bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Board independence and managerial authority
Authors: Dah Mustafa , Jizi Mohammad , Sbeity Sadim 
Published: February 2018

PurposeThe imposition of the Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) Act and the NYSE/NASDAQ regulations boosted the proportion of independent directors serving on corporate boards. For certain firms, increasing the number of independent directors may impose costs that exceed the benefits. The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of increased independence following SOX, relative to the pre-SOX board independence benchmark, on managerial authority and entrenchment within the firm.Design/methodology/approachData are collected from COMPUSTAT, ExecuComp, and RiskMetrics. Data are divided into two periods, pre-SOX (1996-2001) and post-SOX (2002-2006). The focus is on the sub-group of firms who were not complying with the board independence requirement prior to SOX and became compliant afterwards. Various regressions are employed to assess the implications of increased independence following SOX on managerial authority and entrenchment.FindingsThe appreciation in board independence post-SOX significantly inflates both managerial compensation and the likelihood of CEO duality. Also, there is a positive association between board independence and managerial entrenchment during both the pre- and post-SOX periods. Imposed board composition requirements diminished board monitoring efficiency and boosted the CEO dominance and control over the firm.Originality/valueThis research adds to the extant literature investigating the implications of SOX on internal monitoring and governance. The results are based on an off-equilibrium phenomenon in which companies were obliged to alter their endogenously determined board structure. Thus, regulations to improve governance could backfire as the CEO might abuse them to extract private benefits.
Innovative sustainable methodology for managing in-house software development in SMEs
Authors: Tarhini Abbas , Yunis Manal , El-Kassar Abdul-Nasser 
Published: February 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present an innovative agile methodology that proposes fundamental changes in managing the development of in-house information systems in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and benchmarks it with one of two database technologies enabling these systems to be both efficient and competitive.Design/methodology/approachThe objectives are achieved by presenting an elaborated design of the agile methodology that manages the system development process by addressing three basic components: roles played by system players, process needed to fulfill the system development, and artifacts to document the project. A case study is conducted as a proof of the effectiveness of the proposed methodology and measures whether the selection of the database technology affects the effectiveness of the system development process.FindingsResults show that, compared with traditional methodologies, the proposed methodology reduced the cost of system development and testing by 30 percent and enhanced the IT – business alliance. Further, this work found that the selection of a suitable database technology is strongly related to the complexity and interrelationships between the data used.Originality/valueSuch research did not receive the needed attention (Hunter, 2004) even in the past decade. Successful adoption of IT by companies could be in the form of customized IS which could be expensive for SMEs to adopt due to a lack in technical expertise and financial resources. The proposed methodology has the potential to promote sustainable development through helping SMEs in reducing the time and cost of IT project development.
Sustainability strategies in the Indian leather industry: an empirical analysis
Authors: Gupta Sandeep , Gupta Shivam , Dhamija Pavitra , Bag Surajit 
Published: February 2018

Purpose
Burgeoning challenges of climate change and poverty alleviation across many parts of the world have enforced the policy makers and researchers to develop an alternate system for performance assessment of an individual, a country, and a corporate. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the sustainability strategies of three leading states in the Indian leather industry – Tamil Nadu (TN), West Bengal (WB) and Uttar Pradesh (UP) – to gain insights into their efforts and progress in generating economic, social, and environmental values.

Design/methodology/approach
This study used case study approach for investigative analysis, and triangulation method – interviews and field visits, for data verification. The study examines the various sustainability strategies by applying economic value creation (evaluation of growth in total turnover, evaluation of the growth in profitability, evaluation of leverage), social value creation (evaluation of the growth in wages, evaluation of the growth in employee welfare expenses), and environmental value creation (conservation in raw material consumption, conservation in energy consumption, evaluation of waste management practices).

Findings
The findings reveal that the three states differ significantly from each other both in terms of efforts made and progress achieved during the period of study, 1998-2013. UP seems to be making the most consistent progress in achieving economic value, while WB shows the most progress in creating social value, and TN leads the pack in terms of creating environmental value. Thus, the three leading states in the Indian leather industry have been allowing trade-offs to get competitive advantage over others.

Research limitations/implications
The opaqueness with which the Indian leather Industry conducts social and environmental practices clearly limits the sources of accurate and reliable data, and the ability of researchers to precisely identify the problems and suggest solutions.

Practical implications
The opaqueness with which the Indian leather Industry conducts social and environmental practices clearly impacts the policy makers, practitioners, and researchers to continue such initiatives and improve the lives of people in India for whom continuing this profession is a big challenge and a hurdle to accomplish their livelihood.

Originality/value
The paper gives a theoretical explanation of the sustainability in the leather industry with respect to its strategies in terms of economic value, social value, and environmental value.
Same, same but different? Women’s experiences with gender inequality in Brazil
Authors: Santos Clarice , Hilal Adriana V. Garibaldi de 
Published: February 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine gender issues in Brazil from the perceptions, experiences, and discourses of professional women in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on 26 in-depth interviews with female professionals. The methodology consists of an exploratory approach through content analysis.

Findings
Despite the fact that Brazil demonstrates an idealized national ethos that promotes equality, gender roles are still very traditional. Participants recognized gender issues at work, including covert discrimination, though most did not acknowledge experiencing them personally.

Originality/value
There is dissonance between global trends and the actual experience of female professionals in Brazil. Although participants rejected the idea of personally experiencing inequality, they acknowledge its existence in human resources (HR) practices. This leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy where gender inequality is perpetuated and organizations and HR departments do not seem to have a proactive role as change agents.
Knowledge about sport and exercise science
Authors: Leal Acácia Gonçalves Ferreira , Vancini Rodrigo Luiz , Gentil Paulo , Benedito-Silva Ana Amélia , da Silva Antonio Carlos , Campos Mário Hebling , Andrade Marilia Santos , de Lira Claudio Andre Barbosa 
Published: February 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to assess the knowledge on sport and exercise science held by a sample of Brazilian physiotherapists, nutritionists and physical educators.

Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional research design was used. The answers given by 1,147 professionals (300 physiotherapists, 705 physical educators and 142 nutritionists) who participated in a qualifying process for a specialization course on exercise physiology were analyzed. Questions were analyzed on maximal oxygen uptake (four questions), physical fitness assessment (three questions), physical training (two questions), bioenergetics (one question) and exercise in extreme environments (one question).

Findings
The results revealed misconceptions held by Brazilian health professionals on a number of concepts related to sport and exercise science, such as maximal oxygen uptake.

Practical implications
These results reinforce the need for continuing education programs to maximize the quality of the service provided by sport and exercise science professionals in Brazil. Improvements in the undergraduate courses curriculum are also recommended.

Originality/value
This is the first study to assess misconceptions about sport and exercise science among Brazilian health professionals.
Food consumers’ views of essential food knowledge and skills for all consumers
Authors: Burton Melissa , Riddell Lynn , Worsley Anthony 
Published: February 2018

PurposeFood education in secondary schools can provide adolescents with essential food knowledge and skills required for healthy, independent living. The purpose of this paper is to identify food-related knowledge and skills that Australian consumers believe are required for all consumers, and to identify their demographic and psychographic associations based on two studies.Design/methodology/approachTwo online surveys were conducted in 2012 and 2014 in different samples of Australian consumers (n=2,146 and 770, respectively), both drawn from a commercial research panel. Respondents rated their views on the importance of food knowledge and skills items as “essential” or “not essential” in the 2012 survey, or by rating their importance in the 2014 using five-point scales. Principal components analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and stepwise multiple regression analysis were used to group the different types of food knowledge and skills and identify their associations.FindingsIn both surveys, “the effects of food on people’s health” and “how to prepare food safely” were viewed as the most important knowledge and skills, and food production, food system and environmental items were the least important. Food knowledge and equality values were positively associated with the importance of Nutrition Knowledge and Practical Skills in both surveys. In addition, food mavenism was a positive predictor of Nutrition and Health Knowledge and The Food System in 2012 and female sex was positively associated with Practical Food Skills.Research limitations/implicationsMost respondents believed that nutrition and health knowledge and practical food skills were more important than knowledge of food production, the food system or the environment. The findings suggest that psychological factors such as personal values, food knowledge and food mavenism may be more important influences over these perceptions than respondents’ demographic characteristics.Originality/valueThis research is novel as it explores consumers’ views about the food knowledge and skills that all consumers need to be healthy and independent, and has important implications for food education, particularly in secondary schools. In addition, it assessed consumers’ views at two different time points, two years apart and, thus, provides evidence for stability of these views.
Gender differences in self-employment in Spain
Authors: Rico Paz , Cabrer-Borrás Bernardí 
Published: February 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the gender differences of self-employment in Spain.

Design/methodology/approach
A binary choice model is specified and estimated, using information from the Continuous Working Life Sample drawn from the registers of the Spanish Social Security. Moreover, the differences in self-employment between men and women are also analysed, through the decomposition proposed by Yun (2004).

Findings
The results indicate that the differences between both groups in the probability of being entrepreneurs stem from unobservable factors. The difference explained by the unobservable component is 84.12 per cent, whereas the rest, 15.88 per cent, is explained by the characteristics component. The explanatory factors of being an entrepreneur affect men and women in the same way, but to a different extent, explained mainly by factors related to gender.

Originality/value
This paper sets out to identify whether there are gender differences in the probability of becoming self-employed and, if there are, to quantify what part of the difference in entrepreneurship between men and women is explained by the characteristics of each gender group and what part is because of unobservable factors. From the perspective of the public authority, knowing the determinants that explain why the entrepreneurial activity is different depending on gender is fundamental in being able to reduce the entrepreneurial gap between men and women.
Structural production factors’ impact on the financial performance of agribusiness cooperatives in Brazil
Authors: Martins Fellipe Silva , Lucato Wagner Cezar 
Published: February 2018

PurposeStudies on the performance of agribusiness cooperatives in Brazil focus on economic and financial aspects. The purpose of this paper is to further delve into such studies by investigating which commonly measurable structural production factors (horizontal, vertical and lateral diversification; operating area; number of associates; and time in operation) have greater impacts on the financial performance of such cooperatives.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve such a goal, a survey was conducted with a sampling pool divided by size (annual net revenues of US$ 50 million or higher), and the questionnaire was employed as a method of data collection. The sample was concentrated in the southern, south-eastern and mid-western regions of Brazil; classified by size; and deemed adequate after several adequacy tests.FindingsThe results were analysed using Spearman’s correlation, which showed that there were no significant correlations between the structural production factors considered in this study and the economic-financial performance of agricultural cooperatives, which leads to questions about the effectiveness of employing diversification strategies with a conjoint approach. Nonetheless, it was possible to identify several relationships not mentioned in the original hypotheses that might be addressed further in future studies.Research limitations/implicationsThe data obtained should be interpreted with caution because heteroscedasticity was detected. Although the cause could not be clearly identified, the presence of heteroscedasticity could mean that smaller and similar cooperatives present similar variation in their diversification and production base strategies.Originality/valueThis work sought to generate knowledge regarding operations management, which was achieved by demonstrating that production diversification in a dynamic and relevant economic sector, that is, agricultural cooperatives, is limited in terms of financial return when performed in an isolated mode. Hence, cooperatives’ production managers should take into account the totality of structural production factors during their planning activities.
Virtual dressing room media, buying intention and mediation
Authors: Yaoyuneyong Gallayanee Starwind , Pollitte Wesley A. , Foster Jamye K. , Flynn Leisa R. 
Published: February 2018

Purpose
This paper aims to test the relationships between shopping enjoyment, economic motivation, apparel shopping self-confidence, perceived informativeness, perceived irritation and buying intention, using Uses and Gratification (U&G) theory, in a mediated model using virtual dressing room (VDR) media.

Design/methodology/approach
The proposed mediation model is tested using the PROCESS (Version 3.0) macro for SPSS with bootstrapping.

Findings
Results indicate that shopping enjoyment, economic motivation and apparel shopping self-confidence have no direct relationship with buying intention. Additionally, no indirect relationship was found between apparel shopping self-confidence and buying intention. However, outcomes show that both perceived VDR informativeness and perceived VDR irritation mediate the relationships of shopping enjoyment and economic motivation with buying intention by different mechanisms when using VDR media. Additionally, the relationship between shopping enjoyment and buying intention is mediated via perceived VDR informativeness. Finally, economic motivation has both an indirect relationship with buying intention through perceived VDR irritation and a serial mediated relationship via perceived VDR irritation and informativeness.

Originality/value
This study is original in that it investigates the mediating effect of informativeness and irritation, from U&G theory, on buying intention during VDR media usage. Previous research suggests a direct relationship between shopping enjoyment, economic motivation, apparel shopping self-confidence, informativeness, irritation and buying intention. Results of this research suggest that online retailers should consider the different and complex mediating roles informativeness and irritation play in the relationship between consumer attributes and buying intention when adding media to a website.
Training culture
Authors: Polo Federica , Cervai Sara , Kantola Jussi 
Published: February 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to introduce and validate the concept of training culture defined as a subset of the main organizational culture that allows examining meanings and values attributed to the training within an organization by management and employees.

Design/methodology/approach
This study, following the deductive scale development process, examines the theoretical foundation and psychometric properties of the training culture scale (TCS), testing the utility and appropriateness of the measure. The TCS has been designed and developed on three specific dimensions: individual, group and organizational. A confirmatory factorial analysis has been performed to assess the internal structure.

Findings
Results confirm the three dimensions initially hypothesized: individual, group and organizational, with good reliability indexes on the three factors.

Practical implications
The implementation of the TCS allows training experts to have a broader understanding of training in the organization and to better tailor the training activities according to the training culture profile of the organization.

Originality/value
Cultural analyses are usually carried out from the managerial perspective. The TCS considers the individual perception, including both management and employees in the definition of a training culture profile that enables the organization to develop more effective strategies for training and development.
Transferring knowledge from universities to organizations by business students
Authors: Raza Syed Ali , Najmi Arsalan , Shah Nida 
Published: February 2018

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the significance of knowledge transfer (KT) from universities to organizations by employing in-service employees, who are working in organizations and at the same time studying in the universities, as the channel.Design/methodology/approachBy using survey methodology, data were collected from 216 in-service business students via self-administered questionnaires and partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied.FindingsThe results revealed that intrinsic motivation, psychological hardiness, functional value and innovative culture significantly predict the acquired knowledge which henceforth positively affects KT.Research limitations/implicationsData from business students of the single university were extracted which limits the findings, and hence directed future researchers to explore further.Practical implicationsInteractive, case study-based training and others implications are discussed to effectively transfer the knowledge from universities to organizations.Originality/valueThe role of in-service employed students is of significant importance, as students exist as an intermediary between organizations and universities, and so both universities and organizations should make maximum use of the said channel for an effective KT.
Whistle-blowing in the Australian Public Service
Authors: Fieger Peter , Rice Bridget S. 
Published: February 2018

Purpose
Whistle-blowing has the important role of reducing the prevalence and impact of wrongdoing in organisations. The purpose of this paper is to utilise a very large survey of Australian Public Service (APS) workers to replicate the findings of previous studies in relation to whistle-blowing likelihood and to extend the quantitative findings in relation to whistle-blowing antecedents to include ethnicity or cultural marginalisation and occupational and professional role and affiliation.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors utilise the 2014 APS Census, a large data set containing 100,000 observations relating to employee engagement, leadership, health, satisfaction and general impressions of the public service. Logistic regression is employed to obtain estimates and marginal effects in respect to predictors for whistle-blowing. The authors determine the Bayesian information criterion to assess the impact of ethnicity on the probability of whistle-blowing.

Findings
The findings support the notion that organisational “outsiders” tend to report perceived wrongdoing less than those who feel assured of their cultural or organisational status. The authors further find support for the notion that membership of small organisational groupings, primarily measured by organisational size, also tends to reduce the whistle-blowing likelihood. Opportunities for further research and potential policy and practical issues are discussed briefly in conclusion.

Originality/value
While confirming the predictors seen in many previous studies, the authors identify groups who report more or less than expected that have not been reported in previous research. These include employees from a non-English speaking background and various occupational and professional groups “at risk” of low reporting.
Supervisor support and work-life balance
Authors: Talukder A.K.M. , Vickers Margaret , Khan Aila 
Published: February 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the relations between supervisor support (SS), work-life balance (WLB), job attitudes and performance of employees in the Australian financial sector. More specifically, the study explore the impact of SS, WLB and job attitudes on employees’ job performance (JP).Design/methodology/approachUsing an online panel, the data comprised 305 employees working in financial organisations to test a model with structural equation modelling. A list of survey items was tested that replicated extensively in work-life research in the past.FindingsThe research contributed to the existing literature by identifying a significant mechanism through which SS was linked to WLB that influenced job satisfaction, life satisfaction and organisational commitment and JP given the paucity of such research in the Australian financial sector.Originality/valueThe study would guide employers, employees and managers involved in the financial sector to implement policies which aim to augment JP and promote balance between work, home and life.