The Scottish Parliament recently passed the Alcohol etc (Scotland) Bill following a long debate regarding minimum pricing. This article considers the arguments that ensued and…
Abstract
The Scottish Parliament recently passed the Alcohol etc (Scotland) Bill following a long debate regarding minimum pricing. This article considers the arguments that ensued and some of the evidence that was produced. While minimum pricing was removed from the final bill, the author argues this will not be the end of the debate on price in Scotland.
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The State Department.
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DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB229637
ISSN: 2633-304X
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Andrea Pérez, Carlos López and María del Mar García-De los Salmones
Based on the principles of stakeholder theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the information reported to stakeholders in corporate social…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on the principles of stakeholder theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the information reported to stakeholders in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports and companies’ CSR reputation (CSRR).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper implements two regression models to test how reporting to stakeholders influences the CSRR of 84 companies included in the Spanish “MercoEmpresas Responsables” reputation index.
Findings
The results demonstrate that greater global reporting intensity to stakeholders does not necessarily mean a better CSRR. Contrarily, the reporting-reputation link depends on the intensity of reporting to specific stakeholders such as investors, regulators and the media. The findings are explained largely by the institutional, political and business characteristics of Spain after the Great Recession of 2007-2008.
Research limitations/implications
The evidence reported in this paper confirms stakeholder theory as an adequate framework to understand corporate reporting to stakeholders and its relationship with CSRR. The findings suggest that stakeholder salience (i.e. power, legitimacy and urgency) is a key concept for understanding the reporting-reputation link better in future research.
Practical implications
In the light of the findings, companies willing to use reporting to stakeholders as a tool to improve CSRR should establish regular mechanisms for monitoring stakeholder power, legitimacy and urgency, provide complete information to investors in their CSR reports and minimize the amount of detail provided to regulators and the media in their CSR reports.
Originality/value
There is still little empirical evidence concerning how the information to stakeholders contained in CSR reports influences the processes by which CSRR is built or destroyed. This paper contributes to the previous literature by describing how the global intensity of reporting to stakeholders and the intensity of reporting to different stakeholder groups relate to CSRR.
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The production and sale of counterfeit products is big business in the international economy. Nowhere is this more evident than in China. This paper aims to review the…
Abstract
Purpose
The production and sale of counterfeit products is big business in the international economy. Nowhere is this more evident than in China. This paper aims to review the anti-counterfeiting strategies that have been identified in the literature on counterfeiting.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper takes the form of a literature review.
Findings
This paper reviews 11 anti-counterfeiting strategies that have been suggested by relevant literature and has identified some of the success conditions. It also finds that firms should seek to take a longer-term view and to protect their technology-based competitive advantage. This is already happening: Japanese blue chip companies have begun to relocate sensitive R&D and high-tech manufacturing away from risky locations and back to Japan.
Research limitations/implications
The paper shows that the dominant legal enforcement (perspective) approach has been of limited success and explains the reasons for its failure.
Practical implications
The paper concludes that anti-counterfeiting strategies should be seen as complementary rather than as mutually exclusive and that in the long run, as countries get more technologically advanced, governments will develop a strong self-interest in tackling the counterfeit problem themselves.
Originality/value
The paper provides a systematic discussion of alternative anti-counterfeiting strategies that have been suggested by the literature and explores their success conditions in some detail.
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Melanie T. Benson and Peter Willett
The purpose of this paper is to describe the historical development of library and information science (LIS) teaching and research in the University of Sheffield's Information…
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Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the historical development of library and information science (LIS) teaching and research in the University of Sheffield's Information School since its founding in 1963.
Design/methodology/approach
The history is based on published materials, unpublished school records, and semi-structured interviews with 19 current or ex-members of staff.
Findings
The School has grown steadily over its first half-century, extending the range of its teaching from conventional programmes in librarianship and information science to include cognate programmes in areas such as health informatics, information systems and multi-lingual information management.
Originality/value
There are very few published accounts of the history of LIS departments.
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Andrew C. Worthington and Helen Higgs
The purpose of this paper is to examine the investment characteristics of works by leading Australian artists.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the investment characteristics of works by leading Australian artists.
Design/methodology/approach
About 35,805 paintings by 45 leading Australian artists sold at auction are used to construct individual hedonic price indices. The attributes included in each artist's hedonic regression model include the size and medium of the painting and the auction house and year sold.
Findings
The indexes show that average annual returns across all artists range between 4 and 15 per cent with a mean of 8 per cent, with the highest returns for works by Brett Whiteley, Jeffrey Smart, Cecil Brack and Margaret Olley. Risk‐adjusted returns are generally lower, with reward‐to‐volatility and reward‐to‐variability ratios averaging 1.5 and 5.8 per cent, respectively. The portfolio βs for individual artistic works average 0.41. The willingness‐to‐pay for perceived attributes in the artwork show that works executed in oils and gouache, and those auctioned by Deutscher‐Menzies, Sotheby's and Christies are generally associated with higher prices.
Research limitations/implications
The returns on a buy‐and‐hold strategy in the Australian art market are at least comparable to the Australian stock market. While total risk is greater, the very low market risk found in almost all artistic portfolios is suggestive of the possible benefits of portfolio diversification through art investment. Moreover, a number of artist's works offer very superior market and non‐market risk‐adjusted performance.
Originality/value
This is the first Australian study to construct measures of risk, return, β and Sharpe and Treynor ratios for individual Australian artists.
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To examine the literature on counterfeit products and explore whether imitation and counterfeit product activities can actually facilitate the development of new products.
Abstract
Purpose
To examine the literature on counterfeit products and explore whether imitation and counterfeit product activities can actually facilitate the development of new products.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper examines the dominant school of thought on counterfeit products that characterises it as a significant economic and social problem throughout the world, and develops an alternative school of thought, which focuses on the overlooked benefits of imitation and counterfeit activities. The paper suggests that the concepts of counterfeit and imitation are often misrepresented as powerful lobby groups present their cases.
Findings
This paper argues that while some counterfeit firms adopt short‐term profit motives other counterfeit firms demonstrate a longer‐term motive which manifests itself in an ability to reverse engineer, imitate and learn. Such firms may be suitable long‐term partners, in particular for multinational firms with operations in transition economies. Thus, firms face a difficult strategic choice when faced with product counterfeiters that of whether to fight or co‐operate.
Practical implications
Companies need to improve their risk management, in particular in their foreign market entry and collaborative strategies. Companies should seek to take a long‐term view and to protect their technology‐based competitive advantage. Furthermore, copyright and trademark holders need to positively identify collaborators and to offer sufficiently attractive prospects for these business partners to keep them “on the straight and narrow” and to benefit from the contribution they can make.
Originality/value
This paper brings together in a clear and coherent way an alternative perspective on counterfeiting products, which challenges the dominant perspective. This is based on recognising that reverse engineering (RE) and imitation form an essential part of the product innovation process.
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The main objective of this case study paper is to describe the State Library of New South Wales (SLNSW) implementation strategy and technical architecture model for implementing a…
Abstract
Purpose
The main objective of this case study paper is to describe the State Library of New South Wales (SLNSW) implementation strategy and technical architecture model for implementing a sustainable technology platform for the delivery of electronic services as part of its atmitchell.com initiative.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on practical experience and knowledge gained by the SLNSW atmitchell.com project team as part of implementing the project strategy i.e. the three main horizons, defining the target technical architecture model and undertaking the technology evaluation to select appropriate technology vendors and products for digitisation, digital asset management, content management and system integration services.
Findings
The paper finds that the implementation strategy for atmitchell.com, i.e. to implement the project in three main horizons or phases, was critical to the success of this initiative. Defining a target architecture model to address the key issues and challenges within the SLNSW enterprise was also useful during the technology evaluation and selection process.
Originality/value
This case study paper focuses mainly on the implementation strategy and technical architecture developed by SLNSW to implement the atmitchell.com initiative. The key issues related to data, process and network are specific to the SLNSW enterprise. Cultural institutions with similar information technology (IT) systems and challenges can use the target technical architecture model described in this paper as a reference model to develop their organisation's target architecture model. The findings and lessons learned from SLNSW technology evaluation and tender process combined with the strategy adopted early on by SLNSW to implement the atmitchell.com initiative in three main horizon or phases will be valuable information for solution architects, IT managers and senior management executives of cultural organisations that are planning to embark in to similar initiatives.
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Diego Stea, Stefan Linder and Nicolai J. Foss†
The attention-based view (ABV) of the firm highlights the role of decision makers’ attention in firm behavior. The ABV vastly improves our understanding of decision makers’ focus…
Abstract
The attention-based view (ABV) of the firm highlights the role of decision makers’ attention in firm behavior. The ABV vastly improves our understanding of decision makers’ focus of attention; how that focus is situated in an organization’s procedural and communication channels; and how the distribution of the focus of attention among decision makers participating in those procedural and communication channels affects their understanding of a situation, their motivation to act, and, ultimately, their behavior. Significant progress has been made in recent years in refining and extending the ABV. However, the role of individual differences in the capacity to read other people’s desires, intentions, knowledge, and beliefs – that is, the theory of mind (ToM) – has remained on the sidelines. The ToM is a natural complement to the ABV. In this study, we explore how the ToM allows for an understanding of the advantage that organizations have over markets within the ABV.