Jau Yang Liu, William Shiue, Fu Hsiang Chen and Ai Ting Huang
Corporate social responsibility has gradually become an essential enterprise responsibility under stakeholders’ expectations. Employee care strategies involve both qualitative and…
Abstract
Purpose
Corporate social responsibility has gradually become an essential enterprise responsibility under stakeholders’ expectations. Employee care strategies involve both qualitative and quantitative factors and are receiving special attention with the advent of the information age. In previous studies, a company’s policy of employee care may not fit with the needs of the employees. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to investigate enterprises’ employee care from the employee’s perspective by adopting a hybrid multiple attribute decision making (MADM) model.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on 159 interviews with senior employees and/or department managers using a survey questionnaire. This study uses the MADM model to conduct the analysis. First, this research study used Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) to construct an influential network relations map of the 4 dimensions and 13 criteria of employee care. Second, this study uses DEMATEL-based Analytic Network Process to conduct a weight analysis for each dimension and criterion. Third, this study uses VIKOR to calculate employees’ level of satisfaction as well as the gap from the “aspired level.”
Findings
The results of the study revealed the critical factors influencing employee care and proposed a systematic plan to be used as a reference for improvement. The improvement sequence revealed the following order: Equal employment opportunities→Good industrial relations and benefits→Responsibility to train and educate employees→Occupational health and safety. The empirical results showed there was still 35 percent room for improvement in the enterprises’ implementation policy of employee care.
Originality/value
The implementation of employee care has become an important issue for corporations since it helps to sustain and to increase an enterprise’s competitiveness in the business environment. However, the extant literature on employee care comes from enterprises’ perspectives instead of from employees’ perspectives. This research investigates the key factors of employee care and successfully shows MADM to be an effective model for the planning and implementation of corporate social responsibilities’ employee care from the perspective of employees.
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To reexamine the Weber Thesis pertaining to the relationship between ascetic Protestantism – especially Calvinism – and modern capitalism, as between an economic “spirit” and an…
Abstract
Purpose
To reexamine the Weber Thesis pertaining to the relationship between ascetic Protestantism – especially Calvinism – and modern capitalism, as between an economic “spirit” and an economic “structure,” in which the first is assumed to be the explanatory factor and the second the dependent variable.
Design/methodology/approach
The chapter provides an attempt to combine theoretical-empirical and comparative-historical approaches to integrate theory with evidence supplied by societal comparisons and historically specific cases.
Findings
The chapter identifies the general sociological core of the Weber Thesis as a classic endeavor in economic sociology (and thus substantive sociological theory) and separates it from its particular historical dimension in the form of an empirical generalization from history. I argue that such a distinction helps to better understand the puzzling double “fate” of the Weber Thesis in social science, its status of a model in economic sociology and substantive sociological theory, on the one hand, and its frequent rejection in history and historical economics, on the other. The sociological core of the Thesis, postulating that religion, ideology, and culture generally deeply impact economy, has proved to be more valid, enduring, and even paradigmatic, as in economic sociology, than its historical component establishing a special causal linkage between Calvinism and other types of ascetic Protestantism and the “spirit” and “structure” of modern capitalism in Western society at a specific point in history.
Research limitations/implications
In addition to the two cases deviating from the Weber Thesis considered here, it is necessary to investigate and identify the validity of the Thesis with regard to concrete historical and empirical instances.
Originality/value
The chapter provides the first effort to systematically analyze and distinguish between the sociological core and the historical components of the Weber Thesis as distinct yet intertwined components.
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Lynn Avison and Christopher J. Cowton
The audit committee is one of the most prominent board sub‐committees, having a potentially important role to play in ensuring sound corporate governance. This paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
The audit committee is one of the most prominent board sub‐committees, having a potentially important role to play in ensuring sound corporate governance. This paper aims to examine and discuss the behaviour of companies following revisions to the UK's Revised Code.
Design/methodology/approach
A variety of annual report data from a sample of 50 UK companies, stratified according to size, is collected and analysed.
Findings
General compliance with many provisions of the Revised Code was found. All but one company had an audit committee comprising solely non‐executive directors. However, in about a quarter of cases the chairman was a member, and in some cases directors were not “independent” according to the Code's definition. Nevertheless, many companies exceeded the minimum stipulated requirements, for example the number of non‐executive directors on the audit committee or the number of meetings held. Some companies, though, did not follow recommended practice, particularly regarding the disclosure of information, and some explanations for non‐compliance were weak.
Research limitations/implications
Compliance with disclosure demands regarding audit committees could be improved, as could the quality of explanations when the recommendations of the Code are not followed. It would be sensible for regulators to monitor this, provide more detailed guidance and highlight examples of good practice. Given the resistance of many companies to corporate governance regulation and accusations of “box ticking”, future research should probe why many companies do more than is required or recommended. The research should be repeated when further revisions to the Code are made in respect of audit committees, and practice in countries other than the UK should be researched to provide comparative insights.
Originality/value
This paper provides useful information on the behaviour of companies following revisions to the UK's Revised Code.
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Jung-Chieh Lee and Chung-Yang Chen
Software process tailoring (SPT) plays a critical role in contemporary software development. Because SPT determines how a software project proceeds, its effectiveness should be…
Abstract
Purpose
Software process tailoring (SPT) plays a critical role in contemporary software development. Because SPT determines how a software project proceeds, its effectiveness should be investigated. Specifically, SPT is a collaborative yet highly conflictual process, and the existing literature has paid little or no attention to how team members coordinate and to how power distance (PD) influences coordination under this conflictual situation for the purpose of fostering SPT effectiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
A propositional research method is utilized by reviewing the extant literature regarding SPT, team coordination and PD. Accordingly, several propositions are developed to theorize the contributive and moderating effects of team coordinative capabilities and PD on SPT effectiveness.
Findings
This study advances the understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the four distinct coordination capabilities in performing SPT, which will help software firms comprehend the moderating effects of PD on the relationships among coordinative capabilities and SPT effectiveness.
Originality/value
This study extends coordination theory and reveals four coordination capabilities that nurture SPT effectiveness. Moreover, this study demonstrates how power plays a role in the coordination of a team through the collaborative yet divergent SPT decision process to yield an integrative tailoring solution. In particular, we take a fresh viewpoint of PD considering the member-member relationship in exploring its moderating effects in the SPT context.
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Mahdi Salehi and Fatemeh Norouzi
This study aims to assess the effect of corporate lobbying power on fraud and money laundering in listed firms on the Tehran Stock Exchange. For the study, the information of 173…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to assess the effect of corporate lobbying power on fraud and money laundering in listed firms on the Tehran Stock Exchange. For the study, the information of 173 firms is assessed during 2013–2020, and a total number of 1,384 year-companies are analysed.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, the Beneish model is used for fraud detection, and the clause of the auditor’s report on money laundering is used for the variable of money laundering. The multivariate regression, Logistic regression, the fixed effects of panel data, additional random effects tests, Hausman, least generalised squares and T + 1 are used by using the Stata Software.
Findings
The obtained results indicate a direct and significant relationship between lobbying and fraud and lobbying and money laundering. Suppose the board members of firms are among the parliament members or the government cabinet (politicians) and/or major shareholders affiliated with state-owned and/or quasi-governmental institutions. In that case, the likelihood of corporate lobbying will be increased.
Originality/value
The outcomes of the current study give great insight to developing countries due to the high volume of money laundering to reduce such a financial crime.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents of consumers’ attitude towards, and intention to commit, digital piracy in Indonesia, a country with the world’s fourth…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents of consumers’ attitude towards, and intention to commit, digital piracy in Indonesia, a country with the world’s fourth largest population and one of the highest digital piracy rates. This study explored the effects of six variables derived from the theory of planned behaviour, ethics theory, and deterrence theory on young consumers in Indonesia.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a convenience sampling approach, researchers hand delivered 400 questionnaires to undergraduate students at one large private university and one major public university in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Findings
The results showed that consumers’ intention to pirate digital products was strongly influenced by consumers’ attitude towards digital piracy. Interestingly, fear of legal consequences and perceived likelihood of punishment were not significant predictors of consumers’ attitude towards digital piracy. This suggests that the principles of deterrence theory have a limited impact on consumers’ attitudes in Indonesia.
Originality/value
The results of this study will provide some insights to government and digital industries on how to reduce the prevalence of digital piracy.
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Hongyi Mao, Shan Liu, Jinlong Zhang, Yajun Zhang and Yeming Gong
Scholars have examined the possible relationship between information technology (IT) and organizational agility. Although the general-level effect of IT is undisputed, empirical…
Abstract
Purpose
Scholars have examined the possible relationship between information technology (IT) and organizational agility. Although the general-level effect of IT is undisputed, empirical research on how different types of IT contribute to various aspects of organizational agility remains scarce. Therefore, this study aims to propose an integrated framework of internal capability and external environment to address this research gap.
Design/methodology/approach
This study investigates the potential mediating effects of absorptive capacity and the moderating effects of information intensity in the IT‒agility relationship. With a dataset comprising 165 organizations in China, this work provides empirical evidence that the effects of absorptive capacity and information intensity are multifaceted and nuanced, thereby revealing the latent mechanisms of IT competency and organizational agility.
Findings
Absorptive capacity partially mediates the effects of IT knowledge and IT operations on market capitalizing agility and fully mediates their effects on operational adjustment agility. However, no direct or indirect effects of IT objects are found on both types of organizational agility. Information intensity also positively moderates the effects of IT operations and IT objects on absorptive capacity. However, no significant moderation is found with regard to IT operations.
Originality/value
This study provides novel insights by demonstrating clearly the different mediating roles of absorptive capacity in the relationship among various types of IT competency and diverse aspects of organizational agility. This work also underscores the moderating role of information intensity in shaping absorptive capacity through IT competency.
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Mohammed A. Alam, Michael H. Azarian, Michael Osterman and Michael Pecht
The purpose of this paper is to present an analytical approach to find the reduction in the required number of surface mount capacitors by the use of embedded capacitors in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present an analytical approach to find the reduction in the required number of surface mount capacitors by the use of embedded capacitors in decoupling applications.
Design/methodology/approach
The analytical model used to perform decoupling is cavity model from theory of microstrip antenna and N‐port impedance matrix. The methodology involves addition of decoupling capacitors between the power and the ground plane such that the impedance between ports on the power‐ground plane becomes lower than the target impedance at that frequency. A case study is presented in which a 0.3 m×0.3 m power‐ground plane is decoupled by using various combinations of surface mount capacitors and embedded capacitors in the frequency range of 0.001‐1 GHz and at a target impedance of 0.1, 0.01, and 0.001 Ω. The total number of surface mount capacitors are compared in each case.
Findings
Use of embedded planar capacitors with a thin dielectric (about 8 mm) dampened board resonances at high frequency, as compared to a thick dielectric. Embedded capacitors are found to reduce the number of surface mount capacitors when the target impedance is low and the operating frequency is high.
Research limitations/implications
The methodology discusses in this paper is applicable to a simplified power‐ground plane (which has no cut‐outs and is rectangular in shape) as compared to actual digital circuits.
Originality/value
This methodology can be used as a quick preliminary tool to evaluate the decrease in the number of surface mount capacitors (by the use of embedded capacitors) as compared to complex and time consuming electromagnetic solvers.
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Yi-Hsin Lin, Wenqing Han, Chan Joong Kim, Li Jiang and Nini Xia
The purpose of this paper is to verify the mediating role of commitment between market-oriented organizational culture and international market performance, and to discuss the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to verify the mediating role of commitment between market-oriented organizational culture and international market performance, and to discuss the moderator effect of national institutional environment on this mediating role.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design follows a mixed methodology, combining qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. In the first phase, research hypotheses are proposed based on a literature analysis. In the second phase, sample data are collected through interviews and questionnaires sent to domestic contractors in China and South Korea, and a validity analysis of the results is carried out. Correlation and regression analyses are then performed on the valid data to verify hypotheses to prove the existence and influence of mediating effects. Hayes PROCESS Macro is used on the regression results to test the mediating effect of commitment on international project performance and the moderation effect of institutional environment.
Findings
The results reveal that the commitment between partners has a mediating effect on the relationship between market culture and international project performance; however, no hierarchy culture is revealed. The mediating effect of commitment is regulated by the institutional environment.
Research limitations/implications
Although the reliability and validity of the questionnaire data in this study are in line with research standards, a larger sample size would improve the reliability of the results. Further, the interviewed samples are mainly from China and South Korea; large representative samples from additional countries, such as Japan, should be considered to gain a fuller understanding and more comprehensive results.
Originality/value
By emphasizing the differences between the two institutional environments of developing and developed countries in East Asia, a theoretical and empirical basis is provided. International construction enterprises in other countries can apply the findings to improve their international market performance in different institutional environments. The findings also provide an empirical reference that international construction enterprises in China and South Korea may use to adjust their organizational cultures and commitments to improve market performance.