Daniel Rubin, Chrissy Martins, Veronika Ilyuk and Diogo Hildebrand
While the popularity of online shopping has increased in recent years, surprisingly little research has examined the factors affecting consumers’ behavior in this context…
Abstract
Purpose
While the popularity of online shopping has increased in recent years, surprisingly little research has examined the factors affecting consumers’ behavior in this context. Furthermore, though a widespread problem for companies, the phenomenon of online shopping cart abandonment has garnered even less attention. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of consumers’ mindsets in online shopping cart abandonment.
Design/methodology/approach
Three experimental studies were conducted to examine the effect of consumer mindsets (i.e. abstract vs concrete) on purchase intentions.
Findings
Results indicate that consumers who have an abstract (as opposed to concrete) mindset when shopping online rate the products they include in their shopping carts to be more important, and consequently are more likely to purchase them, reducing shopping cart abandonment.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that online retailers can reduce shopping cart abandonment by implementing strategies that allow consumers to think abstractly.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the literature by identifying an important underlying mechanism affecting online shopping cart abandonment.
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Stuart Orr and Ray Bantow
Online education has been growing rapidly, but has not had the benefit of the extensive teaching pedagogy development of traditional face‐to‐face teaching. This paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
Online education has been growing rapidly, but has not had the benefit of the extensive teaching pedagogy development of traditional face‐to‐face teaching. This paper aims to provide a review of the current literature and present the results of a survey, conducted to determine the effectiveness of a graduate online subject.
Design/methodology/approach
The literature was reviewed to identify measures of success and quality in online education delivery. These measures were then considered in relation to their application in practice via a case study based around a survey conducted at Deakin University in Australia.
Findings
A total of 16 relevant measures of teaching quality were identified in the literature. Most measures had elements of bias and some were more generally applicable to online learning. The case study suggested that the value of computer mediated learning in an online environment was limited and that a combination of print and computer mediated conferencing performed better in more of the identified quality matrices.
Practice implications
Online learning does not save teaching resources if standards of quality are maintained. It can be used to provide a remote teaching facility, provided it is backed up by resources such as printed study guides. For the subject evaluated, online mediated learning did not the provide the same quality of education.
Originality/value
Whilst some research has been conducted in this area, no substantive grounded theory has been applied to postgraduate or fee‐paying online education regimes. As a result, case studies of such applications can be very helpful in the design of future teaching systems.
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Both work institutions and the family, capitalism and patriarchy must change if work and family are to be capable of integration by both men and women. Obviously needed changes…
Abstract
Both work institutions and the family, capitalism and patriarchy must change if work and family are to be capable of integration by both men and women. Obviously needed changes are: greater work scheduling flexibility, more available part‐time work for men and women, more available and affordable child care, more generous maternity and paternity leave. In order for work to be truly compatible with parenting it needs to be less alienated, and parenting needs to be less individualistically structured and isolating. Both realms need to be more creative, egalitarian and social. With the majority of wives and mothers working outside the home the previous “myth of separated worlds” has become increasingly untenable, as women are asked to reconcile work and family. The literature is examined, emphasising its limitations in its failure to disaggregate working mothers according to occupation and its one‐sided focus on the impact of work relationships on family life. Sociological theories about family and work are examined. The nature of the family work nexus for non‐professional and professional women is explored. The professional/non‐professional comparison is analysed as well as the changing family/work nexus and its impact on men and women.
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Junni L. Zhang, Donald B. Rubin and Fabrizia Mealli
In an evaluation of a job training program, the causal effects of the program on wages are often of more interest to economists than the program's effects on employment or on…
Abstract
In an evaluation of a job training program, the causal effects of the program on wages are often of more interest to economists than the program's effects on employment or on income. The reason is that the effects on wages reflect the increase in human capital due to the training program, whereas the effects on total earnings or income may be simply reflecting the increased likelihood of employment without any effect on wage rates. Estimating the effects of training programs on wages is complicated by the fact that, even in a randomized experiment, wages are truncated by nonemployment, i.e., are only observed and well-defined for individuals who are employed. We present a principal stratification approach applied to a randomized social experiment that classifies participants into four latent groups according to whether they would be employed or not under treatment and control, and argue that the average treatment effect on wages is only clearly defined for those who would be employed whether they were trained or not. We summarize large sample bounds for this average treatment effect, and propose and derive a Bayesian analysis and the associated Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo computational algorithm. Moreover, we illustrate the application of new code checking tools to our Bayesian analysis to detect possible coding errors. Finally, we demonstrate our Bayesian analysis using simulated data.
Maria Bampasidou, Carlos A. Flores, Alfonso Flores-Lagunes and Daniel J. Parisian
Job Corps is the United State’s largest and most comprehensive training program for disadvantaged youth aged 16–24 years old. A randomized social experiment concluded that, on…
Abstract
Job Corps is the United State’s largest and most comprehensive training program for disadvantaged youth aged 16–24 years old. A randomized social experiment concluded that, on average, individuals benefited from the program in the form of higher weekly earnings and employment prospects. At the same time, “young adults” (ages 20–24) realized much higher impacts relative to “adolescents” (ages 16–19). Employing recent nonparametric bounds for causal mediation, we investigate whether these two groups’ disparate effects correspond to them benefiting differentially from distinct aspects of Job Corps, with a particular focus on the attainment of a degree (GED, high school, or vocational). We find that, for young adults, the part of the total effect of Job Corps on earnings (employment) that is due to attaining a degree within the program is at most 41% (32%) of the total effect, whereas for adolescents that part can account for up to 87% (100%) of the total effect. We also find evidence that the magnitude of the part of the effect of Job Corps on the outcomes that works through components of Job Corps other than degree attainment (e.g., social skills, job placement, residential services) is likely higher for young adults than for adolescents. That those other components likely play a more important role for young adults has policy implications for more effectively servicing participants. More generally, our results illustrate how researchers can learn about particular mechanisms of an intervention.
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Steven E. Daniels and Gregg B. Walker
The recent impasse over federal forest management in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States has been a living laboratory of conflict and its management, and provides…
Abstract
The recent impasse over federal forest management in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States has been a living laboratory of conflict and its management, and provides the context for this case study. While most of the media attention has been focused on regional or national events such as President Clinton's Forest Conference of April 1993, a larger number of localized conflicts have shaped the controversy at the grassroots level. This case study focuses on a pivotal meeting in one such conflict: the Shasta Costa planning process. Outside intervenors mediated the meeting, and USDA Forest Service personnel, timber industry representatives, and environmentalists participated Participant observation and a supplemental survey led to the following conclusions: (1) measures of standing (the legal and social basis for legitimate participation) differed between the industry and environmental representatives, (2) reliance on science differed between groups, and (3) the process was not able to overcome a power imbalance. These findings suggest that there may be little hope for local dispute efforts if there is substantial policy uncertainty at the national level. Implications for managing forestry conflict in the region are discussed.
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977 and its amendment – the Trade and Competitive Act of 1988 – are unique not only in the history of the accounting and auditing…
Abstract
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977 and its amendment – the Trade and Competitive Act of 1988 – are unique not only in the history of the accounting and auditing profession, but also in international law. The Acts raised awareness of the need for efficient and adequate internal control systems to prevent illegal acts such as the bribery of foreign officials, political parties and governments to secure or maintain contracts overseas. Its uniqueness is also due to the fact that the USA is the first country to pioneer such a legislation that impacted foreign trade, international law and codes of ethics. The research traces the history of the FCPA before and after its enactment, the role played by the various branches of the United States Government – Congress, Department of Justice, Securities Exchange commission (SEC), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); the contributions made by professional associations such as the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICFA), the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), the American Bar Association (ABA); and, finally, the role played by various international organizations such as the United Nations (UN), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). A cultural, ethical and legalistic background will give a better understanding of the FCPA as wll as the rationale for its controversy.
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John F. Sacco and Gerard R. Busheé
This paper analyzes the impact of economic downturns on the revenue and expense sides of city financing for the period 2003 to 2009 using a convenience sample of the audited end…
Abstract
This paper analyzes the impact of economic downturns on the revenue and expense sides of city financing for the period 2003 to 2009 using a convenience sample of the audited end of year financial reports for thirty midsized US cities. The analysis focuses on whether and how quickly and how extensively revenue and spending directions from past years are altered by recessions. A seven year series of Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) data serves to explore whether citiesʼ revenues and spending, especially the traditional property tax and core functions such as public safety and infrastructure withstood the brief 2001 and the persistent 2007 recessions? The findings point to consumption (spending) over stability (revenue minus expense) for the recession of 2007, particularly in 2008 and 2009.
Thomas Quincy Wilmore, Ana Kriletic, Daniel J. Svyantek and Lilah Donnelly
This study investigates the validity of Ferreira et al.’s (2020) Organizational Bullshit Perception Scale by examining its distinctiveness from similar constructs (perceptions of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the validity of Ferreira et al.’s (2020) Organizational Bullshit Perception Scale by examining its distinctiveness from similar constructs (perceptions of organizational politics, organizational cynicism, procedural justice) and its predictive validity through its relations with important organizational attitudes (organizational identification) and behaviors (counterproductive work behavior and organizational citizenship behavior). This study also examines the moderating effects of honesty–humility on the relations between organizational bullshit perception and the outcomes of counterproductive work behavior, organizational citizenship behavior and organizational identification. Finally, this study examines the incremental validity of organizational bullshit perception in predicting counterproductive work behavior, organizational citizenship behavior and organizational identification above and beyond similar constructs in an exploratory fashion.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were collected from a sample of working adults online via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk platform across two waves (final N = 323 for wave 1 and 174 for wave 2), one month apart.
Findings
The results indicate that organizational bullshit perception, as measured by Ferreira et al.’s (2020) scale, represents a distinct construct that has statistically significant relations with counterproductive work behavior, organizational citizenship behavior and organizational identification, even after controlling for procedural justice, organizational cynicism and perceptions of organizational politics. The results, however, showed no support for honesty–humility as a moderator.
Practical implications
These findings suggest that organizations can benefit from assessing and working to alleviate their employees’ perceptions of organizational bullshit. This construct predicts behaviors and attitudes important for organizational functioning.
Originality/value
This study adds to Ferreira et al.’s (2020) original work by demonstrating organizational bullshit perception’s distinctiveness from existing constructs in the literature and its implications for organizations and their employees.
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Jussara dos Santos Raxlen and Rachel Sherman
In the 1970s and 1980s, studies of the unpaid household and family labor of upper-class women linked this labor to class reproduction. In recent years, however, the topic of class…
Abstract
In the 1970s and 1980s, studies of the unpaid household and family labor of upper-class women linked this labor to class reproduction. In recent years, however, the topic of class has dropped out of analyses of unpaid labor, and such labor has been ignored in recent studies of elites. In this chapter, drawing primarily on 18 in-depth interviews with wealthy New York stay-at-home mothers, we look at what elite women’s unpaid labor consists of, highlighting previously untheorized consumption and lifestyle work; ask what it reproduces; and analyze how women themselves interpret and represent it. In the current historical moment, elite women face not only the cultural expectation that they will work for pay, but also the prominence of meritocracy as a mechanism of class legitimation in a diversified upper class. In this context, we argue, elite women’s unpaid labor serves to reproduce “meritocratic” dispositions of children rather than closed, homogenous elite communities, as identified in previous studies. Our respondents struggle to frame their activities as legitimate and productive work. In doing so, they not only resist longstanding stereotypes of “ladies who lunch” but also seek to justify and normalize their own class privileges, thus reproducing the same hegemonic discourses of work and worth that stigmatize their unpaid work.