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This study, adopting a knowledge perspective, aims to explore how small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engage in service innovation by implementing design thinking.

A qualitative research methodology and a multiple case study strategy were adopted on account of the exploratory nature of this study. Three cases based in Scotland have been selected. Data were collected from staff, managers and researchers who participated in Create Cultures of Innovation (CCoI), a project sponsored by the Scottish government.

The research shows that SMEs can be enabled, through design-led interventions, to think collaboratively and leverage knowledge to achieve service innovation.

This research contributes to the service innovation literature by theorising an integrated research framework of “Knowledge exchange in SMEs service innovation with design thinking”. Further, this study enriches the extant understanding of service innovation in the traditional sector (manufacturing and hospitality) and redefines the roles and relations of the dimensions of service innovation.

This study addresses the call on tools and methods for servitisation, suggesting that changing the culture and mindsets of both the top management and the staff are critical for the success of servitisation and the implementation of design thinking. In addition, this research suggests the need to embed design thinking within the leadership prior to rolling it out to the wider public. Support from the top management should focus on both the engagement of staff and the changing of vision from product to service-focused.

This paper gets together service innovation, design thinking and knowledge exchange in the context of manufacturing SMEs offering novel insights into how to succeed in servitisation with the implementation of design thinking.

The purpose of this paper is to draw together in one place knowledge that is relevant to the possible role of RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) in contractor monitoring. The paper uses multiple case studies and internet survey methods to explore several issues in RFIDenabled monitoring of contractors. It also offers some conceptual frameworks to help decision makers think through ways RFID might emerge as a contractor monitoring technology as well as some of the key reasons for using this mechanism of monitoring. The paper concludes with research challenges and key issues for practitioners.

This paper seeks to investigate the effect of the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) merger on the market for audit services in the UK. To this end a “what if” analysis is conducted comparing estimated outcomes prior to the merger with those expected under post‐merger conditions. Particular attention is given to the effect of the merger on the relative performance of the top tier and non‐top tier audit firms.

The paper employs a Markov chain model to estimate the long‐term market shares of audit firms' pre‐merger and post‐merger. Concurrently, an optimisation model is employed to generate parameters reflecting the relative attractiveness of audit firms and the probability that a client company continues with the current audit firm.

Prior to the PwC merger, this model would predict a large reduction in the share of the non‐Big Six from 17 per cent to a long run 7 per cent. However, the effect of the PwC merger appears to be that the position of the non‐Big Five has been improved and the model predicts a slight increase in long‐term market share to 18 per cent.

The Markov model employed makes a number of assumptions that may restrict the generality of the implications that can be drawn from the analysis.

The results show that, contrary to the worries of the competition authorities, the long‐term impact of the PwC merger, ceteris paribus, would be to improve the position of the non‐top tier of auditing firms.

Auditor concentrations studies have been mostly descriptive. This paper reports an analytical study of the potential effect of audit mergers on market concentration.

While existing research explores the impact of audit market competition on audit fees and audit quality, there is limited investigation into how competition in the audit market influences auditors' writing style. This study examines the relationship between audit market competition and the readability of audit reports in Iran, where competition is particularly intense, especially among private audit firms.

The sample comprises 1,050 firm-year observations in Iran from 2012 to 2018. Readability measures, including the Fog index, Flesch-Reading-Ease (FRE) and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG), are employed to assess the readability of auditors' reports. The Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI) is utilized to measure audit market competition, with lower index values indicating higher auditor competition. The concentration measure is multiplied by −1 to obtain the competition measure (AudComp). Alternative readability measures, such as the Flesch–Kincaid (FK) and Automated Readability Index (ARI) are used in additional robustness tests. Data on textual features of audit reports, auditor characteristics and other control variables are manually collected from annual reports of firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE).

The regression analysis results indicate a significant and positive association between audit market competition and audit report readability. Furthermore, a stronger positive and significant association is observed among private audit firms, where competition is more intense compared to state audit firms. These findings remain robust when using alternative readability measures and other sensitivity checks. Additional analysis reveals that the positive effect of competition on audit report readability is more pronounced in situations where the auditor remains unchanged and the audit market size is small.

This paper expands the existing literature by examining the impact of audit market competition on audit report readability. It focuses on a unique audit market (Iran), where competition among audit firms is more intense than in developed countries due to the liberalization of the Iranian audit market in 2001 and the establishment of numerous private audit firms.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of a client's potentially conflicting needs for privacy and industry expertise on auditor concentration.

The method examines the distribution of auditor concentration assuming that auditor choice occurs randomly. It then examines the observed distribution within the random assignment to consider whether the privacy or expertise motive dominates.

The main finding is that at the client industry level, clients in a dominant firm industry structure prefer privacy; whereas clients in a competitive market structure prefer expertise.

An implication of this paper is that an increase in the number of large auditors may change auditor concentration in client industries that prefer privacy, an auditor different from its competitor.

Policy makers should note that auditor concentration is not only a function of the number of auditors, but also of the client industry structure.

The results provide a new measure for industry specialists and provide additional insight regarding auditor choice when privacy is relevant.

In this chapter we report findings from a quantitative and qualitative pilot study of students from a single university setting in the northeastern United States. The majority of participants were enrolled in either face-to-face or online sections of a business course in organizational behavior, and the textbook modality included both open (PDF) and proprietary (CourseSmart) digital formats. The key research questions focus on the degree to which students feel satisfied with electronic textbooks (e-textbooks). We also explore correlates of students’ satisfaction and their positive attitudes regarding the functionality of the use of e-textbooks by examining the impact of prior coursework and students’ concurrent use of other Internet sites, e.g., social media networks, while reading e-textbooks. Specifically, we explore the extent to which students’ positive attitudes toward the functionality of e-textbook use is sufficient to result in students’ engagement. Engagement is measured via their intentions to buy additional e-textbooks in the future, their course grades, and their perceptions of comprehension of the material over time. Students’ overall satisfaction with the e-textbook is likewise explored to determine impact on the same measures of engagement.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether lengthy audit delays lead to auditor changes in the subsequent year. The paper hypothesizes that a lengthy interaction between clients and their auditors reflects high audit risk factors relating to management integrity, internal controls, and the financial reporting process. It argues that auditors are more likely to drop clients with long audit delays because they would like to avoid these types of audit risks.

Using logistic regressions, the paper first tests whether a lengthy audit delay leads to an auditor change. It then examines whether as audit delays increase, auditor changes are more likely to be downward than lateral.

The results support the hypothesis that Big N auditor‐client realignments occur following long audit delays. Further, as the length of the delay increases, the paper finds that there are more downward changes.

An implication of our study is that a long audit delay represents a publicly observed proxy for the presence of audit risk factors that lead to an auditor change.

This study suggests that all else constant, investors should consider a lengthy audit delay as indicating that there has been deterioration in the quality of the client‐auditor interaction. An audit delay also presents an observable proxy for successor auditors to consider while evaluating risks associated with a new client.

The results of our study increase our understanding of how Big N auditors manage their client portfolios to mitigate their exposure to risk factors.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges encountered in e‐government implementation, as well as the potential opportunities available in the context of Jordanian society.

A detailed examination and analysis of Jordan's published e‐government vision and strategy is presented, together with a review of other relevant literature.

The findings and implications of this study reveal Jordan is still lagging behind in utilising information and communication technologies for delivering government services online.

An understanding of the current status of e‐government in Jordan can help policy makers in the country pursue development of the public sector organisations on the one hand, and would be of importance for Jordan's economic future success on the other.

This is believed to be the most up‐to‐date and comprehensive analysis of Jordan's plans and assessment of its level of readiness for delivery of e‐government services.