Kojo Saffu, John H. Walker and Marica Mazurek
The goal of this paper is to examine the link between consumer ethnocentrism (CE) and the attitudes of two consumer groups to a buy local campaign in a transitioning economy…
Abstract
Purpose
The goal of this paper is to examine the link between consumer ethnocentrism (CE) and the attitudes of two consumer groups to a buy local campaign in a transitioning economy, Slovakia.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a structured questionnaire, data were collected from 211 non‐students at shopping malls in Banská Bystrica (non‐student group) and from 209 students at the University of Matej Bela, Banská Bystrica (student group) in Slovakia. Ethnocentrism was measured using the consumer ethnocentric tendencies scale (CETSCALE) while attitudinal statements were used to measure the attitudes toward locally made products and a buy local campaign. The attitudinal data were factor analysed and the correlations between the CETSCALE and the attitudinal statements were examined. Summative scales based on the factor analysis results were also developed.
Findings
A significant finding of this paper is the role of the government and industry in encouraging Slovakians to buy local. The nonstudent consumers to be less ethnocentric than the student group are found. The attitudinal statements of both groups toward Slovakian products are generally similar.
Originality/value
This research was designed to contribute to the discussion of CE by linking it to attitudes to a buy local campaign in a transitioning country.
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Keywords
Kojo Saffu, John H. Walker and Robert Hinson
This paper sets out to examine the relationship between the perceptions of the strategic value of e‐commerce and e‐commerce adoption among 107 owners/managers of small and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper sets out to examine the relationship between the perceptions of the strategic value of e‐commerce and e‐commerce adoption among 107 owners/managers of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in a transitional economy, Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
The membership of the top 100 Ghanaian businesses, called the Ghana Club 100 (GC 100), and non‐traditional exporters (NTEs) was surveyed using a structured questionnaire in face‐to‐face interviews. Principal axis factoring with varimax rotation was employed to identify and estimate the constructs in the model, followed by an exploratory factor analysis to test for the inclusion of all items in the model. Finally, canonical analysis was employed to study the interrelationships among the sets of multiple dependent and multiple independent variables. By so doing control for moderator effects existing among various variables was effected.
Findings
Organizational support was the strongest predictor on the perceived strategic value (PSV) construct, followed by managerial productivity, and decision aids. Perceived usefulness, compatibility, external pressure and organizational pressure were found to be statistically significant determinants of e‐commerce adoption. These findings are consistent with prior studies. Additionally, it was found that ease of use was also influential in the e‐commerce adoption decision of Ghanaian SMEs.
Originality/value
The study shows the value that SME owners/managers in a transitional economy place on e‐commerce, and the role envisaged for it. The study also provides an insight into the e‐commerce adoption in a transitional economy context. Owners/managers of SMEs in other developing countries may find the study useful in making decisions relating to e‐commerce adoption. The impact of the perceptions of e‐commerce and e‐commerce adoption on firm performance in transitional economies is a worthy area for future research. Replication of the study in other transitional economies is therefore warranted.
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This paper aims to argue that one of the ways of enabling tourism to become sustainable is for archaeologists to relate archaeology to poverty, while being aware of the process of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to argue that one of the ways of enabling tourism to become sustainable is for archaeologists to relate archaeology to poverty, while being aware of the process of heritage production. It proposes that one way to engage with issues of poverty is to talk to people who are trying to get out of poverty. Many archaeologists are already at work using a similar perspective not just to integrate international scholarship with local interests, but to hand over authority relating to aspects of research to the local community.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviews literature about and archaeological study in the Bolivian Amazon region. Here, all-weather roads are scarce and unreliable. Scholars are beginning to document and analyze the archaeological record of this region, and as lowland Bolivians develop tourism, the article considers how archaeology could help connect the Bolivian Amazon to an international audience.
Findings
An anthropological perspective suggests that projects in which local people are connected to decision-making will have long-term effects. Without such integration, cycles of boom and bust are likely to repeat. The article cites two examples: the inscription of the Ichapekene Piesta Moxos on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and the Museo Yacuma, in Santa Ana del Yacuma. Community archaeology, in which the community makes decisions about how research will proceed, is a developing trend, which stands to benefit local people, archaeologists and tourists.
Originality/value
The paper outlines how community archaeology in the Beni region of Bolivia can be built on a strong foundation: first, by a community of Benianos that are ready, willing and able to be a part of both the development of tourism and of archaeology and second, via its long and varied archaeological record, providing plenty of material for the development of heritage. The question is whether a community archaeology can generate and sustain archaeological heritage as part of a tourism industry?
Kojo Saffu, John H. Walker and Robert Hinson
The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the link between the determinants of perceived strategic value (PSV) of e‐commerce and e‐commerce adoption among Ghanaian small…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the link between the determinants of perceived strategic value (PSV) of e‐commerce and e‐commerce adoption among Ghanaian small and medium size enterprises (SMEs), defined as businesses that employ a maximum of 200 employees.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors randomly sampled SME owners/managers from the membership of the Ghana Club 100 (GC 100) and non‐traditional exporters (NTEs). Established databases are not the norm in Ghana, and GC 100 and NTEs had membership databases that were accessible to the local co‐author. Investigating e‐commerce adoption issues among these companies was warranted. The authors used a structured instrument developed and validated in prior studies to collect the data in a face to face interview. A pilot study was conducted to ascertain the clarity and reliability of the questionnaire. Of the SME owners/managers: 200 were contacted; 112 agreed to participate in the study; 107 responses were obtained – representing a 53.5 per cent response rate. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 14.
Findings
Factor analysis demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity and construct reliability. PSV construct resulted in four factors: Strategic Decision Support (SD), Information Management (IM), Organizational Support (OS) and Decision Aids (DA). This finding is both consistent and inconsistent with prior research. The adoption construct yielded five factors: Perceived Usefulness (PU), Ease of Use (EU), Compatibility (C), Organisational Readiness (OS) and External Pressure (EP). There was more congruence between our results and those of prior research.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations stem from small sample size, the population and locale from which the sample was drawn.
Practical implications
The study has research and practical implications, and these are discussed fully in the paper.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the knowledge of perceived strategic value and adoption of e‐commerce by SMEs in an under‐researched part of the world.
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The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and…
Abstract
The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and ideology of the FTC’s leaders, developments in the field of economics, and the tenor of the times. The over-riding current role is to provide well considered, unbiased economic advice regarding antitrust and consumer protection law enforcement cases to the legal staff and the Commission. The second role, which long ago was primary, is to provide reports on investigations of various industries to the public and public officials. This role was more recently called research or “policy R&D”. A third role is to advocate for competition and markets both domestically and internationally. As a practical matter, the provision of economic advice to the FTC and to the legal staff has required that the economists wear “two hats,” helping the legal staff investigate cases and provide evidence to support law enforcement cases while also providing advice to the legal bureaus and to the Commission on which cases to pursue (thus providing “a second set of eyes” to evaluate cases). There is sometimes a tension in those functions because building a case is not the same as evaluating a case. Economists and the Bureau of Economics have provided such services to the FTC for over 100 years proving that a sub-organization can survive while playing roles that sometimes conflict. Such a life is not, however, always easy or fun.
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Barrie O. Pettman and Richard Dobbins
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.
Abstract
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.
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A distinction must be drawn between a dismissal on the one hand, and on the other a repudiation of a contract of employment as a result of a breach of a fundamental term of that…
Abstract
A distinction must be drawn between a dismissal on the one hand, and on the other a repudiation of a contract of employment as a result of a breach of a fundamental term of that contract. When such a repudiation has been accepted by the innocent party then a termination of employment takes place. Such termination does not constitute dismissal (see London v. James Laidlaw & Sons Ltd (1974) IRLR 136 and Gannon v. J. C. Firth (1976) IRLR 415 EAT).
Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are…
Abstract
Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are available through normal trade sources. Mrs. Cheney, being a member of the editorial board of Pierian Press, will not review Pierian Press reference books in this column. Descriptions of Pierian Press reference books will be included elsewhere in this publication.
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…
Abstract
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.