Sharron O'Neill, Geoff McDonald and Craig Michael Deegan
The purpose of this paper is to seek to extend the work of Robson (1991, 1992) by exploring the accounting implications of the way in which subsets of non-financial accounting…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to seek to extend the work of Robson (1991, 1992) by exploring the accounting implications of the way in which subsets of non-financial accounting numbers are constructed. In particular, the study investigates whether the different procedures for organising subsets of a set of accounting data may lead to different conclusions about (the same) reality.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical analysis focuses on the procedures by which organisations translate work-related injury outcomes to accounting numbers. First, existing procedures are problematised within their institutional context. This highlights complementary elements of translation and neo-institutional theory that together explain how institutional factors might operate to constrain the problematising process. An empirical analysis of workers’ compensation data covering a ten year period is then conducted to calculate and contrast performance using two competing logics of accounting for injury.
Findings
The findings demonstrate that different representations of reality may result not only from accounting choices as to “what” is measured, but also from accounting choices as to “how subsets of measured data are organised”. Specifically, different ways of organising injury data into subsets led to different representations of the reality of overall injury performance. The evidence further suggests taken-for-granted assumptions and institutionalised practices may prevent adequate problematisation of the underpinning logic that guides the procedures for organising translations of work-related injury and illness to accounting numbers.
Practical implications
The results suggest the existing logic of accounting for injury fails to recognise the financial or non-financial complexity of non-fatal injury outcomes. “Lost time injury” measures are revealed as neither valid nor reliable measures of injury (or safety) and therefore inappropriate for informing the occupational health and safety (OHS) decisions of managers, boards and external stakeholders. These findings reveal an urgent need for change in injury accounting practice and, in turn, raise serious concerns about the increasingly institutionalised global template for external disclosure of OHS performance information.
Originality/value
This paper takes a novel look at the construction of social performance measures and suggests further attention to the construction of accounting subsets is warranted. In demonstrating serious problems in accounting logic that underpin existing, and deeply institutionalised, measurement and reporting practices, the findings reinforce the need to routinely re-problematise accounting practices. Failure to critically review those accounting translations that underpin decision-making may prove a fatal mistake.
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Mohsen Behnam, Geoff Dickson, Vahid Delshab, Anna Gerke and Parvaneh Savari Nikou
Social media has enhanced the ability of fans to interact with each other. Whilst previous research investigates fan co-creation, few studies focus on the interactive effects…
Abstract
Purpose
Social media has enhanced the ability of fans to interact with each other. Whilst previous research investigates fan co-creation, few studies focus on the interactive effects within the co-creation process. The authors develop a model for synthesizing the interactive concepts related to fan co-creation in social media, which leads to team identification.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants (N = 483) were recruited from fans of clubs in the Persian Gulf Pro League of Iran. Structural equation modelling was applied to test the research model.
Findings
The results showed that fan knowledge facilitates fan co-creation, which in turn leads to team identification. Additionally, fan engagement had a moderating effect on the mediating role of fan co-creation in the association between fan knowledge and team identification.
Research limitations/implications
The findings suggest that fan knowledge is an important antecedent of fan co-creation and highlight the significance of fan co-creation in promoting team identification in highly engaged fans at football clubs.
Originality/value
The current study contributes to the field of fan co-creation and provides significant implications for sport fan marketers.
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Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.
Findings
According to my on‐line dictionary, diversity means variety and that's not something usually associated with McDonalds. Double cheeseburger with relish (hold the onions), vanilla shake and a large order of fries is what you expect and it's what you can get any time you walk or drive through a McDonalds outlet. This consistency is what has made McDonalds a worldwide success and it is what many customers still value about the fast food firm. Despite the ubiquitous perception of McDonalds as the place to go for a Big Mac at any time, or perhaps an Egg McMuffin early in the day, the fast food giant has made significant changes in its product line, both to reflect today's healthy eating concerns, and the more sophisticated tastes of twenty‐first century customers. However, real diversity at McDonalds is found behind the scenes.
Practical implications
Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.
Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to‐digest format.
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Žižek has become both one of the dominant voices in current leftist cultural, social, and political critique and one of the most maligned. His work can be obscure, difficult to…
Abstract
Žižek has become both one of the dominant voices in current leftist cultural, social, and political critique and one of the most maligned. His work can be obscure, difficult to understand, and at times hyperbolic. Of particular difficulty is the attempt to discern a “positive” project in his work, as it seems that he is very good at offering us a sustained discussion of the difficulties of finding an oppositional stance to what he describes as our “current situation.” In fact, he is so good at this, that if we take him seriously it becomes hard to see a way out. Despite such appearances, Žižek's work offers us a radical insight into the twin processes of the creation of the social and the creation of the subject (and their mutual interdependence) as well as a novel conception of the possibility of resistance and social change based on this process. Furthermore, we can best make sense of this theory of resistance as founded in what Žižek identifies as the “negative” moment. This moment brings with it the possibility of something which is not determined by the existing power structure, thus it brings with it the possibility of a universalist stance that is unconditioned by our “current situation.” It is not then, as some have argued, that Žižek's privileging of the negative moment leads to a theory of social change that cannot sustain a positive project, nor is it the case that Žižek's theory of the negative serves as the first move upon which a positive project can be built. Žižek's radical insight is that the negative moment can itself be a positive phenomenon. The proper negative act then is one which lays the foundation for social change by creating a radical form of subjectivity that serves as the basis for such change. In trying to explicate Žižek's claims, what he is suggesting can be best understood by reference to Žižek's Lacanian reading of Hegel's theory of subjective freedom: freedom arising in the necessity that first defines (and confines) the subject.
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Compares the findings from the Youth Target Group Index (TGI) Survey of British children with those from the Simmonds Kids and Teens survey in the USA, with implications for…
Abstract
Compares the findings from the Youth Target Group Index (TGI) Survey of British children with those from the Simmonds Kids and Teens survey in the USA, with implications for marketers. Concludes that the two countries’ youth undeniably share a sophisticated common culture, with most but not all influences coming from the USA, and that there is as a result considerable scope for marketers of goods such as sportswear and web‐based activities; differences between the youth in the two countries include a greater degree of independence among American than British children aged 7 to 10, with somewhat higher mobile phone ownership.
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Vera Pedragosa, Rui Biscaia, Michael E. Naylor, David P. Hedlund and Geoff Dickson
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of member identity and its dimensions of power, urgency, external legitimacy, internal legitimacy and interest, on satisfaction…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of member identity and its dimensions of power, urgency, external legitimacy, internal legitimacy and interest, on satisfaction and behavioural intentions in fitness centres.
Design/methodology/approach
Two studies were designed. In Study 1, data were collected from fitness centre members (n = 225) and structural equation modelling used to examine the dimensions of fitness centre member identity and its subsequent effect on satisfaction and behavioural intentions. In Study 2, interviews exploring member identity were conducted with members (n = 9) and managers (n = 7) and a content analysis contrasted their perceptions of power, urgency, internal legitimacy, external legitimacy and interest.
Findings
The results of Study 1 support the multidimensional construct of member identity and its positive influence on both satisfaction and behavioural intentions. Satisfaction mediated the relationship between member identity and behavioural intentions. In Study 2, managers and members expressed similar perceptions of the member identity dimensions: low power; urgency is issue-dependent; external legitimacy is recognized; members are perceived as legitimate; and most members exhibit high interest in their membership.
Originality/value
This study provides a deeper understanding of how member identity contributes to long-term relationships between members and fitness centres. It extends the body of consumer behaviour literature in the context of fitness centres.
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Mingzhou Yu, Fang Liu, Julie Lee and Geoff Soutar
This study aims to understand the influence of negative publicity on brand image, brand attitude and brand purchase intention. Specifically, the study examines the role of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand the influence of negative publicity on brand image, brand attitude and brand purchase intention. Specifically, the study examines the role of attribution (or brand blame) and information characteristics in Chinese consumers’ responses to negative publicity.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a quasi-experimental approach involving two negative publicity scenarios (mild and high severity) and a sample of 203 young and educated Chinese consumers. Partial least squares was used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
A common assumption is that negative brand information has a negative influence on all aspects of a brand. However, this study finds that brand blame and information severity have differential effects on consumer evaluations of the affected brand. Specifically, brand blame negatively impacted attitudes and purchase intentions, but not brand image. In contrast, information severity negatively impacted brand image, but not attitudes or intentions. Further, the relations between brand image and brand attitudes and intentions depended on the level of information severity. In the mild-severity condition, brand image positively influenced attitudes and intentions, but not in the high-severity condition.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should examine consumer responses to negative publicity across different media and product categories. Cross-cultural studies should also be explored in the future.
Practical implications
When a brand encounters negative publicity, its marketer or brand manager should assess to what extent various brand equity components are influenced by negative publicity before adopting any cognitive-based or imagery-based communication strategies.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the limited and fragmented literature on consumer response to negative publicity by examining the impact of consumer’s attributions of blame to the brand under conditions of mild and severe negative information on a range of important brand-related outcomes. Specifically, the authors find that negative publicity has a different impact on brand image, brand attitudes and intentions to purchase. The authors suggest that brand managers use this information to guide their marketing communications.
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Many corporations fail to find the Holy Grail of globalization because they have not paid “enough” ongoing attention to the process. Without greater attentional effectiveness in…
Abstract
Many corporations fail to find the Holy Grail of globalization because they have not paid “enough” ongoing attention to the process. Without greater attentional effectiveness in their efforts to globalize, firms waste precious executive resources or decide to standardize their operations to limit the complexity of their international strategies. Neither of these reactions is desirable. While companies can deploy a range of helpful tools in increasing overall levels of global attention, these tools are costly and not every company is in a position to achieve and sustain high levels of global attention effectively. In this article, the authors discuss three dimensions of management attention: aversion/attraction, captive/voluntary, and front‐of‐mind/back‐of‐mind. Each of these dimensions provides an array of tools to focus management attention. By maximizing each of these dimensions, attention effectiveness is increased. In an international business world with abundant information, managers need to focus on their most scarce resource – management attention.
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Stephen Choo, Tim Mazzarol and Geoff Soutar
Although international franchising has occurred in East Asia over the past 20 years, surprisingly very little academic research has been undertaken to understand key dynamics of…
Abstract
Purpose
Although international franchising has occurred in East Asia over the past 20 years, surprisingly very little academic research has been undertaken to understand key dynamics of this marketing phenomenon. The purpose of this paper is to examine franchise resources, which is a key construct in the internationalization of retail franchising.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple case study approach has been adopted to generate rich data designed to aid understanding of the complexities inherent within such an international marketing relationship. The data were drawn from five US food service retail franchises, which are household brands across East Asia, operating in Singapore.
Findings
This study presents several interesting findings for the retail franchise industry. First, consistent with resource scarcity theory, international franchising relationship begins with a high degree of franchise dependency on the local franchisees. Next, international franchisors will be well served to select their overseas franchisees with strong financial resources to engage in rapid expansion, good contacts to secure early stores in prime retail locations and well‐proven local knowledge to modify the concept to suit particular market needs.
Practical implications
Findings from this study have important managerial implications for international retail franchisors on how to effectively select franchisees to successfully launch and manage their brands in East Asia.
Originality/value
This empirical study has made a major contribution in adding to the limited body of empirical knowledge on franchisee selection in international retail franchising, particularly in East Asia. It is hoped that this paper will encourage more academics to investigate why certain international retail franchise concepts perform relatively better in East Asia than others.
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The objective of this research is to develop and describe a conceptual framework of corporate ethics in total quality management (TQM).
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this research is to develop and describe a conceptual framework of corporate ethics in total quality management (TQM).
Design/methodology/approach
The research is based on a summarised in‐depth and longitudinal case illustration. The summarised case describes corporate ethics in an intra‐corporate relationship.
Findings
TQM requires human resources and failing to care for them will affect accordingly the success of TQM. The case description illustrates the evolution of management versus employee expectations and perceptions of corporate ethics. It has an emphasis on the human resources of a company that strives towards TQM. As the quality of corporate ethics decreases the outcome of TQM is also affected (i.e. directly or indirectly). The case is initialised in an atmosphere of management and employee optimism and positivism of corporate ethics, which is a requisite from both parties in order to ensure prosperous TQM. The successive change towards pessimism and negativism of corporate ethics in the intra‐corporate relationship concludes the in‐depth case description.
Research limitations/implications
Four parameters of corporate ethics are used to incorporate corporate ethics into TQM, namely management versus employee expectations and perceptions. Internal corporate quality management should always be regarded as dependent upon the achieved equilibrium between management and employee perceptions. It is also dependent upon the derived equilibrium between management and employee previous expectations.
Practical implications
An important insight of this research is that TQM requires the continuous attention to the management versus employee expectations and perceptions inherent in corporate ethics of internal business operations. Furthermore, corporate ethics is complementary to business ethics.
Originality/value
The case description has shown that TQM may be running well and accomplishing the hard goals. However, TQM is not only about figures, profits and costs. It is also a business approach that should penetrate all activities inside and outside that are related to the company, including the soft issues.