Business Commons^™

Southeast Asian International Firms And Their Strategies, Ah Ba Sim

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

No abstract provided.

Empirical Analysis Of The Uae Stock Market Volatility, Sami Khedhiri, Naeem Muhammad

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Financial market volatility of developed economies have been studied extensively since the 1987 stock market crash as well as the volatility of the East Asian stock markets after the East Asian financial crisis. However the volatility characteristics of the financial markets in the Middle East are far from being thoroughly analysed despite their tremendous growth in recent years. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we investigate the volatility characteristics of the UAE stock markets measured by fat tail, volatility clustering, and leverage effects, in order to explore a parsimonious model for the UAE stock market and predict its …

The Influence Of Perceived Credibility On Preferences For Recommender Systems As Sources Of Advice, Kyung Hyan Yoo, Ulrike Gretzel

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Recommender systems promise to support travelers in complex decision-making processes; however, whether a recommendation is seen as credible advice and actually taken into account not only depends on travelers' perceptions of the recommendation but also of the system as the advice giver. A scale to measure recommender system credibility was developed and tested. The results confirm that credibility has two dimensions: expertise and trustworthiness. Further, significant gender differences in credibility perceptions were found. The findings also indicate that respondents prefer humans as recommendation sources and that this preference is influenced by perceptions of lack of credibility of recommender systems as …

Enhancing Occupational Health And Safety In Young Workers: The Role Of Social Marketing, Anne M. Lavack, Sherry Magnuson, Sameer Deshpande, Debra Z. Basil, Michael D. Basil, James H. Mintz

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

• Young workers (age 15-24) suffer work-related injury at a much higher rate than older workers, yet research on the role and effectiveness of social marketing to influence and improve workplace safety is limited.
• A review of the relevant literature reveals that significant gaps exist in terms of effectively using social marketing to reduce young worker injury rates.
• A comprehensive, multi-faceted social marketing approach is required to address young worker safety.
• Directing more attention toward the practice of social marketing can enhance the effectiveness of campaigns to reduce workplace injurie.

Simulating Information Exchanges In Order To Investigate The Utility Of Public Health Websites, Kholoud Alkayid, Helen M. Hasan, Joseph A. Meloche

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper explores the nature of communication and information flows in critical medicalenvironments to inform the design of public website support. Results are presented of a study ofcommunication in Intensive Care Units (ICU), where data was collected from the website owners,public users of the site and ICU clinicians who traditionally find communication with families ofpatients difficult. The paper presents the results of this research aimed at understanding the situationand needs of potential website users. The study has provided a greater understanding of howinformation technologies can help to resolve problems that arise with the ad-hoc, face-to-facecommunication that currently occurs in this …

The Impact Of Knowledge Management Infrastructure On Organisational Competitiveness In A Confucian-Socialist Market Economy, Thi Nguyet Q. Nguyen, Philip A. Neck, Thanh Hai Nguyen

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The critical role of knowledge management (KM) in achieving and sustaining a competitive advantage (CA) has been strongly emphasised in the extant literature. However, most previous studies were conceptually grounded and empirically examined in advanced, developed and newly industrialised countries and from a large company perspective. Meanwhile, little attempt has been made to address the relative importance of different factors constituting the organisational KM infrastructure capability in the context of Asian emerging, less developed countries such as Vietnam where a socialist market economy, a Confucian culture and a majority of small and medium sized enterprises currently exist. By adopting a …

Approaches And Perspectives In The Studies Of China's Urban Poverty, Zhiming Cheng

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The paper reviews some research on urban poverty in China. This topic began to attract academic attention in mid- 1990s. In the marketization, the old socialist system in China, which included full employment and comprehensive social welfare for urban citizens, has been replaced by an emerging labor market and a socialized and partially privatized social security. The time lag between the old and establishing systems has thrown a large number of retrenched state workers and migrant workers into poverty and then concentrated the poor in particular areas or communities of city. There is impressive progress on identifying and measuring poverty, …

Identity-Based On-Line/Off-Line Signcryption, Dongdong Sun, Xinyi Huang, Yi Mu, Willy Susilo

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

We present an identity-based on-line/off-line signcryption scheme, where most of computations are carried out when the message is not available(i.e., off-line stage) and the on-line part of our scheme does not require any exponent computations and therefore is very efficient. It combines the functionalities of signature and encryption and is provably secure in the random oracle model. We also show that our scheme is indistinguishable against adaptive chosen-ciphertext attacks (IND-IDSC-CCA2) and is existentially unforgeable against adaptive chosen-message attacks (EF-IDSC-ACMA).

Belassa-Samuelson Effect Approaching Fifty Years: Is It Retiring Early In Australia?, Muhammad K. Chowdhury

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper tests empiricaly the Balassa-Samuelson (BS) hypothesis using annual data for Australia. We applied the ARDL cointegration technique developed by Perasan et al. (2001) and found evidence of a significant long-run relationship between real exchange rate and Australia-US productivity differential during the period of 1950-2003. We found that a one per cent increase in labour productivity in Australia relative to the US will lead to 5.6 per cent appreciation in the real exchange rate of Australia. We suspect that the elasticity coefficient is "ever-estimated" due to the exclusion of relevant explanatory variables. The dynamics and the determinants of the …

Optimising User Acceptance Of Mandated Mobile Health Systems (Mhs): The Epoc (Electronic Point-Of-Care) Project Experience, Lois Burgess, Joan Cooper, Jason P. Sargent

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

From a clinical perspective, the use of mobile technologies such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) within hospital environments is not new. A paradigm shift however, is underway towards the acceptance and utility of such systems within community-based healthcare environments. Notwithstanding, introducing new technologies and associated work practices has intrinsic risks which must be addressed. In situations where end-users of a system are traditionally averse to technology through entrenched paper-based work practices (for example, community health workers), the process of managing change bears considerable determination in system implementation success. The authors propose a novel approach to end user acceptance within the …

Environment-Friendly Tourists: What Do We Really Know About Them?, Sara Dolnicar, Geoffrey I. Crouch, Patrick Long

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Sustainable tourism and ecotourism have now been researched in depth for some years. This paper highlights that researchers still have only a limited understanding of what tourist behaviour can be considered as sustainable, and little consensus about who environment-friendly tourists (EFTs) actually are. This study reviews theoretical and empirical studies by tourism researchers, and explores work done on environment-friendly behaviour in other disciplines. Results indicate that operationalisations of EFTs are inconsistent and, at times, do not ensure that EFTs are actually studied, thus jeopardising the quality of cumulative knowledge on this critical issue. There is little insight into who EFTs …

Ethical Ideologies Of Senior Australian Managers: An Empirical Study, Mario Fernando, S. Dharmage, Shamika Almeida

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Forsyth’s (1980) Ethics Position Questionnaire and Hunt et al.’s (1989) Corporate Ethical Value Questionnaire are used to examine the ethical ideologies of senior managers from organizations listed in the Australian Stock Exchange. The results indicate how corporate ethical values, religion, gender and age are related to the idealism and relativism of senior Australian managers. After discussing the results, limitations of the study are offered. Finally, managerial implications are provided and recommendations for future research are given.

Lean Supply Chains, Jit And Cellular Manufacturing – The Human Side, I. Alony, M. Jones

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Lean manufacturing has been widely adopted by many production companies. Apart from the operational difficulty associated with conversion from a traditional, functional based operation, adoption of Lean manufacturing involves significant organizational transformations. It requires formation of work teams, comprised of multi-skilled workers. The work teams are preferably self directed and need to continuously improve performance and production processes. Such changes can be challenging for organizations. This paper reviews studies of human related and organizational factors in the context of Lean manufacturing, and identifies gaps in research in this area. The paper presents the principles of lean manufacturing, the organizational shifts …

The Effect Of Funding Changes On Public Sector Nonprofit Organizations: The Case Of Bushcare Nsw, Katie Cliff, H. J. Irvine, Sara Dolnicar

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Research into nonprofit organizations abounds, but not much is known about public sector nonprofit organizations. Recent funding incentives in Australia have led to significant changes in the market environment for such organizations. This study describes these market changes and explores the reactions of one environmental public sector nonprofit organization, Bushcare NSW, to these changes. This paper contends that, within this institutional environment, nonprofit organizations more successful in attracting large amounts of external funding have better administrative structures in place, whereas those less successful find themselves confronted with burdensome administrative duties. Neo-institutional theory provides a theoretical basis for this empirical investigation. …

Are Green Tourists A Managerially Useful Target Segment?, Sara Dolnicar, K. Matus

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Environmental sustainability in tourism has received significant attention among destination managers and researchers alike. Yet the range of measures proposed to reduce the environmental footprint of tourists at a destination remains limited to measures taken at the destination, as opposed to marketing measures which aim to attract truly green tourists. The potential of using green tourist as a market segment, however, has not been established to date.
We review published profiles of green tourists and assess the managerial usefulness of this segment using theoretical criteria of segment attractiveness. Results indicate that much is known about the distinctive characteristics of green …

People And Process: Making Sense Of Change Management, Patrick M. Dawson

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper is about the ways that we seek to manage, steer, resist and make sense of change. It views change as a fluid process that may take unexpected turns. In clarifying what we mean by change and challenging linear stage models, a more dynamic perspective is advocated. A short case study is used to highlight the political aspects of change and to raise critical awareness of some of the key issues that can arise. The paper concludes with some practical guidelines arguing that it is the processual nature of change that makes it both a difficult yet fascinating area …

Order Effects In Batteries Of Questions, Peter M. Siminski

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Batteries of questions with identical response items are commonly used in survey research. This paper suggests that question order has the potential to cause systematic positive or negative bias on responses to all questions in a battery. Whilst question order effects have been studied for many decades, almost no attention has been given to this topic. The primary aim is to draw attention to this effect, to demonstrate its possible magnitude, and to discuss a range of mechanisms through which it might occur. These include satisficing, anchoring and cooperativeness. The effect seems apparent in the results of a recent survey. …

Trends In Primary Care Presentations At Emergency Departments In New South Wales (1999-2006), Peter M. Siminski, Andrew J. Bezzina, L. P. Lago, Kathy Eagar

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper examines trends in potential ‘primary care’ presentations at EDs, comparing these with other ED presentations and to primary care attendances in the community.
Methods
The study draws on EDIS data (Emergency Department Information System), which at December 2005 covered 76 per cent of attendances in New South Wales, and MBS data from Medicare Australia. Annual counts of potential ‘primary care’ presentations to EDs are compared with those of other ED presentations and to primary care presentations in the community. Changes in the percentage of ED presentations that are potentially for primary care are examined, as are changes in …

Motivating Factors Associated With Adult Participation In Distance Learning Program, Muhammad Madi Bin Abdullah, B. Parasuraman, B. Muniapan, S. Koren, M. Jones

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Gaining and understanding of the motivation which drives adults to commit to, and complete, higher education through distance learning is an important requirement for the design and the delivery of adult programs for educational institutions in Malaysia and abroad. Through an in-depth empirical examination, this paper provides the insight of one individual and his commitment to, and motivation to complete a Masters program through distance learning. The paper supports the empirical findings with a theoretical overview, discussing contemporary research in the field of adult education. Various factors that relate to adult participation in distance learning program are discussed in this …

Intellectual Capital Disclosure Trends: Singapore And Sri Lanka, Indra Abeysekera

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Purpose - This paper investigates the intellectual capital disclosure trends and disclosure category differences of top 20 listed firms in a developing nation, Sri Lanka, and moderately developed nation, Singapore. The aim of this study is to highlight the differences in IC disclosure practice between developing and developed nations.

Design/methodology/approach - The study investigates the top 20 firms by market capitalization listed on the Colombo stock exchange in 1998 to 2000. Using the content analysis method, it reviews the annual reports of these firms to determine intellectual capital disclosure trends in Sri Lanka. It then compares these findings with a …

Accounting Meets Politics: Theoretical Interpretation Of Key Events (1940 To 2003) Of The Accounting Profession In Australia, Indra Abeysekera

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper examines some key developments in the Australian accounting profession and the changing nature of the authoritative influence of that profession on accounting and auditing activities. The purpose of this investigation is to demonstrate the shift in power between the political constituent (the government) and the accounting profession. The paper attempts to demonstrate how the corporatist view can help us understand the social nature of accounting and how the accounting profession can gain a greater awareness of this reality. Finally, the paper questions whether the accounting profession in Australia has entered an episode of liberal ideals imposed by the …

Preferred Learning Methods: Comparisons Between International And Domestic Accounting Students, Indra Abeysekera

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This study provides a comparison between the preferred learning modes (traditional, interactive, group case-based lectures) of international and domestic students undertaking a new undergraduate accounting topic at an Australian university. A Likert-scale survey questionnaire was used to determine the differences and similarities between the two groups. When the results are analysed using the Hofstede model of societal cultural dimensions, they indicate significant differences between the two groups of students with regard to their preferences for formal versus interactive and group case-based lectures. The paper provides a discussion of the implications of these findings for teaching methods, assessment and curriculum development.

Challenging “Factor Cluster Segmentation”, Sara Dolnicar, Bettina Grun

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The concept of market segmentation has been widely accepted and warmly embraced both by tourism industry and academia. In tourism research, this increased interest in segmentation studies has led to the emergence of a standard research approach. Most notably a concept referred to as “Factor Cluster Segmentation” has been broadly adopted. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that this approach is not generally the best procedure to identify homogeneous groups of individuals (market segments).

Do Australian Investment And Savings Behave Procyclically?, Arusha V. Cooray, B. Felmingham

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This study uses spectral analysis to examine the behaviour of Australian savings and investment and their synchronisation with the business cycle over the period September 1959 to December 2005. The results reveal that the major cyclical components of savings and investment cohere strongly. Further, savings coheres strongly with the business cycle suggesting that Australian savings is procyclical. Investment also exhibits a procyclical pattern although the evidence of this is weaker

A Model Of Inflation For Sri Lanka, Arusha V. Cooray

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper uses two models: an open economy model and a closed economy model to estimate a price equation for Sri Lanka. The results suggest greater support for the open economy model. Consistent with previous studies for Sri Lanka, supply side factors appear to be important in influencing the general price level in Sri Lanka.

Are Australia's Savings And Investment Fractionally Cointegrated?, Arusha V. Cooray, B. Felmingham

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper uses an Autoregressive Fractionally Integrated Moving Average (ARFIMA) process to determine if Australia’s savings and investment are fractionally cointegrated. The study finds the two series to be fractionally cointegrated implying that deviations from equilibrium are persistent.

Back To The Future For Km: The Case For Sensible Organisation, Helen M. Hasan

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

There are many times in our brave new web-based world that we seem to have lost the art of making common sense decisions and judgements. The current organisational environment begs an agenda for KM that rediscovers values from the past, fulfilling the promise of ‘sensible organisation’. In research over the past eight years, a great team of colleagues and I have explored various factors that contribute to the creation of intellectual, social and emotional capital in enterprises and communities, reinforcing our position that most innovative work involving new knowledge creation takes place in cooperative, self-directed teams. The proposed concept ‘sensible …