bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
New insights into consumer confidence in financial services
Authors: Gritten Adèle 
Published: February 2011

PurposeA paradigm shift in consumer confidence has taken place with the worst recession on record forcing people to evaluate their personal and household finances. This paper seeks to explore the extent to which consumer confidence has been tarnished, and how it has evolved post‐recession. It aims to take both retrospective and prospective views on what has changed in the British psyche since the credit crunch, looking at where new confidences have been found and where old confidences have been lost, and hypothesising about the extent to which consumer behaviour will remain constant or further change against a likely backdrop of continuing financial instability.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is based on a variety of proprietary quantitative research surveys conducted by YouGov plc.FindingsThis paper provides new insights into consumer confidence, including, but not limited to: demonstrating the harsh realities of more people being in financial difficulty now than 18 months ago, and its impact on confidence; looking at which aspects of household expenditure and budgets have been hardest squeezed, and what that means for short‐ and medium‐term futures; analysing the extent to which the generally lower level of available credit makes consumers more or less reliant on borrowing as a way of life, and the associated impact on confidence and decision making/financial planning prioritisation; exploring the real fears and concerns people have about their future finances; and exploring consumer financial hopes and aspirations in a post‐recessionary climate.Originality/valueFindings from bespoke research offer hitherto unpublished and statistically valid results on the extent to which consumers have coped with and embraced the aftermath of the recession, and, moreover, how that might manifest itself in terms of future consumer confidence in financial services.
Measuring the financial capability of investors
Authors: Pellinen Antti , Törmäkangas Kari , Uusitalo Outi , Raijas Anu 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide further understanding of the financial capability of mutual fund investors, and compare internet and branch office investors. It seeks to examine mutual fund investors' abilities and awareness of the terms and risks of mutual fund investments using a novel measurement instrument.Design/methodology/approachAbility measurement techniques adapted from educational and psychological studies were applied in the paper. Empirical survey data were collected in Finland.FindingsThere were differences between different types of investors in terms of financial knowledge. The channel used by the investors in making investments differentiated the more knowledgeable internet investors from the less knowledgeable branch office investors.Research limitations/implicationsThe subjects of the study are the clients of a mutual fund company. Future research could concentrate on examining the consequences of financial knowledge. One interesting question is how the consumers understand their personal financial capability and its role in their lives.Practical implicationsThe measures and indicators of financial capability are important evaluative instruments for banks and financial corporations as well as for the authorities involved in evaluating investors' financial behaviour.Originality/valueThe ability measurement technique adapted from education and psychological research proved to be applicable in the field of financial capability measurement.
Financial services and consumer protection after the crisis
Authors: Akinbami Folarin 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the approaches to consumer protection in UK financial services before and after the global financial crisis.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reviews the literature on behavioural economics and psychology, and uses it as the basis for a critique of the UK's approach to the supervision of financial services firms and the protection of their consumers.FindingsNon‐interventionist approaches to consumer protection, which are based on the traditional theories of the law and economics movement, have failed. As a result, there is now a shift in thinking towards more interventionist approaches.Research limitations/implicationsBy understanding the likely impact of the regulatory reforms the academic research community can assist the regulator to understand the best way to ensure desirable outcomes for users (consumers) of financial services.Originality/valueThe moves to reform UK financial regulation after the crisis have only recently got under way and a lot of the reforms have not been widely debated or written on.
Understanding the consumption process through in‐branch and e‐mortgage service channels
Authors: Coughlan Jane , Macredie Robert D. , Patel Nayna 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThe twin aims of this paper are to explore the differences in the consumption process between the traditional in‐branch and web‐based (e‐mortgage) service channels and how the differences relate to any problems identified in the electronic service environment, with respect to information search and product evaluation.Design/methodology/approachA process‐oriented approach comparing the two service channels (in‐branch vs e‐mortgage) was conducted in two study phases. Data from the e‐mortgage process were collected using protocol analysis with 12 first‐time buyers (FTBs) applying on a website belonging either to a hybrid or to an internet‐only bank. Results of the e‐mortgage process were mapped on to stages of the in‐branch process, which was captured by observation of six FTB mortgage interviews to determine the level of correspondence and emergent issues.FindingsSupport for the FTB in the e‐mortgage process was problematic and service provision was found to be product‐ rather than consumer‐oriented.Practical implicationsThe study highlights the importance of design issues in the electronic service environment for creating confidence in the online advice and information available on home mortgages for FTBs.Originality/valueThe paper promotes increased understanding by financial service providers of the characteristics that support the consultative selling process for complex products such as mortgages and inform multichannel retailing.
Generic technology‐based service quality dimensions in banking
Authors: Ganguli Shirshendu , Roy Sanjit Kumar 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThis paper aims to identify the generic service quality dimensions of technology‐based banking and to examine the effect of these dimensions on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.Design/methodology/approachThe generic service quality dimensions are identified using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Next the reliability and validity of the factors and customer satisfaction and customer loyalty are established through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using AMOS 16.0 s/w. The related hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling using AMOS 16.0.FindingsThe paper identifies four generic service quality dimensions in the technology‐based banking services – customer service, technology security and information quality, technology convenience, and technology usage easiness and reliability. It was found that customer service and technology usage easiness and reliability have positive and significant impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. It was also found that technology convenience and customer satisfaction have significant and positive impact on customer loyalty.Practical implicationsThese dimensions of service quality should be viewed as the levers of improving perceived service quality with respect to technology‐based banking in the minds of its current customers. Examining the service quality dimensions' impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty for technology‐based banking can offer banks valuable insights regarding which aspects of the service to focus on in order to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty towards the firms.Originality/valueThis paper introduces the concept of generic service quality and its significance for customer satisfaction and loyalty in case of technology‐based banking wherein technology is used to deliver services.
The business school in transition
Authors: Harrington Denis , Kearney Arthur 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThis paper aims to consider the extent to which business school transition has created new opportunities in management development, knowledge transfer and knowledge creation.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is a critical review of knowledge exchange in a business school context with a particular focus on the “translation or management practice gap”.FindingsChange in the nature of research undertaken in business schools opens up new opportunities for collaboration between academia and practice. The paper points to the need for more innovative forms of research engagement encouraging academic‐practitioner collaboration and practice‐based management development initiatives.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper contributes to the debate on innovative forms of knowledge exchange and transfer and helps stimulate further studies examining potential approaches to fostering co‐learning and discovery and participatory forms of knowledge production.Practical implicationsChanges in business school environment and context offer opportunities for new modes of knowledge exchange both in management development and research. Practice based theory offers a new paradigm of management development.Originality/valueRecent commentators refer to notions of academia and practice as “closed systems and self referential” and point to the requirement for greater attention on knowledge transfer, and to learn from knowledge transfer studies concerning practitioner/research communities of practice, networks and collaborations. The paper addresses this deficiency in the literature and points to key areas warranting further research.
Downsizings, mergers, and acquisitions
Authors: Shook LaVerne , Roth Gene 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThis paper seeks to provide perspectives of HR practitioners based on their experiences with mergers, acquisitions, and/or downsizings.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study utilized interviews with 13 HR practitioners. Data were analyzed using a constant comparative method.FindingsHR practitioners were not involved in planning decisions related to downsizings, mergers, and/or acquisition. Neither the practitioners in this study nor other members of the HR team in their organizations had an upfront due diligence role in these change initiatives.Research limitations/implicationsAdditional research is needed to guide HRD practitioners in repositioning their roles so that they are more central to an organization's strategic decisions. Given the method of this study, the findings are not intended for generalization to larger populations. Future research should address the needs of HRD practitioners who are affected by downsizings, mergers, and/or acquisitions.Practical implicationsThe primary role of HR practitioners need to be more than transitional activities after these change events are announced. Rather, these practitioners need opportunities during the planning stages to ensure that training and development supports the financial goals of these change events. After these change events occur, HRD practitioners need support for interventions to counter the impact of dismissed cultural artifacts and broken human links.Originality/valueStudy participants explained that failure to identify employee issues in the pre‐downsizing due diligence phase creates a chaotic workplace atmosphere and increases employee fears and stress levels. Participants explained how these change events affect career uncertainty, fear, and stress in employees.
Non‐employee critical HRD: empowerment and communities
Authors: Harvey Brendon 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore, drawing on the author's experience, the role of human resource development (HRD) in developing individuals, teams and communities.Design/methodology/approachThe paper adopts a critically reflective methodology rooted in the research practice of the author working alongside communities in the UK.FindingsA non‐employee critical HRD can foster empowered spaces by which alternative discourses can be held up to the light and critical questions posed. The paper introduces the notion of a different form of empowerment that moves away from the individual to a view of suspension of action, of supporting the exploration of assumptions and taken‐for‐granteds, of identifying constructions of reality by members of communities, and inquiring into the social conditions which play a large part in determining their health and ambitions.Practical implicationsAt a time when extensive cuts are being planned for public services, and the discourse of community empowerment becomes more entrenched, consideration of a critical approach to non‐employee HRD is especially timely, for both researchers and policy makers.Originality/valuePast studies of HRD have focused primarily on the organisational sphere, with little critical consideration of its application to actual community settings and so‐called “service users”.
The implications of the global ecological predicament for economic theory and practice
Authors: Trainer Ted 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to outline the implications of the global ecological predicament for economic theory and practice.Design/methodology/approachMany current analyses of ecological, resource, economic, greenhouse, energy, etc. problems acknowledge the urgent need for significant changes. However, almost all assume that it will be possible to reform a society based on principles such as economic growth, affluent living standards, market systems, the profit motive and competitive, individualistic acquisitiveness, into a society that is sustainable and just. The first section of this paper sketches the grounds for concluding that this view is clearly mistaken. It shows that consumer‐capitalist society cannot be fixed, i.e. that no amount of reforms leaving its core principles intact can make it into a society that is sustainable and just. The second section derives from this analysis some of the basic principles, which a satisfactory society must, therefore, have. Section 3 deals with the radical implications of these discussions for economic theory and practice.FindingsThe paper shows that when the nature and magnitude of the global ecological situation is understood it is evident that a consumer‐capitalist society cannot be made sustainable or just, and that the irremediable faults are largely due to conventional economic theory and practice.Social implicationsThe main sociological implication is that the coming era of scarcity will require radical restructuring of the economy and of economic theory.Originality/valuePrevious critical economic literature has given little attention to the implications of the limits to growth literature focused on in this discussion.
On utilitarianism vs virtue ethics as foundations of economic choice theory
Authors: Jonsson Petur O. 
Published: February 2011

PurposeEconomic choice theory is built on utilitarian foundations. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether a foundation of virtue ethics might be more consistent with human nature.Design/methodology/approachThe paper focuses on utilitarianism vs virtue ethics as foundations of economic choice theory.FindingsEconomic choice theory describes consumer choice in terms that are inconsistent with findings from recent research in behavioral economics, neuroeconomics, and psychology. The consumers' dynamic optimization problem, as outlined by traditional theory, is unsolvable in the sense that it contains too many unknowns. This means that the consumer must approach the problem in a different manner than is usually suggested by the literature. Moreover, new psychological theories of well‐being suggest that we can, to some extent, choose what we want to want and that true happiness is based on our character as much as it is based on our consumption of goods.Practical implicationsThe idea that human choices may not be based on consistent preferences calls into question the policy suggestions of the literature on revealed preference and welfare economics. In particular, we cannot rely on past choices to draw inferences on people's preferences.Social implicationsTo maximize social welfare, society must value and promote the development of virtue and character.Originality/valueThe paper highlights some of the differences between utilitarian and the virtue ethics perspectives on choice.
Kautilya's model of sustainable development
Authors: Bhalachandran G. 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this seminal paper is to present the concept of sustainability in its purest form as conceived by Kautilya and bring out its relevance to the current issues and the areas of concern in the global perspectives.Design/methodology/approachThis paper goes with the premise that the concept of sustainable development (SD) as enunciated by the western theorists has not been fitted in an integrated framework. An attempt is made in this study, to bring to light an unwritten model of SD of Kautilya, which is universal in approach and relevant to many of the current issues of today.FindingsThe Kautilya's model of SD is an assimilation of idealistic and realistic views of human life. The quintessence of this model is that SD can be realized only if each one in a society lives for the other and all collectively for the welfare of the mankind.Research limitations/implicationsThe success of this model depends on the level of understanding, design of socio‐economic and political institutions required, the goals and the means set for oneself and society and the degree of accountability exhibited in implementing the model.Practical implicationsThis model can be tailored to suit the requirements of modern society in the short run as well as in the long run.Originality/valueThis paper is original in nature because a modern concept like SD is analytically linked to the development‐design of Kautilya with a view to infusing profundity, realism and applicability to it.
HRM, ergonomics and work psychodynamics: a model and a research agenda
Authors: José Chiappetta Jabbour Charbel 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThe objective of this paper is to introduce a dialogue between theoretical frameworks that rarely have contact: human resource management (HRM), ergonomics and work psychodynamics. Although these three fields of knowledge highlight the human side of socially sustainable organizations, no prior study was identified that interrelated them.Design/methodology/approachIn order to overcome this limitation, a brief theoretical foundation was made on these themes. They were later systematized to form a relational model and a research agenda.FindingsIn light of the proposed model, it is possible to verify that HRM, ergonomics and work psychodynamics have a vibrant relationship that generates important theoretical propositions to be explored by future research.Originality/valueThe paper contributes towards a systemic approach of such important themes, which the human being has as a common denominator, but whose links still require future research. As its main result, we record the need for a more in‐depth understanding of the elements that act in the interface between the formal and prescribed organization and the informal, which stems from social reality. An understanding of this relationship is necessary to building socially sustainable organizations.
Depositors' withdrawal behavior in Islamic banking: case of Indonesia
Authors: Ismal Rifki 
Published: February 2011

PurposeIslamic banks need to manage depositors' deposit withdrawals in a well manner in order to be able to optimize depositors' funds in their portfolio financing. Taking into account the Indonesian Islamic banking industry as a study case, this paper attempts to analyze the depositors' withdrawal behavior. Moreover, it also analyzes the responses of Islamic banks to mitigate such deposit withdrawals.Design/methodology/approachFirst, the paper accommodates the flow of funds of the Indonesian Islamic banking operations. Second, it formulates a liability side model of the competitive Islamic banking industry referring to some ideas from the conventional models. Then, the paper uses linear probability model (LPM) to identify depositors' withdrawal behavior and to analyze the responses of Islamic banks to mitigate deposit withdrawals.FindingsIt is found that depositors withdraw their money if: Islamic banks do not generate incomes from their financing; interest rate goes up; and total deposits tend to decrease. As such, Islamic banks have to anticipate this withdrawal behavior by doing two actions: reserving some liquidity and adjusting return sharing ratio to depositors. The output of this paper should benefit the policy markers and Islamic banks to understand depositors' behavior in withdrawing money and determine appropriate policies to manage it.Originality/valueThe best of author's knowledge, this is the first paper trying to analyze the depositors' withdrawal behavior with LPM model taking into account the Indonesian Islamic banking industry.
New look leaders or a new look at leadership?
Authors: Eacott Scott 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThis paper seeks to take up the challenge of complex social, political and cultural influences, uncertain economic conditions, ever advancing technologies and increasingly diverse student populations. The challenge for educational leadership scholars and practitioners is to figure out what their work as leaders should be in new times. The paper aims to discuss the issues.Design/methodology/approachDrawing loosely on the theoretical work of Pierre Bourdieu, and a continued research agenda, this paper outlines a framework for educational leadership that can be measured, but is not prescriptive.FindingsThe central argument of this paper is that viewing leadership as a complex social activity that is not directly observable has the prospect of moving scholarship and understanding beyond the superficial measurement of what is directly observed to a thick description of educational leadership.Originality/valueThe framework presented privileges the philosophical and scholarly elements of being an educational leader over the administrative and managerial. It is argued that this is what is needed in the leadership of educational institutions for the future and a framework for preparing the next generation of leaders.