Dennis B.K. Hwang and A. Blair Staley
Seeks to analyze the impact of recent accounting and auditing failures in the USA on US accounting and auditing in China, focusing on the practice of guanxi – the networks of…
Abstract
Purpose
Seeks to analyze the impact of recent accounting and auditing failures in the USA on US accounting and auditing in China, focusing on the practice of guanxi – the networks of informal relationships and exchanges of favors that dominate all business and social activities in Chinese societies.
Design/methodology/approach
Examines Chinese culture and uses historical precedents and parallels with Japanese culture to predict potential accounting and auditing problems.
Findings
Determines that guanxi has the potential to undermine the high standards of auditor independence, audit quality, and ethical behavior to which auditors must adhere.
Research limitations/implications
The review of Chinese culture and list of historical precedents is not exhaustive, and the standards are all US, which perhaps limits its usefulness elsewhere.
Practical implications
A very useful source of information on Chinese business behavior as it impacts accountants and auditors.
Originality/value
Enables policy makers and professional accountants to anticipate and predict how guanxi may threaten the progress made in improving financial management and reporting, and may undermine auditor independence, audit quality, and the quality of financial reporting.
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Dennis Hwang, Blair Staley, Ying Te Chen and Jyh‐Shan Lan
The purpose of this paper is to use survey data to examine the impact of culture on current and future accounting and auditing professionals' intent to be whistle‐blowers in a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to use survey data to examine the impact of culture on current and future accounting and auditing professionals' intent to be whistle‐blowers in a Chinese cultural society.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper examines intent to whistle‐blow and factors influencing whistle‐blowing, using survey data collected by the authors.
Findings
It was found that a majority of respondents believe that a general sense of morality was the most important factor to encourage whistle‐blowing, with abiding by the policy of their organization as the second; it was also found that guanxi, fear of retaliation, and fear of media coverage may discourage whistle‐blowing in a Chinese society.
Research limitations/implications
The data are all from Confucian societies, which perhaps limits its usefulness elsewhere.
Practical implications
The paper will help auditors, accountants, and policy makers to design policies that encourage whistle‐blowing.
Originality/value
The paper uses original survey data collected by the authors, and the analysis will enable policy makers and professional accountants to anticipate and predict whistle‐blowing, a key factor in improving financial management and reporting, and possibly undermining auditor independence, audit quality, and the quality of financial reporting.
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The purpose of this paper is to find potential causality and comparative relationships between electric power consumption, foreign direct investment and economic growth for India…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to find potential causality and comparative relationships between electric power consumption, foreign direct investment and economic growth for India and Pakistan.
Design/methodology/approach
Granger causality tests have been employed for estimating the short and long run relationships between the variables, along with the adoption of co‐integration and error correction mechanism.
Findings
Empirical evidence for India covering a period of 1975‐2008 indicates long run causalities for electric power consumption and foreign direct investment boosting economic growth, electric power consumption and economic growth impacting foreign direct investment. For Pakistan, causality was established for foreign direct investment and economic growth inducing electric power consumption in the long run.
Practical implications
For India, there is a strong need of policy that would guarantee secure and continued supply of electricity, as enhanced electric consumption is expected to boost foreign direct investment and economic growth. Pakistan should aim for cost‐effective, stable and environment friendly alternate to fossil fuels as the main source of its electric power generation.
Originality/value
Literature on the electricity consumption‐FDI‐economic growth nexus is scarce. The present study adds to this strand of literature. Also for the first time, in this scenario, this paper uses two economies (India and Pakistan), provides a comparative analysis of the empirical results and presents prospective explanations for the observed causality differences between the two economies.
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Etiënne A. J. A. Rouwette and L. Alberto Franco
This chapter focuses on techniques and technologies to aid groups in making decisions, with an emphasis on computer-based support. Many office workers regularly meet colleagues…
Abstract
This chapter focuses on techniques and technologies to aid groups in making decisions, with an emphasis on computer-based support. Many office workers regularly meet colleagues and clients in virtual meetings using videoconferencing platforms, which enable participants to carry out tasks in a manner similar to a face-to-face meeting. The development of computer-based platforms to facilitate group tasks can be traced back to the 1960s, and while they support group communication, they do not directly support group decision making. In this chapter we distinguish four technologies developed to provide support to group decisions, clustered into two main traditions. Technologies in the task-oriented tradition are mainly concerned with enabling participants to complete tasks to solve the group's decision problem via computer-supported communications. Group Decision Support Systems and social software technologies comprise the task-oriented tradition. Alternately, in the model-driven tradition, participants use computers to build and use a model that acts as a referent to communicate, mostly verbally, about the group's decision problem. System modeling and decision-modeling technologies constitute the model-driven tradition. This chapter sketches the history and guiding ideas of both traditions, and describes their associated technologies. The chapter concludes with questioning if increased availability of online tools will lead to increased use of group decision support technologies, and the differential impact of communication support versus decision support.
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Jianbiao Pan, Tzu‐Chien Chou, Jasbir Bath, Dennis Willie and Brian J. Toleno
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of reflow time, reflow peak temperature, thermal shock and thermal aging on the intermetallic compound (IMC) thickness for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of reflow time, reflow peak temperature, thermal shock and thermal aging on the intermetallic compound (IMC) thickness for Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu (SAC305) soldered joints.
Design/methodology/approach
A four‐factor factorial design with three replications is selected in the experiment. The input variables are the peak temperature, the duration of time above solder liquidus temperature (TAL), solder alloy and thermal shock. The peak temperature has three levels, 12, 22 and 32°C above solder liquidus temperatures (or 230, 240 and 250°C for SAC305 and 195, 205, and 215°C for SnPb). The TAL has two levels, 30 and 90 s. The thermally shocked test vehicles are subjected to air‐to‐air thermal shock conditioning from −40 to 125°C with 30 min dwell times (or 1 h/cycle) for 500 cycles. Samples both from the initial time zero and after thermal shock are cross‐sectioned. The IMC thickness is measured using scanning electron microscopy. Statistical analyses are conducted to compare the difference in IMC thickness growth between SAC305 solder joints and SnPb solder joints, and the difference in IMC thickness growth between after thermal shock and after thermal aging.
Findings
The IMC thickness increases with higher reflow peak temperature and longer time above liquidus. The IMC layer of SAC305 soldered joints is statistically significantly thicker than that of SnPb soldered joints when reflowed at comparable peak temperatures above liquidus and the same time above liquidus. Thermal conditioning leads to a smoother and thicker IMC layer. Thermal shock contributes to IMC growth merely through high‐temperature conditioning. The IMC thickness increases in SAC305 soldered joints after thermal shock or thermal aging are generally in agreement with prediction models such as that proposed by Hwang.
Research limitations/implications
It is still unknown which thickness of IMC layer could result in damage to the solder.
Practical implications
The IMC thickness of all samples is below 3 μm for both SnPb and SAC305 solder joints reflowed at the peak temperature ranging from 12 to 32°C above liquidus temperature and at times above liquidus ranging from 30 to 90 s. The IMC thickness is below 4 μm after subjecting to air‐to‐air thermal shock from −40 to 125°C with 30 min dwell time for 500 cycles or thermal aging at 125°C for 250 h.
Originality/value
The paper reports experimental results of IMC thickness at different thermal conditions. The application is useful for understanding the thickness growth of the IMC layer at various thermal conditions.
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Renato de Siqueira Motta, Silvana Maria Bastos Afonso, Paulo Roberto Lyra and Ramiro Brito Willmersdorf
Optimization under a deterministic approach generally leads to a final design in which the performance may degrade significantly and/or constraints can be violated because of…
Abstract
Purpose
Optimization under a deterministic approach generally leads to a final design in which the performance may degrade significantly and/or constraints can be violated because of perturbations arising from uncertainties. The purpose of this paper is to obtain a better strategy that would obtain an optimum design which is less sensitive to changes in uncertain parameters. The process of finding these optima is referred to as robust design optimization (RDO), in which improvement of the performance and reduction of its variability are sought, while maintaining the feasibility of the solution. This overall process is very time consuming, requiring a robust tool to conduct this optimum search efficiently.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, the authors propose an integrated tool to efficiently obtain RDO solutions. The tool encompasses suitable multiobjective optimization (MO) techniques (encompassing: Normal-Boundary Intersection, Normalized Normal-Constraint, weighted sum method and min-max methods), a surrogate model using reduced order method for cheap function evaluations and adequate procedure for uncertainties quantification (Probabilistic Collocation Method).
Findings
To illustrate the application of the proposed tool, 2D structural problems are considered. The integrated tool prove to be very effective reducing the computational time by up to five orders of magnitude, when compared to the solutions obtained via classical standard approaches.
Originality/value
The proposed combination of methodologies described in the paper, leads to a very powerful tool for structural optimum designs, considering uncertainty parameters, that can be extended to deal with other class of applications.
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The strategic management literature emphasizes the concept of business intelligence (BI) as an essential competitive tool. Yet the sustainability of the firms’ competitive…
Abstract
The strategic management literature emphasizes the concept of business intelligence (BI) as an essential competitive tool. Yet the sustainability of the firms’ competitive advantage provided by BI capability is not well researched. To fill this gap, this study attempts to develop a model for successful BI deployment and empirically examines the association between BI deployment and sustainable competitive advantage. Taking the telecommunications industry in Malaysia as a case example, the research particularly focuses on the influencing perceptions held by telecommunications decision makers and executives on factors that impact successful BI deployment. The research further investigates the relationship between successful BI deployment and sustainable competitive advantage of the telecommunications organizations. Another important aim of this study is to determine the effect of moderating factors such as organization culture, business strategy, and use of BI tools on BI deployment and the sustainability of firm’s competitive advantage.
This research uses combination of resource-based theory and diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory to examine BI success and its relationship with firm’s sustainability. The research adopts the positivist paradigm and a two-phase sequential mixed method consisting of qualitative and quantitative approaches are employed. A tentative research model is developed first based on extensive literature review. The chapter presents a qualitative field study to fine tune the initial research model. Findings from the qualitative method are also used to develop measures and instruments for the next phase of quantitative method. The study includes a survey study with sample of business analysts and decision makers in telecommunications firms and is analyzed by partial least square-based structural equation modeling.
The findings reveal that some internal resources of the organizations such as BI governance and the perceptions of BI’s characteristics influence the successful deployment of BI. Organizations that practice good BI governance with strong moral and financial support from upper management have an opportunity to realize the dream of having successful BI initiatives in place. The scope of BI governance includes providing sufficient support and commitment in BI funding and implementation, laying out proper BI infrastructure and staffing and establishing a corporate-wide policy and procedures regarding BI. The perceptions about the characteristics of BI such as its relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, and observability are also significant in ensuring BI success. The most important results of this study indicated that with BI successfully deployed, executives would use the knowledge provided for their necessary actions in sustaining the organizations’ competitive advantage in terms of economics, social, and environmental issues.
This study contributes significantly to the existing literature that will assist future BI researchers especially in achieving sustainable competitive advantage. In particular, the model will help practitioners to consider the resources that they are likely to consider when deploying BI. Finally, the applications of this study can be extended through further adaptation in other industries and various geographic contexts.
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Renate E. Meyer, Dennis Jancsary and Markus A. Höllerer
We review and discuss theoretical approaches from both within and outside of institutional organization theory with regard to their specific insights on what we call “regionalized…
Abstract
We review and discuss theoretical approaches from both within and outside of institutional organization theory with regard to their specific insights on what we call “regionalized zones of meaning” – that is, clusters of social meaning that can be distinguished from one another, but at the same time interact and, in specific configurations, form distinct societies. We suggest that bringing meaning structures back into focus is important and may counter-balance the increasing preoccupation of institutional scholars with micro-foundations and the related emphasis on micro-level activities. We bring together central ideas from research on institutional logics with some foundational insights by Max Weber, Alfred Schütz, and German sociologists Rainer Lepsius and Karl-Siegbert Rehberg. In doing so, we also take a cautious look at “practices” by discussing their potential place and role in an institutional framework as well as by exploring generative conversations with proponents of practice theory. We wish to provide inspiration for institutional research interested in shared meaning structures, their relationships to one another, and how they translate into institutional orders.
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Suyash Khaneja and Shahzeb Hussain
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of physical environment design (PED) and its antecedents on consumers’ emotional well-being (EWB). Drawing on place identity…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of physical environment design (PED) and its antecedents on consumers’ emotional well-being (EWB). Drawing on place identity and emotional theories, the study aims to provide a new perspective to retail store experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey of 800 respondents was conducted in London, out of which 764 responses were constructively used. The data was collected from international retail outlets, and structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data.
Findings
The empirical results show that PED has a positive effect on consumers’ EWB. Among the antecedents, visual identity does not have any significant effect on PED and EWB. In contrast, communication had a significant effect on PED but did not have any effect on EWB, and further, cultural heritage had a positive effect on both PED and EWB. Further, moderator analysis identifies the boundary conditions under which specific theories hold.
Practical implications
The value of this paper lies in its potential to be used for creating the perfect design planning in retail stores. Significant implications for managers and researchers are highlighted.
Originality/value
This paper presents an innovative approach to develop the principles of retail store’s PED to support the EWB of consumers.
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Kelley O'Reilly and Sherry Marx
Specifically focusing on one antecedent (information seeker's characteristics) for electronic word‐of‐mouth adoption and credibility assessments, the purpose of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Specifically focusing on one antecedent (information seeker's characteristics) for electronic word‐of‐mouth adoption and credibility assessments, the purpose of this paper is to attempt to shed light on consumer motivations for making and taking online recommendations, and how technically savvy consumers assess credibility online.
Design/methodology/approach
To investigate the role and influence of word‐of‐mouth (WOM) amongst technically savvy online consumers, purposeful sampling was used to limit participants to those who have made online purchases and who spend more than three hours a day on the internet. Using an adaptation of the grounded theory method, this study was triangulated via one face‐to‐face interview with each participant, member‐checking, analysis of online communications deemed “not credible” by the participants, and through relevant literature from marketing and information systems (IS).
Findings
Analysis shows that participants exhibit more of a “bricks‐to‐clicks” than a “clicks‐to‐bricks” purchasing cycle. In addition to relying on customer reviews online, participants accept online WOM to enhance their self‐worth, avoid risk, or enact negativity bias. Additionally, assessment of online WOM credibility is based on four factors: the polarity and quantity of posts, the logic and articulation of posts, the ability to find corroborating sources, and the previous experience of participants with particular sellers.
Originality/value
Previous research in WOM has not specifically explored how technically savvy consumers assess the credibility of online information and how these consumers may help to identify future trends for online customer exchanges. This qualitative study fills this gap. Conceptual framework and managerial implications are discussed.