Hongyi Sun, Ip Kee Hui, Agnes Y.K. Tam and Jan Frick
This paper records the research on the investigation of the empirical relationship between employee involvement (EI) and quality management. It is based on data from a survey of…
Abstract
This paper records the research on the investigation of the empirical relationship between employee involvement (EI) and quality management. It is based on data from a survey of 180 manufacturing companies. The main findings are: EI is positively correlated with total quality management (TQM) enablers; EI is positively correlated with improvements in business performance; EI positively influences the contribution of TQM to the improvement of business performance; EI is marginally related to ISO registration; and EI has no effect on the contribution of ISO 9000 registration. The conclusion is that EI should be incorporated into TQM and ISO 9000 registration. Implications for practice and future research are also discussed.
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Kit‐Fai Pun, Ip‐Kee Hui, Henry C.W. Lau, Hang‐Wai Law and Winston G. Lewis
The increasing consciousness of sustainable development and reconciling production with ecosystem conservation have fostered the adoption and implementation of environmental…
Abstract
The increasing consciousness of sustainable development and reconciling production with ecosystem conservation have fostered the adoption and implementation of environmental management systems (EMS). This paper investigates the critical processes and factors that may affect EMS planning. Empirical findings of a recent study in Hong Kong are presented, and a five‐stage EMS planning framework starting from strategy formulation to system implementation and evaluation is proposed. The framework integrates various perspectives of environmental management and strategy formulation. The paper provides organisations with a procedural guide for implementing environmental management practices. Flexible adaptation of the framework can help organisations derive potential benefits from the EMS implementation leading to sustainable competitive advantage. The framework can be modified to cater for varied business nature and operations in industry.
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Choon Chiang Leong and Tak-Kee Hui
This study aimed to examine the effects of macroeconomic and non-macroeconomic variables on Singapore hotel stock returns using hotel companies listed on the Singapore Stock…
Abstract
This study aimed to examine the effects of macroeconomic and non-macroeconomic variables on Singapore hotel stock returns using hotel companies listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX). Data were obtained from the Singapore Department of Statistics, PULSES, and CEIC database. Regression procedures and residual tests were carried out using an econometric program, E-Views. The derived model which consisted of the significant macroeconomic variables and the unexpected non-macroeconomic variables was established. Results of stability and predictive power tests of the derived model inferred that the model was stable and reliable in explaining hotel stock returns and was also reliable for forecasting. Regression analyses indicated that changes in industrial production and money supply displayed positive relationships whilst exchange rates, inflation, short- and long-term interest rates showed negative relationships with Singapore hotel stock returns.
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Cong Liang, Eddie Chi Man Hui and Tsz Leung Yip
This paper aims to explore one question: to what extent does urban rehabilitation impact the housing search cost of the low-income tenants.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore one question: to what extent does urban rehabilitation impact the housing search cost of the low-income tenants.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopts the fixed effects time-on-market (TOM) model and pricing model to study the research question.
Findings
Urban rehabilitation lifts the subdivided units (SDUs’) prices by around 7%. For the SDU located in old districts, urban rehabilitation gives rise to the rental price up by 11%–12%. The SDUs in the area without urban rehabilitation experience a short marketing period of 16%–17%. The SDU located in the old district that is without urban rehabilitation would have a short marketing time.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the pioneering research to investigate the relationship between rehabilitation and low-income rental housing from the improved search theory. The improved search theory posits that under the circumstance of urban rehabilitation, low-income tenants’ options are limited and the search behavior will be restricted in the affordable areas, and then TOM will be shortened. With the concentration of SDUs in Hong Kong, the test of the search theory is broken down into two hypotheses. (H1) Urban rehabilitation leads to low-income housing prices increase. (H2) Low-income housing located in areas without urban rehabilitation has a shorter TOM.
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Since the launch of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) in 2003, Hong Kong cinema is believed to have confronted drastic changes. Hong Kong…
Abstract
Purpose
Since the launch of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) in 2003, Hong Kong cinema is believed to have confronted drastic changes. Hong Kong cinema is described to be dying, lacking creative space and losing local distinctiveness. A decade later, the rise of Hong Kong – China coproduction cinema under CEPA has been normalized and changed the once pessimism in the industry. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how Hong Kong cinema adjusted its production and creation in the first 10 years of CEPA.
Design/methodology/approach
Beginning with a review of the overall development, three paradigmatic cases are examined for reflecting upon what the major industrial and commercial concerns on the Hong Kong – China coproduction model are, and how such a coproduction model is not developed as smooth as what the Hong Kong filmmakers expected.
Findings
Collectively, this paper singles out the difficulties in operation and the limit of transnationality that occur in the Chinese context for the development of Hong Kong cinema under the Hong Kong – China coproduction model.
Originality/value
This is the author’s research in his five-year study of Hong Kong cinema and it contributes a lot to the field of cinema studies with relevant industrial and policy concern.
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Chiang Yat Hung, Chan Ping Chuen Albert and Hui Chi Man Eddie
This paper examines the inter‐relationship between profitability, cost of capital and capital structure among property developers and contractors in Hong Kong. Whilst major…
Abstract
This paper examines the inter‐relationship between profitability, cost of capital and capital structure among property developers and contractors in Hong Kong. Whilst major indigenous local developers are among the largest and the most profitable in the world, their contractor counterparts are generally small and nowhere near as profitable. An analysis of financial data suggests that gearing is generally higher among contractors than developers. However, it does not mean that contractors borrow more than developers. Indeed they do not need to borrow as much as developers even if they have the assets to pledge as collateral. Contractors do not have to pay for high land costs, and they obtain project finance from developers through interim payments in lump sum contracts that are widely adopted in the industry. Their high gearing reflects more their low equity base than high level of debts. Their costs of equities are about double the developers’, probably due to their usually low or negative profit margins. This conclusion is substantiated by further regression analysis of the data. The findings indicate that capital gearing is positively related with asset but negatively with profit margins. This article concludes with a discussion on implications of such profitability divide between the two sectors on the unequal relationship between developers and contractors, and on their competitiveness.
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Entrepreneurship creates wealth and reduces unemployment. Entrepreneurs contribute to industrialisation as well as to economic growth; they improve living standards and tax…
Abstract
Entrepreneurship creates wealth and reduces unemployment. Entrepreneurs contribute to industrialisation as well as to economic growth; they improve living standards and tax revenues from their enterprises contribute to a nation’s treasury. Not surprisingly, then, governments have been spending considerable sums trying to create entrepreneurs. The question remains, however, Can entrepreneurship really be taught? To provide a response of any value, one must address the definition of entrepreneurship. As evident from the literature, there is no universally‐accepted definition of entrepreneurs or of entrepreneurship. If entrepreneurship is equated with the causing of economic disequilibrium – as per the Schumpeterian literature – then one can argue that entrepreneurs tend to be born, rather than made. In contrast, if relying on the definition provided by the Austrian School of Economics, it is possible to train entrepreneurs to identify opportunities and act thereon. Thus, while it can be argued that it is difficult to teach Schumpeterian entrepreneurship, efforts to teach Kirznerian entrepreneurship appear to have achieved some levels of success. However, to be truly successful, training programmes must be relevant to the host environment. It would be a fallacy to assume that a programme that has been functional in one environment will necessarily have the same effect elsewhere. A great danger lies in attempting to trans‐locate training programmes. This article provides a survey of education and training of entrepreneurs in different contexts across Asia.
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Recounts the history of the Chinese Diaspora in Australia, which dates back to the Gold Rush of the 1850s. In the past three decades, following the end of the white Australia…
Abstract
Recounts the history of the Chinese Diaspora in Australia, which dates back to the Gold Rush of the 1850s. In the past three decades, following the end of the white Australia policy, many ethnic Chinese immigrants have immigrated to Australia. Although there are only 300,000 people of Chinese ancestry living in Australia, Chinese immigration is a critical chapter of Australia’s immigration experience. Chinese entrepreneurs have played a major role in the history of the Chinese in Australia. Explores the experience of Chinese entrepreneurs in Australia from the earliest days till the present and reviews historical accounts of Chinese entrepreneurs in Australia, before presenting the results of recent research. Argues that it is necessary to investigate how ethnicity, gender and class have intersected to shape changing patterns of Chinese entrepreneurship in the Australian Chinese Diaspora. Suggests also that the dynamics of Chinese immigration and Chinese entrepreneurship in Australia have been shaped by the changing dynamics of globalisation, the state and the racialisation of Chinese immigrants in the Australian labour market and society as a whole.
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Sylvia Novillo-Villegas, Wendy Anzules-Falcones and Juan Ignacio Martin-Castilla
This study aims to explore the relationship between the innovation capacity and performance of manufacturing firms in the Ecuadorian pharmaceutical and chemical sectors using…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the relationship between the innovation capacity and performance of manufacturing firms in the Ecuadorian pharmaceutical and chemical sectors using strategic foresight analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
From an extensive literature review, the fundamental variables related to manufacturing firms’ innovation for better performance were identified. Six hypotheses and actions were proposed related to financing, economic resources, capacities and research and development. Several scenarios were tested through foresight methodology to determine the more appropriate to be implemented by manufacturing firms over the next five years.
Findings
Scenario 01, where all the hypotheses resulted positive, has a 15.3% probability of occurrence. The results offer a relevant understanding of the behavior of the variables proposed as strategic actions for the sector.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, foresight methodology is applied for the first time to analyze the manufacturing sector in Ecuador. The authors propose a plan of action from the strategic scenario identified in this study, supporting the development of the industrial sectors under study.
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Minghong Chen, Xiumei Huang and Xianjun Qi
In the paradox of personalized services and privacy risks, what factors influence users’ decisions is considered an interesting issue worth exploring. The current study aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
In the paradox of personalized services and privacy risks, what factors influence users’ decisions is considered an interesting issue worth exploring. The current study aims to empirically explore privacy behavior of social media users by developing a theoretical model based on privacy calculus theory.
Design/methodology/approach
Privacy risks, conceptualized as natural risks and integrated risks, were proposed to affect the intention of privacy disclosure and protection. The model was validated through a hybrid approach of structural equation modeling (SEM)-artificial neural network (ANN) to analyze the data collected from 527 effective responses.
Findings
The results from the SEM analysis indicated that social interaction and perceived enjoyment were strong determinants of perceived benefits, which in turn played a dominant role in the intention to disclose the privacy in social media. Similarly, trust and privacy invasion experience were significantly related to perceived risks that had the most considerable effect on users’ privacy protection intention. And the following ANN models revealed consistent relationships and rankings with the SEM results.
Originality/value
This study broadened the application perspective of privacy calculus theory to identify both linear and non-linear effects of privacy risks and privacy benefits on users’ intention to disclose or protect their privacy by using a state-of-the-art methodological approach combining SEM and ANN.