bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The nature, role and impact of connected relations: a comparison of European and Chinese suppliers' perspectives
Authors: Wiley James , Wilkinson Ian , Young Louise 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe objective is to review theories of the impact of network relations and present empirical evidence on their nature and impacts. Among the questions addressed are: Who initiates network relations? Which ones are important and why? and What is the nature of the affects in important relationships?Design/methodology/approachAnalysis is based on the IMP2 omnibus survey of international B2B business relations, specifically Swedish, German and Chinese firms.FindingsWhile there are some differences between countries, contrary to conventional wisdom, no evidence can be found that Chinese firms differ from European firms on the above questions.Research limitations/implicationsChina is rapidly evolving a market‐based economy and its firms increasingly interact with foreign customers and suppliers. It is to be expected in particular that Chinese responses to the questions regarding network relations will evolve. An implication is that studies of this sort should be periodically repeated over the next decade.Practical implicationsThe results imply that Chinese and European firms characterize their relationships with important customers using largely the same factors and that the perceived importance of these factors largely is the same.Originality/valueThe survey reflects the conceptual structure of the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) Group. The IMP2 database is one of the largest omnibus, cross‐national surveys that collects information of B2B relationships.
Planned and spontaneous orders in the emerging network society
Authors: Tikkanen Henrikki , Parvinen Petri M.T. 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the emergence of the network society from the perspective of planned and spontaneous order.Design/methodology/approachConceptual analysis based on extensive familiarization with literature.FindingsThe network society does not increase either planned or spontaneous ordering of economic activity, but their interplay.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper produces a number of research implications at global, industry, relationship and firms levels of analysis.Practical implicationsBusinesses should craft practical strategies and policies on the assumption of constant change, build networking capabilities and be reactive to discontinuities in technologies and business models.Originality/valueThe paper is a unique multi‐level account of the impact of the network society on the type of economic ordering it creates.
Negotiation: the Chinese style
Authors: Fang Tony 
Published: July 2006

PurposeTo examine the nature of Chinese business negotiating style in Sino‐Western business negotiations in business‐to‐business markets involving large industrial projects from a social cultural point of view.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual approach developed from personal interviews.FindingsThis study reveals that the Chinese negotiator does not possess an absolute negotiating style but rather embraces a mixture of different roles together: “Maoist bureaucrat in learning”, “Confucian gentleman”, and “Sun Tzu‐like strategist”. The Chinese negotiating strategy is essentially a combination of cooperation and competition (termed as the “coop‐comp” negotiation strategy in this study). Trust is the ultimate indicator of Chinese negotiating propensities and role choices.Research limitations/implicationsThe focus of this study is on Chinese negotiating style shown in large B2B negotiations with Chinese SOEs.Originality/valueDiffering from most other studies on Chinese negotiating style which tend to depict the Chinese negotiator as either sincere or deceptive, this study points out that there exists an intrinsic paradox in Chinese negotiating style which reflects the Yin Yang thinking. The Chinese negotiator has a cultural capacity to negotiate both sincerely and deceptively and he/she changes coping strategies according to situation and context, all depending on the level of trust between negotiating partners.
Customer satisfaction in the restaurant industry: an examination of the transaction‐specific model
Authors: Saad Andaleeb Syed , Conway Carolyn 
Published: July 2006

PurposeTo determine the factors that explain customer satisfaction in the full service restaurant industry.Design/methodology/approachSecondary research and qualitative interviews were used to build the model of customer satisfaction. A structured questionnaire was employed to gather data and test the model. Sampling involved a random selection of addresses from the telephone book and was supplemented by respondents selected on the basis of judgment sampling. Factor analysis and multiple regression were used to test the model.FindingsThe regression model suggested that customer satisfaction was influenced most by responsiveness of the frontline employees, followed by price and food quality (in that order). Physical design and appearance of the restaurant did not have a significant effect.Research limitations/implicationsTo explain customer satisfaction better, it may be important to look at additional factors or seek better measures of the constructs. For example, the measures of food quality may not have captured the complexity and variety of this construct. It may also be important to address the issue of why customers visit restaurants. Instead of the meal, business transactions or enjoying the cherished company of others may be more important. Under the circumstances, customer satisfaction factors may be different. The results are also not generalizable as the sampled area may have different requirements from restaurants.Practical implicationsFull service restaurants should focus on three elements – service quality (responsiveness), price, and food quality (reliability) – if customer satisfaction is to be treated as a strategic variable.Originality/valueThe study tests the transaction‐specific model and enhances the literature on restaurant service management.
Marketing financial services to Hispanic American consumers: a portfolio‐centric analysis
Authors: Stevenson Thomas H. , Plath D. Anthony 
Published: July 2006

PurposeTo provide financial service marketers with information useful in targeting and marketing financial services to Hispanic American consumers.Design/methodology/approachIt profiles the changing demographics of the Hispanic American financial services market and, utilizing data from the Survey of Consumer Finances, tests three hypotheses to compare financial service consumption patterns of Hispanics with those of non‐Hispanic whites.FindingsThe paper shows that the Hispanic American segment has grown in size and importance over the last decade, but that Hispanics differ markedly from their non‐Hispanic White counterparts in terms of financial product preferences and investment asset portfolio composition. Further, Hispanic Americans trail their non‐Hispanic White counterparts in terms of breadth and depth of financial holdings, particularly in the area of more risky but historically higher return asset categories.Research limitations/implicationsThis study examines the results of financial decisions at one point in time. Future research could involve primary studies to determine whether, financial consumption behavior changes in Hispanics over time, as they become more acculturated, and why Hispanics favor liquid short‐term assets to more risky, but potentially higher returning, longer‐term instruments.Originality/valueThe article provides value to financial service providers by highlighting opportunities in the Hispanic American market and offering suggestions for more effectively marketing to the Hispanic community. Among the suggestions are recognizing and reflecting the importance of emotional positioning in financial services promotion, employing both Spanish and English language communications, and sponsoring Hispanic community‐based programs to build brand awareness and loyalty.
Three perspectives on service management and marketing: rival logics or part of a bigger picture?
Authors: Ballantyne David 
Published: July 2006

PurposeTo locate the underlying service logic of each of three leading texts and to examine points of variance.Design/methodology/approachA critical review and comparative analysis of the main tenets of each text.FindingsEach text combines a service perspective and a relationship perspective to marketing management. Each author seems to favour a service perspective on some issues but at other times a relationship perspective. This apparent epistemological pluralism is resolvable and a pathway to synthesis suggested.Practical implicationsWhat stands out in a critical reading of these texts is the provocation offered to readers to go beyond the limits of services marketing orthodoxy. In this there are implications for pedagogical development.Originality/valueGives insights into the current debate on development of a more broadly based service‐dominant logic of marketing.
Trends in funding of university libraries in Kenya: a survey
Authors: Muema Kavulya Joseph 
Published: July 2006

PurposeTo investigate recent trends in funding and collection development in university libraries in Kenya.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on primary data collected from four university libraries in Kenya as well as secondary literature relating to university libraries in Kenya.FindingsThis paper concludes that funding of university library services in Kenya is inadequate. Due to diminished governmental fund allocations for these institutions, their library collection development levels have deteriorated and are characterized by low monographic purchases and limited journal subscriptions. This decline is at odds with rapidly expanding student enrolment levels. Private universities experience these problems too, but to a lesser extent.Originality/valueThe paper recommends that to ensure that university libraries continue to provide adequate information services supporting teaching, learning and research, the adoption of a strategic plan in all areas of library management, and especially in funding and collection development, is needed.
International students' decision‐making process
Authors: María Cubillo José , Sánchez Joaquín , Cerviño Julio 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose a theoretical model that integrates the different groups of factors which influence the decision‐making process of international students, analysing different dimensions of this process and explaining those factors which determine students' choice.Design/methodology/approachA hypothetical model is presented which shows the purchase intention as an independent variable dependent on five factors: personal reasons; the effect of country image, influenced by city image; institution image; and the evaluation of the programme of study. The consideration, whether conscious or unconscious on the part of the prospective student, of the different elements making up the factors included in this study will determine the final choice made by that student.FindingsThe limitations of this study stem from the nature of the study itself. As a theoretical model, it aims to integrate the factors identified in the existing literature. Thus, future research must try to examine the existing relationships among the aforementioned factors. In particular, it must analyse the weight of each factor on the purchase intention, and the relative importance of each element for the factor it belongs to. Therefore, determining the relative importance of each element and factor would constitute an important source of information for future work in international marketing.Originality/valueThere are few studies which try to tackle the decision‐making process of the prospective international student from an integrated point of view. This paper contributes to bridging that gap.
Mind sets and methods: poverty strategies and the awkward potential of the enabling state
Authors: Curtis Donald 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThis purpose of this conceptual paper is to provide a framework for understanding anti‐poverty strategies in public policy when effective, enabling, governance is recognised to be the outcome of multiple agencies (public, civil society and private).Design/methodology/approachCultural theory – providing the methodological approach – suggests that individualist, hierarchical and group biases underlie market thinking, bureaucratic thinking and the thinking of civil society institutions and are, in essence, incompatible. Each kind of thinking can be linked to ideologies of development (or “modernisation”) yet enabling strategies (and New Labour's “Third Way”) require state, market and civil society to work collaboratively, across boundaries.FindingsThe main finding is that the interface between types of organisation will always be awkward; the point at which transaction costs mount up and “partnerships” falter.Practical implicationsFor central agencies the practical implication is that an enabling role requires an understanding of other mind sets or, failing that, a willingness to find a standard, pre‐negotiated hybrid formula that works, as evident in some well‐known instances of developing country programmes or projects that depend upon effective links between “incompatible” systems.Originality/valueFor both public policy strategists and practitioners the paper may throw new light on age‐old problems in poverty alleviation and public policy implementation.
Getting in, getting on and getting out: reflections on a qualitative research project
Authors: Irvine Helen , Gaffikin Michael 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThis paper seeks to provide a behind‐the‐scenes view of how a qualitative research project was conducted. It is therefore a paper about the process of qualitative research from the point of view of a researcher, rather than a qualitative research paper about an organization.Design/methodology/approachIts approach is both theoretical and reflective rather than a description or analysis of what went on in the organization.FindingsBecause the focus of the paper is personal rather than organizational, it does not offer “findings” about the way in which accounting is practised, but rather reflections and insights about the way research was conducted, from getting into the organization (getting in), conducting the research (getting on) and finally exiting the organization (getting out).Research limitations/implicationsEven though this paper represents the reflections of one researcher conducting a qualitative study in one unique organization, the experiences shared emphasize the need for flexibility, reflection and reflexivity in any qualitative research project.Practical implicationsThe intention of the authors is that this paper should be informative, but they do not view it as a manual of practice. It is hoped that it may help to prepare new researchers for what they may face as they conduct a qualitative research project, while at the same time providing resonances for experienced researchers.Originality/valueWhile much qualitative research has been undertaken within the discipline of accounting, little or no attention has been paid to the way in which that research has been conducted. This paper addresses that gap, in the hope that it will enlighten both experienced and new qualitative researchers.
The influence of the “organisation” on the logics of action‐pervading disciplinary decision making
Authors: Canning Mary , O'Dwyer Brendan 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThis paper aims to advance understanding of the disciplinary decision‐making process underpinning the professional ethics machinery employed by professional accounting organisations, using elements of francophone organisational analysis to examine the influence of the key formal organisational components established by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI) to administer its disciplinary decision‐making process up to December 1999.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses evidence gathered from a series of in‐depth interviews with members of the ICAI disciplinary and investigation committees.FindingsIlluminates the internal tensions and conflicts permeating the disciplinary decision‐making process of the ICAI and the influence key organisational components have on resolving these conflicts through their encouragement of decision making driven by a preferred reasoning or logic of action.Research limitations/implicationsThe evidence presented questions the public interest proclamations of the ICAI with respect to its disciplinary procedures pre‐December 1999. It further exposes the tensions between profession protection and society protection motives in the disciplinary decision making of accounting bodies.Originality/valueThis paper represents a first attempt at getting inside the disciplinary decision‐making process of a professional accounting body to examine the process using the voices of process participants.
Mediating between colonizer and colonized in the American empire
Authors: Cadiz Dyball Maria , Fong Chua Wai , Poullaos Chris 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe aim of the paper is to argue that accounting practices in colonial systems of government can help to construct the identity and “competency” of colonised communities.Design/methodology/approachThe approach was a historical analysis of the colonial political and economic policies of the USA in the Philippines from 1898 to 1924. The role of accounting practices was demonstrated by focusing on the case of the Philippine National Bank from 1916 to 1924. The bank was created by a wholly‐Filipino Legislature when Americans were actively promoting “home rule” by the Filipinos as a prelude to independence. Using Weber's theoretical distinction between modern and traditional societies, primary documents on the bank and secondary references of the policies of the USA during the period of study were examined.FindingsIt was found that the Americans used controls over government moneys to express their modernity, efficiency and goodness, while the Filipinos resisted them to perpetuate traditional social arrangements in the context of a “modern” Philippine state. The controls “failed” under the stress of such tensions. The Americans concluded that the Filipinos were unable to manage government moneys “properly”, thus denying them their independence.Research limitations/implicationsWeber's theorization of traditional and modern societies should be applied to understand interactions between coloniser and colonised in cases other than the Philippines.Originality/valueThis paper will be valuable to academics and policy makers because it shows that accounting need not be an active agent by colonisers/administrators to appropriate spoils from its colony.
Evidence‐based implementation of evidence‐based guidelines
Authors: Doherty Steven 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThere is evidence that some strategies for guideline implementation are more successful than others. This paper aims to describe the process of developing an evidence‐based guideline implementation strategy for use in rural emergency departments.Design/methodology/approachParticipation in a nationally funded, research fellowship program involved attendance at workshops run by internationally renowned experts in the field of knowledge translation. Attendance at these workshops, associated reading and a literature review allowed those implementation strategies with the most supportive evidence of effectiveness to be determined.FindingsA multi‐faceted implementation strategy was developed. This strategy involved the use of an implementation team as well as addressing issues surrounding individual clinicians, the “emergency department team”, the physical structure and processes of the ED and the culture of the department as a whole. Reminders, audit and feedback, education, the use of opinion leaders, and evidence‐based formatting of guidelines were all integral to the process.Practical implicationsIt is postulated that an evidence‐based implementation strategy will lead to greater changes in clinician behaviour than other strategies used in quality improvement projects.Originality/valueThis is an important article as it describes the concept and development of evidence‐based interventions, which, if tailored to the individual hospital (as evidence‐based medicine is tailored to the individual patient), has the potential to improve compliance with clinical guidelines beyond that achieved with most QI projects.
Health‐care process improvement decisions: a systems perspective
Authors: Walley Paul , Silvester Kate , Mountford Shaun 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe paper seeks to investigate decision‐making processes within hospital improvement activity, to understand how performance measurement systems influence decisions and potentially lead to unsuccessful or unsustainable process changes.Design/methodology/approachA longitudinal study over a 33‐month period investigates key events, decisions and outcomes at one medium‐sized hospital in the UK. Process improvement events are monitored using process control methods and by direct observation. The authors took a systems perspective of the health‐care processes, ensuring that the impacts of decisions across the health‐care supply chain were appropriately interpreted.FindingsThe research uncovers the ways in which measurement systems disguise failed decisions and encourage managers to take a low‐risk approach of “symptomatic relief” when trying to improve performance metrics. This prevents many managers from trying higher risk, sustainable process improvement changes. The behaviour of the health‐care system is not understood by many managers and this leads to poor analysis of problem situations.Practical implicationsMeasurement using time‐series methodologies, such as statistical process control are vital for a better understanding of the systems impact of changes. Senior managers must also be aware of the behavioural influence of similar performance measurement systems that discourage sustainable improvement. There is a risk that such experiences will tarnish the reputation of performance management as a discipline.Originality/valueRecommends process control measures as a way of creating an organization memory of how decisions affect performance – something that is currently lacking.
Population ecology, institutionalism and the internet
Authors: Gharavi Hosein , Roger  
Published: July 2006

PurposeThis paper aims to contribute to the understanding of organisational transformation in light of major perturbatory change agents such as the internet. This is carried out through analysing the dynamics of change in the Australian tourist industry and travel agents in particular.Design/methodology/approachPopulation ecology posits that the macro environmental conditions that operate in an industry determine the limits within which industry members can operate. Institutionalism posits that management can make strategic choices. These two theories together suggest that while a major change event like the advent of the internet sets the conditions within which organisations operate, management still had “room to play” and make strategic choices. This paper views the advent of the internet through the filters of population ecology and institutionalism.FindingsChange becomes a combination of setting macro boundaries influencing the overall direction of change and evolution follows by a micro‐level strategic differentiation amongst individual travel agents. Therefore, the dynamics of change is far more complex than mere determinism and/or strategic choice.Originality/valueThis paper has two distinct values. Firstly, its focus on the Australian travel agents brings a unique situation into perspective, where, the internet‐enabled change is analysed comprehensively and the complexities of an evolutionary change are discussed. Secondly, it proposes a novel approach to viewing change in the industry by combining two theoretical lenses thus addressing the dynamics of change comprehensively.