bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Corporate disclosure and financing arrangements
Authors: Hasan Iftekhar , Song Liang , Zhan Meisong , Zhang Peng , Zhang Zhaoguo 
Published: July 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to explore how firms’ disclosure standards influence the syndicated loan market, with an emphasis on loan syndicate structure and composition.

Design/methodology/approach
– To empirically investigate the effects of corporate disclosure on bank loan syndicate structure and composition, the authors hand-match Dealscan, Worldscope, and other databases and construct a sample across 11 emerging markets.

Findings
– The authors found that lead banks retain less ownership and form a less-concentrated loan syndicate when borrowers have superior disclosure policies. The authors also concluded that lead banks select more foreign participants in a loan syndicate and these members retain more ownership when borrowers have high disclosure rankings. Finally, the authors present evidence that the relationship between corporate disclosure and bank loan syndicates is more significant for firms with better governance.

Originality/value
– The findings suggest that corporate disclosure has a significant influence on financing arrangements, even in a weak governance environment.
Do problem directors affect firm operating performance?
Authors: Bhuiyan Md. Borhan Uddin 
Published: July 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the consequences of having problem directors on the board with respect to operating performance. Problem directors are directors who have a past history of managerial integrity weakness.Design/methodology/approach– This paper uses three measures of operating performance to investigate the impact of problem directors and applies regression analysis to data from S & P 500 companies from 2004 to 2009.Findings– The author found evidence for the problem that director affiliated firms have more board and independent members. The CEO dual firm has a comparatively higher number of problem directors on the board. Firm operating performance is reduced when a board is served by a problem director. The results are consistent for a number of sensitivity tests.Practical implications– Results provide evidence that firms have negative performance consequences when monitored by a director with a lack of managerial integrity. The practical implication of this study is that corporate boards should appoint directors who have a clean professional background so that more vigilant monitoring by directors can be ensured.Originality/value– This study goes beyond the traditional focus on corporate governance and firm performance. The author uses problem directors as an indicator of governance quality to measure firm performance. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first to investigate the consequences of firms holding problem directors on the board. This issue has implications for investors, auditors, directors and regulators.
Neither-nor: career success of women in an Arab Middle Eastern context
Authors: Tlaiss Hayfaa 
Published: July 2015

Purpose– Few studies examine the career success of women in the Arab Middle East. With that in mind, the purpose of this paper is to explore the conceptualizations of the career success of women managers in Lebanon. Drawing on the individual, behavioral, and structural approaches, this study also investigates the women’s approaches to career success. Capitalizing on the institutional theory (IT), the current investigation accounts for the complexity of the local context by illustrating how a diverse set of socio-cultural values and norms, institutional constraints, and individual agency impact the overall experience of career success among Arab women.Design/methodology/approach– This study is exploratory in nature and draws on a qualitative approach. In-depth, face-to-face, open-ended interviews were conducted with women managers across the managerial hierarchy in a wide range of industries, sectors, and organizations.Findings– The findings suggest that the Lebanese women managers’ career success was not conceptualized exclusively using the objective or the subjective measures. Rather, it was conceptualized on a continuum between these measures, thus challenging the rigid objective/subjective dichotomy in the context of Lebanon. The results also suggest that the career success of these women managers is better predicted and explained by the individual and behavioral approaches than by the traditional, structural approach. This empirical work sheds light on the gendered working conditions that women experience and how they capitalize on their individual agency to survive the hegemonic masculinity embedded in their workplaces, along with the inequalities that it promotes.Originality/value– This study is the first to explore the conceptualizations and the determinants of the career success of women managers in Lebanon. However, the originality of this paper is not only limited to its contribution to the limited research on the careers of Arab women; it also extends to its usage of various approaches to predict career success as well as to adapt IT as a theoretical framework for capturing the myriad of factors that impact women’s careers and success. The originality of this study also lies in advancing the theoretical concept of hegemonic masculinity into studies looking at Arab women’s career experiences by shedding some light on how the reproduction of gender, gendered working practices, and agency impact their career success.
Small firm training: just meeting the day-to-day needs of the business
Authors: Barrett Rowena 
Published: July 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore what the attitudes of small firm owner-managers are to developing the skills of their key resources and then examine how these and other factors affect owner-managers’ preferences for training these employees.Design/methodology/approach– This study of training in small road transport firms in West Australia is cast in light of the literature on human resource management in small firms underpinned by insights drawn using the resource based view of the firm. Small firms (less than 20 people) dominate this industry, while the increasing freight task, and extreme distances between West Australian ports, towns and mines highlight this sectors’ importance. Survey results from 39 small road transport firms and interviews with nine owner-managers are analysed.Findings– Legislative, regulatory and licensing requirements were shown to be a key determinant of skills development. Employers ensured that basic standards for employee certification and qualification were met, as the penalty for not doing so would be too high. Regulations drove the need for certain types of training – licenses, fatigue management, occupational health and safety, handling dangerous goods, the Maritime Security Identification Card card, forklift license, mine site inductions – while owner-managers knew where to get the training their staff needed. Although regulation appeared most visible in prescribing what happened in relation to training for drivers, the relevance of owner-managers’ attitudes could not be ignored, nor could conditions in the firms external environment as this shaped how these requirements were met.Research limitations/implications– The RBV is useful in showing how skill development enabled similarity in skills across firms, while the attitudes owner-managers and economic and social conditions meant what happened in firms around skill development varied. The importance of small firm owner-managers’ attitudes are clearly highlighted and shown to influence organizational decisions and choices around training, but these were not independent of the regulatory framework and the economic and social conditions within which the firm operated. The small firms in this study did engage workers in formal training when necessary but it was put in the context of the idiosyncratic approach of the owner-manager and the day-to-day needs of the firm. “Training” was essentially about ensuring certain types of skills were held by employees and then passing on knowledge to ensure the behavior of employees was consistent with the owner-manager’s vision for the firm in its current environment.Originality/value– Ways industry and government can encourage training activity that goes beyond the day-to-day firm needs are suggested.
A study of the psycho, social,
&
economic impact of a US Habitat for Humanity affiliate
Authors: Eriks Christine , Decker Phillip J , Ainsworth Natalie , Ward Rachel , Durand Roger , Mitchell Jordan , Beck Courtney 
Published: July 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to inform funders and potential funders alike of the likely outcomes of their financial contributions. Additionally, the authors reported on the assessment of the underlying logic model or theoretical underpinnings of what the authors will term the “Habitat Model.”

Design/methodology/approach
– This study utilized a one-shot case study design to obtain data. In a one-shot case study the experimental group is exposed to the independent variable (X), then observations of the dependent variable (O) were made. No observations were made before the independent variable was introduced. A one-shot case study design was necessary as this is the first impact study conducted by BAHFH because of the changes within BAHFH over the years as well as the lack of consistent archival data on families and operations.

Findings
– Most of the feedback obtained from stakeholders was positive. Many of the demographic variables showed significant improvement in partner family life style since moving into a Habitat house.

Practical implications
– The findings of this study provide evidence of positive economic, social, and psychological impacts on families participating in BAHFH homeownership and on their communities. It also showed substantial economic impacts on the communities served. Furthermore, this study showed that other stakeholders in the process were substantially and positively impacted. Finally, this study pointed to a number of things that BAHFH needed to change such as homeowner education, financial counseling, and the opening of a local ReStore.

Originality/value
– The current study provides data that provide evidence of positive economic, social, and psychological impacts on families participating in BAHFH homeownership opportunities.
Crisis management: the spiritual aspects of victim recovery in serious crime
Authors: Afful Irene , Williams Alexander 
Published: July 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to explore crisis management in terms of the spiritual aspects of victim recovery. The paper focuses, in particular, on victims of serious crime.

Design/methodology/approach
– The paper reviews the available literature on crisis management, serious crime, spirituality and pastoral support to determine their impact on trauma recovery. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with a number of police chaplains and a hospital chaplain, in addition to police family liaison officers and witness care officers, who have in-depth involvement with victims of serious crime, to explore the support available and identify gaps against existing theory.

Findings
– Spiritual/pastoral support is available to police officers in the form of police chaplains. Their support is reported to be valuable in the crisis recovery process. Hospital patients report such support as integral to mental and emotional well-being and recovery. Victims of serious crime are not offered such pastoral services through the criminal justice system, though other more practical needs are provided for. This gap could have implications for the effectiveness of the criminal justice process.

Research limitations/implications
– The research is an exploratory study and seeks to open up debate in this arena. The research is localised to a specific region and may not generalise nationally/internationally.

Practical implications
– The paper evaluates the role and import of spiritual support in trauma recovery, makes a number of recommendations to plug the gap in current provision to victims of serious crime and suggests directions for further research in this area.

Social implications
– There are limited social implications.

Originality/value
– There has been very limited research conducted in this specific area and this paper seeks to redress this gap and suggests opportunities for further research to enhance victim crisis recovery and participation in the criminal justice process.
Capturing the citizen perspective in crisis management exercises: possibilities and challenges
Authors: Scott David , Brandow Carina , Hobbins Jennifer , Nilsson Sofia , Enander Ann 
Published: July 2015

Purpose– Supporting and communicating with citizens is a vital part of societal crisis management. Training exercises may offer an opportunity to develop capabilities among managers in this regard. The purpose of this paper is to examine this potential in an analysis of how citizens were portrayed and perceived by participants in a major crisis management exercise.Design/methodology/approach– Observation, document analysis and short interviews during the exercise were used as data collection methods. Data were subjected to thematic analysis to capture core themes in relation to the research aim.Findings– Patterns in how citizens’ reactions were portrayed in the exercise were identified to form a citizen behaviour typology. Observations during the exercise also demonstrated some of the challenges in incorporating the citizen perspective. However, findings regarding the perception of the citizen perspective also demonstrate the ability of exercise participants to meet and respond to public behaviours with respect and seriousness.Originality/value– Variation is an important condition for learning in exercises, and the identified typology is suggested as a starting point for achieving this in incorporation of the citizen perspective in training scenarios. The results of the study are discussed in terms of a learning framework with the aim of explicitly developing crisis managers’ ability to interact and communicate with citizens in crisis situations.
Challenges in the deployment of LSS in the higher education sector
Authors: Antony Jiju 
Published: July 2015

Purpose
– Although Lean Six Sigma (LSS) has been widely accepted today by more than 70 per cent Fortune 500 companies, its applications in the public sector are not widely observed and reported due to a number of challenges. The purpose of this paper is to present some of the fundamental challenges in the deployment of LSS within the higher education (HE) context.

Design/methodology/approach
– The author uses primary data in the form of opinions or viewpoints from leading academics and parishioners around the world. The viewpoints were collected carefully to have a good balance between the leading academics and the LSS practitioners.

Findings
– The challenges of LSS implementation in HE can be classified into three categories: organisational, technical and individual challenges. Lack of visionary leadership for LSS journey from top management team in the HE sector makes the deployment a total failure. The difficulty of defining and measuring quality in a HE setting along with collecting relevant and accurate data can be an immense technical challenge in any university sector. Moreover the lack of staff engagement, full academic freedom and autonomy will be a personal challenge for those who are involved in the business process improvement initiative such as LSS.

Research limitations/implications
– Due to limited time constraints, the number of people participated in the study was relatively small. However, the author argues that this study can provide a good foundation to various researchers and practitioners in further exploring the challenges in the implementation and deployment of LSS in any HE setting.

Practical implications
– The findings of the study can be very useful to those who get involved in the application of LSS principles for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of HE processes.

Originality/value
– This paper makes an attempt to reveal some of the rudimentary challenges in the deployment of LSS within the HE setting. These challenges should be taken into account when any HE sector embarks on the LSS initiative.
Problems and prospects of providing library and information services to the prisoners in Nigeria
Authors: Eze Jacintha Ukamaka 
Published: July 2015

Purpose– The purposes of this paper were to find out the problematic factors in providing library and information services to Nigeria prisoners and the strategies for solving them, thereby enhancing adequate provision of the required services to these prisoners.Design/methodology/approach– Seven main prisons were used for the study with a population of about 6,430 prisoners and 21 prison library/welfare workers. The sample size was 1,322 prisoners and the whole 21 workers. Questionnaires and focus group discussion (FGD) were the main instruments used for data collection. Data from the questionnaire were analyzed using frequencies and mean scores while data from FGD were analyzed descriptively.Findings– Major findings showed that problems like funding, censorship of reading materials, restrictions due to prison policy and staffing hinder to a high extent the provision of library and information services for these prisoners. Also, improved funding of the prisons and prison libraries, services and resource sharing with other libraries, NGOs and other information providers were all seen as strategies to enhance adequate library and information services provision to the prisoners.Originality/value– Library and information services are needed by everybody in today’s society. Prisoners, although incarcerated, will find useful a variety of library and information services provided to them. This paper delved into the problems of providing library and information services to Nigeria prisoners. The results of the study, if adhered to by the Nigerian prison authorities, will help a great deal in making the prisoners better citizens after release.
Firm characteristics, board diversity and corporate social responsibility
Authors: Muttakin Mohammad Badrul , Khan Arifur , Subramaniam Nava 
Published: July 2015

Purpose
– This study aims to purport to investigate the relationship between firm size, profitability, board diversity (namely, director gender and nationality) and the extent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures within a developing nation context.

Design/methodology/approach
– The dataset comprises 116 listed Bangladeshi non-financial companies for the period of 2005-2009. A CSR disclosure checklist was used to measure the extent of CSR disclosures in the annual reports and a multiple regression analysis to examine its association with firm characteristics and two board diversity features – female and foreign directorship.

Findings
– Results indicate that large and more profitable firms provide more CSR disclosures. It was also found that female directorship has a negative association with CSR disclosures, while foreign directorship has a positive impact on such disclosures. This paper documents that CSR disclosures decrease further when family ownership is higher and there are more female directors on the board.

Originality/value
– This study extends empirical evidence on the association between firm characteristics, board diversity and CSR disclosure practices from a developing nation context. Furthermore, this study also reveals that female directors’ impact on firm disclosures may differ between developing and developed nations, and somewhat impeded in the latter. This paper also provides empirical evidence on the importance of appointment of foreign nationals on the boards of developing countries to influence CSR practices.
Engaging fans through social media: implications for team identification
Authors: Meng Matthew D. , Stavros Constantino , Westberg Kate 
Published: July 2015

Purpose
– The ubiquity of social media provides sport organizations with opportunities to communicate with fans and as a result, potentially strengthen team identification. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to emerging research on the nature of social media use by sport organizations by examining the platforms adopted over a three-year period by National Basketball Association (NBA) teams and the way in which social media is used to communicate and engage with fans.

Design/methodology/approach
– A content analysis was used to examine online comments posted by all 30 teams in the NBA on Facebook and Twitter during the off-season.

Findings
– The results demonstrate that NBA teams have embraced social media, primarily using four different types of communication to engage fans: Informing, Marketing, Personalizing and Activating.

Practical implications
– The authors establish that social media is an effective vehicle for sport organizations to engage with fans and to enhance team identification. The data suggests that teams should make a concerted effort in their communications, where possible, to personalize communications, genuinely inform and involve fans and provide relevant marketing communications, all of which can be effectively implemented within existing marketing efforts.

Originality/value
– This is the first study to examine the direct use of social media by sport organizations and its potential for enhancing team identification.
East Asian college consumer decision-making styles for sport products
Authors: Bae John , Lu-Anderson Doris , Fujimoto Junya , Richelieu Andre 
Published: July 2015

Purpose
– Purchasing behaviors have been studied in various countries. Previous studies involving consumer decision-making styles for sport products have only been seen in one country in order to either identify factors of Purchase Style Inventory for Sport Products (PSISP) or classify consumer shopping behaviors. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to identify consumers’ decision-making styles (shopping styles) for sport products from Japanese, Singaporean, and Taiwanese college-aged consumers.

Design/methodology/approach
– The scale of PSISP was adapted to measure consumer decision-making styles (shopping styles) for sport products. This instrument is composed of 35 items under nine dimensions. CFA, 3 (Nationality) × 2 (Gender) MANOVA and ANOVA were employed.

Findings
– According to the results of this study, there were significant different decision-making styles among three different countries in East Asia. Overall, Japanese male and female college-aged students exhibited higher brand consciousness than Singaporean and Taiwanese males and females.

Research limitations/implications
– As consumers from different countries show different lifestyle, education, economic, religion, and culture, they might have their unique shopping styles. Therefore, the dimensions related to decision-making styles need to be explored, and the scale needs to be validated using a substantial sport industry sample in the future study.

Practical implications
– This study helps East Asian advertisers or markets to rethink and develop appropriate marketing strategies as well as to understand the different decision-making styles of local consumers and better approach new and existing consumer markets.

Originality/value
– This paper is important for international sports marketers to predict consumer shopping patterns and maintain proper inventory levels, particularly when marketing in global markets.