Shawn C. Boone, Linda De Charon, Marcia (Marty) Hill, Amy Preiss, Debbie Ritter-Williams and Elizabeth Young
Globally, traditional and online doctoral programs face difficulties with student persistence and progression. An online doctoral school implemented a first-year program sequence…
Abstract
Purpose
Globally, traditional and online doctoral programs face difficulties with student persistence and progression. An online doctoral school implemented a first-year program sequence taught by a cadre of 20 specialized faculty members who engage in best practices to assist students in persisting and progressing toward program completion.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative program assessment using content analysis examined the program effectiveness of one online doctoral program's first-year program sequence. Two research questions guided this program assessment, they were: RQ1. Based on online doctoral students' perspectives, what motivators contribute to online doctoral student persistence and progression in an online doctoral program? RQ2. How do online faculty contribute to online doctoral student persistence and progression? Data collection included myriad of program metrics: content area meetings (CAMs); closing the loop assessment data; faculty and student end of course survey data; and faculty and student semistructured interviews.
Findings
The resultant themes indicated that students are motivated by support from family, friends and religious beliefs; and students persist based on support from fellow doctoral students and faculty members. Additional themes revealed that faculty members motivate students through building faculty–student relationships, individual coaching, providing university resources and through clarification of program requirements; and faculty members perceive that face-to-face doctoral residencies greatly contribute to student persistence and progression through interpersonal interaction and through improved clarity.
Originality/value
Implications of this program assessment have far-reaching impact on how doctoral granting institutions can structure small cadres of faculty to develop interpersonal relationships with doctoral students with focus on support and development.
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Ilgım Dara Benoit, Thomas Brashear Alejandro, Jeffrey Foreman, Christian Chelariu and Shawn Bergman
This paper aims to examine the role of social norms of justice and relationalism in salesperson–sales manager relationships, and their role in developing salesforce commitment and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the role of social norms of justice and relationalism in salesperson–sales manager relationships, and their role in developing salesforce commitment and turnover.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses structural equation modeling to analyze survey data from 402 business-to-business salespeople.
Findings
As discrete foundational norms, distributive, procedural and interactional (interpersonal, informational) justice develop higher-order norms of relationalism, which then reflect on increased commitment and reduced turnover intention of the salesforce. Among the justice norms, interpersonal justice has the strongest impact on relationalism.
Research limitations/implications
The paper shows how each justice norm has a distinct impact in shaping relational norms, and that interpersonal justice has the highest impact. In addition, with enhanced relationalism salespeople become more committed and have lower turnover intentions. Future research could use a longitudinal study, present manager’s side in the model and measure and compare the impact of supervisor- versus organization-focused justice.
Practical implications
To enhance relationalism, and thus in turn increase commitment and decrease turnover intention of salesforce, sales managers should pay attention to the salespeople’s perceptions of justice norms (distributive, procedural, informational and interpersonal justice), especially interpersonal justice, as it has the highest impact on relationalism. The specific ways to enhance justice perceptions are discussed.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to show how each justice norm is unique in its importance to shape the relationship between sales manager and salespeople in a way that increases the quality of relational norms, governing the relational process into a highly committed one. It also shows that among the four justice norms, interactional justice has the highest impact on relationalism. In addition, this is the first study to show that relationalism decreases turnover intention of salespeople.
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Syed Numan Chowdhury and Yasser Eliwa
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether audit quality influence real earnings management activities using a sample of UK listed firms that have strong incentives to manage…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether audit quality influence real earnings management activities using a sample of UK listed firms that have strong incentives to manage earnings upward through meeting past year’s earnings as a benchmark in the post-adoption period of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use a sample of 4,774 firm-year observations of UK listed firms during the period 2005–2018. Univariate and multivariate analyses have been conducted to test the association after controlling for firm characteristics and institutional variables.
Findings
The study reports that the presence of Big 4 auditors is significantly and positively related with greater levels of sales and discretionary expenses manipulation. Though the authors do not find any conclusive evidence on production costs manipulation, the aggregated measure of real earnings management shows a significant positive association with the presence of Big 4 auditors.
Practical implications
The study implies that managers who have incentives to manage earnings upward around the UK firms take advantage of the accounting flexibility in defining policies while reducing information asymmetry among the investors to signal better future performance. The approach to detect earnings manipulation as described in the auditing standards fails to limit the managerial use of real activities due to limited scope and unclear guidance. Thus, due to the significant impact on public policies, the results should, therefore, be of interest to the regulators and standard setters.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that examines the association between audit quality and real earnings management for the UK all-purpose operational firms in sampled data that just meet past year’s earnings as a benchmark in the post-IFRS period.
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Shawn P. Scott, Daniel Sheinin and Lauren I. Labrecque
The purpose of this paper is to show how sonic logos, despite their brief exposure time, resonate with consumers’ emotions and attitudes in a manner that until now has been…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show how sonic logos, despite their brief exposure time, resonate with consumers’ emotions and attitudes in a manner that until now has been attributed to only longer background music in advertising. The moderating role of sonic logo placement within the ad (beginning versus ending) and the mediating role of emotion felt after exposure to the brand and advertisement are also explored.
Design/methodology/approach
An expansion on sonic logo research is completed through two experiments testing nine hypotheses. A pretest is also conducted to create two orthogonal sonic logos (sad sonic logo and happy sonic logo) which are then used in the two experiments.
Findings
Participants had higher attitude scores for an advertisement that had a happy sonic logo over the ad that had a sad sonic logo. These consumer attitudes are mediated by emotion felt because of the exposure to the brand and advertisement and are moderated by placement of the sonic logo within the ad. Placement drove more positive consumer attitudes of a sad sonic logo at the beginning and a happy sonic logo at the end of the advertisement.
Practical implications
Given the short nature of a sonic logo, sonic logo placement in the advertisement is shown to change consumer perceptions. This effect uncovers an important aspect of placement of the sonic logo in the advertisement which gives practitioners a means of application. Furthermore, consumer emotions drive these strong attitudes despite the short exposure times of the sonic logo.
Originality/value
This paper expands upon the limited sonic logo research and shows how the short exposure time of a sonic logo can have the same emotional qualities as long-form music, previously reserved for background music in advertising. In addition, by uncovering the mediating relationship of emotion felt after exposure to the brand and advertisement, it is shown how these short audio branding elements can help shape emotion and consumer attitude toward brands. Finally, altering placement of the sonic logo can enhance consumer attitudes of the advertisement and brand.
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Phillip T. Lamoreaux, Lubomir P. Litov and Landon M. Mauler
We document the emergence of the Lead Independent Director (LID) board role in a sample of U.S. firms from 1999–2015. We find that firms that adopt an LID board role are larger…
Abstract
We document the emergence of the Lead Independent Director (LID) board role in a sample of U.S. firms from 1999–2015. We find that firms that adopt an LID board role are larger and have more independent boards, higher institutional investor holdings, and an NYSE listing. Firms with greater anticipated benefits from monitoring also adopt an LID role, e.g., firms with dual CEO-Chairman, with more takeover defense mechanisms, and with higher cash holdings. Using an event study methodology, we find that investors respond positively to the adoption of an LID board role. Lastly, using instrumental variables to address endogeneity in the LID board role, we find that firms with an LID are more likely to terminate poorly performing CEOs. Taken as a whole, these results suggest that the LID board role enhances firm value and improves the quality of corporate governance.
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Wendy Starkweather and Kenneth Marks
To provide an overview of building use in Lied Library at UNLV from the Library's opening in 2001 through early 2004 and to provide and update on the implications of the…
Abstract
Purpose
To provide an overview of building use in Lied Library at UNLV from the Library's opening in 2001 through early 2004 and to provide and update on the implications of the ramifications of that use for staff and users.
Design/methodology/approach
Use and visitation statistics are highlighted and factors associated with the use, such as overall design, policy changes, new services and resources as well as campus context are presented.
Findings
The experiences at UNLV's Lied Library indicate that the concept of “library as place” still matters; that an awe‐inspiring and esthetically pleasing design can produce a very functional building and that still matters; that continually evolving user‐focused services still matter; and that, for the library to continue to matter in the lives of its users, it must continue to adapt to its campus context, to collaborate successfully with campus partners and to respond effectively to the constantly changing context of information delivery and knowledge promotion.
Practical implications
It is important that librarians working in new libraries take time to review the successes and possible unintended consequences or shortcomings that result from their building projects, to identify the toll that success may take, and to appreciate the value and necessity of continued evolution even in a new building.
Originality/value
The observations presented may prove useful to librarians preparing for and assessing post‐move‐in experiences in their new libraries. Practical tips on preparing for and handling national and international visitors are also provided and suggestions for future action are given.
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Irwan Trinugroho, Tastaftiyan Risfandy, Mamduh M. Hanafi and Raditya Sukmana
Using the Indonesian setting where the government formally limits the presence of busy commissioners, the authors investigate whether a board containing busy commissioners could…
Abstract
Purpose
Using the Indonesian setting where the government formally limits the presence of busy commissioners, the authors investigate whether a board containing busy commissioners could be beneficial or detrimental for firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors propose an econometric model focusing on the impact of busy commissioners on the firm's profitability. The authors are also interested in investigating whether the effect is different between small and large firms and between mature and non-mature firms. A sample of 392 Indonesian listed firms from 2014 to 2020 is used in this study.
Findings
The authors find a negative association between busyness and performance and this result is robust across different estimations and econometrics strategies. The authors also document that the negative impact of busy directors diminishes particularly in young and small firms. The authors also find that the impact is more pronounced in state-owned firms.
Practical implications
From a firm point of view, the result suggests that the companies should be aware that appointing busy commissioners in the board structure can detriment market-based performance. The listed firms should also understand that busy commissioners are inefficient, especially if these firms are large, mature and state-owned.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study investigating the relation between busy commissioners and performance by considering age, firm size and state-owned firms as a moderator in a sample of Indonesian listed firms.
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Qionglei Yu, Bradley Richard Barnes and Yu Ye
This study aims to signal the relevance of internal market orientation (IMO) as an organizational process for improving interdepartmental relationships and employee satisfaction…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to signal the relevance of internal market orientation (IMO) as an organizational process for improving interdepartmental relationships and employee satisfaction, which, in turn, serves to leverage performance. The study has three main objectives: to consider the adaptation of IMO at the departmental level, whereby internal departments are identified as internal customers; gauging the impact of IMO on interdepartmental relationships, employee satisfaction and organizational performance; and testing the mediating role of employee satisfaction in linking interdepartmental relationships, i.e. connectedness and conflict with organizational performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The study observes the proposed relationships by drawing on a sample of 816 managers from 272 companies. Through accessing three respondents in each organization and asking them to focus on different constructs, the study’s methodology avoids common methods bias. Partial least square was used to test the hypotheses posited in the concept.
Findings
The findings confirm that IMO at the departmental level is critical for facilitating interdepartmental relationships within the organization. In particular, high levels of IMO can enhance interdepartmental connectedness, reduce interdepartmental conflict and improve employee satisfaction. Employee satisfaction not only influences firm performance directly but also plays a mediating role in linking interdepartmental relationships, i.e. connectedness and conflict with performance.
Research limitations/implications
While this study is conducted in the Chinese context, future research may consider testing the framework in different sectors and geographical areas. In addition, more objective measures of firm performance could be used in future studies, and other mediating and moderating variables may be added to further advance the understanding of the subject at large.
Practical implications
The identification of IMO at the departmental level can help firms collect ideas from staff across different departments, facilitate open and constructive communication and react promptly to other departments. Through a social information processing lens, this leads to the creation of a positive organizational atmosphere, contributing significantly to enhancing employee satisfaction and firm performance.
Originality/value
The findings of the study contribute to the area by supporting the legitimacy of IMO at the departmental level and its positive impact on internal relationships and employee satisfaction, which, in turn, leverages performance advantages for the firm.