Tobin E. Porterfield, Joseph P. Bailey and Philip T. Evers
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance effects of information exchange by observing actual information exchange between industrial trading partners. Information…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance effects of information exchange by observing actual information exchange between industrial trading partners. Information exchange facilitates coordination through sharing both order cycle and enhanced information. Increased exchange may lead to closer relationships with the expectation of improved performance. This study moves away from perceived measures of information exchange and firm performance by integrating two datasets: one capturing historical firm performance and the second capturing electronic information exchange data.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative data of electronic information exchange between firms are observed and compared with operational performance results. Longitudinal regression analyses are conducted using data gathered from an electronically‐mediated industrial exchange network. This unique dataset provides distinct insights into the application and performance outcomes related to information exchange.
Findings
Results show that information characteristics vary by firm and the position of the firm within the supply chain. Manufacturers benefit from exchanging more basic information and from stability in their trading partner portfolio. Retailers enhance performance when there is more turnover in their trading partner portfolio and when information is exchanged reciprocally with suppliers.
Practical implications
Results from this study provide insight into the potential performance outcomes of sharing information within industrial relationships. The study demonstrates how greater information exchange changes the nature of supply chain relationships. Closer supply chain relationships may improve firm performance, but the extent of this varies based on the firm's position within its supply chain. Consequently, firms should consider the strategic implications of the way in which they exchange information with their trading partners.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by identifying and testing specific information characteristics using actual observed exchanges of information between firms. The data set supports the measurement of information exchange between multiple firms and trading partners which allows for testing at a level of granularity beyond existing studies.
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Dmitriy Nesterkin and Tobin Porterfield
This research aims to investigate how team support and cohesion channel the effects of relationship conflict and its management on team productivity.
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to investigate how team support and cohesion channel the effects of relationship conflict and its management on team productivity.
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaire data were sampled from students working in groups to design software systems for companies. Structural equation methodology was used to estimate the proposed model.
Findings
The results indicate that the mediators (team support and cohesion) positively affect each other and team performance. The results support that the effects of conflict and conflict management on team performance are mediated by team support first and then indirectly through team cohesion.
Research limitations/implications
This paper empirically establishes the mechanisms through which conflict and its management affect team performance. The following limitations should be considered when generalizing the results of the study: team-level phenomena were assessed using perceived measures of individual team members and an academic setting was used for data collection.
Practical implications
The findings indicate that team support plays an important role in protecting the team from the negative effects of conflict and that team support contributes to the development of team cohesion.
Originality/value
This work is one of the first to evaluate the mechanisms of team support and cohesion through which team conflict and its management affect team performance.
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Mona Mohamed, Tobin Porterfield and Joyram Chakraborty
This study aims to examine the impact of cultural familiarity with images on the memorability of recognition-based graphical password (RBG-P).
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the impact of cultural familiarity with images on the memorability of recognition-based graphical password (RBG-P).
Design/methodology/approach
The researchers used a between-group design with two groups of 50 participants from China and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, using a webtool and two questionnaires to test two hypotheses in a four-week long study.
Findings
The results showed that culture has significant effects on RBG-P memorability, including both recognition and recall of images. It was also found that the login success rate depreciated quickly as time progressed, which indicates the memory decay and its effects on the visual memory.
Research limitations/implications
Collectively, these results can be used to design universal RBG-Ps with maximal password deflection points. For better cross-cultural designs, designers must allow users from different cultures to personalize their image selections based on their own cultures.
Practical implications
The RBG-P interfaces developed without consideration for users’ cultures may lead to the construction of passwords that are difficult to memorize and easy to attack. Thus, the incorporation of cultural images is indispensable for improving the authentication posture.
Social implications
The development of RBG-P with cultural considerations will make it easy for the user population to remember the password and make it more expensive for the intruder to attack.
Originality/value
This study provides an insight for RBG-P developers to produce a graphical password platform that increases the memorability factor.
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Abraham Stefanidis and Vasilis Strogilos
The purpose of this research is to investigate the role of organizational support, as it is evidenced by supervisor's support and coworkers' support, in the work engagement levels…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to investigate the role of organizational support, as it is evidenced by supervisor's support and coworkers' support, in the work engagement levels of employees who are parents of children with special needs and disabilities (SND).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors employed a self-administered survey questionnaire in Singapore and collected 224 useable responses. They used moderated hierarchical regression analysis to assess the relationships among organizational support, employees' child disability severity and levels of work engagement.
Findings
The research results indicated that higher levels of supervisor's and coworkers' support have a positive impact on work engagement levels of employees with children with SND. In addition, the authors observed that supervisor's support and coworkers' support moderate the relationship between employee’s child's disability severity and work engagement levels.
Research limitations/implications
The results contribute to the introduction of a discussion about supportive practices directed toward this diverse group of employees in Singapore. The research findings are country-specific.
Practical implications
The authors propose that human resource management practitioners could craft policies that may trigger tangible and emotional support by supervisors and coworkers of employees with children with disabilities, depending on employees’ children's disability severity.
Originality/value
This research is the first empirical examination that measures the work engagement levels of employed parents of children with SND in Singapore, considering both organizational and family dimensions.
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This chapter reviews the econometric approaches typically used to deal with the spike of zeros when modelling non-negative outcomes such as expenditures, income, or consumption…
Abstract
This chapter reviews the econometric approaches typically used to deal with the spike of zeros when modelling non-negative outcomes such as expenditures, income, or consumption. Relying on the assumptions of selection on observables for evaluating a policy or treatment, this chapter discusses other issues that arise with spikes of zeros in the data, including the analyst's choice between full information versus quasi-likelihood methods, considering whether observed zeros are true or masking more complex behavioural decisions, and dealing with zeros that arise due to self-selection. This chapter ends with discussions of empirical strategies to deal with these behavioural assumptions and a brief review of the literature where such strategies were employed.
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Jiangtao Li, Jianyue Ji and Yanxia Wang
Efficiency of a commercial bank affects both its competitiveness and the role it plays in the process of economic development. Although great efforts have been exerted in…
Abstract
Purpose
Efficiency of a commercial bank affects both its competitiveness and the role it plays in the process of economic development. Although great efforts have been exerted in developing the various aspects of banking efficiency, there seems to be a lack of research on examining the impact of the bank efficiency from the employee wage perspective. The mechanism of how employee wage affects commercial bank efficiency and the relationship between the two were analyzed in this paper. Based on the growing body of research on efficiency in banking, the aim of this paper is to examine if competitiveness of employee wages at any commercial bank has any impact on the bank efficiency score.
Design/methodology/approach
The method used was quantitative analysis, which was based on comparing the evaluated efficiencies of the banks with employee wages published in the bank reports. The empirical data in this paper were based on 16 Chinese listed commercial banks from 2004 to 2012. The per capita wage of commercial banks was selected as the wage indicator, and the efficiency value obtained by the slack-based measure (SBM) model was selected as the efficiency indicator. According to the calculated data, the Tobit regression model was built to analyze the relationship between employee wage and commercial bank efficiency.
Findings
The research results show that employee wage is the key variable that influences the efficiency of Chinese commercial banks, and the inverted U-shaped relationship between employee wage and commercial banks efficiency shows up.
Practical implications
The wage structure data of the composition of basic pay and bonus were not available at the time of conducting the research. Per capita wages were used instead to reflect the employee wage levels of Chinese banks.
Originality/value
This study can provide some help for the banking industry by analyzing the wage levels from the perspective of efficiency and also further enriches the theoretical system of the relationship between employee wage and bank efficiency.
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Legitimacy is defined as the ability to exercise authority without resorting to open coercion. It is an essential asset for firms seeking to reach and maintain profitability. In…
Abstract
Purpose
Legitimacy is defined as the ability to exercise authority without resorting to open coercion. It is an essential asset for firms seeking to reach and maintain profitability. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to present the case of the Canadian banking industry, which has been highly criticized during the last decade for its record profits, low level of risk taking, high fees and buoyant CEO compensation packages. More specifically, this research aims to analyze the general public's perceptions of the industry during a 50‐month period, starting with the first strong reaction to recurrent announcements of record profits. It also seeks to look at industry reactions as a response to bank bashing.
Design/methodology/approach
The case study in this paper was conducted in two steps. It first analyzed public perceptions by studying the content of a sample of newspaper articles on the Canadian banking industry from 1996‐2000. It then examined the industry's reactions by reviewing the documents found on the web site of the Canadian Bankers Association.
Findings
The study shows that the crisis faced by the banking industry was of limited but sustained intensity. The industry used a mixed strategy, justifying itself through its public discourse and mounting a program to inform and educate the Canadian public on the effects of economic factors in their lives. The banking industry limited its reactions to Sethi's first‐level strategy found in the literature.
Originality/value
The paper highlights how the general public perceive profit levels in the Canadian banking industry and how legitimacy is clearly an issue in this context.