Kam C. Chan, Chih-Hsiang Chang, Jamie Y. Tong and Feida (Frank) Zhang
The purpose of this paper is to conduct an assessment of the research productivity of the accounting and finance community in UK higher education institutions (HEIs) during…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to conduct an assessment of the research productivity of the accounting and finance community in UK higher education institutions (HEIs) during 1991-2010 using 44 high-quality accounting and finance journals.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors follow Chan et al. (2011) to use their 22 finance journals. For accounting journals, the paper includes a set of 24 accounting journals that were used in a global accounting ranking study by Chan et al. (2007). The paper uses the number of coauthors (n) and coaffiliations (M) to derive the weighted articles as the measurement metric.
Findings
In general, the research output in terms of weighted articles steadily increases during the 20-year period. The University of Manchester, London School of Economics, and London Business School are the top-three HEIs using 44 accounting and finance journals for the full sample. The authors also find that it is a challenge to publish multiple articles. If an author is able to manage five total appearances, he/she is in the top 16 percent among the 1,447 UK authors. Furthermore, the paper finds that many highly productive authors are able to move to different jobs during the 20-year period.
Research limitations/implications
The assessment of research productivity is, unavoidably, based on a set of selected accounting and finance journals. Hence, no matter what journal screening criteria the paper uses, there is always a subjective element in the process. If other journals or more/less journals were to be included in a similar study, different results may emerge. As a way to extend the value of the research, it would be interesting to obtain broader institutional knowledge, such as the tenure requirements of HEIs in UK, and information on the institutions where faculty members obtained their doctoral degrees, so that the authors can better evaluate the research productivity among accounting and finance community in the UK.
Originality/value
The paper conducts an assessment of the research productivity of accounting and finance community in UK HEIs during 1991-2010 using 44 high-quality accounting and finance journals. The study fills the gap of the extant literature to compliment the assessment of the UK accounting and finance departments in RAEs.
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Zagdbazar Davaadorj, Bolortuya Enkhtaivan and Jamie Weathers
The paper aims to investigate the imprinting effect on working capital (WC) management as higher-level managers' transition to chief executive officer (CEO) positions. This paper…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to investigate the imprinting effect on working capital (WC) management as higher-level managers' transition to chief executive officer (CEO) positions. This paper proposes that WC management defined as a shorter cash conversion cycle (CCC) can be carried forward to the new firm when the managers are appointed as a CEO.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors employ a multivariate regression approach. The data in this study come from two sources: Execucomp which provides data for corporate managers of the largest 2,000 USA firms including S&P 1,500 US and Compustat which provides financial information of firms.
Findings
The authors find a positive imprinting effect of “new” CEOs on WC outcomes – proxied by the CCC. CCC shortens by approximately 16 days when CEOs are efficient managers at previous institutions, predominantly derived from improvements in inventory and payables. The effect is sensitive to individuals' age, familiarity with the industry and high-pressure circumstances.
Practical implications
The paper includes important implications of WC management for firms to consider, especially during economic crises when liquidity management is a priority.
Originality/value
This paper extends the literature on the imprinting effect on managerial decision-making. The paper offers evidence of cooperative yet dynamic efforts in managing WC during CEO turnover events, which are unique findings.
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Building social capital between groups of people and developing social enterprises that integrate social goals into commercial business models are rapidly adopted as innovative…
Abstract
Building social capital between groups of people and developing social enterprises that integrate social goals into commercial business models are rapidly adopted as innovative poverty relief mechanisms across countries. Together, the translation of social relationships into increased accessibility to resources, and the entrepreneurial dynamics resulting in additional services and goods, are thought to meet the survival and developmental needs of poor families and communities. However, the socio-economic contexts, in which new public policies and initiatives have been taken, vary from country to country. In China, its strong Confucian culture, state-led development strategy, weak civil society, and hierarchical social relationships have contributed to a value structure of social capital, but decreased the efficiency of business practice in social enterprise. This chapter presents a case study of Rural Cooperative Program, a poverty relief initiative in China’s southwest Guizhou Province. With the introduction of China’s new policies in welfare and rural development, this chapter presents evaluation results of whether social enterprises and entrepreneurship can improve poor villagers’ socio-economic wellbeing and promote sustainable development of poor rural villages in China, and to what extent social capital has been mobilized to facilitate the Rural Cooperative Program.
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Understanding the impact of country effect on financial performance is important for service firms as they continue to grow and operate across national borders. The purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
Understanding the impact of country effect on financial performance is important for service firms as they continue to grow and operate across national borders. The purpose of this paper is to empirically quantify the impact of country and several country-specific variables on firm performance in the service sector by estimating the portion of variation in firm performance attributed to these factors.
Design/methodology/approach
Using hierarchical linear models, the authors estimate the proportion of variation driven by country effects. These estimates are obtained from a data panel of 16,051 units from 3,345 service firms across 32 countries over a seven-year time frame (2001-2007).
Findings
In the analysis, home country explains approximately 11 percent of the variance in performance. Additionally, the authors find that six country-specific variables, namely, quality of governance, openness to trade, wealth, growth rate, uncertainty avoidance and individualism collectively explain 10 percent of variation in performance or 26.8 percent relative variation of performance.
Originality/value
This study extends the literature on country effect by quantifying the impact of country-specific dimensions on performance. It focusses on a single industry within the service sector. This allows for a more reliable estimate of the country effect, as it will not be confounded by cross-industry effects – thus alleviating some of the concerns with earlier research. Understanding the impact of the six specific country variables investigated in this work will allow service firms to better predict and improve the performance of subsidiaries.
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Barry M. Mitnick and Martin Lewison
Despite the existence of a variety of approaches to the understanding of behavioral and managerial ethics in organizations and business relationships generally, knowledge of…
Abstract
Despite the existence of a variety of approaches to the understanding of behavioral and managerial ethics in organizations and business relationships generally, knowledge of organizing systems for fidelity remains in its infancy. We use halakha, or Jewish law, as a model, together with the literature in sociology, economic anthropology, and economics on what it termed “middleman minorities,” and on what we have termed the Landa Problem, the problem of identifying a trustworthy economic exchange partner, to explore this issue.
The article contrasts the differing explanations for trustworthy behavior in these literatures, focusing on the widely referenced work of Avner Greif on the Jewish Maghribi merchants of the eleventh century. We challenge Greif’s argument that cheating among the Magribi was managed chiefly via a rational, self-interested reputational sanctioning system in the closed group of traders. Greif largely ignores a more compelling if potentially complementary argument, which we believe also finds support among the documentary evidence of the Cairo Geniza as reported by Goitein: that the behavior of the Maghribi reflected their deep beliefs and commitment to Jewish law, halakha.
Applying insights from this analysis, we present an explicit theory of heroic marginality, the production of extreme precautionary behaviors to ensure service to the principal.
Generalizing from the case of halakha, the article proposes the construct of a deep code, identifying five defining characteristics of such a code, and suggests that deep codes may act as facilitators of compliance. We also offer speculation on design features employing deep codes that may increase the likelihood of production of behaviors consistent with terminal values of the community.
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The objective of the study is to use the constructs in the theory of planned behavior and advertising intervention to predict adolescents' intention for healthy eating.
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of the study is to use the constructs in the theory of planned behavior and advertising intervention to predict adolescents' intention for healthy eating.
Design/methodology/approach
A convenience sample survey of 570 secondary school students aged 11 to 19 studying in Form 1 (equivalent to Grade 7) to Form 5 (equivalent to Grade 11) was conducted in Hong Kong.
Findings
Perceived behavior control was the most important factor in predicting behavioral intention for healthy eating, followed by attitude toward healthy eating and subjective norms. Perceived behavior control, attitude and subjective norms together explained 45 percent of the variance of behavioral intention. Respondents' attitudes towards advertisement advocating healthy eating had high positive correlation with attitudes toward healthy eating.
Research limitations/implications
First, the sample was not a probability sample. Second, the data were collected through face‐to‐face interviews and respondents may tend to give socially desirable answers to the questions.
Practical implications
Hong Kong adolescents found healthy eating beneficial and desirable, but boring and not‐enjoyable. Future health promotion campaigns should put emphasis on the fun and enjoyable attributes of healthy eating. As perceived norms were sourced from the government and the family, health campaigns should continue to communicate the positive value of healthy eating to the family, and the society.
Originality/value
The current study is the first to adopt the theory of planned behavior and the advertising intervention to predict the effects on healthy eating in a Chinese society.
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B. Elango and Jamie R. Wieland
The importance of regional strategy as a separate paradigm in the international business literature has grown in recent years, and the initial connections between regionalization…
Abstract
Purpose
The importance of regional strategy as a separate paradigm in the international business literature has grown in recent years, and the initial connections between regionalization and firm performance appear promising. What is lacking, however, is an empirical analysis quantifying the impact of regional effects on firm profitability. This topic is an important one for the field of international business, as drivers of firm profitability are some of the key motivators of research in international strategy. The aim of this paper is to empirically quantify the role of regional effects on the performance of service firms in a manner such that regional effects can be directly compared with country and firm effects on firm profitability.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a hierarchical linear model (HLM) with four levels, the proportion of variation driven by regional effects is estimated. These estimates are obtained from a data panel of 48,083 units from 7,129 service firms across the three triad regions (North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific) over a ten-year time-frame (1999-2008).
Findings
It was found that regional effects, in terms of relative importance, explain approximately 9 percent of the variance in firm performance. This pattern of results is consistent when the analysis was conducted during periods of increasing or decreasing profits, firm type, and ownership structure.
Originality/value
Within the context of international business, work on regional strategy/regionalization has emerged as a separate stream of literature. This study is one of the first to quantify the influence of regional effects on performance using a 4-level HLM model. Additionally, this paper demonstrates the application of a 4-level model, potentially increasing awareness of this technique and usage in other multilevel topics in the IB literature, which offers several avenues for future research.
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Abstract
Purpose
Intelligent customer service has started replacing human employees in providing services to customers in numerous industries. Based on the expectancy disconfirmation theory, this study explores how different types of anthropomorphic avatar images of the intelligent customer service would affect consumer responses such as the willingness to interact, in the context of a service failure. The underlying mechanism and boundary conditions are also examined.
Design/methodology/approach
Two experimental studies were conducted to investigate the effect of the anthropomorphic image of intelligent customer service on consumers' willingness to interact and the potential role of consumer expectation and disappointment, following a service failure (Study 1). The moderating effect of anthropomorphic type was also explored (Study 2).
Findings
In the context of a customer service failure, an anthropomorphized intelligent customer service avatar that appeared competent (vs. warm) induced higher customer disappointment. However, if the anthropomorphic avatar had a cartoon-like appearance, the effect of avatar image perception (competent vs. warm) on consumers' willingness to interact diminishes.
Originality/value
This research enriches and expands the literature on interactive marketing and artificial intelligence and provides practical guidance for companies to design or choose avatar images for intelligent customer service.