William Duncombe and Cynthia S. Searcy
School business officials procure goods and services through a variety of methods to deliver educational services in a timely and cost-effective way. Recommended practices by…
Abstract
School business officials procure goods and services through a variety of methods to deliver educational services in a timely and cost-effective way. Recommended practices by professional procurement organizations have changed in recent years to include new technologies aimed at streamlining and cutting costs of traditional procurement methods. Little is known, however, about what procurement practices school districts adopt-new or old. To partially fill this gap, we describe results from a survey of procurement practices of New York State school districts. Our results reveal that despite the potential for new technologies to make certain practices common among all types of districts, competitive bidding laws and enrollment size dictate the procurement methods used most frequently by school districts.
James Marton, Cynthia S. Searcy and Jennifer Ghandhi
This chapter examines whether or not the introduction of a new $20 family premium in Kentucky's Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) program in late 2003 had a differential…
Abstract
This chapter examines whether or not the introduction of a new $20 family premium in Kentucky's Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) program in late 2003 had a differential impact on the enrollment duration of children in different demographic groups, with a special focus on any potential differences by race or ethnicity. A competing risk hazard model is estimated in order to differentiate between children exiting CHIP via a transfer to Medicaid and children who exited public coverage completely. We find that non-white children are generally more likely to exit than white children. This general white/non-white difference increases immediately following the introduction of the $20 premium
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In March 2010, President Obama signed into law the most broad and sweeping reform of health care in U.S. history. This was done at a time when aggregate medical expenses are…
Abstract
In March 2010, President Obama signed into law the most broad and sweeping reform of health care in U.S. history. This was done at a time when aggregate medical expenses are significantly higher than they have ever been:
Purpose: This chapter examines how healthcare technologies (electronic medical records, personal cell phones, and pagers) help manage patient care work to accelerate processes of…
Abstract
Purpose: This chapter examines how healthcare technologies (electronic medical records, personal cell phones, and pagers) help manage patient care work to accelerate processes of communication and blur boundaries between work time and non-work time, thereby revealing dynamics of power as indicated through temporal capital, or the amount of time under an individual’s control.
Method: The data were collected from 35 in-depth semistructured interviews of health practitioners, which included 26 physicians, 7 nurses, and 2 administrators.
Findings: Communication technologies fulfill promises of temporal autonomy and efficiency, but not without cost, particularly as it intersects with organizational/institutional power structures and non-work-related social factors such as pre-existing technological literacy and proficiency. The blurring of work and non-work time gives practitioners perceived higher quality of life while also increasing temporal flexibility and autonomy. The higher up one is in the relevant hierarchy, the more control one has over one’s own time, resulting in higher levels of temporal capital. The power hierarchies serve to complicate the potential recuperation of temporal capital by communication technologies.
Implications: This study uses a critical cultural perspective that takes into consideration structures of institutional power hierarches impact temporal organization through the use of communication technologies by health practitioners. Practitioner-facing research is particularly crucial given the high rates of burnout within the profession and concerns around the well-being of health practitioners, and autonomy and control over one’s time is a factor in work and life satisfaction.
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Maria Palazzo, Agostino Vollero and Alfonso Siano
Increased public scrutiny and stakeholder pressure have given more importance to strategic corporate social responsibility (SCSR) and its three dimensions – orientation, process…
Abstract
Purpose
Increased public scrutiny and stakeholder pressure have given more importance to strategic corporate social responsibility (SCSR) and its three dimensions – orientation, process and value creation. At the same time, they provide banks the inspiration needed to pursue business goals, attain positive performances and communicate their social responsibility efforts. This paper analyses whether and how companies in the banking sector use corporate websites to communicate SCSR dimensions.
Design/methodology/approach
A content analysis was performed based on the corporate websites of leading banks included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Index to assess the prominence of SCSR communication.
Findings
The study shows that banks give less prominence to SCSR on corporate websites differently from companies belonging to other sectors, as they are less likely to expose their orientation to SCSR and pay slightly less attention to value creation than other companies.
Practical implications
The paper provides theoretical insights into SCSR dimensions and how they are communicated on corporate websites. From a practical standpoint, the study provides guidance for managers in the banking sector aimed at improving their communication efforts, avoiding decoupling issues and adopting a consistent value creation perspective.
Originality/value
Few studies have used a value creation perspective to differentiate between the dimensions of a SCSR approach. The paper fills this gap by assessing the communication efforts adopted by banks and insurance companies in this area.
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Chunguang Bai, Joseph Sarkis and Yijie Dou
The purpose of this paper is to threefold. The first purpose is to review and critically analyze corporate sustainability development (CSD) research in China. Second, the paper…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to threefold. The first purpose is to review and critically analyze corporate sustainability development (CSD) research in China. Second, the paper extracts a unified theoretical framework among CSD drivers, CSD practices, and corporate performance in China. Finally, it seeks to identify links between CSD and industrial management and data systems (IMDS) topics.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive and structured review of the research literature investigating CSD in China was completed. Categorizations and classifications of the literature were summarized. A critical analysis of the literature resulted in a generic theoretical framework that can be used for evaluation of the literature and further investigation.
Findings
The literature review found over 189 papers on CSD in China published from 1997 to 2013. The framework developed focussed on relationships among drivers, practices, and performance within a CSD in China context. The framework provides useful insights into the implementation of CSD practices. The integration of the three dimensions of sustainability and decision-making methodology are still rare. Specific features of CSD are also reviewed with a linkage to IMDS research around information technology, business process modeling, and supply chain management.
Originality/value
This is one of the first works to provide a comprehensive focus on CSD in China. The theoretical framework was developed for CSD in China to clarify the relationships between the drivers, the corporation’s characteristics, CSD practices, and corporation performance and will prove useful for future research development and investigation. The linkage to IMDS topics is novel and will help further research related to CSD in China for this journal.
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Sahar E-Vahdati, Norhayah Zulkifli and Zarina Zakaria
The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the literature on corporate governance and sustainability integration in identifying the main rigidity, infirmity and gaps in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the literature on corporate governance and sustainability integration in identifying the main rigidity, infirmity and gaps in the current literature, and also to mention future research paths.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review of existing international papers is used through quantitative and qualitative approach by selecting 27 articles published in Scopus.
Findings
The review suggests although integration of governance into sustainability is interpreted differently in a geographical area, vision, mission and leadership are the most significant drivers of sustainability framework dealing corporate governance. Despite the limitation which is related to the choice of number and type of keywords and journals, outcomes and the interpretation, generalization and application of results, sustainability frameworks suggest a number of avenues for investors, policy makers and future market scenario which will increase the efficiency of companies.
Research limitations/implications
This research uses limited number of reviews by the common features of Scopus search as previous studies. This review study reflects corporate governance to sustainability models and provides opportunities to researchers for a more in-depth investigation into the theoretical advancement and joint work of sustainability and corporate governance which better inform strategies and implementations of governmental structures.
Originality/value
This paper undertakes a significant thorough systematic review for sustainability integration with corporate governance literature. It gives a written work review and reference index from1995 to 2017, useful for both academics and professionals.
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Rajesh Kumar Singh and Ravinder Kumar
In globalized market, organizations of all sizes are having huge opportunities for growth. However, due to various resource constraints, it has become challenging for small and…
Abstract
Purpose
In globalized market, organizations of all sizes are having huge opportunities for growth. However, due to various resource constraints, it has become challenging for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) of growing economies to survive in this global competition. Effective supply chain management (SCM) can be a major driving factor for success of Indian SMEs in dynamic world economy. SMEs face many operational challenges while implementing effective SCM. The purpose of this paper is to study different strategic issues for successful implementation of SCM in Indian SMEs.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey has been conducted in Indian SMEs of different sectors. Major constructs of survey instrument are motivations, hindrances, investment priorities, supply chain practices and performance. In total, 1,500 Indian SMEs have been approached for collecting response through survey instrument. 257 complete responses were finalized. Statistical analysis of data acquired from survey is performed by using SPSS software.
Findings
It is observed that managing customers, organization resources, and inventory are main SCM practices. Major investment areas are systems for developing quick response and quality management. Currently, human resource and knowledge management have been found to be less priority areas for SMEs. The major focus of Indian SMEs is on cost and lead time reduction by having effective SCM.
Originality/value
Novelty of this study is that strategic issues for effective SCM in context to Indian SMEs have been analyzed. The findings of the study will help Indian SMEs in doing strategic planning for being competitive in the global market.