bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The researcher's perspective on procuring public works projects
Authors: Cheung Esther , Chan Albert P.C. , Kajewski Stephen 
Published: September 2010

PurposeAs part of a comprehensive research study looking at implementing public private partnerships (PPPs), interviews with experienced researchers were conducted with the aim of realizing their views on private sector involvement in public works projects.Design/methodology/approachAmongst these interviews, five were launched with academics from Hong Kong and Australia, and two were conducted with legislative councillors of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region Government.FindingsFindings show that Hong Kong and Australian interviewees had previously conducted some kind of research in the field of PPP. “Different risk profiles” and “private sector more innovative/efficient” were highlighted as the main differences between projects that were procured by PPP and traditionally. Other differences include risk transfer. In a PPP arrangement the public sector passes on a substantial amount of the project risks to the private sector, whereas in a traditional case the public sector would take the largest responsibility in bearing these risks. Another common feature of the private sector is that it tends to be more efficient and innovative when compared to the public sector; hence its expertise is often reflected in PPP projects. It was agreed that the key performance indicators for PPP projects were unique to individual projects. The critical success factors mentioned by both groups included “transparent process”, “project dependent” and “market need”. Because PPP projects tend to be large‐scaled costly projects, adequate transparency in the process is necessary in order to demonstrate that a fair selection and tendering process is conducted. A market need for the project is also important to ensure that the project will be financially secure and that the private sector can make a reasonable profit to cover their project expenditure.Originality/valueThe findings from this paper have enabled a comparative analysis between the views of researchers in two completely different jurisdictions. With the growing popularity to implement PPP projects, it is believed that the results presented in this paper would be of interest to the industry at large.
Maintainability of reinforced concrete flat roofs in Sri Lanka
Authors: De Silva Nayanthara , Ranasinghe Malik 
Published: September 2010

PurposeThe research into the issue of maintainability of multi‐storey buildings in Sri Lanka is still in its adolescent stage. One of the critical building elements that requires immediate attention for maintainability is reinforced concrete flat roofs. They are often subjected to alternate drying and wetting cycles under tropical conditions, causing many defects and subsequent deterioration when proper detailing related to design, construction and maintenance actions are lacking. Therefore, the aim of this paper is focused on identifying problems and risks and proposing a model to enhance the maintainability of flat roofs.Design/methodology/approachThe existing maintainability problems were collected from 50 multi‐storey buildings. The inherent risks of flat roofs' maintainability were identified and analyzed through their problem‐causing factors. A scoring system using artificial neural networks is developed to forecast the level of maintainability.FindingsThe paper found 721 maintainability problems of flat roofs and a further 12 maintainability risk conditions related to the flat roofs were elicited. The model showed the level of maintainability of a typical flat roof shown is only 51 percent. The risk factors are also prioritized to give guidance.Originality/valueThe paper provides useful information to the designers and users on maintainability problems related to flat roofs. Also it highlights important risk conditions in order to minimize these problems.
Service personal values and customer loyalty
Authors: Ngoc Thuy Pham , Nguyen Hau Le 
Published: September 2010

PurposeThis paper aims to employ the concept of service personal values to predict customer satisfaction and loyalty towards banking services. It also aims to validate the three components of service personal values when being conceptualized as a high‐order construct.Design/methodology/approachA structural equation model was developed and tested using data surveyed from retail banking customers in Vietnam. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to refine the measurement scales. Path analysis was used to test the model.FindingsWith customer satisfaction as a partial mediating construct, the results show that service personal values can explain a significant part of customer satisfaction and a substantial part of customer loyalty. Data also validate the three components of service personal values namely, value to a peaceful life, value to social recognition and value to social integration.Research limitations/implicationsInvolvement level in the purchase process, switching barriers and/or corporate image should be added as moderating variables in further research. Impacts of each component of service personal values on satisfaction and loyalty are another research direction.Practical implicationsService providers should understand personal values of customers that may be different by culture and social demographic characteristics. Providing a service that enhances customer personal values is a key to success because it helps customers to be happy, to be recognized, and to improve their relationship with others.Originality/valueEmploying the concept of service personal values, this study departs from the prevailing use of service attributes, service quality or service value to predict satisfaction and loyalty. Moreover, it is among very few studies conducted in a transitional economy.
Development of a model of price competition in the Spanish loans market
Authors: Ruiz‐Moreno Felipe , Ladrón‐de‐Guevara Antonio , Mas‐Ruiz Francisco 
Published: September 2010

PurposeThe main objective of this paper is to propose a model that allows the detection of the competitive pattern of the Spanish loans market between 1992 and 1996.Design/methodology/approachIn order to achieve this objective, the paper estimates, following the New Empirical Industrial Organization paradigm, a conjectural variation model for the strategic marketing dimension of price. The model proposed allows the measurement of strategic group‐level rivalry while simultaneously considering demand, costs, and profit specifications for each bank.FindingsThe findings evidence a high degree of competition between the firms within the same strategic group. Further, the demand for loans of a firm has a positive (negative) relationship with the rivals' price (own price), with the own branch network (rivals' branch network), and with the economic activity in the regions where firm operates.Research limitations/implicationsThe major limitation of this research could become from the necessity to operate with detailed information that the authors try to overcome using proxies of several non‐available variables.Originality/valueThe model proposed herein represents a contribution to previous works and also provides more information about banking competition in the sense that it estimates price competition between firms within three strategic groups.
Continuous learning using dissatisfaction feedback in new product development contexts
Authors: Fundin Anders , Elg Mattias 
Published: September 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how various dissatisfaction feedback transferrals contribute to the decision‐making process in product development contexts.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents the results from a qualitative interview‐based study of 16 product development organizations and their customer dissatisfaction feedback systems; 84 percent of the companies within a machine industry segment in Sweden are covered.FindingsBased on the empirical investigation, a taxonomy of five decisions based upon dissatisfaction feedback is developed: reactive, preventive and developmental decisions are connected with exploitation of products, while future developmental and future preventive decisions are connected with exploration of future products.Originality/valueThe project is essentially managerial, aiming to provide managers and other decision makers with a framework that displays how various dissatisfaction feedback transferrals contribute to various decisions in product development contexts. The paper highlights that despite costly investigations in customer feedback systems, very few customer dissatisfaction feedback transferrals are connected to explorative future developmental actions.
Satisfaction and dissatisfaction in online auctions: an empirical analysis
Authors: Huang Xiaowen , Finch Byron J. 
Published: September 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to empirically test the validity of a two‐factor theory for seller service quality in the online auction context.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 2,000 buyer feedbacks about seller performance (1,000 positive and 1,000 negative) was collected from eBay. Content analysis of positive and negative feedback was conducted and the frequencies of mention of specific service quality attributes were compared.FindingsAnalysis of total mentions and exclusive mentions of service quality attributes showed significantly different content for positive and negative feedback, supporting the validity of two‐factor theory in this context and adding to the understanding of customer expectations in this environment.Practical implicationsThe paper's findings can guide sellers' allocation of efforts in service design, so they can establish and maintain the reputation necessary to attract bidders and successfully compete in high‐risk online environments like eBay.Originality/valueThe paper extends the understanding of quality determinants in a service environment substantially different to traditional environments because of the risks to which buyers are exposed, information asymmetry, and the lack of previous experience with buyers. In addition, the finding of support for two‐factor theory is in a direct contrast with the conventional, one‐factor model subscribed by most quality researchers in the operations management field, and highlights the importance of investigating customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction separately in the online auction environment.
Non‐linear nonparametric quality screening in low sampling testing
Authors: Besseris George J. 
Published: September 2010

PurposeScreening simultaneously for effects and their curvature may be useful in industrial environments when an economic restriction on experimentation is imposed. Saturated‐unreplicated fractional factorial designs have been a regular outlet for scheduling screening investigations under such circumstances. The purpose of this paper is to devise a practical test that may simultaneously quantify in statistical terms the possible existence of active factors in concert with an associated non‐linearity during screening.Design/methodology/approachThe three‐level, nine‐run orthogonal design is utilized to compute a family of parameter‐free reference cumulative distributions by permuting ranked observations via a brute‐force method. The proposed technique is simple, practical and non‐graphical. It is based on Kruskal‐Wallis test and involves a sum of effects through the squared rank‐sum inference statistic. This statistic is appropriately extended for fractional factorial composite contrasting while avoiding explicitly the effect sparsity assumption.FindingsThe method is shown to be worthy competing with mainstream comparison methods and aids in averting potential complications arising from the indiscriminant use of analysis of variance in very low sampling schemes where subjective variance pooling is otherwise enforced.Research limitations/implicationsThe true distributions obtained in this paper are suitable for sieving a fairly small amount of potential control factors while maintaining the non‐linearity question in the search.Practical implicationsThe method is objective and is further elucidated by reworking two recent case studies which account for a total of five saturated screenings.Originality/valueThe statistical tables produced are easy to use and uphold the need for estimating separately mean and variance effects which are rather difficult to pinpoint for the fast track, low‐volume trials this paper is intended to.
Contribution of the ISO 9001 internal audit to business performance
Authors: Alič Milena , Rusjan Borut 
Published: September 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how the internal audit can contribute to an improvement in business performance. The goal is to develop a theoretical model of the integration of quality management systems (QMS) and an internal audit within a broader managerial system and performance reviews of the company.Design/methodology/approachA theoretical framework was developed for assessing the internal audit's contribution to the achievement of business goals. Based on the theoretically explained relationship two hypotheses related to impact of internal audits on business performance were empirically tested by a case study.FindingsA mature QMS should contribute to the achievement of a company's efficiency, which can be based on the connection of quality goals with the company's strategic goals, and in relation to this implementation of the internal audit should also be upgraded to contribute to achievement of the company's efficiency and strategic goals. Accordingly, the results of internal audits and measures that follow the audit are discussed within a strategic internal analysis of the company.Research limitations/implicationsTesting on a single case has limitations regarding the ability to generalise the results to a broader spectrum of companies, however the objective was to expand and generalise theory. With the confirmed hypothesis about the contribution and positive impact of the internal audit by the case study, the statistical generalisation by using the survey method represents a logical additional step. Further research should also analyse the relationship between subjective employee assessments and objective performance data.Practical implicationsEmpirical results show that internal audit contributes to the achievement of business goals and that internal audit has more positive than negative effects on business performance. Therefore, the paper demonstrates that the results of an audit can be used as a foundation for choosing measures not only to assure the conformity of the QMS with the standard's requirements, but also to assure business improvements.Originality/valueThe paper identified the relations between three managerial systems: QMS, total quality management (TQM) (represented by the business excellence models) and strategic management. The systems are connected in the strategy development and in the analysis phase of the strategic decision‐making process. Paper integrated the internal audit into the company's performance review system. The identified positive effects of the QMS were used as a basis for assessing the internal audit's contribution to the achievement of business goals and improving company efficiency.
Validation of reliability capability evaluation model using a quantitative assessment process
Authors: Tiku Sanjay , Pecht Michael 
Published: September 2010

PurposeReliability capability is a measure of the practices within an organization that contributes to the reliability of the final product and the effectiveness of these practices in meeting the reliability requirements of customers. The purpose of this paper is to propose a model for evaluating the reliability capability of electronics manufacturers.Design/methodology/approachA survey methodology and statistical methods based on multivariate correlational analysis were used to validate the model theoretically.FindingsThe result of the analysis is a list and ranking of tasks that are critical to the development of reliable electronics products.Originality/valueThe paper presents a generic model for evaluating both in‐house reliability practices and those of suppliers to identify areas for improvement and for evaluating improvements over time.
Multi‐risk level examination of going concern modifications
Authors: Young Antony , Wang Yi 
Published: September 2010

PurposeThe literature has revealed auditors' going concern risk disclosures are examined in research as a homogenous risk class. This is despite the various going concern modifications auditors are entitled to give pertaining to this issue. A five‐level risk class is established in this paper derived from Australian Auditing Standard pronouncements to examine the appropriateness of auditors' going concern reporting relating specifically to the likelihood of firm failure.Design/methodology/approachTime is necessary to reveal the appropriateness of going concern reporting therefore a longitudinal research methodology was adopted. The research focuses on all Australian listed companies within the building industry in 1989 and follows all of the reporting of going concern by auditors and directors through until 2007. The building industry was selected because of its volatility, which increased the possibility of going concern reporting allowing a more in‐depth focus in the research. All auditors' going concern modifications were examined along with all indications of going concern problems identified by directors. To properly investigate the appropriateness of auditors' reporting, all sampled audit reports were examined using Altman's Z‐score model which were matched with a risk class model using the relevant requirements to report in order to determine the appropriateness of the auditors' and directors' opinions.FindingsThe level of under reporting of going concern risk by auditors (75 per cent) implies they are more affected by the agency relationship found in literature than directors who are found to have an incidence of underreporting of 57 per cent.Research limitations/implicationsLiterature classifies auditors along with directors as part of the agency problem. Altman's Z‐score bankruptcy prediction model is used because of its enduring nature, reliability and ability to be externally calculated to independently compare the going concern reporting performance of auditors and directors as part of the contribution to this research area.Originality/valueThe paper for the first time examines going concern reporting at a multi‐risk level rather than the binomial level used in research previously. The approach is developed in this paper using auditing pronouncements. These risk levels are linked with an independent measure being the Altman Z‐score to determine the appropriateness of auditors' and directors' reporting of going concern issues.
Transition to IFRS in Greece: financial statement effects and auditor size
Authors: Tsalavoutas Ioannis , Evans Lisa 
Published: September 2010

PurposeThe paper aims to explore the impact of the transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on Greek listed companies' financial statements with a focus on net profit, shareholders' equity, gearing and liquidity. It also seeks to examine any differences in the impact across the sub‐samples of companies with Big 4 and non‐Big 4 auditors.Design/methodology/approachIn line with recent literature, the paper employs Gray's comparability index. The sample consists of 238 Greek companies, representing 75 per cent of the companies listed on the Athens Stock Exchange at the end of March 2006.FindingsImplementation of IFRS had a significant impact on financial position and reported performance as well as on gearing and liquidity ratios. On average, impact on shareholders' equity and net income was positive while impact on gearing and liquidity was negative. Only companies with non‐Big 4 auditors faced significant impact on net profit and liquidity. They also faced a significantly greater impact on gearing than companies with Big 4 auditors. A large number of companies with material negative changes is identified, suggesting that transition to IFRS and the fair value option does not necessarily result in higher shareholders' equity figures. Many companies provided inadequate transitional disclosures. This is significantly related to auditor size.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that reporting quality has improved under the new accounting regime, especially for companies with non‐Big 4 auditors.Originality/valuePrior literature indicates that the impact revealed in companies' reconciliation statements can have significant effects on users' decision making. On that basis, the study can stimulate future research and is relevant to standard setters and regulators.
Sustaining corporate success: what drives the top performers?
Authors: Matzler Kurt , Bailom Franz , Anschober Markus , Richardson Susan 
Published: September 2010

PurposeIn a world afflicted with hyper‐competition, dynamic and increasingly rapid market changes, and global economic crises, there still exist, however rare, exceptional companies that have found a way to weather the storm and position themselves for a bright future. This study investigates success factors of top performing companies and drivers of innovativeness and corporate success.Design/methodology/approachBased on a research study of over 700 European companies, this article explores ways in which many top companies have surged passed their competitors and achieved sustained corporate success. A synthesis of scientific studies, practical experience, and numerous conversations with successful entrepreneurs and senior executives, the results of the project are discussed in order to direct readers' attention to those levers that can help companies create, maintain and strengthen a competitive edge.FindingsThe study identifies the pillars of success of high‐performing companies and shows how leadership, entrepreneurship culture, market orientation, core competences and leadership influence innovativeness and corporate success.Originality/valueBased on a large‐scale empirical study success factors are identified and it is shown how they work together. Examples of successful companies and interviews with senior executives give insights into the secrets of success of top performers.