Roger Clive Birchmore, Terri-Ann Berry, Shannon L. Wallis, Steve Tsai and German Hernandez
New Zealand’s historical housing stock comprises largely single-storey detached houses, characterised by poor winter comfort with high air infiltration. Challenges with…
Abstract
Purpose
New Zealand’s historical housing stock comprises largely single-storey detached houses, characterised by poor winter comfort with high air infiltration. Challenges with affordability and land use are shifting New Zealand’s housing stock towards double-storey, conjoined medium-density housing (MDH). Reduced external surfaces in this typology should reduce winter heat loss and infiltration, improving winter comfort and health. New concerns arise, however, regarding summertime overheating and poor indoor air quality.
Design/methodology/approach
A field study was undertaken where temperature, humidity, airtightness, particulate matter (PM) and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) were measured in two unoccupied, newly built double-storey, conjoined houses, for several weeks over summer.
Findings
The reduced surface area of this typology did not reduce infiltration and demonstrated significant periods of overheating. Internal PM concentrations generally exceeded outdoor concentrations but did not exceed annual average outdoor PM10 guidelines of 20 µg m-3. Infiltration factors (Finf) were closer to more traditional houses. TVOC readings varied widely, but frequently exceeded international guidelines.
Research limitations/implications
The small sample limits the applications of conclusions more widely. Recommendations to investigate a wider sample in different locations with more detailed VOC analysis over all seasons are made.
Practical implications
Improvements to internal environments cannot be guaranteed by housing typology changes alone and must still involve thoughtful environmental design.
Social implications
Housing typology changes may not improve internal living environments.
Originality/value
A move to the new MDH typology may not achieve expectations of airtightness and thermal improvement. New challenges arise from significant overheating and high TVOC levels, which may lead to new negative health effects.
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Henry Tsai, Steve Pan and Jinsoo Lee
The purpose of this paper is to review and synthesize published contemporary hospitality financial management research from 1998 through 2009 and provide future research…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review and synthesize published contemporary hospitality financial management research from 1998 through 2009 and provide future research directions.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors began their initial literature search by entering into the ABI/INFORM database via ProQuest 19 pre‐identified keywords (i.e. debt, financing, ownership) related to the major functions of financial management, namely investing, financing, and dividend decisions, as well as commonly indexed keywords in hospitality finance research. The paper then expanded the authors' literature list through the reference lists of the studies that they initially identified. The authors limited their search to published studies between 1998 and 2009 and within hospitality journals written in English.
Findings
The paper identifies 98 published papers that represented the major work and efforts in expanding the body of knowledge in both the theoretical and practical perspectives of hospitality financial management. The major categories of papers include hospitality financing, investing, dividend policy, financial condition, and performance. Areas that warrant further investigation are noted throughout the paper.
Research limitations/implications
The papers review provides academics and practitioners an overview of the updated body of knowledge in the field and suggests the need for further in‐depth research to extend the literature and prompt better financial decision making for practitioners.
Originality/value
Since Harris and Brown's and Atkinson and Jones's reviews of past hospitality accounting and finance studies which mostly focused on the former, hospitality financial management research alone has grown noticeably in terms of diverse topics and sophistication of methodologies. To the authors' knowledge, no updated reviews that focus solely on hospitality finance research have been published in the last 12 years, and the need for such a task motivated them to conduct a review of recent research on this topic.
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This paper aims to investigate why followers have low perceptions of leader openness and thus feel reluctant to communicate novel ideas by examining leader–follower relationship…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate why followers have low perceptions of leader openness and thus feel reluctant to communicate novel ideas by examining leader–follower relationship conflict (i.e. interpersonal incompatibility) and a follower’s power distance orientation (i.e. an acceptance of uneven power distribution in organizations) as antecedents.
Design/methodology/approach
The research administrators conducted a three-wave work behavior survey in Study 1, a laboratory experiment in Study 2, and an online experiment in Study 3.
Findings
The results demonstrated that leader–follower relationship conflict reduced followers’ perceptions of leader openness. However, the negative impact of relationship conflict became non-significant when followers have high power distance orientations (i.e. an acceptance of uneven power distribution in organizations). The findings also showed an indirect interaction effect of leader–follower relationship conflict and followers’ power distance orientation on the followers’ communication of novel ideas through the followers’ perceptions of leader openness.
Originality/value
The research suggests that followers with higher power distance orientations are more likely to communicate novel ideas consistently because their relationship conflicts with their leaders do not negatively influence their perceptions of leader openness. Although researchers traditionally view cultures with a high level of power distance value as an obstacle to employee creativity, the present study reveals the benefits of an individual-level power distance orientation.
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Bismark Duodu and Steve Rowlinson
The purpose of this paper is to advance new insights into how internal and external social capital (SC) facets influence exploratory and exploitative innovation directly, and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to advance new insights into how internal and external social capital (SC) facets influence exploratory and exploitative innovation directly, and indirectly through absorptive capability (AC), by drawing on the relational and knowledge-based views.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper empirically tests the developed model using 135 survey responses from managers in construction contractor firms. Data were factor analysed, and path estimates determined using partial least squares structural equation modelling to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results reveal that each social capital (SC) facet has direct benefits for both exploratory and exploitative innovation. The findings also show a mix of full and partial mediation paths between the facets of SC and innovation types through AC.
Originality/value
Extant research linking SC facets with innovation categories is fragmented. Added to this fragmentation is the dearth of studies linking both intra-firm and inter-firm SC with exploratory and exploitative innovation in firms. This paper makes a novel contribution by testing a model of the direct and indirect links (through AC) between internal and external SC and both exploratory and exploitative innovation in the context of construction contractor firms. The findings show how both facets of SC are necessary for exploratory and exploitative innovation. It reveals the types of relationships and capabilities necessary for specific innovation objectives.
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Nipuni Sumanarathna, Bismark Duodu and Steve Rowlinson
The study aims to provide suggestions for project-based firms (PBFs) to create value through the development of social capital, collaborative environment and organisational…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to provide suggestions for project-based firms (PBFs) to create value through the development of social capital, collaborative environment and organisational learning (exploratory & exploitative learning). In this regard, a conceptual model is proposed that examines the interrelations between social capital, collaborative environment and exploratory & exploitative learning in the context of PBFs.
Design/methodology/approach
A semi-systematic literature review focussed on interrelations between social capital, exploratory & exploitative learning and collaborative environment was undertaken. Top ranked journals and highly relevant journal articles in the management domain were considered for the review. To analyse literature, the content analysis technique incorporating NVIVO 12 software was adopted.
Findings
Conceptual model suggests that social capital positively affects exploratory & exploitative learning through collaborative environment in PBFs. Three dimensions of social capital (network ties, trust and shared goals) create collaborative environment and collaborative environment enhances organisational learning in PBFs across different levels. Ultimately, social capital, collaborative environment and exploratory & exploitative learning contribute to value creation in PBFs.
Originality/value
Although the relationship between social capital and exploratory & exploitative learning has been researched previously, findings remain inconsistent. This study provides an alternative perspective to discuss this relationship with the proposed mediating construct: collaborative environment. Considering the context of PBFs, a conceptual model was developed to explain the interrelations between social capital, collaborative environment and learning. This study especially discusses collaborative environment as a value creation factor.
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Ray-May Hsung, Yi-Jr Lin and Ke-Wei Lu
Purpose – Structural embeddedness of social networks within and beyond work organizations has shown its association with the innovation at work for employees from literature…
Abstract
Purpose – Structural embeddedness of social networks within and beyond work organizations has shown its association with the innovation at work for employees from literature. Structural embeddedness includes three dimensions: the diversity, density, and trust of accessed networks. This chapter attempts to compare how structural embeddedness mechanizes on innovation at work differently for employees in hi-tech and non-hi-tech sectors.Methodology/approach – We analyzed 1,817 cases of currently employed respondents from the 2005 Taiwan national survey on social capital. All the indicators on structural embeddedness are operationalized from position-generated networks, and we performed regression models for total, hi-tech, and non-hi-tech samples.Findings – Except the universal effects of diversity on innovation at work for employees in both hi-tech and non-hi-tech sectors, density and trust of accessed networks significantly affect innovation at work only for employees in non-hi-tech sectors. There is a slight interaction effect between trust and density on innovation at workplaces. Those individuals with high-degree trust in accessed networks tend to have a lower degree of innovation while their network density is high. It implies that complementary networks seem to be more useful for applying new ideas at the workplace for non-hi-tech workers.Originality/value of chapter – This chapter contributes to the literature by presenting the importance of structural embeddedness of accessed social networks for innovation at work.
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Purpose – This study assesses the extent to which four features of work – supervision, autonomy, creativity, and skill – are associated with different structural forms of social…
Abstract
Purpose – This study assesses the extent to which four features of work – supervision, autonomy, creativity, and skill – are associated with different structural forms of social capital. Social capital may enhance actors’ access to diverse information and resources or it may foster mutual commitment and trust. Actors’ draw on these social connections, and the resources embedded therein, when they engage in work activities. The study considers how dense and diverse network structures serve complementary functions to actors engaged in creative and autonomous jobs or for reproducing inequality within firms.Methodology – The analysis uses nationally representative survey data and the position-generator approach to social capital measurement to determine the relationship between three social capital constructs – diversity, hierarchy, and density – and respondents’ work characteristics.Findings – Supervisory, autonomous, creative, and highly skilled workers all have more diverse social networks. Supervisors and skilled workers also have access to high-status contacts. Finally, creative and autonomous workers have more dense social networks.Originality/value – Findings suggest that density and diversity are useful to actors engaged in self-directed or creative work tasks. These findings support theories of complementary network structures that combine access to unique information with the collective ability to pursue goals.
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Steve McDonald, S. Michael Gaddis, Lindsey B. Trimble and Lindsay Hamm
Purpose – The introductory chapter to this special issue highlights contemporary scholarship on networks, work, and inequality.Methodology – We review the last decade of research…
Abstract
Purpose – The introductory chapter to this special issue highlights contemporary scholarship on networks, work, and inequality.Methodology – We review the last decade of research on this topic, identifying four key areas investigation: (1) networks and hiring, (2) networks and the labor process, (3) networks and outcomes at work, and (4) networks and institutional dynamics.Findings – Social networks play an important role in understanding the mechanisms by which and the conditions under which economic inequality is reproduced across gender, race, and social class distinctions. Throughout the review, we point to numerous opportunities for future research to enhance our understanding of these social processes.
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There has been an increase in the number of multinational banks (MNBs) in India and Nigeria. While the literature is replete with analysis of multinational banking in developed…
Abstract
There has been an increase in the number of multinational banks (MNBs) in India and Nigeria. While the literature is replete with analysis of multinational banking in developed countries, not much is known about the drivers of multinational banking in developing countries. This chapter uses the linear probability estimation technique and a sample of 57 Indian and Nigerian banks to investigate firm-level determinants of bank internationalization, as well as inter-bank variations in the number of foreign branches/subsidiaries. The empirical results suggest that the decision by banks from India and Nigeria to internationalize is influenced by firm-level characteristics such as after-tax profit, capital adequacy ratio (CAR), total assets (TA or bank size), volume of customer deposits (CD) and the number of domestic branches. A bank’s decision to establish a given number of foreign branches and subsidiaries depends on variables such as CAR, CD and TA. Based on the empirical results, the chapter proposes some hypotheses about bank internationalization in developing countries.