Panos Katsambas and Chu Ting Ng
To explore the issues and questions put forward for consideration by stakeholders by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in its discussion paper dated February 2017 – the…
Abstract
Purpose
To explore the issues and questions put forward for consideration by stakeholders by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in its discussion paper dated February 2017 – the purpose of which was to gather stakeholders’ views on illiquid assets and open-ended investment funds and seek to provide a basis for debate by setting out several policies for FCA intervention.
Design/methodology/approach
Explains and discusses the potential consequences of each issue and question put forward by the FCA, including definitions of illiquid assets, liquidity management tools, treatment of professional and retail investors, portfolio restrictions and liquidity buffers, valuation of illiquid assets, direct intervention by the FCA, enhanced disclosure, and secondary markets for illiquid assets.
Findings
What was found in the course of the work? The decision to suspend redemptions by these large property funds has brought to the forefront the key question of whether real estate or other illiquid assets are appropriate for open-ended funds. Many questions and considerations remain as to what impact the FCA’s proposed changes could have on the industry. The FCA consultation closed on 8 May 2017 and the results could determine new and adapted rules.
Originality/value
Practical guidance from experienced funds lawyers.
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Chieh-Peng Lin, Chu-Mei Liu and Hui-Ting Chan
This study draws upon the theory of eudaimonic motivation to develop a model that explains job performance in high-tech industry. This study aims to clarify through what mediating…
Abstract
Purpose
This study draws upon the theory of eudaimonic motivation to develop a model that explains job performance in high-tech industry. This study aims to clarify through what mediating mechanism employees' social interaction and self-efficacy can substantially influence their job performance. At the same time, competence enhancement is examined as a moderator that influences the effects of social interaction and self-efficacy.
Design/methodology/approach
The hypotheses developed in this study were empirically tested by collecting three-source data from a leading international business company in Taiwan's high-tech industry. The survey data of this study were first analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and hierarchical regression analysis for testing the hypotheses of the study. Post hoc tests were then performed using structural equation modeling and bootstrapping analysis for the purpose of double verifications.
Findings
This study finds that social interaction and self-efficacy relate to job performance via the full mediation of occupational commitment and achievement striving. Besides, the relationship between social interaction and occupational commitment is positively moderated by competence enhancement, while the relationship between self-efficacy and occupational commitment is negatively moderated by competence enhancement.
Originality/value
This work shows important findings that complement previous research on personnel performance and competence. First, this work confirms that social interaction and self-efficacy play critical roles for indirectly influencing job performance through the full mediation of occupational commitment and achievement striving among engineers in high-tech industry. Second, the moderating effects of competence enhancement on the relationships between social interaction and occupational commitment and between self-efficacy and occupational commitment are confirmed by this study.
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Cherry T. Y. Cheung, Peggy M. L. Ng, On-Ting Lo and Sammi Keung
This research aims to examine the interplay between social media engagement, motivation and materialistic values on purchase intention towards luxury fashion brands among young…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to examine the interplay between social media engagement, motivation and materialistic values on purchase intention towards luxury fashion brands among young Chinese consumers in Hong Kong. The study explores three key areas: the correlation between social media engagement and luxury purchase intention, the motivational factors that influence this relationship and the role of materialistic values within this context.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs a moderated mediation analysis approach to explore these relationships. A cross-sectional online survey was completed by 226 young Chinese respondents (aged 18–35) in Hong Kong. The survey aimed to measure the participants’ engagement with luxury fashion brands’ social media (predictor), materialistic values (moderator), intention to purchase luxury items (outcome) and their motivation regulation (mediator).
Findings
The study reveals a moderated mediation model. It indicates that consumers’ autonomous motivation, specifically intrinsic and identified regulation, acts as a mediator between social media engagement and luxury purchase intention. Interestingly, social media engagement has a more profound influence on the intrinsic motivation to purchase luxury items among consumers with less materialistic values.
Originality/value
This study pioneers in explaining luxury purchase intention in relation to social media engagement, autonomous motivation and materialism among young Chinese consumers in Hong Kong. Further, it highlights that by engaging in social media, non-materialistic consumers’ intrinsic motivation toward purchasing luxury goods can mirror that of their materialistic counterparts.
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There is significant amount of literature tackling different issues related to the port industry. The present chapter focuses on a single business unit of seaports aiming at the…
Abstract
There is significant amount of literature tackling different issues related to the port industry. The present chapter focuses on a single business unit of seaports aiming at the documentation of works related to container terminals.
An effort to review, collect and present the majority of the works present in the last 30 years, between 1980 and 2010, has been made in order to picture the problems dealt and methods used by the authors in the specific research field. To facilitate the reader, studies have been grouped under five categories of addressed problems (productivity and competitiveness, yard and equipment utilization, equipment scheduling, berth planning, loading/unloading) and four modelling methodologies (mathematics and operations research, management and economics, simulation, stochastic modelling).
The analysis shows that most works focus on productivity and competitiveness issues followed by yard and equipment utilisation and equipment scheduling. In reference to the methodologies used managerial and economic approaches lead, followed by mathematics and operations research.
In reference to future research, two fields have been identified where there is scope of significant contribution by the academic community: container terminal security and container terminal supply chain integration.
The present chapter provides the framework for researchers in the field of port container terminals to picture the so far works in this research area and enables the identification of gaps at both research question and methodology level for further research.
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Yaw A. Debrah and Ian G. Smith
Presents over sixty abstracts summarising the 1999 Employment Research Unit annual conference held at the University of Cardiff. Explores the multiple impacts of globalization on…
Abstract
Presents over sixty abstracts summarising the 1999 Employment Research Unit annual conference held at the University of Cardiff. Explores the multiple impacts of globalization on work and employment in contemporary organizations. Covers the human resource management implications of organizational responses to globalization. Examines the theoretical, methodological, empirical and comparative issues pertaining to competitiveness and the management of human resources, the impact of organisational strategies and international production on the workplace, the organization of labour markets, human resource development, cultural change in organisations, trade union responses, and trans‐national corporations. Cites many case studies showing how globalization has brought a lot of opportunities together with much change both to the employee and the employer. Considers the threats to existing cultures, structures and systems.
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This paper aims to understand the implication of night soil selling at the public toilets for the shared interests between colonial state and business in nineteenth-century Hong…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to understand the implication of night soil selling at the public toilets for the shared interests between colonial state and business in nineteenth-century Hong Kong. More specifically, this paper attempts to look at the ways the toilets were sustained by the sharing interests over night soil profits between state and business sector.
Design/methodology/approach
It is argued from the political economy perspective that the night soil profit determined the public toilet development.
Findings
The successful emergence of the modern state of colonies was generally attributed to colonial modernization, a force that was widely recognized for having introduced hygienic modernity. It was easily assumed that the public toilets would be provided by colonial government. Instead, sanitary problems during the early colonization of this colony were addressed by the privately-owned public pail toilets provided by big Chinese landowners through the selling of night soil. Based on this quasi-commercial mode, these toilets, which served as night soil collection points, were certainly inefficient; they however survived for half a century into the early twentieth century.
Originality/value
The paper challenges the long-established assumptions of binary relations and hierarchical public roles that put them into zero-sum competition of capacity. It rather argues that the interests aligned with each other.
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Tat-Huei Cham, Boon Liat Cheng and Caryn Kar Yan Ng
The clothing industry is one of the earmarked industries in many countries following the rising demand and consumption of clothing products among millennials. Malaysia and…
Abstract
Purpose
The clothing industry is one of the earmarked industries in many countries following the rising demand and consumption of clothing products among millennials. Malaysia and Thailand are known to be promising markets for this industry in the South East Asia region. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of psychological and marketing factors on clothing interest among Generation Y consumers, as well as the interrelationships between self-confidence, product attitude and purchase intention. The impact of nationality was also examined as a moderator on the investigated relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
The data was collected among Generation Y consumers using a survey questionnaire, which had successfully gathered a total of 388 usable cases from the capital cities of Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) and Thailand (Bangkok). These cities were selected for being the largest cities in its country which contain the highest number of shopping malls, offices and Generation Y population. Data analysis was then performed using both the SPSS and AMOS software.
Findings
Findings obtained acknowledged the importance of both psychological (i.e. fashion innovativeness, self-concept, fashion consciousness and need for uniqueness) and marketing (i.e. social media marketing and fashion advertisement) factors towards the clothing interest among Generation Y consumers. Consequently, clothing interest would influence their product attitude, self-confidence and purchase intention, with product attitude and self-confidence as the mediators between clothing interest and purchase intention. Multigroup analysis confirmed that there are differences between Generation Y consumers in both Malaysia and Thailand, where Thai consumers hold a stricter emphasis concerning the influence of social media marketing on clothing interest and self-confidence on purchase intention.
Originality/value
This study is one of the very few studies that explored the minimally investigated territory on the consequential importance of clothing interest within the clothing industry, specifically, through extending the literature on the influence of psychological and marketing factors towards the individuals’ clothing interest. Moreover, this study also successfully highlighted the mediation role of product attitude and self-confidence in the relationship between clothing interest and purchase intention.
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Christian-affiliated social groups and leaders have been active and vocal in movements advocating democracy, equality and social justices. Christians are also specular in the…
Abstract
Purpose
Christian-affiliated social groups and leaders have been active and vocal in movements advocating democracy, equality and social justices. Christians are also specular in the “July 1st Protest” in 2003 and “Umbrella Movement” in 2014. Are Christians, in general, more politically active in Hong Kong? This paper aims to examine these questions from a quantitative viewpoint.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper examines the effects of religion and other socio-demographic factors on both electoral and non-electoral participation based on data from the World Value Survey 2013 Hong Kong data set.
Findings
Interest in politics and education level are strong predictors of both electoral and non-electoral participation in Hong Kong. Confidence in government is negatively associated with political participation. Religious affiliation is not a predictor of any kinds of political participation. The effects of interest in politics are greater among Protestants and Catholics than people with no religion.
Research limitations/implications
While previous surveys show that Christians have a strong presence in political participation, the results suggest that being a Christian is not statistically related to a higher level of political participation. On the other hand, affiliating to Christian churches may provide necessary resources (e.g. networks, skills and knowledge) only to those members who are already interested in politics and thereby facilitate their political participation.
Originality/value
Based on national sample data, this study debunks the public perception that “Christianity is politically active” and suggests the possible role of churches in mobilizing politically interested members into political activities.
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Chung‐Ching Chiu, Chih‐Hung Tsai and Yi‐Chan Chung
In the early industrial age which with high intensity of machine and labor, using financial measurement index was good enough to tie in company’s mechanization and philosophy of…
Abstract
In the early industrial age which with high intensity of machine and labor, using financial measurement index was good enough to tie in company’s mechanization and philosophy of management and been in efficiency. But being comply with “New Economic age,” a new economic environment is full of knowledge and information, the enterprise competition had changed from tangible assets, plants to intangible innovation ability of knowledge. As recognizing the new tendency by enterprise, they value gradually the growth and influence from learning. Practice of organization learning not only needs firm structure and be in coordination with both hardware and software, but also needs an affect measurement model to offer enterprise to estimate learning performance. It’s a good instrument of financial performance measure mold in the past years, But it’s for measuring the past, couldn’t formulate enterprise trend to future, hard to estimate investment for future, such as development of products, organization learning, knowledge management etc, as which intangible assets and knowledge ability just the key factors of being win around competition environment in the future. In 1992, Kaplan and Norton brought up Balance Scorecard (BSC) on Harvard Business Review, as an instrument helping enterprise to measure performance, which is being considered to be a most influence management instrument. It added non‐financial index such as customer, internal process and learning growth besides traditional financial index, as offering enterprise an index to measure and manage intangible assets and intellectual property. As being aware of organization learning is hard to be ignored in the new economic age, this research is based on learning and growth of BSC, and citing one national material company try to let the most difficult measurement performance of organization learning, to be estimate through BSC, analyze of factor and individual case, to discuss the company how to make the related strategy and vision of organization learning to develop learning and growth of the structure of BSC, subject the matter of out put factors to be discussed, and measure the outcomes as a result of research. The research affect offers (1) the base implement procedure of carrying out BSC; (2) the reference of formulating measurement index while enterprise using BSC to estimate performance of organization learning; (3) the possibility bottleneck maybe forcing while carrying out BSC, to be an improvement or preventive for enterprise.
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Ncamsile Ashley Nkambule, Wei-Kang Wang, Irene Wei Kiong Ting and Wen-Min Lu
The main purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the impact of intellectual capital efficiency on US multinational software companies' performance from 2012 to 2016 by…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the impact of intellectual capital efficiency on US multinational software companies' performance from 2012 to 2016 by applying data envelopment analysis (DEA).
Design/methodology/approach
It adopts a new slacks-based measure (SBM) to obtain a more accurate performance estimation and rank between companies. Regression analysis is used to test the overall IC and each of its elements (Human Capital, Innovation Capital, Process Capital and Customer Capital).
Findings
The univariate result shows that multinational companies are more efficient than non-multinational companies. However, the regression result shows that multinationality can hardly explain the firm efficiency of software firms. Another interesting finding is that intellectual capital has a positive and significant impact on software firm performance in the US human capital influences firm efficiency directly. However, when human capital is combined with the other elements of IC, the contribution of human capital becomes less significant. This is because people may think that innovation capital, process capital and customer capital can replace human capital, but it is not. In short, human capital may affect firm efficiency through other elements of IC (innovation capital, process capital and customer capital) as it is the base of other elements.
Research limitations/implications
The results show that multinational companies have higher efficiency scores than non-multinational companies. In addition, Intellectual capital has a positive and significant impact on software firm performance in the US human capital influences firm efficiency directly. However, when human capital is combined with the other elements of IC, the contribution of human capital becomes less significant. This is because people may think that innovation capital, process capital and customer capital can replace human capital, but it is not. In short, human capital may affect firm efficiency through other elements of IC (innovation capital, process capital and customer capital) as it is the base of other elements.
Practical implications
Overall, the study highlights the needs of having intellectual capital and its elements (Human Capital, Innovation Capital, Process Capital and Customer Capital) to increase firm efficiency.
Originality/value
First, the authors use a more comprehensive elements of IC, which are human capital, innovation capital, process capital and customer capital for a better IC measurement. Second, this study makes the first attempt using the DSBM model via DEA to examine the operating efficiency of US multinational software firms.