Joshua Chang, Antonio Travaglione and Grant O’Neill
The purpose of this paper is to study job attitudes between unionized and non-unionized employees in Australia as recent research on attitudes among unionized employees has…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study job attitudes between unionized and non-unionized employees in Australia as recent research on attitudes among unionized employees has centred on topics such as attitudes towards unionization and involvement, but not on work-related attitudes.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a data set of over 5,000 responses from the Australia at Work survey. Ten attitudinal survey questions adapted from the Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey and the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes were used to compare work-related attitudinal differences between unionized and non-unionized employees.
Findings
Findings show that unionized employees perceive less manager–employee consultation, health and safety, dispensability, time flexibility, workload flexibility, managerial trust, fair treatment and pay equity.
Originality/value
Not much is known about the attitudinal differences between unionized and non-unionized employees, given the paucity of research on unionist job attitudes. Recent research in this area has centred on employee attitudes towards unionization and involvement as opposed to studying work-related attitudes. The findings can help the management predict behavioural responses between unionized and non-unionized employees for improved decision making.
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Joshua Chang and Mark David Chong
The recent COVID-19 crisis has been followed by an epidemic of fraud. This study aims to evaluate cases of COVID-19-related fraud to identify cognitive heuristics that influence…
Abstract
Purpose
The recent COVID-19 crisis has been followed by an epidemic of fraud. This study aims to evaluate cases of COVID-19-related fraud to identify cognitive heuristics that influence decision-making under the pressure of crisis conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
An analysis of fraud advisories and cases relating to COVID-19 is conducted and matched against various types of cognitive heuristics to explain their influence on victims of crisis fraud.
Findings
The affect, availability, cue-familiarity, representativeness and scarcity heuristics are identified and explained to have a substantial influence on risk evaluations of crisis fraud.
Originality/value
The findings from this study can help individuals avoid fraud victimisation by helping them understand psychological vulnerabilities that they may be unaware of under the pressure of crisis conditions.
Grant O’Neill, Antonio Travaglione, Steven McShane, Justin Hancock and Joshua Chang
This paper aims to investigate whether values enactment could be increased through frame-of-reference (FOR) training configured around values prototyping and behavioural domain…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate whether values enactment could be increased through frame-of-reference (FOR) training configured around values prototyping and behavioural domain training for managers within an Australian public sector organisation.
Design/methodology/approach
Employees from an Australian public sector organisation were studied to ascertain the effect of values training and development via a three-way longitudinal design with a control group.
Findings
The findings indicate that FOR training can increase employee values enactment clarity and, thereby, have a positive impact upon organisational values enactment.
Practical implications
The application of FOR training constitutes a new approach to supporting the development of employee values clarity, which, in turn, can support the achievement of organisational values enactment. Through FOR training, employees can learn to apply organisational values in their decision-making and other behaviours irrespective of whether they are highly congruent with their personal values.
Originality/value
Empirical research into values management is limited and there is a lack of consensus to what is needed to create a values-driven organisation. The article shows that FOR training can be a beneficial component of a broader human resource strategy aimed at increasing organisational values enactment. With reference to the resource-based view of the firm, it is argued that values enactment constitutes a distinctive capability that may confer sustained organisational advantage.
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Joshua Chang, Grant O’Neill and Antonio Travaglione
The purpose of this study is to explain demographic influences on employee trust towards managers.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explain demographic influences on employee trust towards managers.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing upon a data set of over 5,000 responses from the Australian workforce, this paper examines demographic influences on employee trust in their managers.
Findings
The findings show that demographic influences have an effect on employee trust towards managers. Employees who are male, older, public sector, permanent, longer tenured and unionised were found to be less likely to trust managers.
Practical implications
Relevant to human resource practice, the findings offer potential for the development of trust by identifying employees who are less likely to trust managers. The expected outcome is that such employees can be selected for programmes and practices aimed at improving trust, such as increased managerial contact, consultation and support.
Originality/value
There has been a general decline of employee trust in managers over the past two decades. Research on the antecedents of trust has been reported to lag behind theory, with a paucity of research relating to demographic influences on employee trust towards managers. This study fills this research gap and offers potential for the targeted development of trust towards managers among employees.
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Joshua J.S. Chang and Mark David Chong
Internet fraud is an epidemic that costs US$7.1 billion as of 2007. The advent of the internet and proliferation of its use makes it an attractive medium for communicating the…
Abstract
Purpose
Internet fraud is an epidemic that costs US$7.1 billion as of 2007. The advent of the internet and proliferation of its use makes it an attractive medium for communicating the fraud, particularly through the use of e‐mail. This paper aims to explain how victims of online fraud can be influenced by judgmental heuristics and cognition when they make nonnormative or sub‐optimal decisions.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper will analyse the content of 14 recent fraud e‐mails to explain how victims of online fraud can be influenced from a psychological perspective, using theories of bounded rationality, judgmental heuristics and cognition.
Findings
The paper suggests that e‐mail fraudsters, whether intentionally or not, employ specific methods that correspond closely to how the human mind works within a context of bounded rationality. These methods have a propensity to exploit psychological blind spots in victims caused by selective perception and post‐decisional dissonance, as well as sub‐optimal or nonnormative responses in automatic behaviour due to the common use of heuristics (for example, representativeness, availability and affect) when making decisions in complex task environments.
Originality/value
Considering the current and widespread problem of online fraud, this paper is expected to inform and prepare internet users against such deception by offering a better understanding of how fraudsters can psychologically influence the way victims and potential victims make their decisions.
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Advance fee fraud on the internet is a current epidemic that rakes in hundreds of millions of dollars per year. The advent of the internet and proliferation of its use in the…
Abstract
Purpose
Advance fee fraud on the internet is a current epidemic that rakes in hundreds of millions of dollars per year. The advent of the internet and proliferation of its use in the 1990s makes it an attractive medium for communicating the fraud, enabling a worldwide reach. This paper aims to explain how advance fee fraud operates, to examine various cases of recent advance fee‐fraud e‐mails, and to identify methods employed to manipulate victims into compliance based on theory in human behaviour and persuasion.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses six cases of advance fee fraud received via e‐mail by the author between August 2006 and January 2007. The content of these e‐mails was analysed in detail to identify the methods employed to manipulate the behaviour of victims.
Findings
Interpretive findings suggest that advance fee fraudsters employ specific methods that exploit the bounded rationality and automatic behaviour of victims. Methods include assertion of authority and expert power, mimicking and referencing persons/organisations, providing partial proof/legitimacy, reasoning, reciprocation, creating urgency, and implying scarcity.
Practical implications
While there is readily available information on advance fee fraud on the internet, especially in the web sites of anti‐fraud organisations, this study suggests a need to inform internet users of the methods employed by advance fee fraudsters.
Originality/value
Considering the current and widespread problem of advance fee‐fraud e‐mails, the information of this paper is important for internet users to improve their capability in identifying fraudulent schemes and avoiding them.
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Joshua Chang, Julia Connell, John Burgess and Antonio Travaglione
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the implications of the gender wage gap in Australia, before considering policy responses and their effectiveness at both the government…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the implications of the gender wage gap in Australia, before considering policy responses and their effectiveness at both the government and workplace levels.
Design/methodology/approach
The method concerns an extensive literature review and an examination of secondary data and reports relating to workplace gender equality and data.
Findings
While the gender wage gap in most OECD countries has decreased over time, in Australia the gap has increased, with the largest contributory factor identified as gender discrimination. Consequently it is proposed that current policy responses supporting women in the workplace appear to be ineffective in closing gender wage gaps.
Research limitations/implications
Further research is recommended to identify the impact of gender equality policies on hiring decisions and whether such decisions include an unwillingness to hire or promote women. As findings were based on secondary data, it is recommended that future research include workplace surveys and case studies.
Practical implications
It is suggested that articles such as this one can assist in guiding public policy and workplace decisions on gender wage equality issues, in addition to providing human resource leaders with the information to make better decisions relating to gender equality.
Originality/value
This paper suggests that current policy responses may not only be ineffective in closing the gender wage gap, but may even exacerbate it as employers may avoid hiring women or continue to pay them less than men, due to costs incurred when attempting to meet policy directives.
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This paper aims to conceptualise the value of analysing web content for marketing research based on a conceptual perspective with some practical views. This article chooses to use…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to conceptualise the value of analysing web content for marketing research based on a conceptual perspective with some practical views. This article chooses to use a conceptual base for its discussion in the view that it is important to establish a fundamental academic understanding as opposed to practical examples that can vary in significance and timeliness.
Design/methodology/approach
This article is a conceptual review of how technological advancements on the web have engendered a valuable platform for content analysis research.
Findings
The literature review and discussion points out that content analysis using web data can now be carried out with significant advantages such as greater accuracy, timeliness, and lower cost compared to the offline alternative. This article postulates the current value of web content analysis in marketing research requires re‐evaluation.
Practical applications
This article is expected to provide a better understanding of the value of using web data for content analysis by professional and academic marketing researchers, and more importantly, enables a more informed decision in choosing between offline and web data.
Originality/value
Sentiments on the value of web content are mixed in the research community. The hype generated in the nascent stages of the internet has selectively damaged its credibility as a reliable platform for research. In light of technological advancements, this paper suggests a re‐evaluation of this platform for research based on a conceptual discussion.
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Gutama Kusse Getele, Tsitaire Jean Arrive and Xiong Ruoliu
This study aims to understand better how business strategies impact a company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand better how business strategies impact a company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Design/methodology/approach
In this research, two categories of business strategy are proposed, and partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the research model using a sample of 150 valid surveys data from the Chinese manufacturing firms industry in Africa.
Findings
This study indicates business strategy in terms of real support and development approach plan in the Chinese manufacturing industry has a crucial influence on CSR effectiveness. Business strategy leads to effective CSR practices by adding value to firm products, services, marketing strategies and technological investment.
Practical implications
Companies can use a support strategy for effective CSR to improve corporate social performance. The study expands upon previous insights into corporate leaders enhancing their CSR strategy because it may successfully contribute to environmental preservation.
Social implications
This research mobilized and found academic gaps in business strategy regarding real support and development approach; it is necessary to combine the impacts of business strategy at multiple levels of analysis to explain the expansion of CSR to integrate the stakeholder theory.
Originality/value
This study offers a deeper perspective and provides empirical evidence of a better understanding of CSR effectiveness by emphasizing the role of business strategy. Effective CSR implementation requires integrating the influences of company strategy and real support at multiple levels of analysis to explain CSR dispersion.
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The study aims at reviewing a synthesis of disclosure, transparency, and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) implementation in an attempt to provide directions for…
Abstract
The study aims at reviewing a synthesis of disclosure, transparency, and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) implementation in an attempt to provide directions for future research. Prior research overwhelmingly supports that the IFRS adoption or effective implementation of IFRS will enhance high-quality financial reporting, transparency, enhance the country’s investment environment, and foreign direct investment (FDI) (Dayanandan, Donker, Ivanof, & Karahan, 2016; Gláserová, 2013; Muniandy & Ali, 2012). However, some researchers provide conflicting evidence that developing countries implementing IFRS are probably not going to encounter higher FDI inflows (Gheorghe, 2009; Lasmin, 2012). It has also been argued that the IFRS adoption decreases the management earnings in countries with high levels of financial disclosure. In general, the study indicates that the adoption of IFRS has improved the financial reporting quality. The common law countries have strong rules to protect investors, strict legal enforcement, and high levels of transparency of financial information. From the extensive structured review of literature using the Scopus database tool, the study reviewed 105 articles, and in particular, the topic-related 94 articles were analysed. All 94 articles were retrieved from a range of 59 journals. Most of the articles (77 of 94) were published 2010–2018. The top five journals based on the citations are Journal of Accounting Research (187 citations), Abacus (125 citations), European Accounting Review (107 citations), Journal of Accounting and Economics (78 citations), and Accounting and Business Research (66 citations). The most-cited authors are Daske, Hail, Leuz, and Verdi (2013); Daske and Gebhardt (2006); and Brüggemann, Hitz, and Sellhorn (2013). Surprisingly, 65 of 94 articles did not utilise the theory. In particular, four theories have been used frequently: agency theory (15), economic theory (5), signalling theory (2), and accounting theory (2). The study calls for future research on the theoretical implications and policy-related research on disclosure and transparency which may inform the local and international standard setters.