Naresh R. Pandit, Gary A.S. Cook, David Milman and Francis C. Chittenden
This paper focuses on the British company voluntary arrangement (CVA) which is a relatively new debtor rehabilitation process particularly intended to help financially troubled…
Abstract
This paper focuses on the British company voluntary arrangement (CVA) which is a relatively new debtor rehabilitation process particularly intended to help financially troubled small firms resolve their difficulties. Based on a survey that is the largest and most comprehensive on the subject of British CVAs, this paper has three principal objectives: (i) to outline the characteristics of CVAs; (ii) to examine the relationships between CVA success and context; and (iii) to provide managerial and policy recommendations based on these findings. Among other things, the study finds that the overwhelming majority of CVAs are employed by small firms and that they can be particularly successful as a means of recovery when the economic fundamentals of the business are sound, regardless of the line of activity of the firm. Higher levels of success might be achieved, however, if the fixed costs of CVAs were subsidised in the case of very small firms and if more time were allowed during the process.
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Outlines UK law and practice relating to the responsibilities of directors of insolvent companies with particular reference to small firms: and explains the changes introduced by…
Abstract
Outlines UK law and practice relating to the responsibilities of directors of insolvent companies with particular reference to small firms: and explains the changes introduced by the 1985 and 1986 Insolvency Acts and the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986. Considers the practical effects of the new law, referring to relevant cases; and stresses the psychological barriers which directors erect against facing the risk of failure and taking action to avoid it. Notes that the Insolvency Act 2000 allows directors to be disqualified without the need for costly court proceedings and makes practical suggestions on how they can protect themselves. Describes four stages of organizational crisis from denial to collapse, pointing out how managerial decision making becomes impaired in this situation and referring to relevant research. Calls for further research to “inform future legislation”.
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Ali M. Metwalli and Roger Y.W. Tang
This paper provides an overview of the merger and acquisition (M&A) activity of Middle‐Eastern (M.E.) countries from 1990 to 2000. The following information is presented: M&A…
Abstract
This paper provides an overview of the merger and acquisition (M&A) activity of Middle‐Eastern (M.E.) countries from 1990 to 2000. The following information is presented: M&A transactions by the nationality and industries of the target firms; home countries and industries of the acquiring firms and the acquisition methods. The largest twenty mergers and acquisitions in the Middle East during the 1990–2000 period are identified. The paper also compares the M&A activity in four important countries (Egypt, Israel, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia). Learning the M&A activity in the Middle East is essential in identifying target or acquirers, and conducting future M&A transactions.
Osman M. Karatepe and Rashin Kaviti
This paper aims to propose and test a conceptual model, guided by conservation of resources theory, that examines whether emotional exhaustion is a mediator between organization…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose and test a conceptual model, guided by conservation of resources theory, that examines whether emotional exhaustion is a mediator between organization mission fulfillment and critical outcomes such as turnover intentions, lateness attitude, job performance and extra-role customer service.
Design/methodology/approach
The aforesaid relationships were assessed via data gathered from customer-contact employees two weeks apart in three waves and their immediate supervisors in the international five-star chain hotels in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The relationships in the model were gauged via structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results reveal that organization mission fulfillment influences the above-mentioned outcomes only through emotional exhaustion. Specifically, organization mission fulfillment mitigates customer-contact employees’ emotional exhaustion. Under these circumstances, these employees report desirable outcomes such as low levels of quitting intentions and lateness attitude as well as higher in- and extra-role performances.
Research limitations/implications
In future research, collecting data from different service settings in different countries would enable the researcher to conduct a cross-national study and make further generalizations. In future research, including actual turnover and absenteeism as well creative and service recovery performances in the model would enrich the understanding about the outcomes of organization mission fulfillment and emotional exhaustion.
Practical implications
Management needs to use several intra-organizational communication tools so that customer-contact employees can have an understanding of how the organization is trying to accomplish its mission. When employees participate in and contribute to the preparation of the organization’s mission statement, they own the mission statement and do their best to achieve the organizational objectives. Management should also offer a work environment where employees can avail themselves of psychosocial support to be provided by mentors. Such psychosocial support would enable employees to manage problems emerging from emotional exhaustion.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to current knowledge by testing the effect of the organization’s fidelity to its mission statement on emotional exhaustion and the above-mentioned job outcomes using data obtained from employees in frontline service jobs in the hotel industry.
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Osman M Karatepe and Mehmet Aga
Drawing from Bagozzi’s (1992) reformulation of attitude theory, the purpose of this paper is to propose and test a conceptual model that links organization mission fulfillment…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing from Bagozzi’s (1992) reformulation of attitude theory, the purpose of this paper is to propose and test a conceptual model that links organization mission fulfillment (OMF) and perceived organizational support (POS) to job performance (JP) via work engagement (WE).
Design/methodology/approach
Data gathered from frontline bank employees with a time lag of two weeks and their supervisors in Northern Cyprus were utilized to test the aforementioned relationships.
Findings
The results from structural equation modeling suggest that OMF and POS foster WE. WE in turn stimulates employees’ JP. In short, WE fully mediates the effects of OMF and POS on JP.
Research limitations/implications
Incorporating creative performance into the conceptual model would shed further light on WE as a mediator of the effects of OMF and POS on various performance outcomes. Gathering data from frontline bank employees in similar islands would allow conducting a cross-national study.
Practical implications
Management of banks can organize workshops where frontline employees can contribute to the preparation of the mission statement. Employees making such contribution will display elevated levels of WE, because they contribute to something which is significant and meaningful. Management should also use selective staffing procedures to hire individuals who are customer oriented and therefore feel energetic and dedicated and are engrossed in their work.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the current knowledge base by linking OMF and POS to JP via WE in frontline service jobs in the retail banking industry.
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David J. Flanagan, Claudio D. Milman and James P. D'Mello
The Latin American merger and acquisition (M&A) market offers enormous opportunities. M&A activity in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Venezuela is examined and compared with…
Abstract
The Latin American merger and acquisition (M&A) market offers enormous opportunities. M&A activity in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Venezuela is examined and compared with M&A activity in the United States. Characteristics examined include the industries and form of ownership of the target firms, the types of transactions, and the home countries of the acquiring firms. Differences are found between characteristics of M&A activity in the Latin American countries and the United States. Differences are also found among the characteristics of M&A activity in the various Latin American countries. Implications for managers and areas in need of additional research are discussed.
The paper aims to examine the question whether legislative reform is the silver bullet for the problems generated by the failure of a company which is exposed to claims arising…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to examine the question whether legislative reform is the silver bullet for the problems generated by the failure of a company which is exposed to claims arising from the non-fulfilment of its environmental obligations. The limited capacity of the UK insolvency regime to facilitate the fulfilment of a debtor company’s environmental obligations is often illustrated with reference to some significant judicial decisions. However, no real picture has emerged of the frequency with which these issues arise, based on which firm proposals for reform could be advanced. This paper argues that greater regard should be paid to existing mechanisms which provide a means of enabling insolvency risks to be managed or minimised because these point towards the scope for these issues to be resolved through the environmental protection framework rather than through reliance on company and/or insolvency law.
Design/methodology/approach
Research was conducted into the statutory and non-statutory regulations (such as statutory guidance) and case law principles, which underpin the treatment of the claims against an insolvent (or potentially insolvent) company resulting from its environmental activities. This included research into policies which have a bearing on this area, developed through governmental and civic consultations and studies.
Findings
The paper concludes that the likelihood of a case for legislative reform being made out is weak, and the focus should accordingly shift to strengthening the effectiveness of existing law, policy and practice.
Originality/value
This paper is the first (in the UK context) to challenge the perceived need for reform in this area, engaging with recent examples of such corporate failures and the impact of recent legislative and policy developments.
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Volume 14 of Sociological Studies of Children and Youth (SSCY) is comprised of empirical research and theoretical papers within three areas, namely children's well-being, children…
Abstract
Volume 14 of Sociological Studies of Children and Youth (SSCY) is comprised of empirical research and theoretical papers within three areas, namely children's well-being, children and youth peer cultures, and the rights of children and youth. In this volume, the term “children” is used inclusively to encompass those from infancy through the transition to adulthood. These empirical studies include children's voices and experiences from four continents and a range of methodological and theoretical orientations. Additionally, a clear connection to social policy is made in many of these studies. Altogether, these studies highlight how structure and culture both limit and enable the life chances of children, how children interpret and construct their social relations and environments, and finally, how children view themselves as well as how others view the rights of children.
Abstract
Graphical abstract
Purpose
The theme park industry has attracted wide attention and visitors’ perceptions are key to improving theme park management. Applying the cognitive-affective theory, this study aims to explore various cognitive attributes and affective attitudes and how they affect the overall theme park image.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed research method was used to analyze tourists’ cognitive, affective and overall evaluations of theme parks through text mining and logistic regression and to verify their internal relationships.
Findings
Study 1 confirms the impact of six features of theme parks, including food and beverage consumption, merchandising, spatiality, immersive technologies, interactive performances and thematization. Study 2 reveals that finer-grained emotions such as goodness, sadness, disgust, surprise, fear, joy and anger are present in visitor reviews. Study 3 confirms the significant influence of cognitive characteristics and emotions related to theme parks on the overall image through regression analysis. The findings carry meaningful implications for theme park managers, offering guidance on customer needs, perceived negative attributes and how to improve visitor experiences.
Originality/value
This study explores the attribute characteristics of cognitive and affective images of theme parks and their influence on the overall image, thereby enriching the research on the connotations of cognitive-affective theory. In particular, this study introduces and quantitatively analyses the concept of theme parks for the first time through a large-scale data analysis, which empirically reconciles the contradictions of previous reviews of different definitions of theme parks.
图形摘要
主题公园评论:文本挖掘的认知特征和情感如何决定主题公园形象
摘要
目的
主题公园行业备受关注, 而游客的看法是改进主题公园管理的关键所在。本研究运用认知-情感理论, 旨在探索游客评论的认知属性与情感态度, 以及它们如何影响主题公园的整体形象。
设计/方法/途径
采用混合研究方法, 通过文本挖掘和逻辑回归分析游客对主题公园的认知、情感及总体评价, 并验证它们之间的内在关系。
发现
研究1证实了主题公园的六个特征所产生的影响, 包括餐饮消费、商品销售、空间性、沉浸式技术、互动表演和主题化。研究2表明, 游客评价中存在更细化的情感, 如好感、悲伤、厌恶、惊讶、恐惧、喜悦和愤怒。研究3通过回归分析证实了与主题公园相关的认知和情感特征对整体形象具有显著影响。这些研究结果对主题公园管理者具有重要意义, 为了解客户需求、识别负面属性以及如何改善游客体验提供了指导。
原创性
本研究对主题公园认知和情感形象的属性特征及其对整体形象的影响进行了探索, 从而丰富了认知-情感理论内涵。特别是本研究首次通过引入大规模数据并量化分析了主题公园的概念, 从实证角度调和了以往针对主题公园不同定义的相关评论中存在的矛盾。
Resumen gráfico
Reseñas de parques temáticos: cómo la minería de textos de las características cognitivas y las emociones pueden determinar la imagen del parque temático
Resumen
Propósito
El sector de los parques temáticos ha atraído una gran atención y las percepciones de los visitantes son clave para mejorar su gestión. Aplicando la teoría cognitivo-afectiva, este estudio pretende explorar diversos atributos cognitivos y actitudes afectivas, y cómo afectan a la imagen global del parque temático.
Diseño/metodología/enfoque
Se adoptó un enfoque de investigación de métodos mixtos para analizar las evaluaciones cognitivas, afectivas y globales de los turistas sobre los parques temáticos mediante minería de textos y regresión logística, y para validar la relación intrínseca entre ellas.
Conclusiones
El estudio 1 confirmó el impacto de seis características de los parques temáticos, como el consumo de alimentos y bebidas, el merchandising, la espacialidad, las tecnologías inmersivas, los espectáculos interactivos y la tematización. El estudio 2 reveló la presencia de emociones más sutiles en las evaluaciones de los visitantes, como la bondad, la tristeza, el asco, la sorpresa, el miedo, la alegría y la ira. El estudio 3 confirmó, mediante un análisis de regresión, que las características cognitivas y las emociones asociadas a los parques temáticos tienen un efecto significativo en la imagen global. Estas conclusiones tienen importantes implicaciones para los gestores de los parques temáticos, ya que proporcionan orientación para comprender las necesidades de los clientes, identificar los atributos negativos percibidos y saber cómo mejorar las experiencias de los visitantes.
Originalidad
Este estudio explora las características de los atributos de las imágenes cognitivas y afectivas de los parques temáticos y su impacto en la imagen global, enriqueciendo así la investigación sobre las connotaciones de la teoría cognitivo-afectiva. En particular, este estudio introduce y analiza cuantitativamente por primera vez el concepto de parque temático mediante un análisis de datos a gran escala, que concilia empíricamente las contradicciones que existían en revisiones anteriores de las distintas definiciones de parque temático.
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Marie C. Trigg and David Trigg
When companies internationalize, the dimension of individual national cultures needs to be considered in conjunction with corporate culture. Theme parks deliberately set out to…
Abstract
When companies internationalize, the dimension of individual national cultures needs to be considered in conjunction with corporate culture. Theme parks deliberately set out to portray the cultures and fantasies of other times and places, thereby compounding the issues affecting corporate and national cultures. Explores the tensions that the corporate culture of Walt Disney Corporation imposes on its French subsidiary, Euro Disney SCA, to determine if the resultant conflict has contributed to its poorer‐than‐expected performance. Using the three‐level construct of culture proposed by Schein an examination of the corporate culture of Disney will be made with particular reference to its programme of internationalization and the ultimate “clash” of its corporate culture with French national culture. The strength of Disney's corporate culture has led to conflict, and blinded the organization to the differences in the surrounding local culture.