Magnus Jansson, Magnus Roos and Tommy Gärling
This paper aims to investigate whether loan officers' risk taking in credit decisions are associated with their personal financial risk preference and personality traits or solely…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate whether loan officers' risk taking in credit decisions are associated with their personal financial risk preference and personality traits or solely with bank-contextual and loan-relevant factors.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey administered in six large Swedish banks to 163 loan officers responsible for assessing credit risk and approval of loan applications. The loan officers rated their likelihood of approving fictitious loan applications from business companies.
Findings
The loan officers' credit risk taking is associated with bank-contextual factors, directly with perceived organizational credit risk norms and indirectly with self-confidence in assessing credit risks through attitude to credit risk taking. A direct association is also found with personal financial risk preference but not with personality traits.
Research limitations/implications
Increased awareness of that loan officers' personal financial risk preference is associated with their credit risk taking in loan decisions but that the banks' risk policy has a stronger association. Banks' managements and boards should therefore assure that their credit risk policy is implemented, followed and being aligned with their performance incentives.
Practical implications
Increased awareness of that loan officers' credit risk taking is associated with personal financial risk preference but more strongly with the banks' risk policy that motivate banks' managements and boards to assure that their credit risk policy is implemented, followed and being aligned with their performance incentives.
Originality/value
The first study which directly compare the associations of loan officers' risk taking in credit approvals with personal risk preference and personality traits versus bank-contextual factors and loan-relevant information.
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Finland is a relatively new country, having been founded in 1917, and the majority of its firms are small. In terms of IT infrastructure, however, it is one of the most developed…
Abstract
Finland is a relatively new country, having been founded in 1917, and the majority of its firms are small. In terms of IT infrastructure, however, it is one of the most developed in the world. Within this context the Finnish Business Archives Association, which was founded in 1960, leads the development of records and archives administration in private firms. This article reviews its aims and achievements to date.
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Gabriel Baffour Awuah, Desalegn Abraha Gebrekidan and Aihie Osarenkhoe
The purpose of this study is to provide deeper insights into the extent to which an independent actor(s) actively collaborates with the internationalizing firm so as to jointly…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to provide deeper insights into the extent to which an independent actor(s) actively collaborates with the internationalizing firm so as to jointly determine the choice of market, the mode of entry and the level of investment committed in the market to be entered and even after the entry (i.e. the ongoing activities).
Design/methodology/approach
Against the previous purpose section, a qualitative research approach is selected to guide the exploratory nature of this study. Thus qualitative data are used to build the two case studies because case studies are generally a more appropriate approach when “how” and “why” questions are being posed and when the investigator has little control over events.
Findings
Based on two multiple case studies, one major finding of the study shows that independent actors, with their interconnected networks, have played and are still playing a major role in influencing the internationalization processes of each of the two firms in this study.
Originality/value
This is an original paper developed based on two case studies which have not been published in any journal before. The paper highlights the role of external independent actors in internationalization, which is not mentioned at all or stressed in the extant literature.
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Ying Teng, Eli Gimmon, Sibylle Heilbrunn and Shenyi Song
This study explored the mediating effect of political embeddedness on the relationship between gender and performance of private enterprises in the emerging economy of China…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explored the mediating effect of political embeddedness on the relationship between gender and performance of private enterprises in the emerging economy of China. Political embeddedness is examined in terms of personal characteristics of owners and their firm.
Design/methodology/approach
Secondary data were collected from the Chinese Private Enterprises Survey for the years 2002, 2006, 2014 and 2016 using responses to identical questions. Tobit models were implemented to examine hypotheses related to the gender gap. A bootstrapping approach was applied to examine hypotheses related to mediation through political embeddedness.
Findings
The gender effect on enterprise performance was found to be partially mediated by political embeddedness at the personal level and even more strongly by political embeddedness at the firm level, which is beyond the well-known mediation effect of bank loans.
Research limitations/implications
The Chinese sample, in which guanxi plays a significant role with respect to women-led firms, may limit the generalizability of the findings to other emerging economies.
Practical implications
Given the mediating effects on firm performance of political embeddedness at the personal and firm levels, women business owners in China should pursue political involvement, possibly with the support of policymakers and mentors.
Originality/value
The relationship between businesswomen and political embeddedness is underexplored. This study innovates by applying the gender lens to the notion of political embeddedness and extending the construct of personal political embeddedness to the firm level.
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Veronica Liljander, Johanna Gummerus and Magnus Söderlund
– The purpose of this paper is to study the responses of young consumers to suspected covert and overt product-brand recommendations in a blog.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the responses of young consumers to suspected covert and overt product-brand recommendations in a blog.
Design/methodology/approach
Experimental design was applied to investigate the effect of covert and overt marketing on young consumers’ perceptions of blogger credibility and their behavioural intentions.
Findings
Overt marketing had a negative effect on behavioural intentions, such as future interest in the blogger, intention to engage in word-of-mouth, and purchase intention. Covert marketing did not affect the intended behaviour. Neither covert nor overt marketing influenced the blogger’s credibility.
Research limitations/implications
The study was delimited to a small sample; one blog, one type of product recommendation, and a well-known brand. Young, well-educated consumers with experience in reading blogs may be able to filter the brand recommendations and focus on the content of the blog.
Practical implications
This study has implications for bloggers, companies, and policy makers. Although overt marketing is the most open and the recommended form of blog marketing, the study showed that overt marketing has negative effects. Therefore, bloggers need to carefully consider how they present a sponsorship.
Originality/value
The study makes three important contributions. First, it answers the call for research on consumer reactions to covert (deceptive) and overt marketing tactics. Second, it contributes to blog marketing research by studying a case of suspected covert marketing where consumers do not know whether the blog is sponsored or not. Third, the study contributes to knowledge around young consumers, demonstrating that covert and overt tactics do not affect blogger credibility.
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This paper aims to develop and test a new way of modeling airline operations and apply it to measure and compare the efficiency of international airlines, with a special focus on…
Abstract
This paper aims to develop and test a new way of modeling airline operations and apply it to measure and compare the efficiency of international airlines, with a special focus on deregulation effects. The paper elaborates on the choice of variables, following the early work of Schefczyk (1993) and Scheraga (2004). The value chain of the airlines determines the variables included in three different models. Using data envelopment analysis, the efficiency scores show that North American airlines are more efficient in producing services offered to customers. Few differences are found between regions in allocating service output to match demand. One plausible explanation for this difference is that airlines operate within competitive environments. In a highly competitive market, management decisions focus on productive actions and cost reduction. In a less competitive environment, there is a higher degree of adjustments of the services produced. Using the Malmquist productivity index, measurements reveal that there is a catch-up effect for the European and Asian/South American airlines service production during the studied time period, which was from 1990 to 2003.
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The transition of U.S. manufacturing from traditional methods to Japanese kaizen has resulted in dramatic gains in productivity. While kaizen clearly employs scientific management…
Abstract
The transition of U.S. manufacturing from traditional methods to Japanese kaizen has resulted in dramatic gains in productivity. While kaizen clearly employs scientific management techniques, this conversion also appears to result in enriched jobs and increased motivation. To determine any such effect, the Job Characteristics Model was utilized to study a sample of 236 production employees drawn from three manufacturing facilities. The results suggest that kaizen increases job enrichment and employee motivation, and may move employees to higher levels of growth need strength. Implications for manufacturing management are also discussed.