and many individual and environmental variables play critical roles that lead the decision maker to a particular choice. Traditionally, the judgment and decision‐making literature has interpreted decision‐making as rational or irrational, with an attempt to understand and negate common flaws in logic. However, this study supports a nonconsequentialist perspective, suggesting that emotions play a significant role in the decision‐making process. By such an inclusion we can move beyond the sole focus of rational‐irrational and move toward a consequentialist‐nonconsequentialist paradigm in decision‐making. By making this shift, we are better able to deal with and understand individual emotions during the decision‐making process, and ultimately help individuals functionally cope and stay in the process, rather than escape and make a poorly thought through decision. This work is especially critical in the upper echelons of organizations, where nonconsequentialist dysfunctional decisions can affect millions of lives and cost billions of dollars.

Originality/value

Nonconsequentialist dysfunctional decisional coping behavior is a recently developed topic with significant conceptual work but insufficient empirical evidence. Loewenstein et al. (2001, p. 267) note that: “Virtually all current theories in decision‐making under risk or uncertainty are cognitive and consequentialist”. If Loewenstein et al.'s (2001) quote is accurate, then the current study offers empirical support for an alternative, nonconsequentialist model.
Unified diversity in top‐level teams
Authors: Michie Susan G. , Dooley Robert S. , Fryxell Gerald E.
Published: February 2008

Purpose

This study attempts to move beyond the “congruence assumption” surrounding top management team (TMT) demography by exploring the intervening processes that link TMT diversity and organizational performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Using Fiol's concept of unified diversity and employing an information processing perspective of strategic decision‐making, this article proposes a model that incorporates both moderating and mediating influences; and then tests the hypotheses using data from specific strategic decisions faced by 85 top‐level decision‐making teams within the health care industry.

Findings

Evidence was found to support the expectation that goal consensus moderates the relationship between informational diversity and decision quality within the management teams. In addition, team member collaboration was found to partially mediate this effect.Research limitations/implications– The retrospective nature of the data collection captured the essence of the decision‐making process over time, but future research using longitudinal designs that include different types of industries is needed to confirm the validity of the findings.

Practical implications

The practical implications of this study point towards a need for managers to set in motion both divergent and convergent thinking during the strategic decision‐making process. The findings indicate that if managers want to reap the benefits of teams with members from different functional and educational backgrounds, they must instigate some aspect of shared framing among team members, such as consensus on broad organizational goals.

Originality/value

This research identified relevant contingency and mediating variables that help to explain the equivocal results of previous studies attempting to link top management team demography to organizational performance.
Accounting for performance variation: how important are intangible resources?
Authors: Galbreath Jeremy , Galvin Peter
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the degree to which intangible resources explain performance variation among firms.

Design/methodology/approach

The method includes a purpose‐designed survey to measure the impact of tangible resources, intangible resources and industry structure on firm performance.

Findings

The results suggest that, in the main, intangible resources do explain performance variation, even when measured against other potential performance impacting factors. Research limitations/implications – The results suggest that capabilities, conceptualized as an intangible resource, might not be the firm's most important, contrary to theory. Further, this study suggests that future research might best be served by exploring relationships between resources and the degree to which resource combinations are important to firm performance.

Practical implications

Resource allocation is a constant struggle for management. The results of this study suggest that investment in intangible resources might be a means to drive, and possibly sustain, competitive advantage.

Originality/value

This paper studies intangible resources in conjunction with other potential performance determinants, thus demonstrating a more stringent test of the resource‐based view of the firm than previous studies.
Disciplinary roots of knowledge management: a theoretical review
Authors: Jasimuddin Sajjad M.
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to reflect on the development of knowledge management so as to argue whether knowledge management (KM) is a multidisciplinary field.

Design/methodology/approach

To set the scene by reviewing and synthesizing the scholarly works and published practices of knowledge management, this paper presents an overview of the recent and rapidly growing literature on knowledge management.

Findings

The paper presents a discussion, addressing the question of what those disciplines are on which knowledge management discourse is exactly drawn on. The fact is that knowledge management draws from a wide range of disciplines. Although scholars from several disciplines attempt to claim ownership of the knowledge management, today both practitioners and academics alike recognize that knowledge management is an eclectic field rather than grounded in a specific ideology.

Research limitations/implications

The paper does not offer comprehensive understanding of the disciplinary roots of knowledge management because it has not reviewed all the papers available in KM.

Practical implications

The paper does raise awareness of the genesis of knowledge management. It will encourage insightful managers to examine this research in more depth as a means of guidance for making use of KM initiatives in their organization.

Originality/value

Highlighting the growing interest in knowledge management, the paper inspires knowledge management researchers to be rigorous in both disciplinary grounding and integration. Although the paper does not attempt to detail the origins and the gradual development of the KM field, it contributes to improving theory, practice, and pedagogy in the field of KM by articulating its origin.
Factors influencing online auction repurchase intention
Authors: Yen Chia‐Hui , Lu Hsi‐Peng
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to integrate expectancy disconfirmation theory (EDT) to explore cognitive beliefs and affect influencing an individual's intention to repurchase in online marketplaces.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper used EDT to conduct an empirical study and data were collected from a total of 303 bidders of online auctions. A structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess the relationships of the research model.

Findings

The findings show that bidders' disconfirmation of online auctions is positively associated with their satisfaction, which in turn is positively associated with their repurchase intentions.

Practical implications

Both bidders' expectation of policy and auctioneers' performance of policy are important determinants of disconfirmation. Auctioneers need to recognize the distinctive roles of information policy in selling and bidding rules. Besides, neither bidders' expectation of sellers' reputation nor their expectation of service quality has a significant relationship with disconfirmation. This finding implies that in a mature e‐commerce environment bidders pay more attention to the sellers' performance than their prior expectation.

Originality/value

This study, which aims to shed light on bidder behavior in online auctions, is the first study that has applied an EDT‐based model to investigate the determinants of repurchase intention in online auctions.
Empirically testing innovation characteristics and organizational learning capabilities in e‐business implementation success
Authors: Lin Hsiu‐Fen
Published: February 2008

Purpose

Based on the innovation diffusion theory and organizational learning literature, the purpose of this paper is to develop a research model to examine innovation characteristics and organizational learning capabilities as the determinants of e‐business implementation success.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data from 163 IS (information system) managers in large Taiwanese firms were collected and used to test the research model.

Findings

The results showed that two innovation characteristics (perceived relative advantage and compatibility) and four organizational learning capabilities (managerial commitment, systems orientation, knowledge acquisition, and knowledge dissemination) have a significant effect on e‐business implementation success.

Research limitations/implications

Some factors, other than the innovation characteristics and organizational learning capabilities included in this study, may also influence e‐business implementation. The research model could act as a theoretical basis for studying further sources of value creation from technology innovations.

Practical implications

Results from this study suggest that, to achieve successful e‐business implementation, managers should pay more attention to cultivating a climate where learning is valued and supported, develop systematic perspectives of various activities and events, and establish mechanisms that facilitate effective learning environments.

Originality/value

This study is significant for at least two reasons: first, it contributes to e‐business research that technological innovation can be better understood by including both innovation characteristics and organizational learning capabilities, while earlier literature has traditionally treated the two separately and, second, it provides valuable guidelines to policy‐makers and practitioners in implementing e‐business and accelerating e‐business development.
Shift happens
Authors: Abeles Tom P.
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this editorial is to ask the question as to whether the current “cohort” model of education, particularly in the USA, can survive in an internet connected world. It also questions, with the development of increasingly porous political borders, particularly with respect to knowledge, whether the current education system can play the heroic role of maintaining US economic hegemony in the world.

Design/methodology/approach

This essay looks at the increasing alternatives individuals have for obtaining both knowledge, and academic certification and the ease with which that knowledge can move across borders virtually or through population movements. It suggests that this growing international movement of knowledge may render political boundaries as vulnerable as medieval armor with the rise of gunpowder.

Findings

The increasing access to knowledge starts to make international borders look more like boundaries between states or other political divisions within current nations. The current attempt to maintain or incrementally improving existing models of education can neither meet the increasing demands of individuals for knowledge or maintain the current economic hegemony of the USA.

Originality/value

The essay questions current efforts of the educational community in general and the science/technology sector, in particular, to argue for increasing funds as the front‐line of defense in a world where political power is maintained by economics rather than military superiority. It argues for a paradigmatic change in response to the idea that knowledge wishes to be free.
Dynamic pricing and ordering decision for the perishable food of the supermarket using RFID technology
Authors: Liu Xiaofeng , Tang Ou , Huang Pei
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study how supermarkets can maximize profits of selling perishable food through price adjustment based on real‐time product quality and values.

Design/methodology/approach

The value of the perishable food can be traced based on an automatic product identification technology radio frequency identification (RFID). With the support of the RFID, an optimization model can be developed to enable product tracking.

Findings

The analysis of the model shows promising benefits of applying a dynamic pricing policy and obtains the optimal ordering decision in respects of deterministic and stochastic demand function with RFID.

Research limitations/implications

Although technological approaches for tracking products have attracted increasing attentions in both research and practice, little research have proved the profit using RFID by mathematics, the result of this paper can prove the benefit by using RFID.

Practical implication

The result of this paper can tell the supermarket how to make the price and the ordering decision by using the RFID.

Originality/value

This study proves the benefit of using the RFID by mathematical model based on the conceptual model before, and tell the method how to use RFID for pricing and making ordering decision.