bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Network intermediaries in the internationalisation of new firms in peripheral regions
Authors: O'Gorman Colm , Evers Natasha 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThis paper aims to draw on the network perspective of firm internationalisation to study how an intermediary network actor, such as an export promotion organisation (EPO), can influence the internationalisation of new ventures located in peripheral regions.Design/methodology/approachThe paper employs case analysis and the critical incident technique to study the influence of the Irish Government's support agency for the seafood industry, Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), on the internationalisation of three new ventures in the seafood sector in the West of Ireland.FindingsThe EPO played an important role in information mediation: identifying foreign opportunities and customers; facilitating introductions to international customers; and by providing foreign market knowledge; and as a resource provider developing the firm's export capacity.Research limitations/implicationsThe choice of sector and method may impact on the ability to generalise the findings to firms in other contexts.Practical implicationsThis study identifies a number of important implications for managers. It identifies a dilemma for policy‐makers: do efforts to develop strong support agencies come at the expense of developing strong firms?Originality/valueThis study advances the understanding of the role of an intermediary network actor in influencing new‐firm internationalisation. It identifies a set of conditions that, it is argued, are necessary if an EPO is to facilitate firm internationalisation.
External auditors' reliance on internal auditing: further evidence
Authors: Munro Lois , Stewart Jenny 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore whether internal audit's reporting relationship with the audit committee and the client's business risk environment impact external auditors' reliance on the work of internal audit.Design/methodology/approachAn experiment is conducted using a 2×2 between‐subjects design where we manipulate the above two factors at strong and weak levels. Participants are 66 audit partners, managers and seniors, all experienced with clients having internal audit functions.FindingsThe results indicate that both factors affect external auditors' reliance on work already undertaken by internal audit and their use of internal auditors (IA) as assistants. The results also indicate that external auditors are more likely to use internal audit for control evaluation tasks than for substantive tests of balances. The study does not find any significant interaction effects between the two factors.Originality/valueNo prior studies have examined the influence of reporting relationship and client business risk on external auditors' reliance decisions in the current governance environment. Further, the paper examines the impact of these factors on reliance on work already undertaken by internal audit and on using IA as assistants, with respect to both control evaluation work and substantive testing of balances.
Materiality in the context of audit: the real expectations gap
Authors: Houghton Keith A. , Jubb Christine , Kend Michael 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThis paper seeks to focus on the issue of materiality judgements and the need for public disclosure of materiality levels. Insights about the concept of materiality are drawn from the words of users of audited financial reports, auditee managements, suppliers to the market for audit services and auditing standard setters and regulators.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reports findings arising from face‐to‐face office interviews with individuals representing identified groups of stakeholders in the market for audit services about the issue of “materiality” as this concept is applied in auditing. The interviews canvassed many issues related to audit as part of a larger project entitled “The future of audit”.FindingsIn general, stakeholders perceive that the concepts involved in audit materiality are not well understood and they point to the difficulty in providing educative materiality about it, especially in relation to qualitative materiality, to retail investors in particular. There are mixed views as to whether the actual level of tolerable error, as per one of the meanings of materiality in the audit space, should be disclosed, with some feeling that it might be detrimental or dangerous.Practical implicationsIf incremental information about materiality is to be disclosed, the issue of where, what to whom, by whom and when arise. Various suggestions are made by stakeholders in respect of these questions.Originality/valueThe paper concludes by drawing from the insights gained by the authors through the comments of participant stakeholders to make recommendations that deal with the issue of audit materiality.
Corporate governance and no fraud occurrence in organizations
Authors: Law Philip 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine empirically the organizational factors that are associated with the absence of fraud.Design/methodology/approachFactor analysis using principal component extraction was first employed. Logistic regression was then performed to analyze the survey responses of 253 chief financial officers (CFOs) in Hong Kong. A total of 20 semi‐structured interviews were also carried out with CFOs to supplement the research results.FindingsThe results indicate that audit committee effectiveness, internal audit effectiveness, the tone at the top managerial level, and ethical guidelines and policies are positively associated with a lack of fraud within organizations. Neither auditors' prior success in fraud detection nor the type of auditor employed is an influential factor in the absence of fraud. These results are interesting and counter those of earlier studies conducted in the USA. Also contradicting prior research, the receipt of unqualified audit reports was not found to be significant in this study.Practical implicationsThe lack of significance for certain variables, and the counterintuitive nature of some of the results offers opportunities for further research. The results provide auditors with practical insights that will prove useful in the course of their work.Originality/valueThis is the first empirical study of its nature to be conducted in Hong Kong, and its results will make an important contribution to the corporate governance and auditing literature, particularly that focused on the Asia‐Pacific region. These results also have important implications for the accounting profession and for the corporate governance process within organizations.
Indirect government controls over Australia's social security expenditure
Authors: Grose Robert J. 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThe aim of this study is to examine how the use of indirect government control mechanisms is used as a means of holding government agencies such as job network providers and recipients of social security benefits accountable. The mechanisms of indirect government will be examined using Michel Foucault's discourses on disciplinary power, surveillance and normalisation.Design/methodology/approachThe mechanisms of indirect government are investigated through a survey questionnaire and focus group interviews. The questionnaire is assessed and analysed using descriptive statistics and principal component analysis with varimax rotation.FindingsIt is found that the rationing and disciplinary mechanisms of the breaching regime, through a process of disciplinary power, surveillance and normalisation, combine to help hold government agencies and recipients of social security benefits accountable, which in turn helps control the level of social security expenditure.Originality/valueThe current study extends our understanding of the functions of indirect government by providing an applied example of how the process of government works indirectly through government agencies and the abundant rules and regulations that underpin such bureaucracies.
Organisations as emergent normative personalities: part 1, the concepts
Authors: Yolles Maurice , Fink Gerhard , Dauber Daniel 
Published: July 2011

PurposeModelling the organisation to enable purposeful analysis and diagnosis of its ills is often problematic. This is illustrated by the unconnected non‐synergistic plurality of organisational models each of which relates to a particular isolated frame of thought and purpose. A cybernetic approach is adopted to create a generic psychosocial model for the organisation that is used to characterise its emergent normative personality. Organisations are often complex, and seeing them in terms of their normative personality can reduce the complexity and enable a better understanding of their pathologies. This paper seeks to do two things. The first is to show that it is possible to set up a generic model of the organisation as an agency, and the second is to show that this same model can also be represented in the alternative terms of the emergent normative personality. In order to do this, an understanding of what it is that constitutes generic criteria is required. In addition, the paper shall show that organisational and personality theories can be connected generically. One of the consequences of the theory is that the patterns of behaviour which occur in an agency have underlying trait control processes.Design/methodology/approachA meta‐systemic view of the organisation is adopted through knowledge cybernetics that enables more flexibility and formality when viewing organisational models. The paper develops a formal generic model of the organisation that should facilitate the exploration of problem situations both theoretically and empirically.FindingsThe outcome of the research formulates the cognitive processes of normative personality as a feasible way of explaining organisations and provide a capacity to analyse and predict the likelihood of their behavioural conduct and misconduct. As an agency trait model, agency explains the socio‐cognitive aspects of self‐organisation and the efficacy of connections between the traits. These traits control the personality, and inter‐trait connections are Piagetian intelligences that orient the traits and work through forms of first‐ and second‐order autopoiesis. The development of a typology of pathologies is also suggested as feasible.Originality/valueThere are previous metaphorical notions that link agency with traits. Here, metaphor is extended to produce a formal model for the emergent normative personality. This is the first time that socio‐cognitive and trait approaches are formally linked, as it is the fist time that a typology for organisational pathologies is proposed.
A new – 4th order cybernetics and sustainable future
Authors: Božičnik Stane , Mulej Matjaž 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report a further step in the authors' research and suggest a new – 4th order cybernetics, applying it to the issue of a sustainable future, that must unavoidably result from the current socio‐economic crisis surfacing in 2008 as the top of an iceberg, or humankind of the current civilization has poor chances to survive. One‐sided solutions do not prove to work; they make us think of systems and cybernetics.Design/methodology/approachQualitative research with application to real‐life cases.FindingsWhile cybernetics is about steering, i.e. influencing, cybernetics of the 1st and 2nd order might be insufficient for solving the problem, and cybernetics of the 3rd order might serve us better, but not enough either. The authors' thesis reads: they might better be put in a new synergy with the (Universal) Dialectical Systems Theory and Cybernetics of Conceptual Systems to make a new kind of systems theory/cybernetics called cybernetics of the 4th order. It should help human beings to attain the requisite holism of the human approach and the requisite wholeness of outcomes of human action.Research limitations/implicationsA more holistic concept of cybernetics is suggested.Practical implicationsControl of ecological problems of today might be made easier.Originality/valueThis is the first publication about the concept of the 4th order cybernetics, especially with application to issues of sustainability.
Hierarchy orientation in equity alliances: core capabilities perspective
Authors: Bertoncelj Andrej , Kavčič Klemen 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to investigate whether protection of core capabilities requires a greater level of control, i.e. ownership, even if it is at the cost of lower flexibility. Despite the significant research interest in equity alliances, knowledge of strategic orientation of acquiring companies is still incomplete.Design/methodology/approachThe study examines two main generic organizational forms, hierarchy and market, their benefits and threats for acquiring companies while protecting their core capabilities in equity alliances.FindingsThe protection of core capabilities is becoming an important strategic objective in the processes of forging equity alliances which are based on ownership and legal relationships. Ownership brings more control over core capabilities which mean competitive advantage through hierarchical organizational structure on the one hand but less flexibility as otherwise benefited in market organizational structure on the other.Research limitations/implicationsFurther studies are required in order to corroborate the assessment of presented organizational forms and to explore these relationships over a longer period of time.Practical implicationsThe topic is relevant for designing strategies in acquiring companies or those companies becoming a part of global networks. Better understanding of strategic orientation and concept of control could significantly enhance the success rate in M&A activity.Originality/valueThe paper explores as to when and why a certain organizational structure, hierarchy or market, is the preferred one for companies. This paper intends to give executives practical, hands‐on advice for conducting M&A activity.
Creativity: relation to neural transmission errors
Authors: Fidelman Uri 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to compare creativity and psychometric IQ and to explain why creativity is often related to mental disturbances.Design/methodology/approachThe approach taken is that of theoretical analysis.FindingsPsychometric IQ is found to be related to low probability of neural transmission errors. On the other hand, creativity is related to the existence of some neural transmission errors, and therefore to mental disorders.Originality/valueThe findings presented in the paper may be applied to education; to the increase of both psychometric IQ and creativity.
Excitable Delaunay triangulations
Authors: Adamatzky Andrew 
Published: July 2011

PurposeDelaunay triangulations provide a good alternative to existing approaches of modelling unstructured unconventional computers. Experimental research in novel and emerging computing paradigms and materials shows a great progress in designing laboratory prototypes of spatially extended computing devices. In these devices, computation is implemented by excitation waves and localisations in reaction‐diffusion chemical media, geometrically constrained and compartmentalized excitable substrates, organic molecular assemblies, and gas‐discharge systems. These unconventional computing substrates can be formally represented by Delaunay triangulations with excitable nodes. Thus, it is important to uncover most common types of excitation dynamics on the Delaunay diagrams. The purpose of this paper is to define excitable automata on Delaunay triangulation and demonstrate how to control a space‐time dynamics of excitation on the triangulation using absolute and relative excitability thresholds.Design/methodology/approachThe paper modifies classical Greenberg‐Hasting model to topology of Delaunay triangulations and considers not only a threshold of excitation but also a ratio of excited neighbours as an essential factor of nodes' activation. Delaunay triangulations for various densities of nodes packaging are considered.FindingsThe paper defines excitable automata on Delaunay triangulation and demonstrates how to control a space‐time dynamics of excitation on the triangulation using absolute and relative excitability thresholds. The paper uncovers several interesting phenomena ranging from reaction of excitation waves by edge of triangulation to branching domains of activity guided by travelling localized excitations.Originality/valueThe findings reported in the paper will contribute towards designs of novel computing substrates in non‐crystalline structure. Also, automaton interpretation of activity dynamics on Delaunay triangulation can make a viable model of automaton‐network approaches to design of nano‐computing devices.
Taylor‐Galerkin method for advection‐diffusion equation
Authors: Dağ İdris , Canivar Aynur , Şahin Ali 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide numerical solutions of the time‐dependent advection‐diffusion problem by using B‐spline finite element methods in which Taylor series expansion is used for the related time discretization.Design/methodology/approachThe solution domain is partitioned into uniform mesh. The collocation and the Galerkin methods where B‐spline functions are used as base functions are applied to advection‐diffusion equation.FindingsGiven methods are unconditionally stable and the obtained results are comparable with some earlier studies in terms of accuracy.Originality/valueQuadratic and cubic B‐spline base functions are used with Taylor series expansion for the discretization of the equation.
Tension reduction by military power equalization: the USA‐USSR case
Authors: Tsaganea Doru 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present another historical case that supports the theory that power equality – and not power inequality – reduces international tension and makes the world more peaceful.Design/methodology/approachThe paper refers to two mathematical models that back this theory and focuses on the case of the American and Soviet military expenditures during the last 25 years of the superpowers' rivalry. Both datasets are adjusted for inflation and expressed in constant US dollars. The 25‐year interval is divided into two main subintervals into the basis of data characteristics, and four regression lines are determined.FindingsThe regression lines of the US and USSR military expenditures corresponding to the first‐time interval intersect in 1971, when the main decisions regarding the SALT Treaty were made. The same lines for the second interval intersect in 1989, when the Cold War ended. The USA decided to escalate the Vietnam War during the period in which their military expenditures were significantly higher than the Soviet ones. Similarly, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan when its military expenditures were considerably bigger than the American ones. Subsequently, it is possible to affirm that the 1976‐1991 US‐USSR arms race is another important empirical case that supports the theory asserting that power equalization reduces international tension.Originality/valueBy using three simple statistical techniques – adjustment for inflation, determination of the relevant regression lines, and calculation of intersection points – the paper shows that two sets of highly significant empirical data reinforce the theory that power equalization reduces international tension.
Guiding conceptual design modeling based on product systems analysis
Authors: Cao Dongxing , Han Yanhui , Cui Chunxiang , Qi Kaicheng 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to implement the modeling of the design process in response to volatile market demands. It mainly focuses on design activities for product development towards the early stage.Design/methodology/approachThis paper describes the system of products from the systems engineering point of view, analyzes the attributes of products and components, studies the environment and its input/output relationship and implements product formal representation, respectively. This paper gives product structure and component connections, describes the process of structure generations and product decomposition by set representation, calculates the number of component connections and density of components; also it presents product module division and coupling degree analysis in accordance with axiomatic theory; coupling degree is calculated by considering the correspondence ratio and the cluster independence.FindingsIt describes the product as an engineering system, and analyzes product systems and product structures through using systems theory. Design process modeling is analyzed, and a strategic approach to decomposing product structure and calculating modularity is adopted for product development.Research limitations/implicationsAccessibility and availability mainly focus on product system development.Practical implicationsThe paper offers useful advice for the modeling process of product conceptual design.Originality/valueThe new approach to conceptual design is based on set representation and systems analysis as well as axiomatic theory. The paper is aimed at understanding evolution mechanism of complexity product systems.
Design of agent‐based supply chain‐oriented virtual enterprise platform
Authors: Chen Dejun , Zhou Zude , Ma Yingzhe , Pham D.T. 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to create a platform framework based on agent for virtual enterprise (VE) with the characteristic of supply chain by adopting multi‐agent technology.Design/methodology/approachAccording to the system hierarchy theory and the features of VE with the characteristic of supply chain, the conception and organization structure of supply chain‐oriented VE are proposed. Combined with characters of multi‐agent, a platform framework based on agent for VE with the characteristic of supply chain is created. Aiming at complexity of net node of running platform framework, two‐layer architecture mode, which are information alternation layer and basic function layer inside net node based on agent, are designed. The modes are proved to be reasonable in the management of the system and networks resources.FindingsThe theory base of realization of the VE based on agent with the characteristic of supply chain is found.Research limitations/implicationsThe reasonable basic function design of various agents are main limitations.Practical implicationsThe paper presents a very useful tool for the operation and management of VE.Originality/valueA new approach and scheme for VE with the characteristic of supply chain is presented. This paper is aimed at researchers and engineers.
Research on the innovation system of China's software industry based on CAS theory
Authors: Dai Weihui , Chen Mingqi , Ye Nan 
Published: July 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to define and analyze the innovation system of China's software industry in order to build its innovation capability.Design/methodology/approachFrom a complex adaptive systems (CAS) perspective, the authors researched the constitution and operating mechanism of China's software industry innovation system. By using methods and theories of CAS theory, the innovation problems of the software industry in China were analyzed and valuable suggestions put forth for its future development.FindingsInnovation system is one kind of complex systems and it has the characteristics of CAS.Research limitations/implicationsQuantitative analysis of the software industry innovation system should be emphasized in the next stage of research.Practical implicationsThe paper provides a new perspective and useful advice for technology policymakers.Originality/valueThe paper applies CAS theory to the area of social management and provides a new approach to study industrial innovation systems.