Gary Zhang, Jonathan Nakamoto and Rebeca Cerna
Recent publicized incidents involving police and youth, particularly minorities, may undermine attitudes toward police. This research examines the effect of race/ethnicity on…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent publicized incidents involving police and youth, particularly minorities, may undermine attitudes toward police. This research examines the effect of race/ethnicity on youth attitudes toward police in two contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilizes survey data from 17,000 youth in California aggregated with data on poverty and crime. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) is used to examine the effects of individual and structural factors on perceptions of the police in the community and in school.
Findings
Race/ethnicity is related to perceptions of police in both contexts even after accounting for structural factors, with Blacks and Hispanics having less positive perceptions than Whites and Asians. Differences in perceptions between racial/ethnic groups were larger for police in the community than school police. Structural factors were associated with perceptions of police in the community but not at school.
Originality/value
This study differs from much of the previous literature examining race and attitudes toward police, which has largely focused on adults. The current study examines youth attitudes toward the police in two separate contexts and considers the influence of structural factors.
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Cheng Hsiao, Yan Shen and Qiankun Zhou
Panel data provide the possibilities of estimating individual treatment effects for multiple individuals. Two issues are considered: (1) differences in the estimated individual…
Abstract
Panel data provide the possibilities of estimating individual treatment effects for multiple individuals. Two issues are considered: (1) differences in the estimated individual treatment effects are due to heterogeneity or a chance mechanism? (2) what is the best way to estimate the average treatment effects? Testing and aggregation methods are suggested. Monte Carlo simulations are also conducted to shed light on these two issues. An empirical analysis on the involvement of underground organization in China’s Peer-to-Peer (P2P) activities through the “anti-gang” campaign is also provided.
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The purpose of the current study is to examine the applicability of general strain and procedural justice theories to retail banking deviance in an effort to improve compliance…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the current study is to examine the applicability of general strain and procedural justice theories to retail banking deviance in an effort to improve compliance programs.
Design/methodology/approach
This objective is achieved through a qualitative case study of active members of the retail banking industry guided by three research questions. First, how do participants view their companies' current compliance programs? Second, what types of crime or deviance are present in the data in which general strain and procedural justice theories are indicated? Third, what ethics and compliance recommendations can be made from the identified deviance and underlying theories?
Findings
Results indicate that current ethics and compliance programs are viewed as having serious flaws. Results also show the presence of a large amount of fraud based deviance in which both general strain and procedural justice theories seem to be implicated. Specific compliance enhancements are proposed in light of these findings.
Originality/value
The current study is one of the first to examine white collar crime deviance and ethics and compliance programs in the retail banking industry. Conducting research in specific industries is key as findings from a study in a particular industry may not extrapolate to another. Further, the current study uses a qualitative approach, which allows a deeper understanding of underlying mechanisms, with participants who have committed some form of deviance and are active members in their industry. Because of this fact, this study has the potential to provide new and different insights than a study conducted using students or other such participants and hypothetical scenarios.
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Chang Chen, Zhe Zhang and Ming Jia
The purpose of this paper is to examine the destructive effects of stretch goals on employees’ work–family conflict (WFC). Drawing on the conservation of resources (COR) theory…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the destructive effects of stretch goals on employees’ work–family conflict (WFC). Drawing on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study examines the mediating role of resource scarcity. By integrating the paradox theory with the COR theory, this study explores the moderating role of employees’ paradox mind-set.
Design/methodology/approach
Two-wave data were collected from a sample of MBA students in Northwestern China (N = 294). PROCESS was used to assess a moderated mediation model.
Findings
This study found a positive relationship between stretch goals and WFC, and resource scarcity mediated this relationship. For employees with a high paradox mind-set, the relationship between resource scarcity and WFC was weak; and the indirect effect of stretch goals on WFC via resource scarcity was weak.
Practical implications
Organizations should provide enough resources to employees when using stretch goals. Human resource managers could recruit candidates with high paradox mind-set and foster employees’ paradox mind-set through training.
Originality/value
This study makes contributions to the literature on stretch goals by examining the negative spillover effect of stretch goals on the family domain and exploring the mediating mechanism. This study also extends the paradox theory by using it at micro level to address questions on WFC.
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Antonia Egli, Theo Lynn, Pierangelo Rosati and Gary Sinclair
Automated social media messaging tactics can undermine trust in health institutions and public health advice. As such, we examine automated software programs (ASPs) and social…
Abstract
Purpose
Automated social media messaging tactics can undermine trust in health institutions and public health advice. As such, we examine automated software programs (ASPs) and social bots in the Twitter anti-vaccine discourse before and after the release of COVID-19 vaccines.
Design/methodology/approach
We compare two Twitter datasets comprising user accounts and associated English-language tweets featuring the keywords “#antivaxx” or “anti-vaxx.” The first dataset, from 2018 (pre-COVID vaccine), includes 3,154 user accounts and 6,380 tweets. The second comprises 327,067 accounts and 545,268 tweets published during the 12 months following December 1, 2020 (post-COVID vaccine). Using Information Laundering Theory (ILT), the datasets were examined manually and through user analytics and machine learning to identify activity, visibility, verification status, vaccine position, and ASP or bot technology use.
Findings
The post-COVID vaccine dataset showed an increase in highly probable bot accounts (31.09%) and anti-vaccine accounts. However, both datasets were dominated by pro-vaccine accounts; most highly active (59%) and highly visible (50%) accounts classified as probable bots were pro-vaccine.
Originality/value
This research is the first to compare bot behaviors in the “#antivaxx” discourse before and after the release of COVID-19 vaccines. The prevalence of mostly benevolent probable bot accounts suggests a potential overstatement of the threat posed by anti-vaccine accounts using ASPs or bot technologies. By highlighting bots as intermediaries that disseminate both pro- and anti-vaccine content, we extend ILT by identifying a benevolent variant and offering insights into bots as “pathways” to generating mainstream information.
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Vincent K. Chong, Gary S. Monroe, Isabel Z. Wang and Feida (Frank) Zhang
This study examines the effect of employees' perceptions of political connections on performance measurement systems (PMS) design choice and firm performance. In addition, this…
Abstract
This study examines the effect of employees' perceptions of political connections on performance measurement systems (PMS) design choice and firm performance. In addition, this study explores the moderating effect of social networking, a very common and widely used factor by domestic and foreign multinational firms operating in China, and its joint effect with political connections or PMS design choice on firm performance. We collected survey responses from a sample of 110 managers from manufacturing firms in China. Our results reveal that highly politically connected managers use nonfinancial measures, leading to improved firm performance. Our results suggest that social networking interacts significantly with political connections, and nonfinancial and financial measures on firm performance. The theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.
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George W. Ruch and Gary Taylor
We review and analyze the accounting literature that examines the effects of accounting conservatism on financial statements and financial statement users. We begin by analyzing…
Abstract
We review and analyze the accounting literature that examines the effects of accounting conservatism on financial statements and financial statement users. We begin by analyzing how conservatism affects the reported numbers on the financial statements. These studies primarily evaluate how conservatism affects earnings quality, including earnings persistence and the presence of earnings management. Next, we assess the effect of accounting conservatism on the users of the financial statements. We identify three primary users of the financial statements: (1) equity market users (2) debt market users and (3) corporate governance users. Within each of these categories, we analyze the findings of prior research and explore unanswered research questions. By analyzing the effects of accounting conservatism from a diverse range of research topics, we inform the discussion on the costs and benefits of accounting conservatism.
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Richard C. Hoffman and Frank Shipper
The purpose of this teaching case is to introduce students to an alternative business model as practiced by the Haier Group, a Chinese company, and how that model was used to turn…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this teaching case is to introduce students to an alternative business model as practiced by the Haier Group, a Chinese company, and how that model was used to turn around an acquired company in the United States of America (USA). The explicit teaching objectives are threefold. First, the case provides insights into Haier’s unique employee-centered culture. Second, Haier’s efforts to transfer parts of its culture to the newly acquired General Electric (GE) Appliance Division are discussed. Third, to improve the performance of the acquired division, Haier had to invest in people, equipment and new product technology.
Design/methodology/approach
This case is based on both primary and secondary research. The authors interviewed the chief executive officer. In addition, one of the authors spent a week in China observing and participating in meetings at the Haier Group. Both before and after the interviews, the authors searched both print and electronic media for additional information.
Findings
The case describes how Haier, a large Chinese appliance manufacturer, learned from its own difficult growth in building an employee- and client-driven organization. Haier was able to transfer key aspects of its culture, management practices and technology to help turnaround the well-known American appliance brand GE. The results of the first five years have been financially successful and investment in new product technology (Smart Home) bodes well for the future.
Research limitations/implications
This case represents only one successful turnaround of one acquisition, GE Appliances, by the Haier Group in the USA. Whether the changes introduced would work with other acquisitions in other countries is unknown. Thus, additional follow-up research needs to be done.
Practical implications
This case brings into question the traditional, hierarchical, bureaucratic, spreadsheet-driven model of management that is the predominant model taught and practiced in the USA. Others, such as Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini, have also raised the same question. This case introduces readers to another way and is just one more example of how managers who practice a high engagement style and share financial success with workers can outperform those who do not.
Social implications
This case documents the introduction of nontraditional management and human resource management practices by a foreign, Chinese company, into what at one time had been a highly regarded division of a traditional major American corporation. GE had become known for strident labor-management relationships. The employees’ acceptance of the alternative approach to management was in doubt prior to the acquisition, but over the past five years, the labor–management relationship appears to have improved as well as the profitability of the division.
Originality/value
Although the acquisition of the GE Appliance Division by the Haier Group has been widely reported in the press, knowledge of how the acquisition was successfully turned around from a money-losing GE Division to a profitable and growing portion of the Haier Group has been largely ignored in both the popular press and in instructional material for the classroom. This case study seeks to ameliorate the latter deficiency.
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Gary Mortimer, Martin Grimmer, Louise Grimmer, Shasha Wang and Jin Su
The “off-price” retailing concept is defined as the presentation of limited inventories of products in a “disorganised” retail environment which provides an extra level of…
Abstract
Purpose
The “off-price” retailing concept is defined as the presentation of limited inventories of products in a “disorganised” retail environment which provides an extra level of “challenge” to the shopping experience. Research has identified “off-price” shoppers as those who approach this challenging experience in a purposeful, task-driven way. This current research contributes new knowledge by testing the impact of antecedents (i.e. involvement) on the “off-price” shopper experience and the moderating role of national culture across two distinct cultural groups.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected via a self-completed, anonymous, online survey provided to a sample of Australian (n = 355) and Chinese (n = 400) shoppers who were identified as regularly shopping for fashion in “off-price” retail stores.
Findings
The research found that the consumer's level of involvement positively impacted their “off-price” shopping experience in terms of effort/mastery and pride. However, in contrast to current knowledge of East-Asian and Western cultural variances, limited moderation effects were identified. All national cultural dimensions interacted with product involvement in influencing consumer pride. Whilst product involvement decreased with pride in higher individualism, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation and indulgence cultures, these reversed in cultures with a lower score in these four dimensions.
Originality/value
This new research extends knowledge of “off-price” shopper behaviour by testing the levels of involvement and experience across two distinctly different cultures – East Asian and Western – and challenges existing knowledge of cultural variances. Further, the work extends the use of achievement goal theory as an approach to delineate these consumers from other cohorts.