Hailin Lan, Shuo Liu, Manli Huang and Ping Zeng
The past 40 years of reform and opening up have seen the role of core competence receive unprecedented attention because of the impact of the new normal economy as well as the…
Abstract
Purpose
The past 40 years of reform and opening up have seen the role of core competence receive unprecedented attention because of the impact of the new normal economy as well as the pressure of transformation and upgrading. Few Chinese enterprises have effectively constructed core competence, and there is also a lack of strategic perspective and contextual embedding of its construction process in theory. This study aims to analyse the unique contextual characteristics of China in the transitional period and the impact on the core competence construction of Chinese enterprises and proposes its construction mechanism for Chinese enterprises.
Design/methodology/approach
Through theoretical deduction and speculation, this paper analyses the process of concept formation, clarifies the concept, analyses its connotations and structure and emphasises its relativity. Based on a review of the theoretical research on the core competence construction process and an analysis of dual contextual impact, this paper puts forward a mechanism for core competence construction.
Findings
The results reveal that four specific characteristics of entrepreneurs in balancing and coping with the dual nature of external context constitute the key driving force for a Chinese enterprises’ core competence construction; under the influence of this driving force, the core competence construction mechanism includes process mode, knowledge source, management mode and key success factors.
Originality/value
Approaching it from a Chinese context, this study deepens the concept of core competence; enriches and develops the research related to the core strategic research proposition of its construction; and provides positive significance for Chinese enterprises to effectively build, develop and strengthen core competence and enhance their international competitiveness.
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Elisa Barbieri, Manli Huang, Marco R. Di Tommaso and Hailin Lan
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the development strategies of two Chinese global players in the high‐tech sectors.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the development strategies of two Chinese global players in the high‐tech sectors.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopts a case‐study approach on Huawei Technology Co. Ltd (Huawei) and Jing‐Hua Optical and Electronics Co. Ltd (JOC).
Findings
While Huawei's first strategic decision was that of becoming a leader on the domestic market, the key choice for JOC was that of acquiring a European firm. However common features emerge: persistent investment in R&D, strategic collaboration with universities and presence of government supporting policies, even though the case studies suggest the existence of thresholds for firms to access the benefits of government policy.
Research limitations/implications
The results pave the way for more general discussions on the emergence of champions of excellence in China. They reinforce the idea that Chinese industrial development is built on non‐conventional catching‐up processes at the country, local and firm level. They confirm that in order to fully catch the success of national Chinese champions the role of government policies should be better investigated.
Social implications
Results highlight the importance of R&D investment and technology transfer also for SMEs in high‐tech sectors. As for policy makers, the practice of official institutional recognition – a well experimented form of rewarding used in China – might be an effective way to stimulate virtuous imitative processes.
Originality/value
The comparison of these two global players is itself original. Moreover there is a valuable attempt to understand from a national champion's perspective the importance of supra‐firms factors such as collaboration with other institutions and government policies.
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Manli Gu, John Horng Li Tan, Muslim Amin, Md Imtiaz Mostafiz and Ken Kyid Yeoh
This paper aims to address how national culture moderates the relationship between job characteristics and job satisfaction.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to address how national culture moderates the relationship between job characteristics and job satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors examine the most recent data collected from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) in 2015 from a group of 33 countries. Hofstede's cultural model is used to represent and measure national culture.
Findings
One of the most significant findings from the authors’ two-level regression analysis is that having an interesting job contributes more to job satisfaction in individualistic countries than in collectivist countries. The authors also find that the newly introduced cultural dimension indulgence vs restraint has some significant moderating effect on the relationship between job security, salary, the perceived interest of a job and job satisfaction. Job security also seems to contribute less to job satisfaction in societies that are long-term oriented.
Practical implications
This study provides further support for a more careful, nuanced examination of job motivation theories. Multinational companies should understand the needs of their employees and diversify their compensation packages accordingly. More attention should be paid to job design in individualistic or indulgent-oriented countries to create a satisfying job experience.
Originality/value
The authors examine the most recent data from ISSP and extend the literature by incorporating two additional cultural dimensions from Hofstede's model as moderators.
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The study aims to develop a comprehensive theoretical model to understand the relationship between feedback and individual creativity in a social learning context. To achieve the…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to develop a comprehensive theoretical model to understand the relationship between feedback and individual creativity in a social learning context. To achieve the goal, the study unravels the mechanism underlying the relationship between evaluative feedback and creativity development and examines the interaction effects between informative feedback and evaluative feedback.
Design/methodology/approach
The study draws on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework to develop the research model. A laboratory experiment with a self-designed social learning platform was conducted to test the model. A total of 125 subjects participate in the experiment.
Findings
The empirical findings reveal that evaluative feedback affects creativity via intrinsic motivation and perceived feedback accuracy and informative feedback moderates the effects of negative feedback on intrinsic motivation and perceived feedback accuracy.
Practical implications
Organizations should be conscious of the role feedback plays in individual creativity development when building a social learning platform. Specifically, organizations can guide learners to provide favorable online feedback as well as train learners to cope with feedback effectively in creative tasks.
Originality/value
The study integrates feedback and creativity literature to propose three important mediators and examines the roles of the mediators in the process of creativity development in a social learning context, extending current understanding on the direct relationship between feedback and creativity. The study also complements the existing feedback literature by investigating the interactions between different types of peer feedback in the model of creativity development.
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Jerry H. Ratcliffe, David Biles, Tracey Green and Seumas Miller
To examine the incidence and prevalence rate of drug‐related complaints against police in the New South Wales Police Service (Australia) and compare these rates to officer…
Abstract
Purpose
To examine the incidence and prevalence rate of drug‐related complaints against police in the New South Wales Police Service (Australia) and compare these rates to officer demographics.
Design/methodology/approach
Seven years of complaints data (1993‐2000) are examined. The data showed that of nearly 40,000 complaints amounting to over 80,000 allegations, less than 2 percent relate to drug‐related allegations. These allegations were isolated and the pattern of officer demographics from these incidents were compared to the police service as a whole, with the aim of exploring if particular groups (such as length of service, age, gender etc.) were particularly susceptible to attracting drug‐related allegations.
Findings
The most common drug‐related allegation was for supplying drugs. The distribution of drug‐related complaints follows the general demographic pattern of officers in the police service, though female officers attracted fewer drug‐related allegations. Adverse findings, while rare, are most likely to be recorded against lower ranking police officers who have served less time in the police service.
Practical implications
The paper shows that demographics alone are not sufficient to identify officers at risk of being on the receiving end of a drug‐related complaint. The age, service and rank analysis conducted in this paper has not revealed any particular groups that are more susceptible to allegations of drugs misconduct. This paper therefore supports the idea that a more thorough early warning system tailored to individual officers may be necessary for an effective strategic complaints system.
Originality/value
With a pool of nearly 80,000 allegations to draw upon, the research employs one of the largest data sets ever examined. The findings are therefore sufficient to provide robust statistical comparisons, and are of interest to police practitioners, law enforcement managers, and researchers.
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Tongyu Cao, Hasnah Shaari and Ray Donnelly
This paper aims to provide evidence that will inform the convergence debate regarding accounting standards. The authors assess the ability of impairment reversals allowed under…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide evidence that will inform the convergence debate regarding accounting standards. The authors assess the ability of impairment reversals allowed under International Accounting Standard 36 but disallowed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to provide useful information about a company.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use a sample of 182 Malaysian firms that reversed impairment charges and a matched sample of firms which chose not to reverse their impairments. Further analysis examines if reversing an impairment charge is associated with motivations for and evidence of earnings management.
Findings
The authors find no evidence that the reversal of an impairment charge marks a company out as managing contemporaneous earnings. However, they document evidence that firms with high levels of abnormal accruals and weak corporate governance avoid earnings decline by reversing previously recognized impairments. In addition, companies that have engaged in big baths as evidenced by high accumulated impairment balances and prior changes in top management, use impairment reversals to avoid earnings declines.
Research limitations/implications
The results of this study support both the informative and opportunistic hypotheses of impairment reversal reporting using Financial Reporting Standard 136.
Practical implications
The results also demonstrate how companies that use impairment reversals opportunistically can be identified.
Originality/value
The results support IASB’s approach to the reversal of impairments. They also provide novel evidence as to how companies exploit a cookie-jar reserve created by a prior big bath opportunistically.
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The present study aimed to investigate whether male consumers report weaker green consumption values than their female counterparts, and whether such a presumed sex difference, at…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study aimed to investigate whether male consumers report weaker green consumption values than their female counterparts, and whether such a presumed sex difference, at least in part, can be explained by different levels of intrasexual competition. In other words, the study tested the notion that intrasexual competition acts as a psychological mechanism explaining why male (vs female) consumers are sometimes less prone to prefer and purchase sustainable goods, with their higher tendency to compete with same-sex rivals making them less likely to engage in green consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was based on a large cross-sectional survey, in which a final sample of 1,382 participants (823 female and 559 male) provided complete responses on well-validated scales measuring intrasexual competition and green consumption values. The large sample size implies that even small effect sizes could be detected with high statistical power. The data were analyzed using a series of Mann–Whitney U tests to compare the responses made by male and female participants. Subsequently, multiple linear regressions as well as regression-based mediation and moderation analyses were performed with control variables added to show robustness of the results, test the proposed chain of events, and demonstrate generalizability.
Findings
Male (vs female) participants expressed significantly higher levels of intrasexual competition both generally and on the two subdimensions corresponding to superiority striving and inferiority irritation. Further, they were slightly less inclined to express green consumption values. Importantly, the sex difference in green consumption values was mediated by inferiority irritation as well as the entire intrasexual competition scale but not by superiority striving. Thus, men's inferiority irritation, in particular, and their more pronounced propensity to compete with same-sex rivals, in general, drove them away from green consumption, whereas women's weaker willingness to compete with same-sex rivals instead increased their inclination of “going green.”
Originality/value
Drawing on findings from the domains of competitiveness and gender stereotypes, the current research demonstrates a novel mechanism through which green consumption responses can be understood. Specifically, this study provides empirical evidence for the mediating role of intrasexual competition, especially regarding the more negatively charged subdimension of inferiority irritation, in explaining why male and female consumers may differ in terms of their green consumption values. The present research also contributes to the literature by questioning the unidimensional structure of the intrasexual competition scale and showing that the negative (vs positive) subdimension of this scale is more influential in explaining sex-differentiated patterns in consumers' green consumption values, thereby supporting the notion that “bad is stronger than good.”
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Pei Ying Chua, Sajad Rezaei, Man-Li Gu, YokeMoi Oh and Manimekalai Jambulingam
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of behavioural intention and use behaviour towards social networking apps. Exogenous latent constructs, namely…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of behavioural intention and use behaviour towards social networking apps. Exogenous latent constructs, namely, performance expectancy, effort expectancy and social influence are the key antecedents proposed based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology to predict the usage intention and behaviour of social networking apps (i.e. endogenous latent constructs). Experience as a moderator is the extended construct to explain social networking apps user’s behavioural intention.
Design/methodology/approach
To target young generation (Millennial), a cross-sectional data collection approach was conducted to collect data from the social networking apps users (i.e. Facebook, WhatsApp, WeChat, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and others) whereby a total of 384 valid questionnaires were obtained from six universities in Malaysia. Statistical analysis using partial least squares path modelling approach and a variance-based structural equation modelling (VB-SEM) techniques is performed to analyse the measurement and structural relationship.
Findings
The findings indicate that performance expectancy, effort expectancy and social influence determine behavioural intention, and behavioural intention impacts social networking apps use behaviour. Moreover, the moderation analysis reveals that the relationship between effort expectancy and behavioural intention is moderated by experience, whereas the relationship between social influence and behavioural intention is not moderated by experience.
Originality/value
While the surge of social networking apps has gained tremendous popularity among Millennial as an attractive market segment, previous studies mainly have focussed on intention and behaviour of online users in general. Despite apps and related technologies which have opened a new era of effective communications in marketing, social networking apps usage intention and behaviour focussing on Millennial is not well understood in the current literature. This study contributes and sheds lights on the current issue of social networking apps usage intention and behaviour and looks into a key rising market segment, the Millennial users.
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Ana Luísa Rodrigues and Carolina Pereira
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools, namely ChatGPT, Copilot (Bing) or Gemini (Bard) chatbots, have brought very rapid repercussions at education level in general, especially in…
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools, namely ChatGPT, Copilot (Bing) or Gemini (Bard) chatbots, have brought very rapid repercussions at education level in general, especially in higher education. Several challenges are being presented to institutions, teachers and students, highlighting the way teachers teach and students learn, and significant transformations are expected in the short term due to the availability of this type of tools. This chapter aims to analyse and discuss how the new generative AI tools, which are accessible to all, can influence teachers' instructional methods and transform the format and the ways students learn. What are the main challenges, limitations and changes that we can foresee, considering the dangers and constraints of these new tools, regarding the teaching and learning processes of young adults in higher education. A case study was selected, using an exploratory questionnaire survey of undergraduate students, which was analysed using descriptive statistics. This study demonstrated that teachers, in student perspectives, are still far integrating IA in their pedagogical strategies, mainly focussing in the dangers and limitations and little in the potential. The aim was to contribute to assess how these new working tools can be an instrument that enhances critical thinking and active and transformative learning of young adults, when used with the minimisation of risks and errors. Furthermore, it is intended to reflect on appropriate AI educational policies as well as on the development of competences and digital literacy in the training of higher education students as global citizens.
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Tao (Tony) Gao and Talin E. Sarraf
This paper explores the major factors influencing multinational companies’ (MNCs) propensity to change the level of resource commitments during financial crises in emerging…
Abstract
This paper explores the major factors influencing multinational companies’ (MNCs) propensity to change the level of resource commitments during financial crises in emerging markets. Favorable changes in the host government policies, market demand, firm strategy, and infrastructural conditions are hypothesized to influence the MNCs’ decision to increase resource commitments during a crisis. The hypotheses are tested with data collected in a survey of 82 MNCs during the recent Argentine financial crisis (late 2002). While all the above variables are considered by the respondents as generally important reasons for increasing resource commitments during a crisis, only favorable changes in government policies significantly influence MNCs’ decisions to change the level of resource commitments during the Argentine financial crisis. The research, managerial implications, and policy‐making implications are discussed.