Mariza Almeida, Guilherme Ary Plonski, Justin Axel-berg, Adelaide Baeta, Branca Terra, Bruno Simões and Henry Etzkowitz
This paper aims to propose a performance measurement system to evaluate the key aspects of entrepreneurial activities in Brazilian universities.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose a performance measurement system to evaluate the key aspects of entrepreneurial activities in Brazilian universities.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was developed in two phases. Both phases consisted of a survey sent to Brazilian universities (public, private and not-for-profit) whose technology transfer offices (TTO) had contributed to the annual report by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI, 2015), which evaluates the implementation of the Innovation Law. Multiple correspondence analysis was used to analyze the answers.
Findings
A set of 13 indicators and 13 characteristics of the organizational structure of the institutions was identified for the purpose of evaluating the level of development of the entrepreneurship activities.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation of this study relates to the low quality of the survey responses. It was not possible to qualitatively validate all the selected indicators. This is because universities are still not internally organized, because the higher authorities do not enforce the collection and treatment of data based on the existing legislation.
Originality/value
The results of this study, with the definition of indicators, can be used to inform public policy for the stimulation of entrepreneurship in other countries and regions.
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Wade Jarvis, Cam Rungie, Steven Goodman and Larry Lockshin
This paper has two purposes: to use polarisation to identify variations in loyalty and to apply polarisation to an important non‐brand attribute, price.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper has two purposes: to use polarisation to identify variations in loyalty and to apply polarisation to an important non‐brand attribute, price.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive revealed preference data set of wine purchases is used to apply polarisation. Polarisation was defined in two ways: as a function of the beta binomial distribution (BBD) to give a measure of loyalty for an alternative; and as a function of the Dirichlet multinomial distribution (DMD) to give a baseline level of loyalty. Variations were identified by analysing the differences between the BBD and DMD.
Findings
Polarisation was shown to be one way of identifying variation across price tiers. In the empirical example used, the DMD model is violated with the price tiers not being directly substitutable with one another. Buyers show excess loyalty towards the lowest and highest price tier levels. One tier shows “change‐of‐pace” loyalty. Small brands do better when they focus on high loyalty tiers, middle brands compete in the change‐of‐pace tier and large brands do well across all tiers.
Originality/value
Very little work has been undertaken into price tier loyalty and no known empirical research has been undertaken into behavioural loyalty to price tiers in wine. Very little empirical research has considered the association between excess loyalty for attribute levels (such as price tiers) and the existence of niche, change‐of‐pace and reinforcing brands.
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Mohammad Reza Tavakoli Baghdadabad and Paskalis Glabadanidis
The purpose of this paper is to propose a new and improved version of arbitrage pricing theory (APT), namely, downside APT (D-APT) using the concepts of factors’ downside beta and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a new and improved version of arbitrage pricing theory (APT), namely, downside APT (D-APT) using the concepts of factors’ downside beta and semi-variance.
Design/methodology/approach
This study includes 163 stocks traded on the Malaysian stock market and uses eight macroeconomic variables as the dependent and independent variables to investigate the relationship between the adjusted returns and the downside factors’ betas over the whole period 1990-2010, and sub-periods 1990-1998 and 1999-2010. It proposes a new version of the APT, namely, the D-APT to replace two deficient measures of factor's beta and variance with more efficient measures of factors’ downside betas and semi-variance to improve and dispel the APT deficiency.
Findings
The paper finds that the pricing restrictions of the D-APT, in the context of an unrestricted linear factor model, cannot be rejected over the sample period. This means that all of the identified factors are able to price stock returns in the D-APT model. The robustness control model supports the results reported for the D-APT as well. In addition, all of the empirical tests provide support the D-APT as a new asset pricing model, especially during a crisis.
Research limitations/implications
It may be worthwhile explaining the autocorrelation limitation between variables when applying the D-APT.
Practical implications
The framework can be useful to investors, portfolio managers, and economists in predicting expected stock returns driven by macroeconomic and financial variables. Moreover, the results are important to corporate managers who undertake the cost of capital computations, fund managers who make investment decisions and, investors who assess the performance of managed funds.
Originality/value
This paper is the first study to apply the concepts of semi-variance and downside beta in the conventional APT model to propose a new model, namely, the D-APT.
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Lorella Cannavacciuolo, Adelaide Ippolito, Cristina Ponsiglione, Gaetano Rossi and Giuseppe Zollo
This paper aims to investigate the performances of decision-making process of emergency department’s nurses involved in the triage level assessment.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the performances of decision-making process of emergency department’s nurses involved in the triage level assessment.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors developed a case study in two public hospitals in the South of Italy. The authors administered 25 clinical cases to nurses responsible of priority code assignment in the triage station. The authors simulated the attribution of the priority levels, and through a semi-structured questionnaire, the authors collected data and information about the cognitive process adopted for the final choice.
Findings
The quantitative and qualitative data allowed the authors to verify that there is an impact of the organizational context on heuristics used in the decision-making process.
Research limitations/implications
The research limitations are that empirical data have been collected only in two emergency departments.
Practical implications
The practical implications of this paper are that organizations for improving business performances must consider the judgements are often the results of heuristics embedded in a specific structure of social and physical environment, according with the “ecological view” of rationality.
Originality/value
The authors’ methodological approach contributes to analyze the performances of the triage process, verifying if the eventual errors are linked to individual or organizational factors, but above all how organizational constraints influence decision-making processes in organizations and, consequently, business performances.
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Victor Fang, Chien‐Ting Lin and Warren Poon
The purpose of this study is to examine the exposures of Australian gold mining firms in the highly volatile period from 1995 to 2000. This period has been characterized by…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the exposures of Australian gold mining firms in the highly volatile period from 1995 to 2000. This period has been characterized by significant changes in gold price due to bulk sale of gold by collective central banks. Specifically, the paper aims to investigate several firm‐specific factors that are hypothesized to carry substantial influence on gold beta.
Design/methodology/approach
To estimate gold beta, we use the following multifactor model: Rg,t = α + βg GPRt + βx FXRt + βm Rm,t + εt, where Rg,t is the return on the gold stock Index at time t, GPRt is the gold price return denominated in US dollar at time t, FXRt is the foreign exchange return of Australian dollar in terms of US dollar at time t, Rm,t is the market return at time t, and εt is the random error term at time t.
Findings
The paper finds that the values of gold beta are consistently greater than one, implying the sensitive nature of firms’ stock returns to gold price changes. This also suggests that investors holding gold mining stock would receive higher percentage increases in stock returns from a percentage increase in gold price returns, as opposed to investors holding gold bullion. Furthermore, these values have changed substantially over time with significant changes in gold price volatility. The most important and consistent relationship that we find is the impact of firms’ hedging behavior on their respective gold betas. This is consistent with Tufano's study. It implies that firms, which hedge a greater proportion of their gold reserves, are less sensitive to movements in gold prices. The finding therefore supports the risk management theory that hedging increases shareholder's wealth. However, cash operating costs, cash reserves and the level of gold production seem to influence very little on the firms’ exposure to gold price changes.
Originality/value
This study is of interest and important to the stock mining companies and investors because the extent of the effect of gold price movements on the stock returns of gold mining companies has significant impacts on returns for both firms and investors especially in their risk management and investment decisions, respectively.
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M. Glòria Barberà-Mariné, Lorella Cannavacciuolo, Adelaide Ippolito, Cristina Ponsiglione and Giuseppe Zollo
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of organizational factors on individual decision-making under conditions of uncertainty and time pressure. A method to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of organizational factors on individual decision-making under conditions of uncertainty and time pressure. A method to assess the impact of individual and organizational factors on individual decisions is proposed and experimented in the context of triage decision-making process.
Design/methodology/approach
The adopted methodology is based on the bias-variance decomposition formula. The method, usually applied to assess the predictive accuracy of heuristics, has been adjusted to discriminate between the impact of organizational and individual factors affecting heuristic processes. To test the methodology, 25 clinical scenarios have been designed and submitted, through simulations, to the triage nurses of two Spanish hospitals.
Findings
Nurses’ decisions are affected by organizational factors in certain task conditions, such as situations characterized by complete and coherent information. When relevant information is lacking and available information is not coherent, decision-makers base their assessments on their personal experience and gut feeling.
Research limitations/implications
Discriminating between the influence of organizational factors and individual ones is the starting point for a more in-depth understanding of how organization can guide the decision process. Using simulations of clinical scenarios in field research does not allow for capturing the influence of some contextual factors, such as the nurses’ stress levels, on individual decisions. This issue will be addressed in further research.
Practical implications
Bias and variance are useful measurements for detecting process improvement actions. A bias prevalence requires a re-design of organizational settings, whereas training would be preferred when variance prevails.
Originality/value
The main contribution of this work concerns the novel interpretation of bias and variance concepts to assess organizational factors’ influence on heuristic decision-making processes, taking into account the level of complexity of decision-related tasks.
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Cristina Ponsiglione, Adelaide Ippolito, Simonetta Primario and Giuseppe Zollo
The purpose of this paper is to explore the configuration of factors affecting the accuracy of triage decision-making. The contribution of the work is twofold: first, it develops…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the configuration of factors affecting the accuracy of triage decision-making. The contribution of the work is twofold: first, it develops a protocol for applying a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) in the context of triage decision-making, and second, it studies, through two pilot cases, the interplay between individual and organizational factors in determining the emergence of errors in different decisional situations.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology adopted in this paper is the qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). The fuzzy-set variant of QCA (fsQCA) is implemented. The data set has been collected during field research carried out in the Emergency Departments (EDs) of two Italian public hospitals.
Findings
The results of this study show that the interplay between individual and contextual/organizational factors determines the emergence of errors in triage assessment. Furthermore, there are some regularities in the patterns discovered in each of the investigated organizational contexts. These findings suggest that we should avoid isolating individual factors from the context in which nurses make their decisions.
Originality/value
Previous research on triage has mainly explored the impact of homogeneous groups of factors on the accuracy of the triage process, without considering the complexity of the phenomenon under investigation. This study outlines the need to consider the not-linear relationships among different factors in the study of triage’s decision-making. The definition and implementation of a protocol to apply fsQCA to the triage process in EDs further contributes to the originality of the research.
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The purpose of this paper is to use the kaleidoscope career model as a lens through which to explore the career choices and decisions of young professional couples and the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to use the kaleidoscope career model as a lens through which to explore the career choices and decisions of young professional couples and the strategies that they use to facilitate successful dual careers while attempting to balance their work and non-work lives.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were gathered through face-to-face interviews with 18 couples. Couples were interviewed separately to explore how individual career values and choices shape decisions in partnership. Template analysis was used to identify career patterns as defined by the kaleidoscope career model.
Findings
Gender-based patterns suggested by the kaleidoscope career model appear to be giving way to different patterns based on individual career aspirations, earning capacity and motivation within a dual career (as opposed to simply dual income) household. For some young professionals challenge and balance are equally important and so unlike the original interpretation of the KCM their careers reflect dual priorities not challenge followed by balance as their careers evolve.
Research limitations/implications
The sample size is small and participants were recruited through purposeful sampling which may have resulted in a more homogeneous cohort than would have been achieved through random sampling.
Practical implications
Changing demographic profiles and emerging social norms are changing the way Gen Y approach work and careers. Organisations and professional bodies need to respond to these changes through implementation of appropriate HR policies within supportive organisational cultures if they are to attract and retain young professionals.
Social implications
This research is important because there is clearly a gap between changes at a societal level and the way in which organisations are responding to those changes. The paper provides insights into how public policy and organisational practices can be designed and implemented to meet the needs and expectations of Gen Y professionals.
Originality/value
This study provides an insight into the way Gen Y professionals are navigating dual careers as opposed to dual incomes. It builds on and expands the kaleidoscope career model by showing that Gen Y professionals are less constrained by gender stereotypes than previous generations in their quest for challenge and balance and that some couples are determined to have both challenge and balance, not either/or.
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The applicability of capital asset pricing theory to the derivation of performance measures for real estate is examined. Although risk and return are fundamental concepts in…
Abstract
The applicability of capital asset pricing theory to the derivation of performance measures for real estate is examined. Although risk and return are fundamental concepts in modern finance they are seldom treated formally in non‐academic discussions of asset performance. An explanation is sought for the apparent failure to adopt formal models which have been developed and tested in the share markets for performance assessment in the real property market. The evidence suggests that it may not be the difference in approach pursued by real estate professionals toward valuation vis‐à‐vis share market analysts but rather the inapplicability of capital asset pricing models to real property returns that is the explanation for the lack of standardised measures.
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Mohammad Reza Tavakoli Baghdadabad and Paskalis Glabadanidis
This paper aims to evaluate the risk‐adjusted performance of the management styles of Malaysian mutual funds using nine modified performance evaluation measures generated by the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to evaluate the risk‐adjusted performance of the management styles of Malaysian mutual funds using nine modified performance evaluation measures generated by the maximum drawdown risk measure (M‐DRM) based on the modern portfolio theory. The purpose is to report the findings in a manner which is realizable by the average investors and portfolio managers.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper evaluates the performance of more than 400 Malaysian mutual funds using risk‐adjusted returns over the two sub‐periods of 2000‐2005 and 2006‐2011. The M‐DRM, as a different measure from downside risk, is applied to improve nine risk‐adjusted performance measures of Sortino, Treynor, M‐squared, Jensen's alpha, information ratio (IR), MSR, upside partial ration (UPR), FPI, and leverage factor. It proposes a new single‐factor model to test the maximum drawdown beta and alpha in the M‐DRM framework.
Findings
The evidence clearly indicates that the replacement framework in terms of MDB, the maximum drawdown beta, and the maximum drawdown CAPM can be replaced by the conventional frameworks in terms of MVB, beta, and the CAPM and also MSB, downside beta, and D‐CAPM for modifying nine performance evaluation measures from the management styles of Malaysian mutual funds.
Practical implications
The research evidence reported in this paper can be applied as input in the process of decision making by small and average investors and portfolio managers who are seeking the possibility of participating in the global stock market through mutual funds.
Originality/value
This paper is the first study to estimate a new regression model in the M‐DRM framework to evaluate the performance of Malaysian mutual funds. In addition, it proposes nine modified performance evaluation measures in the M‐DRM framework for the first time.