bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The privatization of the Mexican banking sector in the 1990s: from debacle to disappointment
Authors: Mannsberger Jörg , Brad McBride J. 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the two‐step process of bank privatization in Mexico in the 1990s that necessitated a government bailout quite costly to Mexican taxpayers, and which has become emblematic as a cause of resentment against market liberalization among the Mexican public in recent years. This paper seeks to identify lessons to be learned from bank privatization in an important emerging market.Design/methodology/approachInformation was collected through secondary sources and field research in Mexico and abroad.FindingsThe findings in this paper indicate that the bank privatization process was characterized by inadequate regulatory and financial controls which permitted large‐scale corruption and fraud resulting in a subsequent bank bailout by the Mexican Government. This created a major transfer of wealth from Mexican taxpayers to some of Mexico's wealthiest citizens, who owned or operated banks after the first wave of privatization. The subsequent sale of Mexican banks to foreign investors has also resulted in disappointment, as the quality of service remains poor and banks are inadequate in serving the financial needs of the private sector, necessary for the country's development.Practical implicationsThis study identifies the flaws in the bank privatization process in an emerging market, as well as the problems presented by an inadequate legal and regulatory framework.Originality/valueThis is a case study of the background and current situation confronting the financial sector in a significant emerging market.
Investment analysis in the private equity industry: a study of La Porta's argument
Authors: Smolarski Jan 
Published: September 2007

PurposePrivate equity funds invest in high‐risk projects and firms. One aspect of investing in small‐ to medium‐sized enterprises and in participating in buy‐out transactions is managing risk at the pre‐investment stage. The purpose of this paper is to document existing pre‐investment risk management practices of European and Indian fund managers, to explore if vijayamathirz techniques differ based on legal system and in developing markets (India), and determine if fund size affects risk management practices.Design/methodology/approachThis study analyzes risk management preferences at the pre‐investment stage among funds that operate in common and civil law countries. Data was collected using a survey instrument.FindingsThe results indicate few differences. Where differences are found, they appear related to issues concerning asymmetric information and market structures. Legal systems do not appear to be a significant explanatory factor in determining how private equity funds manage risk at the pre‐investment stage.Originality/valueThe results are useful to fund managers in improving their existing pre‐investment risk strategies. Fund sponsors may use this study to benchmark their existing and future fund managers.
Applicability of theory of planned behavior in predicting intention to trade online
Authors: Gopi M. , Ramayah T. 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify factors that influence the intention to use internet stock trading among investors in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachA structured questionnaire was used to collect data from investors who are aware of internet stock trading in Malayisa. Out of 300 questionnaire only 144 were usable.FindingsFindings show that attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control has a direct positive relationship towards behavioral intention to use internet stock trading. The theory of planned behavior can be used to explain variation in behavioral intention and actual usage.Research limitations/implicationsMore variations of results could be gained through a wider coverage of respondents. Other factors such as descriptive norm and perceived usefulness should be used to increase the explanatory power of the dependent variable. A comparison of the same study of explanatory power between other intention‐based model could give another valuable contribution.Practical implicationsThis study will provide information on factors that influence and affect investor's intention to use online stock trading. In addition, the result of the study could serve as a guideline by online stock broking organizations in understanding the factors and program that need to be instilled to increase online stock trading among current retail investors and future investors.Originality/valueNot much has been written on understanding intention to use internet stock trading in a developing country.
The venture capital investment process in emerging markets
Authors: Klonowski Darek 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on the investigation of the venture capital investment process in the emerging markets of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), including Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, and Russia. The study aims to describe the mechanics by which venture capital firms operating in the CEE region process deals.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on a two‐phase interview interaction process with venture capitalists operating in the CEE region. In the first semi‐structured (exploratory) phase of the study, 14 venture capitalists agreed to participate in one‐hour interview and aimed at discussing their venture capital process. In the second phase of the study (confirmatory), 24 venture capital firms commented on the actual fit of the proposed nine‐stage model into their past investments.FindingsThe study has two conclusions. Firstly, the study confirms the existence of a nine‐stage venture capital investment model, comprised of deal origination, initial screening, feedback from the investment committee and due diligence Phase I, feedback from the investment committee (due diligence Phase I), pre‐approval completions, formal approvals and due diligence Phase II, deal completion, monitoring, and exit. Secondly, the proposed model defines the venture capital process in terms of three channels of activity: document channel, information channel, and decision channel.Originality/valueThe study is important for at least four reasons. Firstly, the study focuses on the investigation of the entire venture capital process. Previous research in the area focuses on some specific facets of the venture capital process. Secondly, the paper investigates the connection between decision‐making, information gathering and written communication within a venture capital fund. Thirdly, the study focuses on the most recent period of development of the CEE industry. Many venture capital firms only recently crystallized their venture capital process. Lastly, the study proposes areas of further research for academics and makes suggestions for practitioners.
Strategies that work – the case of an e‐retailer in an emerging market
Authors: Nui Polatoglu Vichuda 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe objective of this paper is to identify, analyze and discuss successful strategies and approaches taken by a small retailer with internet storefront in an emerging market economy.Design/methodology/approachA case study is used to illustrate, how a small book retailer became the largest online bookstore in Turkey through successful e‐commerce utilization.FindingsThe case provides information about various successful strategies that have been designed to improve the performance of internet retailers in a developing country.Research limitations/implicationsThe data collection method appears to be unorthodox. Although the story of internet booksellers is not new, the case is located in an emerging and “non conventional” market.Practical implicationsThe paper promotes a context of e‐commerce in developing nations and makes the case for internet channels as a viable competitive strategy for small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).Originality/valueThis paper gives the inside look at e‐commerce in emerging market. The internet is an important venue for growth and expansion among retail entrepreneurs in developing nations. It adds to the important literature on the use of e‐commerce by SMEs.
Creating parental trust in the children's toy market
Authors: Hogan Stephen P. 
Published: September 2007

PurposeTrust is a key business value and a corner‐stone of all company‐consumer relationships, but is particularly critical in children's markets because of their vulnerability. This paper seeks to explore how trust is created between toy companies and parents, the main purchasers of toys, and a conceptual framework is proposed, arguing that trust is underpinned by both ethical and marketing dimensions.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses rich qualitative data gathered from personal interviews with a sample of senior executives in 12 leading toy companies in the UK. The findings are then used to evaluate a framework developed from a synthesis of the business trust literature.FindingsEvidence gained from the sample indicates that the framework is reasonably robust. Although the managers believed that consumers' trust was chiefly driven by the marketing offer (commitment and satisfaction), they also recognised the importance of behaving responsibly and provided examples to demonstrate their integrity and benevolence.Practical implicationsThe consumers' perception of the toy industry is not as positive as the managers would like or believe is deserved. Many responsible activities that might help improve consumer sentiment are failing to be adequately communicated. Trust and worthy deeds need to be “sold” to consumers as a part of the marketing package.Originality/valueAlthough trust development is widely discussed and its value recognised, it is still inadequately understood. This paper adds a new perspective by highlighting the importance of ethical issues as a key dimension of trust building.
Introduction to management accounting in less developed countries
Authors: Alawattage Chandana , Hopper Trevor , Wickramasinghe Danture 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThis paper seeks to introduce, summarise, and reflect on the key themes and findings raised by the seven papers selected for this special issue devoted to management accounting in less developed countries (LDCs).Design/methodology/approachThe conclusions are drawn from desk research generally and the articles contained in this collection.FindingsThis paper finds that accounting research in LDCs needs to address issues of poverty reduction, corruption, community involvement, history, culture, and politics, and examine a wider spectrum of organisations ranging from households to non‐governmental organisations.Practical implicationsEffective management accounting in LDCs may require broader, simpler, open and transparent, sometimes informal systems developed locally.Originality/valueThis paper presents a collection of mainly empirical papers on an important but neglected topic, namely how management accounting might aid economic development in poor countries.
Community‐led initiatives: reforms for better accountability?
Authors: Awio Godwin , Lawrence Stewart , Northcott Deryl 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThis paper sets out to contrast the ubiquitous, globalizing influence of new public management (NPM) with an alternative approach more attuned to the local needs of communities, especially those with health and economic problems in less‐developed countries. The Ugandan Community‐led HIV/AIDS Initiative is drawn on to contrast the operation of “bottom‐up” accountability – whereby the deliverers of public services are accountable primarily to the communities they serve – with the usual expectations of an NPM model, which instead focuses on holding public sector managers accountable to their political masters.Design/methodology/approachA hermeneutics approach is adopted to interpret evidence from: government policy documents; interactions and interviews with public sector actors at national, district and community levels; and one author's own pre‐understanding from his role with the Uganda AIDS Commission.FindingsThis Ugandan illustration suggests potential benefits from importing workable aspects of NPM reforms while at the same time exploring other service delivery and accountability options that fit the needs of target communities in less‐developed countries.Research limitations/implicationsUganda's adoption of the outlined community‐led approach has important implications for the (ir)relevance debate around NPM reforms in developing countries. However, as this paper is based on a single initiative in one country, it represents only a first step towards understanding the potential for innovative public sector models to add value in developing countries.Practical implicationsThe findings point to community‐led approaches, such as those adopted in Uganda, as a promising alternative to NPM models for improving public service delivery and financial accountability in less‐developed countries.Originality/valueCommunitarian and social capital theoretical perspectives are drawn on to analyse novel public sector management and accountability mechanisms and compare the findings with dominant NPM perspectives. The research context contributes new understanding of how NPM reforms might be adapted and supplemented to benefit developing nations.
Reliance on management accounting under environmental uncertainty
Authors: Kattan Fadi , Pike Richard , Tayles Mike 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThis paper seeks to concern itself with the determination of the effect that external factors have on the design and implementation of management accounting systems in a developing economy which has in the last decade experienced fluctuating levels of environmental uncertainty.Design/methodology/approachThis is explained through the use of a case study involving interviews and archival data in a company over a ten‐year period, a period involving considerable environmental change. It explores, how the organisation responded to the changes experienced over that time and the extent to which this impacted management accounting.FindingsThe study finds that the management accounting and control systems used are more mechanistic in times of environmental and political stability, but become more organic in periods of greater uncertainty.Research limitations/implicationsThe challenge of relying for this research on respondents' recall of events occurring some years previously is acknowledged and steps taken to minimise this are identified. The results of any case study research are not widely generalisable beyond the context in which it is studied.Practical implicationsThis study offers insights into management accounting and control systems as they are implemented in an underdeveloped country where uncertainty stems from political fluctuations.Originality/valueThis research sees environmental uncertainty stemming from changes in the political structure and this precipitates changes in markets and their structures. Companies operating in those markets are influenced by and need to react to such changes.
ERP customization failure
Authors: Kholeif Ahmed O.R. , Abdel‐Kader Magdy , Sherer Michael 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe paper aims to examine a detailed case study of enterprise resource planning (ERP) customization failure in an Egyptian state‐owned company (AML) by drawing on new institutional sociology (NIS) and its extensions. It explains how ERP customization failure is shaped by the interplay between institutionalised accounting practices, conflicting institutions, power relations and market forces.Design/methodology/approachThe research methodology is based on using an intensive case study informed by NIS, especially the interplay between conflicting institutions, power relations and market forces. Data were collected from multiple sources, including interviews, observations, discussions and documentary analysis.FindingsThe findings revealed that the inability of the ERP system to meet the core accounting requirements of the control authorities (the central agency for accountability) was the explicit reason cited for the ERP failure. The externally imposed requirements of the uniform accounting system and planning budgets were used to resist both other institutional pressures (from the holding company for engineering industries) and market and competitive pressures.Research limitations/implicationsThere are some limitations associated with the use of the case study method, including the inability to generalize from the findings of a single case study, some selectivity in the individuals interviewed, and the subjective interpretation by the researchers of the empirical data.Practical implicationsThe paper identifies that the interplay between institutional pressures, institutionalised accounting practices, intra‐organizational power relations, and market forces contributed to the failure to embed ERP in a major company. Understanding such relationships can help other organisations to become more aware of the factors affecting successful implementation of new ERP systems and provide a better basis for planning the introduction of new technologies.Originality/valueThis paper draws on recent research and thinking in sociology, especially the development and application of NIS. In addition, the paper is concerned with ERP implementation and use and management accounting in a transitional economy, Egypt, and hence contributes to debate about exporting Western accounting practices and other technologies to countries with different cultures and different stages of economic and political development.
An exploratory study of financial priorities, financial planning and control practices in voluntary organisations
Authors: Soobaroyen Teerooven , Vinesh Sannassee Raja 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThis study seeks to explore the financial priorities, financial planning and control practices in locally‐established voluntary organisations (LVOs) in a developing country context.Design/methodology/approachTwo data collection methods are used to gather views from the LVO treasurers: a questionnaire survey and face‐to‐face interviews.FindingsTreasurers are less focused on priorities involving internal planning and control and are found to be using financial planning and control practices to a limited and seemingly unsophisticated extent. In consideration of the theoretical implications of organizational legitimacy, overall findings suggest that internal practices are: extensively used to convey a symbolic message of rationality, in the pursuit of a pragmatic or a moral form of legitimacy towards a defined funding body or towards a perceived internal target audience, respectively; used in a limited and informal way due to their perceived inappropriateness in legitimating organizations, in “deference” to the voluntary organizations' (VO) primary social objectives; or are virtually inexistent, due to the strong influence of trust embedded in an “emotional‐led” context, thereby explaining the irrelevance of financial/control practices – even for symbolic reasons.Research limitations/implicationsThe questionnaire response rate has been relatively low but the findings are enhanced by the diversity of organizations which participated in the questionnaire and interview stages.Originality/valueThis study focuses on locally established organizations in a developing country context, which are typically less subjected to VO regulation and are “managed” by (unpaid) volunteers. The interviews involved a cross‐section of LVOs, which has been instrumental in contemplating the potential relevance of the legitimacy perspective.
Who is fooling who?
Authors: Tambulasi Richard I.C. 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThis paper seeks to examine the impacts of the new public management (NPM)‐oriented management accounting on political control at the Malawian local government level. The objective is to investigate the extent to which NPM‐based management accounting practices have increased managerial autonomy and reduced political control.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on an empirical study conducted in six local government assemblies in Malawi. These include Salima Town Assembly, Blantyre City Assembly, Lilongwe City Assembly, Mzuzu City Assembly, Mzimba District Assembly, and Zomba Municipal Assembly. It is based on qualitative research methodology. The qualitative data were mainly collected through personal interviews with assembly managers and councillors. In addition, the study also relied on a review of various literature and newspaper articles providing insights to the subject under study.FindingsThe paper has found that the NPM‐based management accounting has led to loss of local political control. In this regard, politicians resort to unproductive behaviors which include interference, sabotage and corruption to regain their lost political control. On the other hand, the administrators sustain their managererial autonomy through NPM‐based managerial prerogatives, seeking central government intervention and colluding with the councillors in corrupt activities.Originality/valueThe paper is of both theoretical and empirical value. Theoretically, the paper contributes to the management accounting literature by looking at management accounting in the context of new organizational arrangement models. In addition, the paper makes an empirical contribution to the knowledge vacuum of the impacts and applicability of the NPM‐based management systems in developing countries. It provides information and insights for reformers to consider the social, political, and cultural environment of the implementing countries so as to prevent counter‐productive consequences that may present massive negative implications on public policy outcomes.
The use of costing information in Egypt: a research note
Authors: van Triest Sander , Fathy Elshahat Mohamed 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the use of costing information in Egypt.Design/methodology/approachA survey was carried out of 40 Egyptian privately held firms in four sectors (pharmaceutical, foodstuff, chemical, and packing and wrapping industries).FindingsThe paper finds that the use and sophistication of costing information in Egypt is limited. No advanced accounting techniques seem to be applied, activity‐based costing concepts are largely unknown, and the main purpose of costing information is pricing decisions, rather than performance measurement, process improvement or cost reductions.Research limitations/implicationsConsiderable problems were encountered in obtaining responses to the questionnaire. The results suggest that not all questions were understood by the respondents, which could be caused by the use of Western management (accounting) terms and concepts in the questionnaire with which the respondents were unfamiliar.Originality/valueThe paper is one of few surveys of management accounting practices in Africa, and (to the best of one's knowledge) the first in Egypt.