bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Challenges for Australian fashion
Authors: Craik Jennifer 
Published: February 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges facing the Australian fashion industry (textile, clothing and footwear or TCF sector). Just at the point where Australian fashion has achieved international attention for its distinctive design practice, the industry is on the point of collapse. Since the 1980s, radical re-structuring aimed at reducing industry protection to encourage greater international competitiveness and innovation. Key policies have included tariff reduction, new forms of industry assistance, new manufacturing techniques, changing retail forms, and reform of employment and workplace conditions.Design/methodology/approach– Overview of recent trends in the Australian fashion industry due to industry policies and the effects of globalisation.Findings– Severe decline in industry viability.Originality/value– Important multifaceted analysis of the state of the industry and tracking of effects of government policies.
Consumer behavior of generational cohorts for compression sportswear
Authors: Rahulan Monika , Troynikov Olga , Watson Chris , Janta Marius , Senner Veit 
Published: February 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to understand the difference in purchase decision behavior of compression sportswear by Baby Boomers and Generation Y.

Design/methodology/approach
– Two methods were used for data collection: a simulation study with 17 Baby Boomers and 23 Generation Y subjects using eye-tracking technology; and a questionnaire from a sample of 82 Baby Boomers and 84 Generation Y consumers.

Findings
– Generation Y are more inquisitive and focus greatly on technical information. Baby Boomers are more confident with their choices, taking a shorter time to reach a purchase decision; they are more concerned with aspects that protect the wearer.

Research limitations/implications
– Limited demographic information was collected from participants in the simulation study, further research is required in this area.

Practical implications
– This study provides important insights into the purchase decision behavior of Baby Boomers and Generation Y for compression sportswear. By providing better understanding of some of the key drivers for purchase decisions it enables marketers to develop more effective marketing plans to engage with these important consumer groups.

Social implications
– The focus and findings of this study provide further understanding of the motivations of two significant consumer cohorts. This study provides further momentum to the body of cohort research already available.

Originality/value
– This study addresses a gap in literature with reference to the comparison of consumer behavior of generational cohorts when purchasing compression sportswear. Findings can be applied in other areas of sportswear and to other countries.
Fashion orientation, shopping mall environment, and patronage intentions
Authors: Michon Richard , Chebat Jean-Charles , Yu Hong , Lemarié Linda 
Published: February 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore female fashion shoppers’ perception and response to the mall environment. Specific objectives include a conceptual model of female fashion shoppers’ experience in a mall environment incorporating fashion orientation, store personality, shopping mall perception, shopping value, and patronage intentions.Design/methodology/approach– Empirical testing is done with a latent path structural equation model. Data collection was carried out in a firmly controlled mall intercept survey which produced 312 usable questionnaires.Findings– Results show that shoppers’ fashion orientation hypothesized to be a personality trait is not an antecedent to the perception of the mall environment. Instead, fashion orientation moderates the perception of product and service quality, hedonic shoppers’ response, and patronage intentions. The perceived mall personality has a focussed impact on the perception of product and service quality. The mall’s sophistication image influences the perception of product quality. On the other hand, the mall’s enthusiasm image atmosphere affects the perception of service quality. Perceptions of product and service quality are correlated and trigger positive hedonic and utilitarian shopping benefits.Research limitations/implications– Because findings from this study cannot be generalized to other situations, the research should be replicated to a variety of mall formats and shopper segments. Furthermore, other fashion-orientation factors (fashion leadership, fashion interest, and anti-fashion attitude) should be considered. However, along with model complexities, increased sample sizes are also required. Future studies may also include male shoppers to investigate differences in fashion motivation and mall shopping experience.Practical implications– It is concluded that the person-place congruency theory is confirmed and that the shoppers’ fashion orientation should be included in the set of segmentation variables. Shopping malls cannot be everything to everyone without risking diluting their image. Downtown urban malls have the opportunity to adopt a well-defined positioning in order to differentiate themselves. Large suburban malls should partition themselves to remove image ambiguities. Mall managers must primarily work on the “meaning” of the mall atmosphere rather “mood.” Fashion shoppers are task oriented. Mall managers should design malls to facilitate the shopping experience with highly functional designs, simple layout, and clear signage in support of wayfinding.Originality/value– Although fashion consumers have been studied from diverse perspectives, there is limited research on the experience of fashion shoppers in a mall setting. This study partly fills this gap in the literature by investigating how female fashion shoppers respond to the shopping center environment and commit to mall patronage.
Green building technology initiatives to achieve construction quality and environmental sustainability in the construction industry in Malaysia
Authors: Sim Yeong Liang , Putuhena Frederik Josep 
Published: February 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to identify mechanisms and approaches involved in the local construction industry to enhance environmental concerns and the adoption of capacity development model to manage the environment and up keeping of the quality in Malaysian construction industry.

Design/methodology/approach
– This paper describes an innovative approach to understanding the role of internal and external influence through LEGO® concept. This approach builds on the theory of change management, in which includes learning about the domain of enabling environment, organisation, individual and knowledge management process. New ideas, practices or technologies occur through integration of efforts particularly from the above mentioned domains. The approach also analyses the challenges faced by construction stakeholders. It draws on findings from different studies including some other countries of sustainability in which the engagement of previous research has been incorporated to further enhance the construction and environmental quality in the Malaysian construction industry.

Findings
– Environmental sustainable development construction requires a holistic thinking and decision making and more innovative solutions that enhance sustainability and result in mutually benefited outcomes for all stakeholders. A dedicated effort especially government and government link company is in strong demand. A valid reason for capacity development to develop in organisations and individuals to perform functions needed to keep green management operating and evolving to meet new challenges. The construction sector will benefit from learning advances in capacity development which are designed to improve and enhance construction and environmental quality governance. The coverage of LEGO® conceptual framework at which capacity development operates was identified in each domain of change management.

Research limitations/implications
– A limitation of the study was the relatively little literature information provided and thus affects the expounding and reliability of data. For this reason, these findings cannot be generalised to the other countries based on this study alone. The access to information is limited as public and private organisations hesitate to share information on their strategic planning and tactics.

Originality/value
– Development of capacity development model will contribute to the understanding of environmental sustainability through identifying gaps in the understanding and pursuit of construction and environmental quality in the Malaysian construction industry. This paper suggests the future prospect that integrates several dimensions towards green management practice in Malaysia.
VIX and the variance of Dow Jones industrial average stocks
Authors: Mollick Andre 
Published: February 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine what happens to the variance of individual stocks forming the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) allowing for aggregate uncertainty measured by VIX, the “fear gauge index” of US options contracts. In examining each individual stock belonging to DJIA in 2011, the authors reconsider aggregate market uncertainty (VIX) as the mixing variable. In contrast to studies on the effects of VIX on the aggregate equity market, the data set used in this paper allow a further look at the proposition that market aggregate uncertainty should have varying impact on individual stock variance.Design/methodology/approach– GARCH-M models estimate individual stock returns belonging to the DJIA in 2011 on its lags and on the ARCH-M term in the mean equation linking stock returns to the variance equation. The longest time span has 5,738 observations for most stocks under daily frequency from January 3, 1990 to December 30, 2011. The authors use one lag for the VIX2 term to address simultaneity problems in the variance equation. In order to allow for interactions between volatility and business cycles, the authors include a dummy variable for the three recessions identified by the NBER over the period.Findings– Adding the “fear gauge” VIX index and a dummy variable for recessions to the variance equation in GARCH-M models, the VIX coefficient always increases variance and the recession dummy has mixed effects. Overall, VIX acts as expected as mixing variable. Supporting the mixture of distribution hypothesis, the impact of VIX is always positive (1.039 on market variance) and GARCH effects vanish completely for the index and almost as much for 24 stocks.Research limitations/implications– In theory, the effects of VIX on stock variance should be positive and statistically significant, together with reductions of GARCH persistence. The authors find this to be the case for the aggregate stock market and for 24 out of its 29 DJIA stocks. The authors leave for further work extensions to estimating the variance equation for companies very exposed to idiosyncratic changes, such as oil price fluctuations or stock buybacks. The implication of this research for the academic or financial community relies on the estimation of VIX effects on individual stock variance, controlling for business cycles.Originality/value– Due to its benchmark in equities, stocks in the Dow Jones Industrials make it a very interesting case study. This paper reconsiders the aggregate uncertainty hypothesis for two main reasons. First, the financial press and traders keep a very close track on the daily evolution of VIX. Second, recent research emphasizes the formal predictive power of VIX in US stock markets. For the variance equation, existing works report positive values for the VIX-coefficient on the S&P 500 index but they have not examined individual stocks as the authors do in this paper.
Does corporate governance matter in determining CEO compensation in the publicly listed companies in New Zealand? An empirical investigation
Authors: Reddy Krishna , Abidin Sazali , You Linjuan 
Published: February 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between Chief Executive Officers’ (CEOs) compensation and corporate governance practices of publicly listed companies in New Zealand for the period 2005-2010.Design/methodology/approach– Prior literature argues that corporate governance systems and structures are heterogeneous, that is, corporate governance mechanisms that are important tend to be specific to a country and its institutional structures. The two corporate governance mechanisms most important for monitoring CEO compensation are ownership structure and board structure. The authors use a generalised least squares regression estimation technique to examine the effect ownership structure and board structure has on CEO compensation, and examine whether ownership structure, board structure, CEO and director compensation have an effect on company performance.Findings– After controlling for size, performance, industry and year effects, the authors report that internal features rather than external features of corporate governance practices influence CEO compensation. Companies that have their CEO on the board pay them more than those who do not sit on the board, suggesting CEOs on boards have power to influence board decisions and therefore boards become less effective in monitoring CEO compensation in the New Zealand context. Companies that pay their directors more tend to reward their CEOs more as well, thus supporting the managerial entrenchment hypothesis.Research limitations/implications– The results confirm the findings reported in prior studies that institutional investors are ineffective in monitoring managerial decisions and their focus is on decisions that benefit them on a short-term basis.Practical implications– The findings indicate that although the proportion of independent directors on boards does not significantly influence CEO compensation, it does indicate that outside directors are passive and are no more effective than insiders when it comes to the oversight and supervision of CEO compensation.Originality/value– Being a small and open financial market with many small- and medium-sized listed companies, New Zealand differs from large economies such as the UK and the USA in the sense that CEOs in New Zealand tend to be closely connected to each other. As such, the relationship between pay-performance for New Zealand is found to be different from those reported for the UK and the USA. In New Zealand, the proportion of institutional and/or block shareholders is positively associated with CEO compensation and negatively associated with company performance, suggesting that it is not an effective mechanism for monitoring CEO compensation.
Gender-based differences in understanding the purchasing patterns of eco-friendly cosmetics and beauty care products in Mauritius: a study of female customers
Authors: Pudaruth Sharmila , Juwaheer Thanika Devi , Seewoo Yogini Devi 
Published: February 2015

Purpose
– This paper aims to explore the factors influencing the purchasing patterns of eco-friendly cosmetics and beauty care products among female customers in Mauritius. It also investigates upon the relative significance of these factors in predicting the preference to buy and recommend eco-friendly cosmetics and beauty care products to others.

Design/methodology/approach
– The paper applies the data reduction technique by using exploratory factor analysis on a sample of 150 female consumers and condenses a set of 35 attributes into a list of eight comprehensible factors influencing the purchasing patterns of eco-friendly and beauty care products among females in Mauritius. Multiple regression analysis was also conducted to investigate upon the importance of the eight dimensions in influencing the behavioural intentions of females to purchase eco-friendly products and their likeliness to engage in referral for eco-friendly products.

Findings
– The factor analysis identified that the purchasing patterns for eco-friendly cosmetics and beauty care products is influenced by a combination of eight factors namely: “women lifestyles, self-image health and economic considerations”, “ethical consumerism among females”, “pharmacological essence of green cosmetics and beauty care products”, “visual appeal and physical cues in cosmetic stores”, “price-conscious decisions and effective promotion”, “belief on ethical claims in green messages”, “brand image and usage experience” and “sales representatives and social influences”. The results of the regression analysis have also suggested that the behavioural intention and referral of female customers is primarily derived from one predictor factor related to “women lifestyles, self-image, health and economic conditions”.

Practical implications
– In terms of marketing strategies, cosmetic and beauty care organisations should promote greater ethical concerns among female customers through effective green advertising messages. Greater emphasis should be placed on the pharmacological essence of green advertising. Cosmetic executives should also focus on health-related benefits while marketing cosmetics and beauty care products.

Originality/value
– The paper aims to fill up the significant gap in the literature on purchasing patterns for eco-friendly cosmetics and beauty care products among female customers. This study remains one of few research work designed to address different factors influencing the purchasing patterns for green cosmetics and beauty care products in the context of developing countries such as Mauritius. Yet, it would serve as a roadmap for cosmetics and beauty care companies to understand the factors impacting on purchasing patterns of eco-friendly cosmetics and beauty care products in similar contexts.
Organizations’ commitment to and communication of CSR activities: insights from Ghana
Authors: Abugre James B. , Nyuur Richard B. 
Published: February 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to examine organizations’ commitment and communication of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a developing country’s context.

Design/methodology/approach
– The study employed an empirical quantitative approach by surveying 193 managers from multiple organizations in Ghana, and used independent sample t-test as well as descriptive statistics to examine the phenomenon.

Findings
– The study established that firms operating in Ghana know about CSR and are committed to it. But the level of understanding of the concept as evidenced by their practices is limited to philanthropic activities. The study further revealed that firms operating in Ghana communicate their CSR activities to stakeholders in many forms. Additionally, organizations employ equally varied channels in communicating their CSR initiatives.

Practical implications
– The study contributes the Ghanaian perspective of CSR to the Sub-Sahara African literature, and by that it enhances our present understanding of the commitment and communication channels of CSR activities by companies operating in Ghana.

Originality/value
– Empirical Literature on CSR communication in developing countries is limited. The paucity of academic enquiry on the issue has stimulated this research, based on the perceptions of managers of firms operating in Ghana about their principles of CSR, their way to disclose these activities and the kind of CSR activities done. Further research directions are also articulated.
FORUM: Ecologists need robust survey designs, sampling and analytical methods
Authors: Hayward Matt W. , Boitani Luigi , Burrows Neil D. , Funston Paul J. , Karanth K. Ullas , MacKenzie Darryl I. , Pollock Ken H. , Yarnell Richard W. 
Published: February 2015

SummaryResearch that yields conflicting results rightly causes controversy. Where methodological weaknesses are apparent, there is ready opportunity for discord within the scientific community, which may undermine the entire study.We use the debate about the role of dingoesCanis dingoin conservation inAustralia as a case study for a phenomenon that is relevant to all applied ecologists, where conflicting results have been published in high‐quality journals and yet the problems with the methods used in these studies have led to significant controversy.To alleviate such controversies, scientists need to use robust methods to ensure that their results are repeatable and defendable. To date, this has not occurred inAustralia's dingo debate due to the use of unvalidated indices that rely on unsupported assumptions.We highlight the problems that poor methods have caused in this debate. We also reiterate our recommendations for practitioners, statisticians and researchers to work together to develop long‐term, multi‐site experimental research programmes using robust methods to understand the impacts of dingoes on mesopredators.Synthesis and applications. Incorporating robust methods and appropriate experimental designs is needed to ensure that conservation actions are appropriately focused and are supported with robust results. Such actions will go a long way towards resolving the debate about the role of dingoes in conservation inAustralia, and other, ecological debates.
Toxicological Findings in Fatal Motor Vehicle Collisions in Ontario, Canada: A One‐Year Study
Authors: Woodall Karen L. , Chow Betty L.C. , Lauwers Albert , Cass Dan 
Published: February 2015

AbstractDrug‐impaired driving is a complex area of forensic toxicology due in part to limited data concerning the type of drugs involved and the concentrations detected. This study analyzed toxicological findings in drivers from fatal motor vehicle collisions (FMVCs) in Ontario, Canada, over a one‐year period using a standardized protocol. Of the 229 cases included in the study, 56% were positive for alcohol and/or drugs. After alcohol, cannabis was the most frequently encountered substance (27%), followed by benzodiazepines (17%) and antidepressants (17%). There were differences in drugs detected by age but no marked difference in drugs detected between single and multiple FMVC's. Not all drugs detected were considered impairing either due to drug type, concentration or case history. The findings indicate the importance of comprehensive drug testing in FMVCs and highlight the need to consider a variety of factors, in addition to drug type and concentration, when assessing the role of drugs in driving impairment.