Sandra Cohen, George Venieris and Efrosini Kaimenaki
Despite the great interest in activity based costing (ABC), companies seem to be reluctant to adopt it. Our research aims at examining the rate of adoption of ABC by Greek…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the great interest in activity based costing (ABC), companies seem to be reluctant to adopt it. Our research aims at examining the rate of adoption of ABC by Greek companies that belong to all three sectors of the Greek economy, i.e. manufacturing, retail and services, as well as investigating the reasons that influence a firm's decision to change its current cost accounting system.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical survey via questionnaires was conducted during 2003 on a sample of 88 Greek leading companies and four company categories were identified in respect to their perceptions towards ABC (ABC adopters, ABC supporters, ABC deniers and ABC unawares).
Findings
Our findings indicate that ABC diffusion in Greece is quite satisfactory. Furthermore, we present evidence that firms that have implemented ABC (ABC adopters) have experienced multidimensional management facilitating benefits from the system. However, the adequacy of resources was found to be the variable that is positively and statistically correlated with the majority of problems encountered during ABC implementation process. On the other hand, the companies that include ABC in their future plans (ABC supporters) seem to be familiar with the corresponding expected benefits and potential problems of its adoption. We present evidence that the possibility of future ABC adoption is related to the degree of satisfaction from the currently used cost accounting system. Companies that do not intend to adopt ABC (ABC deniers) were found to be more satisfied with their existing cost accounting system in comparison to ABC supporters. We also report the characteristics of companies that still have complete ignorance of the ABC technique (ABC unawares).
Originality/value
The paper not only proceeds in a thorough analysis of the benefits perceived in relation to ABC as they have been presented in similar research, but also moves a step further and groups these benefits into distinct categories as well as ranks them in order of perceived importance. Furthermore, it analyzes the basic characteristics of the firms that have complete ignorance of ABC (ABC unawares), a group that is rarely met in ABC research papers.
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Sandra Cohen, Nikolaos Kaimenakis and George Venieris
The purpose of this paper is to explore the coexistence of cash accounting and accrual accounting systems through an investigation of the roles they fulfill in Greek…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the coexistence of cash accounting and accrual accounting systems through an investigation of the roles they fulfill in Greek municipalities.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey results are based on the answers of the financial department principals of 106 municipalities to a structured questionnaire. The roles of accounting investigated are informed by Ansari and Euske's model.
Findings
It appears that cash accounting information prevails in the major function of decision making, with accrual accounting information playing a secondary role. Larger municipalities seem to use accounting data more extensively than smaller ones for negotiations, both in accrual and cash terms.
Originality/value
The study sheds light on the actual use of accrual accounting information in a public sector setting, where customarily decisions were based on cash accounting considerations.
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Yannis Zorgios, Orestes Vlismas and George Venieris
This study seeks to examine how the quantitative semantics of the learning curve phenomenon can be employed in order to derive monetary information for team learning observed…
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to examine how the quantitative semantics of the learning curve phenomenon can be employed in order to derive monetary information for team learning observed within knowledge‐intensive production environments.
Design/methodology/approach
Software development is selected as an identical example of a team‐based, knowledge‐intensive production environment. The interaction of learning rate of the developer teams and the improvements on their average solving time (i.e. productivity) is modelled as a Lotka‐Volterra predator‐prey interacting populations system establishing a causal relationship between the human capital (HC) of organizational teams and the observed learning curve effects on their performance. In addition, empirical evidence illustrates that the estimated learning rates capture the entire range of team learning effects on performance fluctuations caused by the HC.
Findings
The fluctuations on the learning rates can be interpreted as a result of the HC variability across the population of developer teams. Hence, the cost implications of the HC within knowledge‐intensive production environments can be rationalised using the quantitative semantics of the learning curve phenomenon
Research limitations/implications
The learning curve is associated with the cost side of the organizational income‐generating process limiting its potential valuation applications for team learning observed within the context of the production environments.
Originality/value
The study offers a theoretical justification, supported by empirical evidence, for employing the mathematical expression of the learning curve paradigm to rationalize the financial consequences of team learning observed within production environments.
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Orestes Vlismas and George Venieris
This study attempts to formulate an ontological proposition for the intellectual capital (IC) domain. This study is motivated by the debate of contemporary thinking for different…
Abstract
Purpose
This study attempts to formulate an ontological proposition for the intellectual capital (IC) domain. This study is motivated by the debate of contemporary thinking for different IC research streams (IC1‐ostensive versus IC2‐performative) and their different ontological perceptions for IC. The proposed ontological proposition aims to serve the epistemological requirements towards the development of a common accepted generic IC theory.
Design/methodology/approach
The formulation of the ontology for the IC domain is based on contemporary tools within the fields of ontology and conceptual modelling. The principal dimensions of the ontology for the IC domain are identified following the directions of the Sowa's generalised theory for ontological frameworks. For each dimension, a generic entity is defined by drawing inferences from disciplines relevant to the contemporary IC inquiry. The relationships between the generic entities are modelled with the semantic representations of General Systems Theory (GST).
Findings
This paper provides an answer to the epistemological problem of how to perceive the substance of the IC domain. The derived ontology for the IC domain recognises different IC ontological dimensions that correspond to the IC ontological assumptions of different IC research streams, attempts to associate the IC of an organization with the tangible dimension of the enterprise, and provides conceptual semantics for modelling firm‐specific IC domains under the prism of different epistemological perspectives for IC.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed ontological proposition for the IC domain is an abstract ontology. It might empower researchers with guidelines for systemising the formulation of theoretical propositions and descriptions for their research fields. Yet, as an abstract ontology, it might create difficulty in its practical implementation.
Originality/value
The ontological proposition for the IC domain can contribute towards the debate on the establishment of a common research communicational rationalism within the IC research community for coordinating individual research efforts.
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Andromache Gazi, Theodoros Giannakis, Ilias Marmaras, Yiannis Skoulidas, Yannis Stoyannidis, Foteini Venieri and Stewart Ziff
Woon Leong Lin, Jo Ann Ho, Siew Imm Ng and Chin Lee
The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate financial performance (CFP), as the findings on the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate financial performance (CFP), as the findings on the relationship have been inconsistent and have led to calls to further examine this relationship. However, instead of investigating the connection between CSR and CFP, academics have stated that a contingency viewpoint must be used for uncovering the context and conditions which catalyse the relationship between both constructs.
Design/methodology/approach
This study acquired the CSR data from 100 companies listed in Fortune’s most admired US companies between 2007 and 2016. These data were used to investigate the CSR–CFP link with the help of the dynamic panel data system, which is the generalised method of moments (GMM) estimator.
Findings
The results indicate that CSR and CFP have a neutral relationship which characterises the effect between CFP and CSR. However, this study found that financial slack positively affected the CSR–CFP relationship, implying that companies will only benefit from CSR activities if they have excess financial resources.
Originality/value
This study offers a very distinctive perspective regarding the CSR–CFP link according to the financial slack perspective.
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Ali Mohammadi and Parastoo Taherkhani
The purpose of this paper is to identify the relationship between organizational capital and the subsets of organizational capital (intellectual capital (IC)) cost and cost…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the relationship between organizational capital and the subsets of organizational capital (intellectual capital (IC)) cost and cost stickiness.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is causal correlational research. The data related to the company’s financial statements were collected using the Rahavard Novin Software and www.rdis.ir. In this study, panel data were run with the use of Eviews 8, in order to test the hypotheses. The ordinary least-squares method is used in this study to estimate the parameters of the model.
Findings
The results obtained from the study show that there is a significant relationship between organizational capital and cost stickiness. However, there is no significant difference between high and low rank in terms of organizational capital and cost stickiness. In addition, there is a significant difference between IC and cost stickiness. Moreover, there is no significant difference between the components of IC and cost stickiness. Also, IC has an effect on the intensity of the relationship between organizational capital and cost stickiness.
Originality/value
This study explores the relationship between organizational capital and the subsets of IC and cost stickiness. Independent variables used in this study include organizational capital, IC and its components in the Pulic model, i.e. the efficiency of capital employed, the efficiency of human capital and the efficiency of structural capital.
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Rabiya Nawaz, Maryam Hina, Veenu Sharma, Shalini Srivastava and Massimiliano Farina Briamonte
Organizations increasingly use knowledge arbitrage to stimulate innovation and achieve competitive advantage. However, in knowledge management its use in startups is yet…
Abstract
Purpose
Organizations increasingly use knowledge arbitrage to stimulate innovation and achieve competitive advantage. However, in knowledge management its use in startups is yet unexplored. This study aims to examine the utilization of knowledge arbitrage by startups, specifically during COVID-19.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed an open-ended essay methodology to explore the drivers and barriers that startups face in utilizing knowledge arbitrage. We collected data from 40 participants to understand the role of knowledge arbitrage in startups’ knowledge management practices.
Findings
This study’s findings highlight the significance of knowledge arbitrage for startups. The benefits identified include organizational benefits such as building networks, innovating new products and achieving competitive advantage and financial benefits such as cost reduction and sales growth. The study also identifies several technological and organizational drivers and barriers that startups confront during knowledge arbitrage.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the existing literature on knowledge management by extending our understanding of knowledge arbitrage’s role in startups. Additionally, it sheds light on the importance of knowledge arbitrage for startups and the challenges they face, particularly in a disrupted environment reared by COVID-19. The study provides insights for the scholars and practitioners interested in effective knowledge management in startups.