James J. Zhang, Eddie T. C. Lam and Daniel P. Connaughton
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between general market demands and consumption levels of professional sport consumers. This study was accomplished…
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between general market demands and consumption levels of professional sport consumers. This study was accomplished through: (a) validating the theoretical constructs of general market demand variables by conducting a confirmatory factor analysis, (b) examining the predictability of general market demand factors to consumption levels of live and televised sporting events, and (c) investigating the relationships between sociodemographic and general market demand factors. Five hundred and twenty-five residents of a major southern US city were interviewed using a questionnaire that included eight sociodemographic variables, 12 market demand variables under three factors (Game Attractiveness, Economic Consideration, and Marketing Promotion), and 10 professional sporting event consumption variables. The factor structure of the general market demand variables was confirmed. Regression analyses revealed that market demand factors were positively (p < .05) predictive of professional sport consumption. Sociodemographic variables were significantly (p < .05) related to the market demand factors. The findings imply that professional sport teams should highlight the market demand variables and adopt differential marketing procedures for various sociodemographic segments in their marketing practice.
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Yat‐Hung Chiang, Eddie W.L. Cheng and Patrick T.I. Lam
This paper aims to identify a set of potential determinants of capital structure. By knowing the key determinants, it is possible to understand how building contractors make…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify a set of potential determinants of capital structure. By knowing the key determinants, it is possible to understand how building contractors make decisions on capital structure.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire survey was conducted to solicit Hong Kong building contractors' view on the predictive power of a set of financial ratios on capital structure. Each of the seven proxies of capital structure was regressed on the five financial ratios. The usual diagnostic tests (i.e. Durbin‐Watson and variance inflation factor tests) and plots of residuals and normality were carried out to ensure that assumptions of linear regression analysis were met. To validate the findings, eight contractors were further interviewed.
Findings
Both measures of long‐term debts (i.e. “long‐term debt divided by total assets” and “long‐term debt divided by total debt”) are proven to be related to “tangibility” significantly. Also, perceived growth opportunities are significantly related to three proxies for capital structure (i.e. total debt to capital, long‐term debt and long‐term leverage).
Research limitations/implications
Further research should be undertaken to improve the quality of data and to enrich the understanding of how contractors define their capital structures.
Originality/value
Despite a plethora of research having been done by financial researchers, there are very few relevant papers in the construction field. This paper is intended to explore how building contractors made decisions on capital structure.
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Ryan K Zapalac, James J Zhang and Dale G Pease
There are few studies examining the marketing characteristics of intercollegiate women's volleyball spectators. The purpose of this paper is to examine intercollegiate women's…
Abstract
There are few studies examining the marketing characteristics of intercollegiate women's volleyball spectators. The purpose of this paper is to examine intercollegiate women's volleyball spectators from the perspectives of sociodemographics, market demand and consumption. Spectators (N=265) from seven intercollegiate women's volleyball games at three National Collegiate Athlete Association Division-I universities participated in the study. The findings indicate that there is a need to emphasise the market demand factors when marketing intercollegiate women's volleyball games.
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This paper alters the traditional model of valuation by introducing trinomial trees, and determines the difference between the traditional plain‐vanilla, adjustable‐rate mortgages…
Abstract
This paper alters the traditional model of valuation by introducing trinomial trees, and determines the difference between the traditional plain‐vanilla, adjustable‐rate mortgages and cash rebate mortgages. By presenting an economic model for studying the combined effects of mortgage value by prepayment, delinquency, default, and cure speed, the model builds a simulation program to generate different cash flow scenarios. The results indicate that the value of cash rebate mortgages is higher than that of standard mortgages, although they are more sensitive to embedded options. If the probability of exercising an option is higher, then the value of cash rebate mortgages will drop at a faster rate than that of standard mortgages.
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Eddie McAleer, Ronan McIvor, Paul Humphreys and Larry McCurry
Since the 1970s, international manufacturing companies, in pursuit of world‐class goals, have been adopting and adapting management practices developed originally in Japan…
Abstract
Since the 1970s, international manufacturing companies, in pursuit of world‐class goals, have been adopting and adapting management practices developed originally in Japan. Notable characteristics of such companies now include: a customer‐focused culture; a concentration on core competencies with high levels of outsourcing; an emphasis on team working and manufacturing cells; low levels of stock at all stages of assembly; frequent small deliveries by suppliers directly to the production areas; a supply base of relatively few suppliers; partnership agreements with key first‐tier suppliers. Such companies are aiming to produce goods of world‐class quality and to do so, given the large amounts of bought‐in components and sub‐systems, pay a great deal of attention to the supply network. As a result, the purchasing function in these companies, as the interface with suppliers, plays a crucial role in manufacturing strategy. It is thus important to determine what multinational manufacturing companies want from their suppliers, ie what constitutes the “total package” that they want to have supplied? To this end, a total quality‐based 15‐criteria model of this package was developed and pre‐tested with senior purchasing managers from multinational corporations (MNCs). Based on this model a survey of senior purchasing managers of 170 MNCs throughout Ireland was undertaken and this paper reports on the results from the 62 usable returns.
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PETER E.D. LOVE, ZAHIR IRANI, EDDIE CHENG and HENG LI
The construction industry is highly fragmented and adversarial in nature, which has resulted in it being criticized for its poor project performance and lack of innovation. To…
Abstract
The construction industry is highly fragmented and adversarial in nature, which has resulted in it being criticized for its poor project performance and lack of innovation. To improve performance, particularly inter‐organizational relations, organizations need to consider the formation of alliances with their project partners. Some construction organ‐ izations are beginning to initiate short‐term alliances with their customers and suppliers as part of a supply chain management strategy. However, such short‐term alliances inhibit feedback, which in turn supports learning and the development of mutual trust and cooperation. It is proffered that construction organizations should consider developing long‐term alliances, so as to enable parties to form learning alliances. The implications of forming different types of strategic alliances/partnering in construction are discussed. An inter‐organizational model that can be used to support learning and is founded on the principles of total quality management (TQM) is described. A case study is used to demonstrate that cooperative relationships can be used to cultivate a culture for reflective learning and mutual trust, beyond merely project‐specific performance improvements.
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Ken Yiu Kwan Fan, Patrick Lo, Kevin K.W. Ho, Stuart So, Dickson K.W. Chiu and Eddie H.T. Ko
This paper aims to study the information needs and online information-seeking behaviors on mobile platforms of performing arts students at a college level.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study the information needs and online information-seeking behaviors on mobile platforms of performing arts students at a college level.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey instruments were used to collect data from performing arts students at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts (HKAPA), a metropolitan’s major performing arts tertiary institution. Data collected were analyzed through descriptive statistics and other statistical methods, and the music-related students were compared with the production-related students.
Findings
The result reveals that performing arts students all owned their mobile devices and often used mobile apps for non-academic purposes, but they did not often use mobile library services or read online academic contents with their mobile devices. The participants considered inadequate signal coverage, slow loading time, difficulty in reading on a mobile device and the lack of specialized mobile apps as more significant barriers affecting their usage. There are some significant differences between the music-related and production-related student groups in that music-related students watched lectures on the library websites and used electronic music scores more often than the production-related students.
Practical implications
This study contributes to the input for enhancements and policies to future mobile services and facilities of performing art libraries.
Originality/value
There have been scant studies on the mobile learning needs of performing arts students, especially in Asia.
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Eddie Chi‐man Hui, Ann Yu and Russell Lam
The purpose of this paper is to examine the abnormal stock return of Hong Kong real estate firms following news of land acquisition and identify determinants to the abnormal stock…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the abnormal stock return of Hong Kong real estate firms following news of land acquisition and identify determinants to the abnormal stock return.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs the event‐study methodology and multivariate regression to test factors that are hypothesized to have effects on the abnormal return.
Findings
The paper indicates that on land acquisition announcement there is a significant positive price reaction. Also the market capitalization and debt‐to‐equity ratio of a firm is associated negatively with the level of abnormal price reaction.
Practical implications
This study has identified significant positive abnormal stock return following the news of land acquisitions by developers in the context of Hong Kong. It has also documented negative correlation between abnormal stock return and two specific factors of a firm, namely, market capitalization and debt‐to‐equity ratio.
Originality/value
This paper identifies significant positive abnormal stock return pursuant to land acquisitions by firms.
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E.W.L. Cheng and H. Li
The main purpose of this study is to provide some empirical evidence to support the consistency measure as an essential component in the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), which is…
Abstract
The main purpose of this study is to provide some empirical evidence to support the consistency measure as an essential component in the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), which is known to be a research method useful to both decision making and empirical research in construction information and management. The measure helps to affirm that individual decision makers capture logical and reasonable preferences when making decisions. It also supports empirical research conducted by either practitioners or academic researchers to ensure that the questionnaires are not poorly answered. Measure of the consistency level is expected to be able to detect inconsistent responses. In this study, strategies have been adopted to compare the AHP with the simple rating method to justify the criticality of consistency using data from a study of construction supply chain information. Three groups of responses (overall, consistent and inconsistent) based on the consistency measure were compared. Results indicate that responses to the AHP method having acceptable consistency (the consistent group) were shown to be consistent with the responses from the simple rating method. This supports that the consistent responses are reliable. Suggestions are given to improve the undertaking of AHP research.
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Robert J. Taormina and Talya N. Bauer
This study examined whether organizational socialization content areas are applicable across cultures. Data were gathered from 324 U.S. and 198 Hong Kong employees who completed a…
Abstract
This study examined whether organizational socialization content areas are applicable across cultures. Data were gathered from 324 U.S. and 198 Hong Kong employees who completed a questionnaire assessing four socialization content domains (training, understanding of the job, coworker support, and future prospects within the company), five measures of job satisfaction, and three measures of organizational commitment. Based on the merged data from the two cultures, all four socialization domains played a significant role in predicting satisfaction and commitment. These socialization measures also were stronger predictors than a variety of demographic measures. Although there were some differences in the relative strengths of the socialization measures when the data were analyzed separately for each nation, the overall results support the idea that the socialization content areas tested are applicable across cultures. Implications for managing employees in the different cultures are discussed.