bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Governance at South African state‐owned enterprises: what do annual reports and the print media tell us?
Authors: Thomas Adèle 
Published: September 2012

PurposeThe overall objective of the study was to track, over a two‐year period, the reported incidences of corporate governance transgressions at five strategic South African state‐owned enterprises (SOEs).Design/methodology/approachTransgressions for each SOE were documented against the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development's framework of best practice in governance for SOEs by reviewing annual reports and newspaper article citations over a two‐year period.FindingsWhile political intervention in the operational running of each SOE is apparent, government appears not to have fulfilled its oversight role of ensuring the sound governance of SOEs according to best practices. While the SOEs appear to comply with external governance demands, compliance to internal, self‐regulated governance appears to be lacking.Research limitations/implicationsThe use of annual reports and media reports to document governance practices are open to subjectivity. The broader extrapolation of findings based on five SOEs must be undertaken with caution.Practical implicationsThe present study alerts government to potential areas of corporate governance practices at South African SOEs that warrant attention. As South Africa has recently joined the BRICS bloc of developing countries, the findings from the present study could afford a starting point for future comparative study among this group of countries, which appears to evidence similar challenges with regard to governance within their SOEs.Originality/valueThe present study begins to elevate the debate on corporate governance at South African SOEs from public rhetoric to a deeper understanding of the nature of the major problems that warrant attention. Although limited in scope, the study contributes to the scarce academic literature on public sector corporate governance in Africa in general, and in the South African SOE sector in particular.
Determinants of audit committees' activity: evidence from the UK
Authors: Adelopo Ismail , Jallow Kumba , Scott Peter 
Published: September 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to revisit the determinants of audit committee activity in UK listed companies after over a decade since the last investigation of this matter and with numerous significant changes in the regulatory and corporate governance framework globally.Design/methodology/approachUnderpinned by agency theory, the study undertakes a multiple regression analysis of listed companies in the UK in order to determine the determinants of the activity of the audit committees in these companies.FindingsThe study finds that audit committee activity is an increasing function of boards' independence and diligence. Interestingly, it also finds a significant negative relationship between audit committee activity and ownership structure. A higher number of large shareholders with at least 3 percent of the firm's issued equity share capital are associated with a decrease in a committee's activity. Audit committee expertise, size and the availability of an audit committee charter were not significant determinants of audit committee activity.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings from the study suggest the need for more research into the factors that can explain the determinants of the activity of the audit committees in the UK and elsewhere. It also opens up the discussion on the effects of changing global corporate behaviors on corporate governance mechanisms.Practical implicationsThis study shows that there is a positive relationship between board independence and the activity of the audit committees. In other words, to improve the performance of the audit committees in UK listed companies, board independence should be increased. There also seems to be substitution between governance mechanisms. The presence of large shareholders slowed the activity of the audit committees, as evidenced in a significant negative relationship.Originality/valueThe study revisits the determinants of the audit committees after over a decade since the initial investigation in the UK. However, the study is undertaken in a very different context with far‐reaching changes in the corporate landscape and regulations.
Objectivism in organization/management knowledge: an example of Bourdieu's “mutilation”?
Authors: Green Miriam 
Published: September 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine what counts as knowledge in the organization/management field.Design/methodology/approachConventional, legitimated knowledge is analyzed through research into representations of an influential management text. Management and management accounting textbooks and research papers are investigated to establish the types of knowledge produced.FindingsMainstream representations of this book are partial, focusing on a “model” of what is likely to ensure successful organizational change – structural and systemic adaptations. What has been ignored is the problematization of structural change and the role of human agency. The foci and omissions of these representations cohere with divisions in the social sciences more generally – between “objectivist” and “subjectivist” ontologies and epistemologies.Research limitations/implicationsThere is a need for further research into representations of texts about organizational change, the way the objectivist/subjectivist divide is played out, and its significance for organization/management studies and more widely for the social sciences.Practical implicationsQuestions arise as to the validity and sustainability of such knowledge. Omissions about the difficulties in implementing structural change raise epistemological and practical difficulties for students, managers and consultants.Social implicationsOmissions of human subjectivities and agency from mainstream knowledge is problematic regarding successful organizational change and social issues more widely.Originality/valueThe paper's value lies in the in‐depth analysis of representations of a text in the organization/management area and the linking of the type of knowledge produced with broader epistemological and methodological issues in the social sciences.
Corporate social responsibility reporting in Qatar: a descriptive analysis
Authors: Abdulla AlNaimi Hend , Hossain Mohammed , Ahmed Momin Mahmood 
Published: September 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the current status and extent of corporate social responsibility reporting (CSRR) in the annual reports of Qatari companies listed on the Qatar Exchange. It seeks to contribute to the meagre descriptive literature on CSRR in emerging economies in general, and in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in particular.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews the annual reports of companies from both the financial and manufacturing sectors. The paper uses content analysis and covers five areas of CSR reporting including environment, human resources, product development, community involvement and others relating to inequality and the employment of disabled people.FindingsThe paper finds that most companies disclosed information related to human resources and product development, followed by community involvement. However, no companies reported environmental issues in their annual reports.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is based on annual reports for the financial year 2007. Hence, the conclusions reached cannot be generalized. A longitudinal analysis is needed to highlight trends in CSRR practices in Qatar. An in‐depth case study would also facilitate our understanding of why companies are making or not making certain types of social and environmental disclosure in Qatar.Originality/valueDescriptions of CSRR in different parts of the world are still welcome, and arguably CSRR research in GCC in general and Qatar in particular is very limited.
Measurement of corporate social performance: an Indian perspective
Authors: Kansal Monika , Singh Sukhdev 
Published: September 2012

PurposeThis paper aims to: design a comprehensive, review‐based and statistically tested corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) index; measure item‐wise and theme‐wise the social performance of the top 82 companies in India; and investigate item‐wise and theme‐wise the variations in CSRD.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents an empirical study of CSRD in 2009‐2010, using content analysis, Cronbach's α, the Kolmogorov‐Smirnov and Shapiro‐Wilk tests of normality and a six point scale (0‐5), mean, skewness, kurtosis, and Levene's, Kruskal‐Wallis's and Mood's median tests for analysis and interpretation.FindingsCSRD shows less satisfactory social performance, mainly narrative, and varies significantly among items and themes. Community development, with a mean score of 14.30, is the most disclosed theme, followed by HR, with a score of 11.20. The human element is the center of social performance in India. More than equal focus should be given to the environment and to emissions, which impact the greater interests of the world. Some burning global issues like water usage, alternative sources of energy, product safety and innovation have not received adequate attention.Research limitations/implicationsThe study offers ample scope for the further studies as each and every theme and item considered in the model/index requires individual focus to serve the future generations of mankind. Longitudinal/transnational studies in the area of CSR could be carried out to set the scene for further studies.Practical implicationsThe paper recommends mandatory CSR norms leading to improved disclosure, the sharing of innovative knowledge, cost reductions and enhanced effectiveness in managing scarce resources.Originality/valueThe paper evaluates social performance in the economic, social, religious environment and highlights the emerging philanthropic attitude. The paper improves an existing model by incorporating an emerging dimension, i.e. “Emissions of carbon and other harmful gases”. The CSEEE index designed here is highly appropriate for developing economies like India. The paper measures CSRD using six‐point scales for the first time.
Corporate social responsibility, ethics, and corporate governance
Authors: Trong Tuan Luu 
Published: September 2012

PurposeThis inquiry into companies listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE) in Vietnam seeks to discern whether such constructs as corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ethics act as antecedents for corporate governance.Design/methodology/approachThree hundred and seventeen responses returned from self‐administered structured questionnaires relayed to 1,173 middle level managers were analyzed via ANOVAs and structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsFrom the results an interplay emerged between the ethics of justice and legal CSR/economic CSR. The ethics of care, on the other hand, tend to cultivate ethical CSR, which in turn positively influences corporate governance.Originality/valueFrom the results of the research, insight into the linkage pattern of corporate governance and its antecedents highlights the magnitude of the ethics training program as well as CSR initiatives in reinforcing corporate governance in listed companies in Vietnam.
Institutionalization in cultural industries
Authors: Almond Bradley A. , DeJordy Rich 
Published: September 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to more closely examine the relationship between traditional cultural practices and the commercial products that are derived from and inspired by them. Existing institutional approaches to the cultural industries have been limited in their scope and empirical focus. This paper seeks to correct those oversights.Design/methodology/approachThe paper utilizes a focused historical case study of traditional Irish music, drawing from the myriad resources on the subject housed in the Boston College Irish Music Collection.FindingsA unique and parallel production system in traditional Irish music was identified – a symbiotic and mutually reinforcing relationship between traditional social practices and derivative commercial products that has not yet been articulated within institutional approaches to the cultural industries.Research limitations/implicationsBy applying DiMaggio and Powell's totality of relevant actors criterion in organizational fields the authors identify and describe the significant contributions of a class of social actors, who have been been marginalized in research on cultural industries.Practical implicationsThe research has implications for practitioners in cultural industries – whether social entrepreneurs who wish to preserve or propagate traditional social practices or commercial entrepreneurs who wish to profit from them. The paper describes a symbiotic and sustainable relationship between these two classes of social actors and models a type of social entrepreneurship that can potentially be applied in other contexts.Originality/valueBoth empirically and conceptually, the paper offers fresh insights into cultural industries and institutional theory.
Claude Blanchet, entrepreneur, intrapreneur and public sector manager
Authors: Jacques Filion Louis , Chirita Mircea‐Gabriel 
Published: September 2012

PurposeClaude Blanchet was the first Director General of the Société de développement des coopératives du Québec (Cooperative Development Corporation), founding President of the FTQ's Fonds de solidarité (Quebec Federation of Labour Solidarity Fund) and Chief Executive Officer of the SGF (Société générale de financement du Québec, or General Investment Corporation of Québec). His lifelong passion has been to support the development of Québec, and he describes himself as being primarily a “builder of collective firms.” The purpose of this paper is to describe the life of a man who was exposed to an entrepreneurial culture from early childhood.Design/methodology/approachThe paper takes the form of a case study – interview with the intrapreneur.FindingsThe paper shows that Claude Blanchet's values changed significantly as a result of his involvement in social movements. His goal became to build a modern Québec state. One of the elements characterizing his entire career is undoubtedly his courage in choosing to take unusual paths. This desire to explore and conquer new spaces is shared by most entrepreneurial actors. However, Claude Blanchet did it for reasons related to the development of Québec society.Originality/valueOne of the notable features of this case is the unusual career path taken by Claude Blanchet.
A better method to estimate price change in single family housing
Authors: Epley Donald 
Published: September 2012

PurposeThis paper aims to compare a median‐to‐median estimate of residential price change to the FHFA home price index composed of repeat sales. Further, it seeks to use the complete population of closed sales. The conceptual issue is the use of a “typical” or average comparison through time as opposed to properties where attributes and their marginal prices are held constant.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses the total population of closed sales rather than a sample. A time series for median price changes is compared to the FHFA time series. The medians for the complete population are the benchmarks, as the median parameter is the true value.FindingsThe study finds that the quarterly FHFA price changes do not capture market movements following a major external shock such as a tropical storm. Further, the FHFA data originate in mortgage applications which are not characteristic of the local market. The conclusion is that a median comparison is better, all deed recordings should be used, and repeat sales are not always a valid tool.Research limitations/implicationsAcquiring the data set of all deed transactions involved a budget which may be available to all analysts.Practical implicationsThe practical applications are enormous. The results cast doubts on the FHFA home price index and the Case Shiller index. The paper supports the method used by the National Association of Realtors.Social implicationsAll researchers interested in local real estate markets are concerned about the best method to measure changes in local demand and supply market conditions. This project presents a method to use that is sound conceptually and statistically. The reason is that the goal is to measure changes in the “typical”, or average, property over time.Originality/valueThe literature abounds with repeat sale papers. This paper gives an alternative and avoids the many flaws with paired sales. It should have a wide readership.
Resistance to change in Indian, Chinese and Estonian organizations
Authors: Pihlak Ülle , Alas Ruth 
Published: September 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how cultural differences influence change management in Indian, Chinese and Estonian organisations. The paper focuses mainly on the resistance to change and contributes to management research and management practices in multinational companies by improving the understanding of cultural influences on organisational change management.Design/methodology/approachThe authors interviewed 177 business consultants and managers in India, China and Estonia who had participated in change management projects. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyze the impact of national culture to change management.FindingsThe cause of resistance was found to be mainly fear, in Indian and Estonian organisations, but in Chinese organizations it was the inertia. Increased stress was the most often experienced negative factor during change management projects in all three countries. Stress was caused mainly by leadership problems in India and by increased workload in Estonia. To overcome the resistance, communication was used in India and education together with communication both in Estonia and in China most often. Still, the content of these activities was different.Research limitations/implicationsThe interviewees had different relations to the organisations they described and the size of organizations was different.Practical implicationsThe paper's findings will help managers of multinational companies to understand the causes of resistance to change in different countries and plan the methods to overcome such resistance.Originality/valuePapers such as this, about the effect of culture on change management, are increasingly important due to rapid globalization.
Emerging HRM skills in Australia
Authors: Kramar Robin , Steane Peter 
Published: September 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report on a study which explores trends in the role (what is done) of human resources (HR) in general and the role of line managers in managing people. The study developed from claims for the transformation of the HR role. It aims to explore trends in the role and new competencies which are being developed.Design/methodology/approachThe authors carried out qualitative, semi‐structured interviews of 53 HR professionals across a range of industries and organisational sizes.FindingsThe findings indicate that managers expect HR will increasingly encompass responsibilities for developing human capital as a strategic imperative of business, as well as the traditional operational executor/functional expert roles.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the paper identifies competencies expected in the HR role at present, as well as emerging competencies required by both HR and line managers, it invites a more generalizable study in the future.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest a greater shift in strategic importance for HRM. Emergent competencies in other areas are identified, such as advocacy, conflict management, and succession and leadership development.Originality/valueThe paper shows that both HR and line managers will continue to be functional specialists, with a trend for role‐segmentation in the profession, as well as showing a need for a different mix of competencies, depending on career path and time.
Spatial transferring of the high‐tech industry in China: the perspective of specialization
Authors: Sun Yi , Wang Zheng , Ma Shengnan 
Published: September 2012

PurposeHigh‐tech industry transferring shows different features to the transferring of the traditional industries. In order to explain those special features in China, the purpose of this paper is to build a new conceptual model for high‐tech industry transferring and explore some empirical evidence.Design/methodology/approachThis paper employs a perspective of specialization to analyze high‐tech industry transferring and a primary conceptual analytical model is discussed. Key models and methodologies are the industrial gravity center model, dynamic modes analysis, character induction and mechanism deduction method.FindingsThe features of high‐tech industry transferring within the China context include fast, surge, inverse‐gradient, as well as agglomeration and specification transferring. Based on the transfer pattern, high‐tech industry transferring modes are classified into two categories: vibration transferring and surge transferring.Originality/valueUsing a conceptual model, this paper analyzes the features of high‐tech industry transferring in China and proposes two typical patterns to explain how the industries transfer and what are the dynamic mechanisms. In order to improve high‐tech industry transferring in China, five policy implications are recommended.
The effect of trust in system reliability on the intention to adopt online accounting systems
Authors: Greenberg Robert , Li Wei , Wong‐On‐Wing Bernard 
Published: September 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine whether the three principles in the SysTrust® service converge on a single construct to measure potential users' trust in the reliability of a system, and whether trust in the reliability of a system, as defined by the three SysTrust principles, affects potential users' intent to use the system.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the authors provide potential users with hands‐on experience with the online accounting system offered by Oracle Small Business Suites®. The authors subsequently assess their perception of the extent to which the system meets the three SysTrust principles, and their intent to use the system.FindingsThe results show that potential users' perceptions of the three SysTrust principles converge on one factor, suggesting that they are indicative of the trust in system reliability as proposed by the AICPA and CICA. Moreover, the study shows that trust in system reliability, as defined by the three SysTrust principles, influences potential users' intent to adopt an online system.Originality/valueThis study is the only one to provide evidence that the SysTrust principles provide a valid means to holistically assess system reliability as needed by potential users of a system. This study also extends the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by including two unique trust components in the examination of online behaviors. The extended TAM shows that potential users' trust in system reliability and their trust in the internet interactively influence the intentions of these users to adopt online systems.