bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
CEO perspectives: management education in a changing context
Authors: Gitsham Matthew 
Published: August 2011

PurposeThis paper seeks to make a contribution to debate regarding the place of sustainability in the management education curriculum with data regarding the opinions on this question of business leaders across both developed and emerging markets.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis in this paper was conducted at the invitation of the secretariat of the UN PRME, led by a team from Ashridge and EABIS, supported by Accenture, and presented for the first time at the 2nd Global Forum for Responsible Management Education convened by the UN in New York in June 2010. The analysis draws on data collected by Accenture as part of the UN Global Compact‐Accenture CEO Study 2010, which included in‐depth interviews with 50 CEOs, Chairpersons and Presidents of UN Global Compact member companies and an online survey of 766 Global Compact member CEOs.FindingsAmong CEOs of those organizations that have begun thinking in a sophisticated way about trends relating to sustainability, there is a growing consensus across both developed and emerging markets, and across different industries and organization type, that management education is one of the most important elements in stimulating the kind of organizational change required to effectively address those trends.Practical implicationsThe data suggest that debate in business schools about whether or not sustainability is a real issue deserving of their consideration is becoming less relevant. Questions that become more important include: how to do management education for sustainability well? And how can we effectively stimulate the kind of organizational change that needs to occur in business schools for sustainability to be embraced across the faculty?Research limitations/implicationsAreas for further research include empirical research on both the most effective pedagogical approaches for management education for sustainability, and the most effective strategies for organizational change for sustainability within business schools themselves.Originality/valueThis paper presents a snapshot of business leader opinion from the first part of 2010, and thus complements earlier similar surveys of business leader opinion on the question of the place of sustainability in the management education curricula. This will be of particular interest to administrators and teaching faculty within business schools across both developed and emerging markets.
Assessing local partnerships: an organisational perspective
Authors: Sorrentino Maddalena , Simonetta Massimo 
Published: August 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess, from an organisational perspective, the internal efficacy of public policies designed to stimulate voluntary inter‐municipal partnerships. In particular, it sets out to assess the capacity of such incentive‐based policies to push the councils in the direction desired by the legislator, i.e. service sharing and joint policymaking.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative approach (exploratory case study) has been adopted. Primary data from semi‐structured interviews with administrators and public managers were collected and analysed along with secondary data on the inter‐municipal partnerships established in the important Italian region of Lombardy. The critical contingencies and conditions that shape local voluntary collaborations are compared with the assumptions of a model developed by Montjoy and O'Toole.FindingsThe paper questions the assumption that access to additional resources is enough to induce the councils to collaborate in service sharing and joint policymaking. While, on the one side, the councils' organisational and managerial limitations condition their willingness and capacity to forge long‐term relationships, on the other, the pressure on councils tasked with partnership implementation (especially the aggregation leaders) and the effort to ensure the orchestration of the activities and joint decision making lead them to opt for the less structured forms of cooperation (e.g. bilateral agreements). The most binding and ambitious collaborative forms are also those exposed to risks, including stagnation and goal displacement.Originality/valueUnlike the mainstream studies on local partnerships, the paper addresses the policies that incentivise the setting up and development of such initiatives. The paper further develops the use of a model that policymakers will find a valuable aid in predicting agency responses to external mandates and in identifying the different types of potential implementation pitfalls.
Social enterprise: evaluation of an enterprise skills programme
Authors: Denny Simon , Hazenberg Richard , Irwin Wray , Seddon Fred 
Published: August 2011

PurposeEvaluation of employment skills programmes (ESP) delivered by work integration social enterprises (WISEs) for the benefit of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) is often undertaken by the programme providers. This method of evaluation often lacks objectivity and academic rigour and tends to focus exclusively onoutput. The purpose of this paper is to reveal programmeoutcomebenefits for NEET participants after completing a six‐week ESP, delivered by a WISE. The study highlights the participant perspective and adds an objective dimension to programme evaluation through an innovative, inductive evaluation process.Design/methodology/approachThe research adopted an intervention method, within a qualitative paradigm, employing semi‐structured interviews conducted pre‐ and post‐participant engagement in the ESP. NEET participants were also asked to complete questionnaires designed to measure general self‐efficacy and attitude to enterprise. The questionnaires were introduced in order to test the suitability of this type of questionnaire with NEET groups in future larger‐scale studies.FindingsAnalysis of the interview data revealed ten overall participant perception themes: “experience”, “self‐confidence”, “the programme”, “perceived barriers” and “maturity” at Time 1 and “experience”, “self‐confidence”, “the programme”, “enterprise” and “future” at Time 2. Outcomebenefits are demonstrated through differences in participant perception themes revealed at Time 1 and Time 2. Relationships between participant perception themes and questionnaire constructs are discussed in the context of future larger‐scale evaluations.Originality/valueAdopting an intervention method employing semi‐structured interviews, allowed the participants to articulate theoutcomebenefits that were important for them rather than merely providing affirmation of the programme provider's expectations.
Counting social change: outcome measures for social enterprise
Authors: Ruebottom Trish 
Published: August 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify important elements of the evaluation and definition of success in social entrepreneurship. It considers previous approaches and the lessons that can be learned from other fields of organizational studies.Design/methodology/approachThe method used is based upon an objective and subjective, social constructionist view of organizational success. The paper reviews the fields of strategy, organization theory, entrepreneurship and innovation to identify relevant frameworks, measures, definitions of success, and the implications of the choice of success measures on our understanding of various phenomena.FindingsFrom this perspective, it becomes apparent that how success and failure are defined is based on assumptions about the value of social enterprise and the nature of social change. In order to develop a deeper understanding of the drivers of social enterprise, there must be experimentation with a rich complement of success measures that are not limited to the triple bottom line.Practical implicationsThe paper is of use to social enterprise researchers, practitioners and consultants who are defining what it means for a social enterprise to be successful. The insights should allow for a more conscious evaluation of a range of potential success measures and the impacts they have on our social outcomes.Originality/valueAlthough measuring social enterprise success is recognized to be an important topic, most work in the field implicitly or explicitly identifies success based on a goal‐centred evaluation of the triple bottom line. The paper challenges this thinking to include subjectivity, causation, contestation, organizational form and the multiple polar dimensions that must be balanced by every organization. It draws on research from related fields that have already struggled with these issues and can offer valuable lessons for social enterprise.
Effectiveness comparison of the residential property mass appraisal methodologies in the USA
Authors: Chun Lin Chung , Mohan Satish B. 
Published: August 2011

PurposeQuite a few statistical and artificial neural network (ANN) models have been developed for the mass appraisal of the real estate by the municipalities. The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a research conducted to compare the prediction accuracy of the three most used models: multiple regression model, additive nonparametric regression, and ANN.Design/methodology/approachThe three models were developed using the housing database of a town with 33,342 residential houses. In this database, the cutoff point for higher priced homes was $88 per square foot of living area.FindingsThe research confirmed that using statistical and ANN models are reliable and cost‐effective methods for mass appraisal of residential housing.Originality/valueIt was found that any of the three models can be used, with similar accuracy, for lower and medium‐priced houses, but the ANN is considerably more accurate for higher priced houses.
Detecting and validating residential housing submarkets
Authors: McCluskey William J. , Borst Richard A. 
Published: August 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe a segmentation technique based on geostatistical modeling methods utilizing geographically weighted regression (GWR) to identify submarkets which could be applied within the mass appraisal environment.Design/methodology/approachGiven the spatial dimension within which neighbourhoods/submarkets exist, this paper has sought to utilize the geostatistical technique of GWR to identify them.FindingsThe efficacy of the procedure is established by demonstrating improvements in predictive accuracy of the resultant segmented market models as compared to a baseline global unsegmented model for each of the study areas. Optimal number of segments is obtained by measures of predictive accuracy, spatial autocorrelation in the residual errors and the Akaike information criterion.Research limitations/implicationsThe three datasets used allowed for an evaluation of the robustness of the method. Nonetheless it would be beneficial to test it on other datasets, particularly from different regions of the world.Practical implicationsMany researchers and mass appraisal practitioners have established the benefit of segmenting a study area into two or more submarkets as a means of incorporating the effects of location within mass valuation models. This approach develops the existing knowledge.Social implicationsThe research ultimately is developing more accurate valuation models upon which the property tax is based. This should create an environment of fair and acceptable assessed values by the tax paying community.Originality/valueThe contribution of this work lies in the methodological approach adopted which incorporates a market basket approach developed through a process of GWR. The importance of the research findings illustrate that submarket segmentation need no longer be an arbitrary process.
European real estate equities: ownership structure and value of the firm
Authors: Niskanen Jaakko , Rouhento Jussi , Falkenbach Heidi 
Published: August 2011

PurposeThe relationship between ownership structure and firm value has long been of interest in the academic society. The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between European real estate investment trusts' (REITs) ownership structure and the observed firm value as measured by market‐to‐book (M/B) ratio. In addition, the potential effects of differing REIT ownership structures on other financial ratios, such as return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA), are analyzed. Finally, the potential impact of strategic/insider ownership on REITs is assessed.Design/methodology/approachSeveral “difference between means” tests are run. In each test, the studied group of REITs is divided into three groups according to set criteria. Then, the potential differences observed between the groups are documented, analyzed and reported. Finally, statistical significance of the potential differences among groups is tested.FindingsFirst, consistent with the previous studies, this study shows that increasing REIT block ownership results in lower M/B ratios as well as decreased dividend yield, ROE and ROA. In other words, the results suggest that, in terms of M/B ratio, the markets value REITs with low block holdings slightly higher than those with more block holders. However, the relationship is not totally explicit. Second, the relationship between strategic/inside ownership and firm value (and other financial measures) is somewhat obscure. The effects of strategic ownership are an interesting topic, also in terms of potential future research.Practical implicationsOne of the fundamental ideas behind REIT legislation is to provide investors with a liquid means of investing in indirect real estate by regulating the ownership structure of the vehicle. The results of this study suggest that the more dispersed the shareholder structure, the higher the firm value, potentially due to increased stock liquidity. This finding could serve as an indication to lawmakers that the REIT ownership regulations not only work in theory but in practice, too.Originality/valueFor the first time in an academic context, the relationship of European REIT ownership structures and firm value is studied in‐depth. Proven scientific methods are employed to discern potential, yet unrevealed patterns between REIT ownership and firm value.
Brownfield redevelopment features: applying Fuzzy Delphi
Authors: Glumac Brano , Han Qi , Smeets Jos , Schaefer Wim 
Published: August 2011

PurposeA brownfield site is well described by various definitions and the idea to redevelop it is supported by identifying numerous benefits for the society. Further, the existing literature covers a broad range of different aspects of the brownfield redevelopment thus elaborating different features. At present, there is no overview of the brownfield features from the real estate development perspective focusing on the physical, legal and financial aspects of a site and property. This paper aims to address these issues.Design/methodology/approachAt first, this paper contributes with the literature survey after which the features were structured according to the real estate development perspective. Additionally, the authors distinguish different expert groups and show the importance of keeping apart their aggregated opinions. Fuzzy Delphi technique is considered as an excellent method to gather such diverse panel data since it supports expert diversity in its procedure and calculation. Additionally, this method captures the uncertainty due to the human factor in valuation and thus improves the validity of the features quantification.FindingsThe survey was among the experts grouped by the specific goals and tasks. This paper presents the findings how the different expert groups value the brownfield features relevant for development potential and what they are.Originality/valueThe paper aims to contribute to the complex decision‐making process in brownfield redevelopment by identifying, structuring and rating the most relevant features of development potential. The authors introduced the method that highlights the importance of rigorous procedure for the panel data collection and advances the weighting of the features. This is of particular importance for the field of the real estate development appraisal since the present features or variables influence the future marketability and cost of a development. Missing these features seriously endangers the appraisal. A similar threat can influence any econometric model recently extensively used in policymaking.
Importance analysis of travel attributes using a rough set‐based neural network
Authors: Golmohammadi Alireza , Shams Ghareneh Naser , Keramati Abbas , Jahandideh Behrouz 
Published: August 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to contribute to the tourism management literature by: first, developing a hybrid neural network that will be able to predict tourists' overall satisfaction of their travel experience; and second, prioritizing the travel attributes based on their proportional impact on tourists' overall satisfaction of their travel experience in Iran.Design/methodology/approachA total of 1,870 questionnaires were distributed amongst foreign tourists in the departure lounge of “Imam Khomeini International Airport” over a period of three months. The data were used to develop a hybrid neural network in which the “rough set” is used to reduce travel attributes and the neural network to predict tourists' overall satisfaction of travel experience. After the model proved its predictive accuracy, using the sensitivity analysis of the neural network travel attributes were prioritized based on their impact on tourists' overall satisfaction.FindingsThe results were quite promising in that the proposed hybrid neural network was able to predict tourists' overall satisfaction with a relatively low amount of error (RMSE=0.05246). Furthermore, it was demonstrated that rough sets theory is capable to be applied effectively to feature selection of large datasets in the tourism context. Finally, it was found that “improving tourism infrastructures of the country” in addition to “globally promoting the image of Iran” (as a secure and pleasant destination) are of the highest priority for Iran's tourism industry to reach to its full potential.Originality/valueBesides developing a data mining tool which is an efficient means for predicting tourists' overall satisfaction, the paper's findings provide precious information for tourism policy makers in Iran by prioritizing those travel attributes that have the greatest impact on foreign tourists' overall satisfaction of their travel experience.
Does corporate governance affect restatement of financial reporting? Evidence from China
Authors: Zhizhong Huang , Juan Zhang , Yanzhi Shen , Wenli Xie 
Published: August 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the impact of corporate governance on financial restatements in China, with a view to providing reference to strengthen the corporate governance and improve the quality of financial information.Design/methodology/approachThe authors investigate associations between financial restatements and corporate governance via a sample of 1,147 listed companies from the period of 2002 to 2006, which includes 880 annual accounting restatements by 465 companies. Logistic model is used to regress restatement dummy variable on not only the equity and board structure, but also the quality of independent auditors. The restatements in this paper are caused by performance‐related accounting errors.FindingsIt was found that accounting misstatements related to performance could be prevented or restrained by strong internal governance, such as a board of higher percentage of outside directors and an audit committee that could oversee the accounting and financial reporting process on behalf of all shareholders, and outside governance, such as a big stockholder and a strong outside auditor from the Big4 accounting firms. However, the matched test shows the effect of audit committee on controlling restatements is endogenous, which relies on the effects of other governance factors.Originality/valueIn China, studies on the impact of corporate governance on financial restatements are few and the existing empirical researches show the selected samples are small, which constitute small part of the revision of accounting errors. In this paper, the data are more accurate and comprehensive than previous research and matched sample method was used to alleviate the impact of endogeneity of some explanatory variables. So, the conclusions are more reliable than in the past.
Ownership‐control rights divergence, government intervention and choice of capital structure
Authors: Zuoping Xiao 
Published: August 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to empirically test how ultimate controlling shareholders' ownership‐control rights divergence and government intervention affect choice of capital structure (CS), and how the relationship between controlling shareholders' ownership‐control rights divergence and choice of CS is affected by government intervention.Design/methodology/approachIntegrating the institutional background of China, the paper adopts balanced panel data containing related continuously obtainable information of 1,076 non‐financial companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2004 to 2008 (a total of 5,380 observed values), and applies a series of generalised least squares to empirically test how ultimate controlling shareholders' ownership‐control rights divergence and government intervention affect choice of CS, and how the relationship between controlling shareholders' ownership‐control rights divergence and choice of CS is affected by government intervention.FindingsThe empirical evidence provided by this paper indicates that: controlling shareholders' ownership‐control rights divergence is negatively correlated with leverage; government intervention is positively correlated with leverage; and government intervention will weaken the negative relationship between controlling shareholders' ownership‐control rights divergence and leverage, and make debt capital suppliers (especially financial institutions like banks, etc.) provide loans, especially long‐term ones, to companies with high ownership‐control rights divergence.Originality/valueSo far, it is still little‐known how ownership‐control rights divergence affects choice of CS and how government intervention affects the relationship between ownership and control rights divergence and choices of CS. This paper is the first to test how ultimate controlling shareholders' ownership‐control rights divergence and government intervention affect choice of CS, and how the relationship between controlling shareholders' ownership‐control rights divergence and choice of CS is affected by government intervention based on the institutional background of China.