bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A third dimension to understanding voluntary disclosures
Authors: Ben Prince John , Dwivedi Neeraj 
Published: July 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to establish sufficient potential for a novel perspective that could enhance understanding of the rationale behind voluntary disclosures. In this paper, the authors seek to provide an integrated view from different disciplines that points to a new dimension. This dimension is expected to promote a better understanding of voluntary disclosures in corporate governance.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use the conceptual underpinnings of agency theory and integrate several perspectives from different disciplines. Through the support of simple matrices and a conceptual figure, an interesting finding is proposed that could help provide a new way of looking at voluntary disclosures.FindingsThe established view holds that due to information asymmetry between the shareholders and the management, voluntary disclosures are more meaningful for the shareholders of the firm. The authors, however, suggest that since information asymmetry is already embedded in several roles and strategic actions of the board, it leads to the development of a third dimension in understanding voluntary disclosures.Originality/valueInformation asymmetry has been well understood as one of the key aspects of the agency theory. The authors' strive to apply this phenomenon while looking at the roles of the board and the strategic actions that result therein. The result is an enhanced understanding of the motivations behind voluntary disclosures.
Preference‐inconsistent information and cognitive discomfort: a cross‐cultural investigation
Authors: Aggarwal Praveen , Soo Kim Chang , Cha Taihoon 
Published: July 2013

PurposeThis study aims to examine cultural differences between Easterners and Westerners in processing preference‐inconsistent information. The focal question that the study addresses is as follows: When faced with negative information about their preferred alternative, do Easterners and Westerners respond differently? If yes, how do these differences impact purchase intentions?Design/methodology/approachA total of 102 students from a major Korean university and 96 students from a major Canadian university participated in the study. The experiment involved reading fictitious but realistic product reviews about a new car model and responding to survey questions.FindingsThe authors find that, compared to Eastern consumers, Western consumers are affected differently by preference‐inconsistent information. They experience a greater level of cognitive discomfort, exhibit a stronger motivation to reduce that discomfort, and attempt to resolve the conflict between their original preference and inconsistent information. These factors lead to a significant reduction in their purchase intentions.Research limitations/implicationsThe use of student subjects may limit the generalizability of the study's findings.Practical implicationsMarketers can benefit by knowing that negative information about a product (as, say, in an online review) does not have a uniform effect across cultures. Consumers in Eastern cultures are more capable of handling negative information without reversing their product preferences. Western consumers, on the other hand, will strive to resolve the conflict between their preference (positive affect) and the negative product review (negative affect) by either changing their preference or discounting the review. Mostly, the damaging effects of a negative review are likely to be greater in Western cultures.Originality/valueThis study is the first attempt at examining the effect of cultural differences on processing preference‐inconsistent information. As organizations become more global, understanding culture‐based differences in information processing can help marketers create a more nuanced marketing strategy.
The Brand Recall Index: a metric for assessing value
Authors: Krishnan Vijaykumar , Sullivan Ursula Y. , Groza Mark D. , Aurand Timothy W. 
Published: July 2013

PurposeIn this article, the purpose is to discuss the Brand Recall Index (BRI) as an easily implementable marketing metric to assess the brand equity for any brand specific to an identified segment.Design/methodology/approachTwo quasi‐experimental timed surveys were conducted to assess the robustness of the Brand Recall Index (BRI).FindingsFindings demonstrate assessment potential of the BRI.Research limitations/implicationsThe study demonstrates the viability of BRI as a managerial measure; however, it does not necessarily demonstrate downstream nomological validity. Future research could address the influence of changing mindshare, as uncovered by BRI, on market share for a brand.Practical implicationsOngoing assessment of BRI will enable brand managers to track a brand's evolving mindshare in identified segments and allow them to take corrective action.Originality/valueThis paper develops an easily implementable index to measure brand value–an intangible yet critical asset for any firm.
Social media governance: regulatory frameworks for successful online communications
Authors: Linke Anne , Zerfass Ansgar 
Published: July 2013

PurposeWhen comparing the annotated relevance and the actual application of social media, enormous discrepancies show. This paper aims to introduce the concept of “Social Media Governance” as a means to accelerate the establishment of social media in communication practices and seeks to analyse its status quo in German organizations.Design/methodology/approachThe data presented here stem from a quantitative online survey among communication professionals that was carried out in Germany.FindingsThe results indicate that although many organizations claim to have strategies for social media communications, nine out of ten had no explicit regulatory frameworks. Strategic pillars, such as managerial commitment and a participative corporate culture, were reported by one third of the organizations. This is crucial, because correlation analyses have revealed that the presence of such structures has a positive effect on skill levels, strategies and the level of activity.Research limitations/implicationsIn terms of theory, the concept of governance may be used in order to analyze the dynamics of introducing new modes of online communication.Practical implicationsAccording to structuration theory, the actions of individual agents will only succeed if everyone involved can resort to structures in the sense of a common stock of (informal) rules and resources. This research indicates that public relations (PR) practices should focus on developing basic structures for social media communications and should not be limited to communications activities.Originality/valueWhile previous studies have focused on single aspects of social media governance, e.g. guidelines, very little research has been done on the overall concept. Also, the interconnection of strategic and structural aspects of social media communication has been neglected as a research topic so far.
Monitoring the issue arenas of the swine‐flu discussion
Authors: Luoma‐aho Vilma , Tirkkonen Päivi , Vos Marita 
Published: July 2013

PurposeThis paper seeks to describe the changing organizational environment and stakeholder debate currently taking place in various “issue arenas” during a crisis. Organizations today need to find and monitor these arenas before being able to communicate with their stakeholders.Design/methodology/approachCommunications of authorities and discussions by citizens are studied and analyzed in a case study related to the 2009 swine flu or influenza A (H1N1) episode in Finland. The organizational point of view is studied through media releases of the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), and the citizen point of view through a content analysis of popular discussion online forums through which the authorities attempted an intervention.FindingsThe analysis of the media releases revealed that the crisis communication of the authorities was timely and factual, yet failed both in using understandable concepts and responding to the emotional needs of people threatened by swine‐flu and questioning the safety of the vaccination. These deficiencies intensified emotion‐driven discussion, and when people opposed to vaccination managed to secure the central “issue arenas” using the words “swine flu” online, this led to online speculations and exaggeration of threat, excluding the authorities and logical argument from the discussion.Research limitations/implicationsThis study only looks at the swine‐flu debate from the points of view of the authorities and citizens, and does not discuss the role of the legacy media, for example. Since this study focused on one country, a global comparison could be the next step.Practical implicationsThis study argues that success in communication today depends heavily on using the right language, finding the right issue arenas, getting there early, and answering the needs raised in those arenas. It is crucial for authorities as well as public relations practitioners to acknowledge these changes in communication in order to be able to deliver their messages.Originality/valueThe concept of issue arenas can help to clarify changing perspectives in communication management. Moreover, the study is timely as it focuses on a global topic – pandemics and their communication. The results demonstrate how lack of monitoring and belated activity may lead to online issue arenas being dominated by extreme groups, who then strongly shape public opinion. Practitioners and scholars need to focus on identifying issues and stakeholder needs, and to understand the dynamics of the arenas concerning them.
Information, truth and meaning: a response to Budd's prolegomena
Authors: Lingard Robert G. 
Published: July 2013

PurposeThis paper aims to respond to Budd's discussion of meaning, truth and information by exploring the ontological framework prescribed by critical realism. Budd's thesis that information must be defined within the context of meaning and truth is challenged and the ontological priority of information is argued.Design/methodology/approachFollowing a critique of Budd's conclusions, a “regional ontology” of information is discussed. The practical adequacy of this theory is demonstrated by applying it to information‐seeking and meaning‐making, as described by Dervin's Sense‐Making Methodology (SMM). Finally, a case study is provided to illustrate the re‐conceptualization and implications in future research applications.FindingsInformation is a “thing” of ontological significance and which possesses truth and meaning as properties. Information may present as uninforming, incomprehensible, deceptive, nonsensical or sensical, depending on how the properties truth and meaning are expressed.Research limitations/implicationsThe main implication arising from this paper is that a definition of information is provided which permits application to situations of conflict or dissonance concerning information use. Abductive reasoning facilitates application of SMM to historically produced documents.Originality/valueThe novelty of this paper lies in the analysis of information, truth and meaning according to a realist, emergentist ontology, and in the consequent application of Dervin's SMM to documents by abductive reasoning.
Reflections on classification: Thomas Reid and bibliographic description
Authors: Frické Martin 
Published: July 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to clarify the ontological and epistemological basis of classification.Design/methodology/approachAttention is drawn to a 1785 article on abstraction by Thomas Reid and the contents and theories of the article are explained. The Reid article both provides a sound approach to classification and is interesting historically as it influenced the classification pioneer Charles Ammi Cutter who, in turn, is responsible for much of the modern theory of functional bibliography. Reid's account is supplemented by brief descriptions of fallibilism and fuzziness. An associated view, Aristotelian essentialism is explained and criticized. Some observations are offered on the role of prototypes in classification and on the monothetic‐polythetic distinction.FindingsReid's theories, suitably embedded in fallibilism and augmented with a respect for truth, provide a sound ontological and epistemological basis for classification.Originality/valueReid's essay, together with an appreciation of fallibility and determinate and indeterminate properties, amount to a good basic theoretical foundation for cataloging.
Interestingness and the essence of citation
Authors: Liu Yuxian , Rousseau Ronald 
Published: July 2013

PurposeThis paper aims to provide a new insight into the reasons why authors cite.Design/methodology/approachThe authors argue that, based on philosophical ideas about the essence of things, pure rational thinking about the role of citations leads to the answer.FindingsCitations originate from the interestingness of the investigated phenomenon. The essence of citation lies in the interaction between different ideas or perspectives on a phenomenon addressed in the citing as well as in the cited articles.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings only apply to ethical (not whimsical or self‐serving) citations. As such citations reflect interactions of scientific ideas, they can reveal the evolution of science, revive the cognitive process of an investigated scientific phenomenon and reveal political and economic factors influencing the development of science.Originality/valueThis article is the first to propose interestingness and the interaction of ideas as the basic reason for citing. This view on citations allows reverse engineering from citations to ideas and hence becomes useful for science policy.
Entrepreneur role analysis on adoptive management innovation: an exploratory case in China
Authors: Wang He‐Chun , Su Jing‐Qin , Cao Hui‐Ling , Sun Sai‐Nan 
Published: July 2013

PurposeIn China the maturity of the industrial development has the demonstration and reference implications for how to achieve enterprises competitiveness among the developing industries in a country. With the development of globalization, how to improve the enterprises competitiveness has became a serious problem to be solved for Chinese enterprises. The management innovation is reasonable and appropriate to solve this problem. Compared with the independent innovation, adoptive management innovation has become the main way for enterprises to fulfill the management innovation and change the management styles under the open economy condition. The research strives to reveal the “black box” in the management innovation adoptive process and give an answer to a series of questions, such as “what is the role of entrepreneurs in management innovation adoptive process?”Design/methodology/approachExploratory case study approach is taken to find the entrepreneurs' role in management innovation adoptive process of Chinese traditional industry.FindingsThis paper constructs the adoptive management innovation model from three dimensions, using exploratory case technique, which explores the key factors and mechanism of realizing management innovation adoption. Through the exploratory case analysis to verify the viewpoint which is proposed by the model: entrepreneurs played a leading role in the adoptive management innovation of non‐procedural process, and the role is the result of the mixed function of the external and internal environment. Entrepreneurs analyze and explore the new problems and opportunities, and their own experience and ability determine the cognition and explore degree towards these problems directly; entrepreneurs' integration ability of resources can be approved and accepted after the new practice has been proposed and become mature. Entrepreneur long‐term shaping on organizational resources determines whether the management innovations introduction would be really integrated into enterprise management system. The entrepreneur's typical behavior on “integration, learning and shaping” is the foundation and guarantee of adoptive management innovation, which have connective effect on adjacent stages.Originality/valueThe article describes Haier BPR process of adoptive management innovation and the adoptive management innovation mode, and analyzes the effect of entrepreneurs' role on adoptive management innovation of China's color TV industry. The Chinese color TV industry as the maturity industry has the demonstration and reference implications for how to achieve enterprises competitiveness in Chinese developing industries.
Office buildings in Germany
Authors: Armin Schubert Jan 
Published: July 2013

PurposeAccording to normative‐rational investment decision models, investors who seek office buildings should select markets which show high employment numbers in office related sectors such as Finance, Insurance, Real Estate (FIRE) and Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS). This view is challenged by behavioural studies, which find that the investors' willingness for analysis and the structure of their decision‐making processes in practice notably limit such an influence. Looking at German office markets, the purpose of this paper is to explore to what extent the aforementioned connection between employment structure and market selection holds.Design/methodology/approachQualitative interviews with German investment experts are analysed in a manner that differentiates between investor types. Behavioural economics form a theoretical basis to identify investor type specific attitudes towards investment markets and the resulting market selection processes. The findings are tested by logistic regressions which connect the spatial structure of office investments with employment data.FindingsA sector‐specific employment structure does not have a direct but an indirect influence on the market selection. The existing theoretical contradiction is resolved by this indirect influence. Investor type specific risk profiles and business models determine varying spatial patterns of market selection.Research limitations/implicationsThe study shows that attitudes towards markets, business logics and decision processes differ between insurance companies and open‐ended funds. Researchers should be aware that empirical results may not always be valid for all institutional investors. In some cases a differentiating research design according to investor type may be necessary.Practical implicationsThe study identifies a set of minimum requirements with regard to building and market characteristics open‐ended funds use for filtering in German secondary/regional markets. Market selection by these funds and insurance companies correlates with relative employment in FIRE‐ and KIBS‐branches.Originality/valueThis paper overcomes decision‐theoretical contradictions and gives empirical evidence for the importance of the employment structure on market selection.
Applicability of resource‐based environmental studies in Green IT
Authors: Eladwiah Abdul Rahim Rabiah , Abdul Rahman Azizah 
Published: July 2013

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to review the firm's resources, as identified by the researcher in previous environmental studies, from the theoretical lens of a resource‐based view (RBV). This will help to identify the firm's resources for the future Green IT studies.Design/methodology/approachThe objective was first achieved by reviewing the environmental resources for the firm's performance. The approach uses literature reviews of environmental studies having related keywords in literature databases. Using content analysis approach, the authors selected ten empirical environmental studies and developed the typology of the firm's environmental resources. The frequently highlighted constructs are then discussed in the context of Green IT.FindingsThis review shows the importance of continuous innovation, stakeholder integration, shared visions and early adoption which were frequently highlighted in RBV studies. The literature studies concerning Green IT also point out the importance of these resources for Green IT performance. Drawing upon this, it is also believed that these firm resources identified from environmental literature are also applicable in Green IT context.Research limitations/implicationsSome limitations of this study have been encountered and are as follows: First, the search was performed within a limited time frame. Second, different search terms might have yielded more results. Third, the classification of the firm's resources might be different from the point of view of others. Nonetheless, the authors believe this review can be used as a guide for future integrative resource‐based Green IT studies. Future confirmatory studies could empirically validate these relationships. The role of mediating and moderating variables that could enhance Green IT practice can also be further investigated. This could contribute to the knowledge concerning the application of RBV in the Green IT context.Originality/valueThe paper helps to shed light on a firm's resources for environmental capability coming from different industries, which contributes towards an understanding of these theories from wider perspectives, including environmental sustainability, in the IT context.
Knowledge sharing barriers in global teams
Authors: Wendling Marcelo , Oliveira Mírian , Carlos Gastaud Maçada Antonio 
Published: July 2013

PurposeThe creation of offshore units allows companies to invest in countries that offer tax incentives, and provides global presence. Nevertheless, knowledge sharing in global teams may be challenger. The aim of this paper is to analyze the barriers of knowledge sharing in global teams.Design/methodology/approachThis is a qualitative research based on interviews in two firms.FindingsThe interviewees confirmed the relevance of the barriers to knowledge sharing identified in the literature. The interviewees also cited other four barriers: technology, professional skills, cost and methodology of software development. Other results were: the relationship between the barriers, for example, cultural differences are negatively related to absorptive capacity; and, the barriers could also be enablers for knowledge sharing.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations identified were: the use the interview as the only form of data collection, since the firms did not authorize the collection of documents; the interviews were conducted in two ways, in person for those residing in the same city as the researchers and via Skype® for those who were in another city; the findings are based on two case studies of two different firms and are not generalizable.Originality/valueThis research offers a new perspective and a better understanding of the interaction and relationships among knowledge sharing barriers. The results of this research may be useful for academics and organizations because they deepen the discussion on knowledge sharing in global teams, and also show the reality of two organizations in the technology sector in relation to this subject.