bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The development of budgets and their use for purposes of control in Japanese aviation, 1928‐1945
Authors: Noguchi Masayoshi , Boyns Trevor 
Published: March 2012

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the role of the Japanese state in the development of budgets within “special companies” in the transportation sector between 1928 and 1945.Design/methodology/approachUsing evidence contained in the archives of “closedown institutions” this paper examines the role of the state in determining the use of budgets within Japan Air Transport (1928‐1938) and Japan Airways (1938‐1945). The paper adopts the lens of new institutional sociology to examine the changes in the use of budgets effected when Japan Airways succeeded Japan Air Transport.FindingsPrior to 1938, although subject to the need to provide budget statements to the government, the budget systems operated by special companies within the Japanese transportation sector were largely utilised for the purpose of legitimising receipt of government subsidies. Following the establishment of Japan Airways in 1938, however, an increasing use of the budget system as a control mechanism is observed. It is found that a key role in this coercive process was played by the Aviation Bureau of the Ministry of Communications, reflecting changes not only in its own status but also the financial pressures exerted on the Japanese government during the Second Sino‐Japanese War from 1937 and the Pacific War from 1941.Originality/valueThis paper examines the development of the use of budgets at a time, the interwar period, which is considered critical to the development of budgets for purposes of control. By doing this within a context (special companies) and within a geographical space (Japan) which has not previously been analyzed by accounting historians, this study helps to add to the material available for conducting comparative international accounting research. Furthermore, by using the lens of new institutional sociology, this study provides an in‐depth insight into how, and under what conditions, the degree of decoupling between formal policies and actual practices can vary over time depending on the extent of coercive pressures.
Money talks: the language of the Rochester School
Authors: Chabrak Nihel 
Published: March 2012

PurposeSince the late 1970s, research in accounting has been colonized by positive accounting theory (PAT) despite strong claims that it is fundamentally flawed in terms of epistemology and methodology. This paper aims to offer new insights to PAT by critically examining its basic tenets.Design/methodology/approachThe paper subjects the language of the Rochester School to a deconstruction that is a transformational reading. This uncovers rhetorical operations and unveils hidden associations with other texts and ideas.FindingsA new interpretation of the Rochester School discourse is provided. To afford scientific credibility to deregulation within the accounting field, Watts and Zimmerman used supplements and missing links to enhance the authority of PAT. They placed supplements inside their texts to provide a misleading image of PAT. These supplements rest on von Hayek's long‐term shaping blueprint to defeat apostles of the welfare state. Yet, to set PAT apart from normative theories that Watts and Zimmerman claimed were contaminated by value judgments, they made no reference in their text to the tight links between the Rochester School and the libertarian project initiated by von Hayek.Research limitations/implicationsAny reading of PAT cannot present the infinite play of meaning that is possible within a text. Deconstruction involves a commitment to on‐going, eternal questioning.Originality/valueThe paper provides evidence of the relation between PAT and the neoliberal (libertarian) project of von Hayek. PAT is viewed as part of the institutional infrastructure and ideological apparatus that legitimates the hegemony of markets.
How clusters evolve
Authors: Zettinig Peter , Vincze Zsuzsanna 
Published: March 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to construct a process theory of cluster development, in order to complement the many studies focusing on the factors that determine successful clusters.Design/methodology/approachThis theory‐building effort relies on event‐driven methodology, which triangulates narratives collected at different points in time with other documented materials, in order to trace cluster development over a six‐year period. The empirical data are analysed according to theoretical classes formed a priori and anchored in Aldrich's framework of emergence, events and consequences. The idea is to identify critical events that subsequently inform theory development.FindingsThe authors show that three critical processes drive sustainable cluster development: the exploitation of current opportunities, the exploration of future opportunities, and processes that facilitate the balancing of the two. Whereas the conceptual focus in the extant literature is on exploration and exploitation processes, the authors find that balancing processes are also critical.Practical implicationsThe paper's findings are of practical relevance to private and public policy makers with regard to the management and financing of balancing mechanisms that help to secure sustainable development. The authors will continue to follow the development of this specific cluster in order to identify a wider range of sub‐processes that contribute to the long‐term viability of clusters in general.Originality/valueThis work is original in the sense that it extends March's exploration and exploitation theory, applies it to the inter‐organisational context of clusters, and links the two processes through a process of balancing. The empirical evidence and the methodological approach used contribute in terms of building a “real process theory”, according to Aldrich's specification of an event‐driven research approach.
Exploring the mundane and complex
Authors: Wägar Karolina 
Published: March 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to outline the value of ethnography as a qualitative tool of inquiry when exploring mundane yet complex marketing phenomena such as customer‐oriented learning. The paper illustrates the practical side of using ethnography and shows the kind of results an ethnographic study aimed at conceptual development might yield.Design/methodology/approachThe first ethnographic study was conducted among car salespersons and service advisors in a car retailing company. The second study was conducted among frontline contact persons in a procurement company.FindingsThe paper shows that ethnography is a suitable and fruitful research approach for accessing and understanding the “mundane” and “complex”. In particular, the paper emphasises the importance of: establishing trust and social bonds with informants; systematic, on‐going analysis; being a complete outsider; and preparing for the aftermath of a study. With regard to customer‐oriented learning, the study finds that it is a multidimensional phenomenon involving: direct and indirect learning; learning tools; learning context; and professional identity.Originality/valueIn terms of methodology this paper contributes with a detailed, practical description of the different phases of an ethnographic study; from accessing the research setting to the data‐analysis and the practical implications of the study. In terms of theory, the paper contributes by developing a holistic framework of customer‐oriented learning.
Linking price satisfaction and business performance in Malaysia's dairy industry
Authors: Boniface Bonaventure , Gyau Amos , Stringer Randy 
Published: March 2012

PurposePrice satisfaction is an influential factor in competitive performance and business success. Strong price satisfaction enhances and sustains high quality business relationships, leading to improved profits for chain participants. The purpose of this paper is to explore the dimensions of price satisfaction in the context of the Malaysian dairy industry. The aim is to determine which dimensions of price satisfaction affect relationship performance between Malaysian dairy producers and the dairy processers who purchase their milk.Design/methodology/approachIn total, eight hypotheses are tested using partial least square methods on survey results from 133 dairy producers in Malaysia.FindingsThe study results suggest that relative price, price‐quality ratio and price fairness influence producers' loyalty and improved business relationship performance.Practical implicationsTo achieve long‐term, sustainable business relationships involving consistent high quality supplies, milk buyers need to understand and capture the price satisfaction dimensions.Originality/valueThe paper provides insights into the important linkages between price satisfaction and business performance in an agriculture industry.
Classifying organizations by knowledge intensity – necessary next‐steps
Authors: Makani Joyline , Marche Sunny 
Published: March 2012

PurposeThis study aims to empirically explore the key elements for classifying and differentiating knowledge‐intensive organizations (KIOs) from other traditional organizations.Design/methodology/approachThe study's conceptual framework is based on the prevailing propositions from the literature on KIOs and is explored using a survey of knowledge management (KM) professionals, a purposely selected community of practice (CoP).FindingsThe results suggest that organizations can generally be divided into two groups – KIOs and non‐KIOs, and there appear to be some clear factors that differentiate KIOs from non‐KIOs according to the CoP.Research limitations/implicationsThis study lays a foundation for the systematic development and evaluation of KIOs and their KM practices. The results from this study can stimulate issue formulation and hypothesis generation for investigation by KM researchers and academics. The study focused on a few types of organizations drawn from the literature which may limit the generalizability of the results. However, restricting the study to the core organizations identified in the literature provided the authors with leverage for an in‐depth empirical exploration of these organizations' characteristics.Practical implicationsTo a KM practitioner this study aids in delineating the different elements to keep in mind when designing or evaluating KM practices in KIOs.Originality/valueThis paper is among the early works to empirically explore KIOs. It advances a framework of how to recognize the knowledge‐intense factors defining KIOs, thereby providing the required foundation for analyzing KM practices in KIOs. Also by identifying the core dimensions defining knowledge intensity, the study underscores the importance of the relations between workers, the community (organization) of which they are members, and the conceptions the workers have of their activities as presented in the theory of organizations as activity systems. While the importance of knowledge has often been demonstrated within work groups or for particular organizational processes, this study has demonstrated a useful foundation for analyzing an organization as a whole.
A framework analysis for managing feedback of visitors of a web site
Authors: Schefels Clemens , Zicari Roberto V. 
Published: March 2012

PurposeAn important issue in the management of a web‐based user community, where users are registered to a web portal, is to identify patterns of users' interest. In this context, the users' feedback plays a major role. The purpose of this paper is to define a novel framework analysis for managing the feedback given by registered visitors of a web site.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a new technique to integrate the feedback explicitly given by users into already existing user profiles. The authors introduce the novel concepts of scope, filtering, and relevance profiles for managing users' feedback. The new concept of Relevance Profile (RP) is defined.FindingsUsing the framework, the authors were able to discover patterns of usage of registered users of a web site.Practical implicationsThe practical applicability of the approach is validated by a use case study showing how the framework can be used with a real web site. The authors used Gugubarra as a reference system, a prototype for creating and managing web user profiles, developed by the DBIS group at the Goethe‐University of Frankfurt.Originality/valueA new way to integrate the user feedback into interest profiles and a novel framework to analyze and discover patterns of interests are presented. The paper is an extended version (more than 50 per cent novel material) of a previous paper presented at the iiWAS2010 conference.
Research on the evaluation model of Chinese enterprises' technological innovation system
Authors: Chen Xi , Zhao Shuming 
Published: March 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on the evaluation model of the enterprises' technological innovation system, based on the theory of complex adaptive system.Design/methodology/approachCombined with the status quo and recent studies of Chinese enterprises' technological innovation, the paper discusses the complex‐system features of the technological innovation. The stimulus‐response model is used to establish the two‐level framework for enterprises' technological innovation system. By means of the adaptive fitness function, the economic and social utility of enterprises' technological innovation is measured from two dimensions. Finally, the fuzzy catastrophe model is introduced to evaluate the enterprises' technological innovation.FindingsThe enterprises' technological innovation system has attributions of the subject aggregation, the systematic openness, nonlinearity and diversity. Thus, the macro‐micro based technological innovation system from the perspective of complex adaptive system is proposed. The system utility is considered based on the system subjects and system structure, and the calculation framework of the adaptive fitness for the whole system is obtained by considering the emergent property describing the system scale effect and structure effect. In fact, the fuzzy theory can well reflect the influential situation that the interactions between different factors may cause the mutation of the higher level and the interactions between enterprises can lead to the shifts of the system.Originality/valueThe paper proposes the complex adaptive system for the enterprises' technological innovation based on the special macro environment in China. A new framework for the research of technological innovation is provided by analyzing the system inner model. Fuzzy catastrophe model can reduce the evaluation irrationality due to the subjective index weights.
Enterprise's sustainable innovation in China: practice and theoretical research
Authors: Xiang Gang , Wu Ying 
Published: March 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to increase understanding of the real situation of Enterprise's Sustainable Innovation (ESI) in China.Design/methodology/approachFirst, the paper analyzes the practice of Chinese ESI in the past 30 years, and then reviews research results of the topic in China, by the authors and by other Chinese scholars. Finally, it provides the future prospects for ESI in China.FindingsThe practice of Chinese ESI started in 1978 when this country began reform, and two stages of Chinese ESI practice has been summarized. Otherwise, six major characteristics have been highlighted. China is one of the earliest countries that began to research on ESI and has achieved significant results since 1995. The paper summarizes major research findings of ESI in China, which can be divided into two categories. Especially, it stresses that one of the distinguishing achievements is research on mechanisms of ESI in China.Research limitations/implicationsThe research on ESI in China is initially implemented based on Chinese practice. So, future research may explore whether the research results could be suitable for abroad, or not.Originality/valueThis original paper analyzes ESI practice and research findings in China, and may have value in helping people to understand ESI's real situation.
How China's equipment manufacturing firms achieve successful independent innovation
Authors: Wu Wei‐Wei , Yu Bo , Wu Chong 
Published: March 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate two issues: understanding how Chinese equipment manufacturing firms can achieve successful independent innovation; and studying the roles of technology management (TM) and technological capability (TC) in independent innovation. The paper will develop a new model for independent innovation for China's equipment manufacturing firms.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews literature related to independent innovation models, then develops a theoretical framework combining and integrating research from different fields. First, it examines how indexes of independent innovation are defined from the perspectives of technology, patents, standard, R&D and the market. Second, technology management and technological capability are interpreted. Third, relationships among TM, TC, and independent innovation are theoretically analyzed and discussed. Based on these, the paper conducts an in‐depth case study of Harbin Electric Corporation to explain how independent innovation is achieved from perspectives of TM and TC. Finally, the paper constructs and discusses the double helix model of TC and TM for independent innovation.FindingsThe paper finds that: technology management and technological capability both exert important influences on successful independent innovation; the improvement of TC follows cyclical steps of acquisition, assimilation and improvement, and TM is promoted by reforming and updating strategy management, organization management, regulation management and resource‐quality management; TM and TC have interactive effects; and TM and TC are coupled in the form of a double helix to realize independent innovation.Originality/valueThe paper provides new aspects of technology management, technological capability and their interaction to deconstruct independent innovation. The paper also offers insights in presenting a detailed case study of on‐the‐ground innovation and upgrading in China.
Cross‐cultural differences in purchase decision‐making criteria
Authors: Selma Ozdipciner Nuray , Li Xiangping , Uysal Muzaffer 
Published: March 2012

PurposeThe main purpose of this study is to draw implications about simultaneous consideration of demographics, preferences and attitudes in understanding travel behavior decision criteria.Design/methodology/approachConvenience sampling was used to collect data. In 2006 university students in Turkey collected data from visitors at hotels. From distribution of 1,067 questionnaires, 906 usable questionnaires were collected. Data used are for Turkish (local), European and Asian tourists.FindingsOne expects Turkish tourists, European tourists, and Asian tourists in Turkey will differ in demographics, preferences and attitudes. Oblique factors are determined to reduce the dimensions for attitudes. ANOVA and chi‐square show variable specific differences between groups. However, considering multiple variables results in showing multiple variables are important in understanding behavior.Research limitations/implicationsThe research demonstrates the importance of joint consideration of demographics, preference and attitudes. This research does not apply to a particular population since convenience sampling was used.Practical implicationsUnderstanding the complexity of the relationship between decision making and its possible determinants shows the value of having demographic, preference and attitude information.Originality/valueThe research involves analysis across origin countries or regions, and focuses on one type of variable (e.g. attitude). This research uses univariate and multivariate results to show the importance of having and using multivariate data.
Ethnic enterprise governance: a public choice analysis of Liverpool's Chinatown
Authors: Evans Anthony J. 
Published: March 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to use a case study of Liverpool, UK, to perform a public choice analysis of the governance of Chinatown. This case study is a theoretical application of clubs and interest group theory to ethnic economies.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on fieldwork conducted in the Chinatown of Liverpool, England. It utilises interviews, surveys and observation to capture the emergence of the organisation of the community.FindingsThe paper demonstrates how the availability of regeneration funds can create incentives for voluntary community associations to switch into predatory rent‐seeking collectives. The characteristics of a Chinese community are predisposed towards being an effective interest group.Originality/valueThe paper presents new primary data and is a rare attempt to chart the evolution and development of “ethnic enterprise governance”. It extends the existing literature on the economic organisation of Chinatown into a theory of the political representation of ethnic communities, utilising the tradition of rational choice political science.
Financial market risk and gold investment in an emerging market: the case of Malaysia
Authors: Ibrahim Mansor H. 
Published: March 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between gold return and stock market return and whether its relation changes in times of consecutive negative market returns for an emerging market, Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThe paper applies the autoregressive distributed model to link gold returns to stock returns with TGARCH/EGARCH error specification using daily data from August 1, 2001 to March 31, 2010, a total of 2,261 observations.FindingsA significant positive but low correlation is found between gold and once‐lagged stock returns. Moreover, consecutive negative market returns do not seem to intensify the co‐movement between the gold and stock markets as normally documented among national stock markets in times of financial turbulences. Indeed, there is some evidence that the gold market surges when faced with consecutive market declines.Practical implicationsBased on these results, there are potential benefits of gold investment during periods of stock market slumps. The findings should prove useful for designing financial investment portfolios.Originality/valueThe paper evaluates the role of gold from a domestic perspective, which should be more relevant to domestic investors in guarding against recurring heightened stock market risk.