bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Special considerations for designing pilot REITs in China
Authors: Wang Hong , Sun Yining , Chen Yin 
Published: March 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose advice on the design of pilot real estate investment trusts (REITs) and the future development of a REITs market in China.Design/methodology/approachThis study presents a qualitative analysis on unique attributes of the Chinese market. Taking those attributes into account, it goes onto offer suggestions and ideas on how China can most successfully kick off its REITs industry.FindingsThe paper finds that REITs offer developers an alternative, less risky way to raise money. They would also provide owners with an exit strategy. REITs implementation should be a two‐stage process. Pilot REITs should be made available to institutional investors first and later to retail investors. Most importantly, current legislation and taxes do not provide an environment conducive to REITs. The paper also finds that it is presently a favorable market environment under which to launch REITs, owing to pent up demand for REITs amongst investors.Practical implicationsThe greatest practical implications of this study are the suggestions offered in terms of what Chinese pilot and long‐term REITs should look like. Pilot REITs can be implemented using special regulations. For post‐pilot REITs, currently existing Chinese trust schemes and special asset management plans offer possible, but problematic, frameworks. Perhaps more promising is the possibility of legislation modeled after China's current securities fund law. This paper implies that new regulations and laws are needed before REITs can be launched in China, as well as gives advice as to what those laws should look like.Research limitations/implicationsThere are no REITs yet in China, so a trenchant quantitative study is impossible. This paper is a preliminary work to be followed by a quantitative analysis once China REITs have been operating for long enough to offer sufficient data.Originality/valueThis is one of the only papers examining China pilot REITs in the context of China's economic, legal, and tax environment. It takes previous studies a step further by offering specific legal, regulatory, and tax frameworks that would aid the development of China REITs.
The significance and performance of infrastructure in China
Authors: Newell Graeme , Wing Chau Kwong , Kei Wong Siu 
Published: March 2009

PurposeThe significant economic growth and urbanisation of China in recent years has seen increased importance given to infrastructure development in China; this includes airports, toll roads, communications, ports, power plants and water. The purpose of this paper is to assess the significance and investment performance of infrastructure in China, the linkages to commercial property markets and the increasing future role of international private infrastructure investors in China.Design/methodology/approachThis paper analyses the performance of infrastructure in China over 1995‐2006. Using the Hong Kong‐listed China infrastructure companies, risk‐adjusted performance analysis is used to assess the added value of China infrastructure, with the portfolio diversification benefits of China infrastructure also assessed.FindingsThe paper finds that China infrastructure has delivered significant and improved risk‐adjusted returns, but there is evidence of some recent loss of diversification benefits by China infrastructure in a portfolio. The strong linkage between effective infrastructure and effective commercial property markets is particularly important, as international investors seek to increase their exposure to China's infrastructure and commercial property markets to add value in their international investment portfolios.Originality/valueThis is the first paper to rigorously assess the significance and performance of infrastructure in China. This risk‐adjusted analysis has enabled more informed and practical investment decision making by international investors regarding the significance and role of China infrastructure and the associated strong linkage to the commercial property markets in China. This will take on increased importance as international investors increase the significance of both China infrastructure and China commercial property in their portfolios.
Education for sustainable development beyond attitude change
Authors: Arbuthnott Katherine D. 
Published: March 2009

PurposeMany education for sustainable development (ESD) programs are designed to change attitudes and values toward the natural environment. However, psychological research indicates that several factors in addition to attitude influence behavior, including contextual support, social norms, action difficulty, and habitual behavior. Thus, if attitude change is to translate into altered behavior, education must extend beyond attitudes to assist people to act in ways consistent with their values. The purpose of this paper is to review the psychological research showing weak correlation between attitudes and behavior, the factors that mediate this relationship, and to describe the implications of these findings for university institutions and ESD programs.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is organized as a review and editorial article, describing relevant research, and outlining implications and suggested actions.FindingsThe results of the reviewed research indicate that attitude‐behavior correlations are mediated by several factors, including contextual conditions such as inconvenience and personal factors such as habits.Practical implicationsThe implications of these findings are that ESD programs should specifically address factors that mediate the attitude‐behavior relationship, including contextual changes and the development of personal management plans. Examples for each type of change are suggested.Originality/valueThe implications of these findings for ESD programs have not previously been highlighted. Specifically, to achieve sustainable development requires attention to these mediating factors as well as to knowledge generation and attitude change. Thus, the value of this paper is to encourage ESD developers to expand their programs to encourage contextual change and personal behavior management plans.
ERISA for securities professionals: 2008 update
Authors: Matta Richard K. 
Published: March 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of how the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) of 1974, as amended , applies to securities professionals such as registered investment advisers, registered broker‐dealers and individual registered representatives and financial planners who advise, manage, or trade for investment portfolios of private employee benefit plans and individual retirement accounts.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is designed as a primer to familiarize securities professionals with the terminology, scope and subject‐matter of ERISA as it applies to benefit plan investment transactions. When appropriate, the regulatory framework of ERISA is compared and contrasted with the more familiar securities law regulatory scheme.FindingsThe various Federal laws loosely known as “ERISA” significantly impact securities professionals in connection with the marketing of financial products and services to employee benefit plans, including IRAs, and it is critical that securities professionals have a general overview of how they do so.Research limitations/implicationsThe research set out is only a broad summary, and covers an area of law that is rapidly developing. It should not be considered a definitive summary of the law but a starting‐point for further, in‐depth inquiry.Practical implicationsAny financial professional seeking to develop or market financial products and services to benefit plans can use the paper to become familiar with the framework and terminology of ERISA.Originality/valueThis is a reprint of a paper first published in 2004, with extensive revisions to reflect sweeping changes in the law and new developments in the financial marketplace, plus an overview of “hot topics”.
SEC amends disclosure and reporting
Authors: Parrino Richard J. , Sung Miyun 
Published: March 2009

PurposeThis paper aims to explain the US SEC's final rules amending disclosure and reporting requirements for foreign private issuers.Design/methodology/approachThe paper explains the purpose of and background to the amendments and summarizes those amendments, including acceleration of the filing deadline and the following requirements: disclosure of a change in or disagreement with certifying accountants, disclosure of ADR fees and payments, a concise summary of significant ways in which the issuer's corporate governance practices differ from those of US companies listed on the same exchange, full reconciliation of financial statements to GAAP except for issuers that prepare financial statements in accordance with IFRS, annual determination of issuer status, and Scheule 13E‐3 disclosure in the case of a company deregistering and going private.FindingsThe purpose of the amendments is to enhance the timeliness and quality of company information available to US investors and to make US public markets more accessible to these issuers. The amendments are part of a series of initiatives undertaken by the SEC to update disclosure and other requirements applicable to foreign private issuers in light of global market developments, the convergence of US and international accounting standards, and advancements in technology that have occurred since the SEC's adoption almost 30 years ago of Form 20‐F, which is the principal SEC disclosure form for these issuers.Originality/valueThe paper provides practical guidance from experienced securities lawyers on the US SEC's final rules amending disclosure and reporting requirements for foreign private issuers.
Summary prospectus may cause many to re‐consider e‐delivery and consent strategies
Authors: Driscoll Len 
Published: March 2009

PurposeThis paper aims to describe current moves by the securities industry toward e‐consent and e‐delivery of prospectuses and other financial communications.Design/methodology/approachThe paper discusses the costs of the current paper‐based approach to investor disclosure, the growing use of the web by investors, and the potential savings from e‐communications and recommends best practices for persuading investors to provide e‐consent and accept e‐delivery.FindingsThere is consensus that the current paper‐based approach to investor disclosure is too costly, cumbersome, and complex. Getting investors to cross over to the internet to accept e‐delivery requires an e‐marketing communications strategy personalized to each company and its demographics.Practical implicationsWith a strong e‐communications program, a mutual fund can meet the needs of today's online investors, reap significant bottom‐line benefits, and achieve greater environmental responsibility.Originality/valueThe paper makes a strong argument for e‐communications, documents the cost savings that can be realized, and recommends implementation steps.
Summary of selected FINRA regulatory notices, September‐November 2008
Authors: Davis Henry A. 
Published: March 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this summary is to provide excerpts of selected Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) regulatory notices issued from September to November 2008.Design/methodology/approachThe paper provides excerpts from FINRA Regulatory Notice 08‐54, Guidance on Special Purpose Acquisition Companies; Regulatory Notice 08‐62, Limit on Close Case Submissions; 08‐66, Retail Foreign Exchange; and 08‐70, FINRA Investigations.FindingsNotice 08‐54: Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) are shell companies that raise capital in initial public offerings (IPOs) for the purpose of merging with or acquiring an operating company. Notice 08‐62: Effective November 24, 2008, FINRA will limit the circumstances under which parties may make submissions to arbitrators in closed cases. Notice 08‐66: The retail over‐the counter foreign currency exchange (retail forex) market is opaque, volatile and risky. Broker‐dealers who engage in forex business with their retail customers must comply with the FINRA rules that apply to those activities. Notice 08‐70: FINRA is issuing this guidance to apprise firms of the circumstances in which extraordinary cooperation by a firm or individual may directly influence the outcome of an investigation.Originality/valueThese are direct excerpts designed to provide a useful digest for the reader and an indication of regulatory trends. The FINRA staff is aware of this summary but has neither reviewed nor edited it. For further detail as well as other useful information, the reader should visit www.finra.org
Antecedents of paperless income tax filing by young professionals in India: an exploratory study
Authors: Ojha Amitabh , Sahu G.P. , Gupta M.P. 
Published: March 2009

PurposeThe aim of this study is to investigate the likely antecedents of young Indian professionals' behavioral intention (BI) to use the income tax e‐filing service.Design/methodology/approachPrior to data collection, for which a self‐administered survey was conducted, lecture‐demonstrations were arranged to familiarize the potential respondents with the income tax e‐filing service. The psychometric data were analyzed for reliability and construct validity of the measures, and thereafter a regression analysis was carried out.FindingsRegression results showed that antecedents of young Indian professionals' BI to use the income tax e‐filing service are: perceived ease‐of‐use, personal innovativeness in information technology, relative advantage (RA), performance of e‐filing service, and compatibility (COMP).Originality/valuePast studies on income tax e‐filing are beset by problems of adopter bias, and failure to treat trust as a multi‐dimensional. In addition, these studies are skewed towards two theories, namely technology acceptance model, and theory of planned behavior. Although perceived characteristics of innovating has held considerable promise as an alternative framework, it has a chronic problem of confounding between RA and COMP. In investigating the antecedents of young Indian professionals' intention to use the income tax e‐filing, this study also tries to deal with these issues, which are important to the practice of e‐government adoption research.
Decoding the code of excellence – for achieving sustainable excellence
Authors: Mi Dahlgaard‐Park Su 
Published: March 2009

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to elaborate, interpret, discuss and decode excellence in a new way by focusing on some of the critical success factors for attaining and sustaining excellence.Design/methodology/approachThe framework used for analysis is an old text which explains how to attain excellence. Literature references from 2,500 years back and to excellence literature from the last 25 years, together with a few case studies, are used to “de‐code” the meaning and the complexity of the old text.FindingsAfter final reflections it is concluded that the old text contains deep meanings and cover the complex nature of attaining and sustaining excellence. The few sentences are a kind of code, a crystallized form explaining how excellence can be attained.Originality/valueThis kind of analysis has not been done before. It is believed that the findings will have a great value both for researchers and for practitioners as well as organizations which are trying to attain excellence.
e‐Service quality: overview and research agenda
Authors: Barrutia José M. , Gilsanz Ainhize 
Published: March 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to highlight research avenues for improving the understanding of electronic service quality (e‐SQ) management, based on a critical review of previous literature.Design/methodology/approachThe conclusions are based on a critical review of previous literature. Computer databases (e.g. Google scholar) were the main tools used to identify relevant research in the area. Then, the electronic and physical bibliographical resources from universities in two different countries were used to obtain the papers.FindingsThe authors describe the current e‐SQ research gaps (research opportunities) and indicate possible routes for future investigation.Practical implicationsThe orientation of this study aims to reduce the efforts of researchers who desire to enter this field.Originality/valueThe development of new orientations and focuses for the conceptualisation and measurement of e‐SQ are crucial for the effective management of e‐SQ and a major issue on the market research agenda.
A systemic approach to achieve operational excellence in hotel services
Authors: Cesarotti Vittorio , Spada Caterina 
Published: March 2009

PurposeThe purpose of the framework here proposed is to introduce an industrial culture within the service organizations. Concepts such as employees empowerment, ownership, continuous improvement, together with the systematic implementation of quantitative methods builds the organizational basis for achieving operational excellence in services, reducing costs and increasing service quality. This has been deployed in two phases: a “hard” phase to support the design of the service and the construction of tangible and intangible elements of the service, and a “soft” phase to support the management, maintenance and improvement of the service delivery. All this has been applied to the hotel service sector where the interaction between tangible and intangible elements of the service are particularly evident.Design/methodology/approachThe framework uses and integrates several methodologies. Quality function deployment (QFD) is largely used in order to support the “hard” phase of the framework. Kano's model of customer requirements has been integrated in the QFD structure by means of an original method developed by the authors, introducing a so‐called non‐quality priority number (similar to the failure modes and effects analysis' risk priority number) that in combination with a so‐called quality priority number drives the decisions for improvement towards operational excellence. Moreover, the “soft” phase of the framework introduces methods such as failure mode and effect analysis and total productive maintenance in order to improve the service organization's operational competence and culture, increasing at the same time the sense of ownership and the commitment for improvement of front line workers.FindingsThrough this paper, it has been shown that industrial methods for operational excellence can be adapted and transferred to the service sector with a potential for significant improvements in particular for those services with a high degree of tangible factors. Allowing in this way to achieve outstanding results also without significant investments.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper does not have the intention of describing the state‐of‐the‐art of service design and management, but rather it focuses on the transfer of industrial methods and techniques to the service sector.Originality/valueThe value of this paper is related to proposal of a global systemic approach to operational excellence in services, by means of which industrial methods for operational excellence are transferred to the service sector. Only few works in literature have tried to transfer industrial methods for operational excellence to services, however the main value of this paper is not – or not only – in the specific methods proposed, but in their integration in the systemic approach.
Quality in higher education: linking graduates' competencies and employers' needs
Authors: Martensen Anne , Grønholdt Lars 
Published: March 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on measuring competencies of higher education graduates and employers' needs, and using these measurements in the quality development of higher education study programmes.Design/methodology/approachResults of a survey among Danish employers and their perception of the competencies of MSc graduates from Copenhagen Business School (CBS) are presented and discussed. In addition to assessing the competencies, the respondents were also asked to assess the importance of the individual competencies.FindingsThe estimated importance score and performance score for each competency can be combined in a competency map, and it is shown how the four cells in the map can be interpreted in useful ways, when essential areas for quality improvement of the study programme are to be identified.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited to the Danish employers' perceptions of MSc graduates from CBS.Practical implicationsThe presented linking of competencies to employers' needs have clear managerial implications in the strategic development of higher education study programmes.Originality/valueThe study identifies and measures 16 essential graduate competencies and links these to employers' needs in a competency map.
Service quality, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions in fast‐food restaurants
Authors: Qin Hong , Prybutok Victor R. 
Published: March 2009

PurposeThis study aims to explore the potential dimensions of service quality, and examine the relationship among service quality, food quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions in fast‐food restaurants (FFRs).Design/methodology/approachThe construct reliability and validity was assessed using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Structural equation modeling was employed to estimate the relationship among service quality, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions.FindingsResults indicated that five dimensions were significant: tangibles, reliability/responsiveness, recovery, assurance, and empathy. Service quality and food quality were two main determinants of customer satisfaction. The insignificance of perceived value is potentially due to the homogeneous nature of the construct within the FFR group rather than the importance of the perceived value construct within food service.Originality/valueThe FFR success model, using the original five in the SERVPERF scale and another new dimension “recovery” to measure service quality, was empirically examined in the fast food industry. Several potential antecedents of satisfaction, including service quality, food quality and perceived value were also tested.
Continuous process improvement in Spanish local government
Authors: Suárez‐Barraza Manuel F. , Ramis‐Pujol Juan , Tort‐Martorell Llabrés Xavier 
Published: March 2009

PurposeIn response to external pressures that Spanish City Halls have been experiencing since the late 1980s and beginning of the 1990s, some of the local administrations have become references of success among the rest of the Spanish City Halls by focusing their efforts on making improvements through continuous process improvement (CPI). Thus, the research question of this study was: how was CPI approached in Spanish City Halls that have become references in Spain? The objective of this study was to explore and shed further light on the literature about this subject, viewing CPI within the public context of a local administration.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a qualitatively based interpretive methodology, applying the case study as a research strategy through a dual design, which combines longitudinal and retrospective studies.FindingsSpanish City Hall's approach CPI through a group of interrelated principles, techniques and tools that have been applied in a public context, resulting in certain benefits in municipal management.Practical implicationsAs a result of the conclusions from the field study, a set of practical recommendations are presented here that can be useful for other local administrations involved in improvement efforts.Originality/valueAcademic literature on the application of CPI in the public sector has been approached from perspectives like new public management or total quality management. However, in the Spanish context, there are practically no studies that explore and analyze the Spanish City Halls that have had positive results in their management, by focusing their efforts of improving work processes and public services on CPI.