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Full-Text Articles in Business

Environmentally Friendly Behavior - Can Heterogeneity Among Individuals And Contexts/Environments Be Harvested For Improved Sustainable Management?, Sara Dolnicar, Bettina Grun Jan 2009

Environmentally Friendly Behavior - Can Heterogeneity Among Individuals And Contexts/Environments Be Harvested For Improved Sustainable Management?, Sara Dolnicar, Bettina Grun

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The study of behavior with environmental consequences (recycling, water conservation, etc.) has received significant attention from social scientists over the past few decades. However, few studies have closely examined the systematic heterogeneity of behavior with environmental consequences. This study tests two specific hypotheses about such heterogeneity: that individuals differ systematically in their patterns of behavior with environmental consequences and that behavioral patterns systematically differ between context/environments. Both hypotheses are investigated empirically in the home and vacation environment. Results support the assumption that systematic differences in behavioral patterns exist across individuals. With respect to context/environment dependence, some groups of individuals do …


The Integration Of Balanced Scorecard Models, Carol J. Mcnair-Connolly, Ted Watts Jan 2009

The Integration Of Balanced Scorecard Models, Carol J. Mcnair-Connolly, Ted Watts

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The entire focus of any balanced scorecard model (BSM) is to ensure that a wide range of events and outcomes are captured in ways useful to decision makers. An important question arises - which decision maker? And, equally important, must this decision maker be intimately familiar with a supposed organizational strategy in order to succeed? The answer to the first question helps us sort the BSMs into subgroups; the answer to the second question suggests that strategy may be as simple as the will of an organization and its members to survive to fight one more day. Building on the …


Back-Translation: The Latest Form Of Plagiarism, Michael Jones Jan 2009

Back-Translation: The Latest Form Of Plagiarism, Michael Jones

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper addresses the continuing problem of plagiarism which, as a form of academic misconduct, has plagued pedagogy for generations. Little has changed in the way students employ the various methods of plagiarism, until now. Traditionally, detection technologies have kept pace with the technologies students use to cheat. However, the technologies students can harness to assist them in plagiarising have now leapt forward another generation, making the detection of plagiarism very difficult. Further, it seems unlikely that technology can advance to a state sufficient to bridge the gap. This new method of plagiarism utilises the intercultural technique of back-translation. This …


Ranking And Clustering Of The Faculties Of Commerce Research Performance In Australia, Simon Ville, Abbas Valadkhani Jan 2009

Ranking And Clustering Of The Faculties Of Commerce Research Performance In Australia, Simon Ville, Abbas Valadkhani

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

There is a growing policy focus in Australian higher education on quantitative research performance assessment. However, most of the analysis has addressed aggregate performance at the institutional level, an approach inconsistent with recent policy emphasis on diversity among universities and one that ignores performance variations across disciplines. Using averaged and all available data for 2000-2004, cluster analysis is used to classify Australian Commerce Faculties into groups that exhibit similar research performance, measured by publication, PhD completion and secured competitive research grant funding. We also use factor analysis to generate full-multidimensional rankings within the resulting two or three clusters. It is …


From Traditional Knowledge Management In Hierarchical Organizations To A Network Centric Paradigm For A Changing World, Kate Crawford, Helen M. Hasan, Leoni Warne, Henry Linger Jan 2009

From Traditional Knowledge Management In Hierarchical Organizations To A Network Centric Paradigm For A Changing World, Kate Crawford, Helen M. Hasan, Leoni Warne, Henry Linger

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

At the beginning of the 21st century, all organizations need to address the continually changing social and economic landscape in which they operate. In this landscape organizations need to be responsive, flexible and agile and acquire the capability to leverage information and use collective knowledge to make appropriate decisions quickly and effectively. The practice of knowledge management allows knowledge workers to participate in dynamic processes that generate and use collective knowledge. However the complexity that arises from a continually changing global environment highlights the need for knowledge management to move in new directions both in practice and theory. This paper …


Innovative Workplace Change: Social Well-Being And Health, Patrick M. Dawson, Michael Zanko Jan 2009

Innovative Workplace Change: Social Well-Being And Health, Patrick M. Dawson, Michael Zanko

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Since the industrial revolution a chief concern of business organizations has been how best to organise work to maximise productivity and minimise costs. Securing and maintaining competitive advantage through new methods of work organization and systems of operation have largely centred around commercial and financial concerns rather than on the well-being of employees. Issues of occupational health and safety (OHS) have arisen in a range of working environments and legislative change has sought to ensure that safe and secure working conditions are a mandatory requirement of modern business. However, implementation of these mandates generally rests with management and whilst procedural …


The Use Of Computer Supported Analysis For Interview Data: A Cross-Cultural Example From The Electronic Gaming Industry, June Buchanan, Michael L. Jones Jan 2009

The Use Of Computer Supported Analysis For Interview Data: A Cross-Cultural Example From The Electronic Gaming Industry, June Buchanan, Michael L. Jones

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Computer assisted analysis has long been a major factor of quantitative analysis. This paper illustrates the use of computer assisted analysis for qualitative research, looking specifically at research in the Electronic Gaming Industry, across two country sectors – New South Wales, Australia and Nevada, USA, where empirical data are collected and analysed. The paper highlights the important place that computer assisted analysis holds in social and societal marketing. A detailed discussion explains how analysis was undertaken in the Electronic Gaming Industry, and how concepts and theory emerged. This paper discusses the qualitative approach used in this research. In particular, it …


Are Inertia And Calculative Commitment Distinct Constructs? An Indirect Test In The Financial Services Sector, Venkata K. Yanamandram, Lesley White Jan 2009

Are Inertia And Calculative Commitment Distinct Constructs? An Indirect Test In The Financial Services Sector, Venkata K. Yanamandram, Lesley White

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Both inert and calculatively committed customers express somewhat similar behaviours that include repeat purchasing despite having negative perceptions and associating in opportunistic behaviours. These characteristics have however resulted in some researchers conceptualising interchangeably the related yet distinct constructs. This paper aims to extend the knowledge on inertia and calculative commitment by examining the extent to which they are distinct. An analysis of data collected online from 376 businesses using a key informant approach indicate that these two constructs demonstrate discriminant validity. Whilst switching costs impact both inertia and calculative commitment, they have differential effects. The implications of these findings are …


Managerial Ownership, Capital Structure And Firm Value, Wenjuan Ruan, Gary G. Tian, Shiguang Ma Jan 2009

Managerial Ownership, Capital Structure And Firm Value, Wenjuan Ruan, Gary G. Tian, Shiguang Ma

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper extends prior research to examine the managerial ownership influences on firm performance through the choices of capital structures by using a new sample of S&P 500 firm in 2005. The empirical results of OLS regressions replicate the nonlinear relationship between managerial ownership and firm value. However, we found that the turning points had moved up in our sample compared with previous papers, which implies that the managerial control for pursuing self-interest, and the alignment of interests between managers and other shareholders can only be achieved now by management holding more ownership in a firm than that found in …


How Does The Presenter's Physical Attractiveness Persuade? A Test Of Alternative Explanations, Sandra Praxmarer, John R. Rossiter Jan 2009

How Does The Presenter's Physical Attractiveness Persuade? A Test Of Alternative Explanations, Sandra Praxmarer, John R. Rossiter

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This study was conducted to test alternative explanations for the powerful positive effect of the presenter’s facial attractiveness on persuasion found by Patzer (1985). The explanations tested are: (a) a “conscious Patzer effect” whereby the attractiveness of the presenter prompts conscious cognitive-response inferences about the presenter’s expertise and trustworthiness; (b) a “subconscious Patzer effect” whereby attractiveness persuades via beliefs about the presenter’s expertise and trustworthiness but without conscious cognitive responses; (c) an “affect transfer effect” whereby attractiveness increases liking of the presenter which in turn transfers to a more favorable attitude toward the brand; and (d) a “role-model identification effect” …


The Smoothing Of Reported Corporate Earnings Through Target Setting: Acceptable Practice Or Shareholder Deception?, John Hillier, Michael Mccrae Jan 2009

The Smoothing Of Reported Corporate Earnings Through Target Setting: Acceptable Practice Or Shareholder Deception?, John Hillier, Michael Mccrae

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The setting of earnings targets is frequently used by corporate managers to reduce the volatility of reported earnings over successive periods. The practice exemplifies the more informal or ad hoc category of income smoothing approaches. This paper investigates the volatility reduction potential of target setting relative to the underlying (but unobservable) income stream. The analysis uses a simulation approach based on a statistical model of accounting measurement that treats periodic earnings reports as successive samples drawn from the underlying earnings generation process. The results indicate substantial reductions in earnings volatility that are remarkably resilient to inaccuracies in targets and increase …


Leadership Styles And Company Performance: The Experience Of Owner-Managers Of Smes, Palli Mulla K A Chandrakumara, Anura De Zoysa, Athula S. Manawaduge Jan 2009

Leadership Styles And Company Performance: The Experience Of Owner-Managers Of Smes, Palli Mulla K A Chandrakumara, Anura De Zoysa, Athula S. Manawaduge

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Leadership styles of owner-managers were explored in the context of a developingcountry in South Asia with a view to examining their impact on financial performanceof SMEs. It was justified that the study has both theoretical and contextualsignificance. Data were collected from 204 companies in Sri Lanka by adopting mixedmethodologies that consisted of both qualitative and qualitative approaches.Descriptive statistics and correlation coefficient were used in the analysis. The findingsrevealed that the existence of three main leadership styles in the sample, namely;entrepreneurial, managerial, and mix of both entrepreneurial and managerialleaderships. The analysis indicated that 60 percent of firms had increased financialperformance, while …


Conventions Held By Associations: A Case Study Of Buyers And Suppliers In An Emerging Conference Destination, Monica Millar, Gregory M. Kerr Jan 2009

Conventions Held By Associations: A Case Study Of Buyers And Suppliers In An Emerging Conference Destination, Monica Millar, Gregory M. Kerr

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Conventions constitute one of the fastest growing segments of business tourism, with association conventions being an important sub-segment. Associations are membership-based organisations centred on a business specialisation or common interest. Many destinations have been pursing this segment to host some of the hundreds of conventions held annually by associations. Greater knowledge of associations on the part of location marketers and managers of the relevant businesses contained within the location will improve decision making and most likely lead to more opportunities. This study examines the case of the City of Wollongong, which is attempting to obtain a greater market share of …


Rational Exercising: A Lifetime Choice With A Link Between Health And Happiness, Amnon Levy Jan 2009

Rational Exercising: A Lifetime Choice With A Link Between Health And Happiness, Amnon Levy

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper deals with a widespread type of investment in personal health that is not adequately explained by the economic literature. The analysis of people’s choice of intensity of engagement in health enhancing activities is made within an integrative, stochastic, micro-dynamic optimisation framework in which people’s utility is accumulated along a health-dependent random lifespan with direct and indirect mutual effects among exercise, health, consumption, utility, happiness, productivity and survival. Distinction is made between exercise’s length and exercise’s vigour in analysing the effect of exercising on health and rest. A link between health and utility is introduced: health improves (declines) as …


Ceo Pay-Performance And Board Independence: The Impact Of Earnings Management In China, Yuqing Zhu, Gary G. Tian Jan 2009

Ceo Pay-Performance And Board Independence: The Impact Of Earnings Management In China, Yuqing Zhu, Gary G. Tian

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper examines the impact of board characteristics and CEO compensation on firm performance when firm performance is adjusted for the effect of earnings management. Results from regression analysis indicates that the CEO pay-performance relation is substantially lower when firm performance is adjusted for the effect of earnings management than when firm performance is measured as reported performance. That is, the positive effect of executive compensation on firm performance disappears when firm performance is measured as adjusted firm performance excluding earnings management in Chinese listed firms, and as a result, we can identify that the evident executive pay-performance relation is …


A Marketing Perspective On Choice Factors Considered By South African First-Year Students In Selecting A Higher Education Institution, Melanie Wiese, C H Van Heerden, Yolanda Jordaan, E North Jan 2009

A Marketing Perspective On Choice Factors Considered By South African First-Year Students In Selecting A Higher Education Institution, Melanie Wiese, C H Van Heerden, Yolanda Jordaan, E North

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The unstable and turbulent environment in which higher education institutions all over the world currently have to operate poses many management and marketing challenges to such institutions. As non-profit organisations, the ability of higher education institutions to survive and grow would be enhanced by up-to-date knowledge and information regarding the higher education environment, and more specifically by having marketing and communication strategies that might influence students making decisions on which university to enrol at. The main goal of this study was to investigate the relevant importance of the choice factors that prospective students considered, as well as the sources of …


The Turmoil In The Markets For Mis And Ais - A Labor Process Study, Fahrettin Okcabol, George M. Mickhail, Aida Sy, Tony Tinker Jan 2009

The Turmoil In The Markets For Mis And Ais - A Labor Process Study, Fahrettin Okcabol, George M. Mickhail, Aida Sy, Tony Tinker

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

With growing flux in MIS and AIS employment, there is increasing number of questions about the impact and direction of this technology. As far back as 1993, economic surveys consistently showed that the 1993 U.S. economic recovery was the first where white collar employment failed to bounce back (Cooper and Madigan, 1993A; Ehrear, 1993; Farrell et. al., 1993; Mandel and Farrell, 1993.) In the U.S, between March 1991 and April 1993, production jobs rose by 823,000, but white collar payrolls--managerial and administrative positions--fell by 290,000. Even after two years of expansion, non-farm jobs were still below their pre-recession level (Cooper …


Household, Private And Public Savings And Investment, Foreign Capital Inflows And Gdp Growth In India With Structural Breaks 1950-2005, Reetu Verma Jan 2009

Household, Private And Public Savings And Investment, Foreign Capital Inflows And Gdp Growth In India With Structural Breaks 1950-2005, Reetu Verma

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The objective of this paper is to examine the short and the long-run interrelationshipsbetween sectoral savings and investment, foreign capital inflows and their roles in thegrowth process for India for the period 1950 to 2005. This paper uses theAutoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) procedure to test for both the long-run andshort-run effects between the eight variables, along with any endogenously detectedstructural breaks. This is in response to shortcomings relating to previous studies whichpredominantly analyse savings and investment aggregates only, over long time periodswhich contain structural changes, using bivariate estimation techniques, which areshort-run in nature. The analysis firstly tests for the short-run …


Simulation Modelling And Strategic Change: Creating The Sustainable Enterprise, Patrick M. Dawson, Trevor A. Spedding Jan 2009

Simulation Modelling And Strategic Change: Creating The Sustainable Enterprise, Patrick M. Dawson, Trevor A. Spedding

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper highlights the benefits of using discrete event simulation models for developing change management frameworks which facilitate productivity and environmental improvements in order to create a sustainable enterprise. There is an increasing need for organisations to be more socially and environmentally responsible, however these objectives cannot be realised in isolation of the strategic, operations and business objectives of the enterprise. Discrete Event Simulation models facilitate a multidimensional approach to enterprise modelling which can integrate operations and strategic considerations with environmental and social issues. Moreover these models can provide a dynamic roadmap for implementing a change strategy for realising the …


Diversity Management In Australia And Its Impact On Employee Engagement, Pat Skalsky, Grace Mccarthy Jan 2009

Diversity Management In Australia And Its Impact On Employee Engagement, Pat Skalsky, Grace Mccarthy

Sydney Business School - Papers

Diversity, defined as differences relating to gender, ethnicity, age, religion, sexual orientation, physical ability or any other source of difference can have a major impact on employee engagement. In this article, the authors examine the results of a recent survey and uncover how diversity is managed in Australia.


Foreign Debt, Trade Openness, Labor Force And Economic Growth: Evidence From Sri Lanka, Ramesh Chandra Paudel, Nelson Perera Jan 2009

Foreign Debt, Trade Openness, Labor Force And Economic Growth: Evidence From Sri Lanka, Ramesh Chandra Paudel, Nelson Perera

Sydney Business School - Papers

This study examines the role of foreign debt, trade openness and labor force in the economic growth of Sri Lanka, by employing the Johansen maximum likelihood approach of cointegration. It analyzes the data for the period, 1950-2006. The study finds that there is a cointegration relationship between economic growth and foreign debt, trade openness and labor force. Further the results suggest that in the long run, labor force, trade openness and foreign debt have a positive impact on economic growth of Sri Lanka.


Understanding The Impact Of Environmental Uncertainty On Efficiency Performance Indicator Of Thai Rice Millers, Phatcharee Thongrattana, Ferry Jie, Nelson Perera Jan 2009

Understanding The Impact Of Environmental Uncertainty On Efficiency Performance Indicator Of Thai Rice Millers, Phatcharee Thongrattana, Ferry Jie, Nelson Perera

Sydney Business School - Papers

The purpose ofthis paper is to investigate seven uncertain factors (supply, demand, process, planning and control, competitors' action, climate condition and Thai government policy uncertainty) affecting on efficiency of Thai rice millers. The conceptual framework for this study is developed based on literatures in the environmental uncertainty of agri-food supply chain and its performance field. Efficiency is one important performance indicator in supply chain as well as agribusiness. Therefore, understanding certain uncertain factors influencing on efficiency of Thai rice millers is very crucial to manage them properly, and to obtain sustainable efficiency performance. The findings of this research show that …


Impact Of Individual Characteristics And Cultural Values On Citizenship And Task Performance: Experience Of Non-Academic Employees Of Universities, Anil Chandrakumara, Subashimi Senevirathne Jan 2009

Impact Of Individual Characteristics And Cultural Values On Citizenship And Task Performance: Experience Of Non-Academic Employees Of Universities, Anil Chandrakumara, Subashimi Senevirathne

Sydney Business School - Papers

This study examines the impact of individual characteristics and cultural values on citizenship and task performance (CTP) of non-academic staff members of Sri Lankan universities. Literature review provides conceptual support for the proposed links between individual characteristics, cultural values, and CTP. Survey strategy was adopted and a questionnaire was distributed among 125 employees of five universities. Analysis was based on 72 usable returned questionnaires. ANOVA, correlation and regression analyses were performed in order to examine the proposed impact.


Management Education For Engineers, Peter Gibson, Peter W. Childs Jan 2009

Management Education For Engineers, Peter Gibson, Peter W. Childs

Sydney Business School - Papers

This paper considers some of the contemporary literature on teaching management to engineers. Some ideas are discussed, for future research to be carried out by the authors, aimed at documenting current shortcomings with a view to developing a more effective future strategy for engineering management education


A Literature Analysis On The Supply Chain Operational Capabilities In Malaysian Small And Medium Enterprises (Smes), Siti Zulkiffli Jan 2009

A Literature Analysis On The Supply Chain Operational Capabilities In Malaysian Small And Medium Enterprises (Smes), Siti Zulkiffli

Sydney Business School - Papers

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature to identify factors influencing supply chain operational capabilities (SCOC) of SMEs in Malaysia. This will help to expound on the various operational capabilities in an SME that can be organised, interfaced and managed. Hence, Malaysian SMEs can explore which capabilities may influence to the improvement of business performance. The review of the literature in this paper also attempts to show which capability benefits to the operation activities in Malaysian SMEs should be identified. Finally, further research directions are also be suggested


Identifying Sources Of Perceived Environmental Uncertainty Along Thai Rice Supply Chain, Ferry Jie, Phatcharee Thongrattana Jan 2009

Identifying Sources Of Perceived Environmental Uncertainty Along Thai Rice Supply Chain, Ferry Jie, Phatcharee Thongrattana

Sydney Business School - Papers

Uncertain factors cause to generate any unstable processes along supply chains, and then also reduce supply chain performance. Some sources of uncertainty of agri-food supply chains are distinct from general supply chains such as variable harvest and production yields, and a huge impact of climate conditions. Thus, it is crucial to deeply understand which distinct perceived uncertain factors in agri-food supply chain that can affect to its management and its performance in order to allow agribusiness to deal with these effects properly. The purpose of this study is to discuss the perceived environmental uncertainties in the context of rice supply …


Framework Of Entrepreneurial Orientation And Networking: A Study Of Smes Performance In A Developing Country, Amie Kusumawardhani, Grace Mccarthy, Nelson Perera Jan 2009

Framework Of Entrepreneurial Orientation And Networking: A Study Of Smes Performance In A Developing Country, Amie Kusumawardhani, Grace Mccarthy, Nelson Perera

Sydney Business School - Papers

SMEs with higher levels of Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) have been found to perform better than those, which lack such orientatiol1. The dimensions of EO, namely autonomy, innovativeness, risktaking, proactive, and competitive aggressiveness contribute to firm performance independently. However, these EO dimensions are considered insufficient for the SMEs to enter global markets. Due to their limited resources and lack of knowledge as well as access to foreign markets, SMEs in developing countries (such as in Indonesia) that participate in international business have to possess the capability to establish networks. Networking also provides firms to gain access to resources that they do …


The Case Of Dr Mohamed Haneef: An Australian 'Terrorism Drama' With British Connections, Mark Rix Jan 2009

The Case Of Dr Mohamed Haneef: An Australian 'Terrorism Drama' With British Connections, Mark Rix

Sydney Business School - Papers

This article examines the treatment of Dr Mohamed Haneef, an Indian doctor arrested under Australia‟s anti-terrorism legislation in July 2007 as Australian authorities including the Australian Federal Police, Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, (wrongfully) believed that he was linked to the terrorist attack at Glasgow airport in June 2007. The actions and responses of these two agencies, and the subsequent judicial inquiry are reviewed in the light of the media‟s role and press coverage as the case unfolded.


Reconfiguration Of Operational Relationships Post The Current Global Economic Crisis, Lee Styger Jan 2009

Reconfiguration Of Operational Relationships Post The Current Global Economic Crisis, Lee Styger

Sydney Business School - Papers

It is likely that classical models of strategic alliances may not be applicable moving forward into the new world economy post the current economic crisis. Traditional business models have considered each part of the business process in isolation, typically finance is remote from new product development, product development is remote from supply chain and operations etc. Prior to the economic crisis it was not unusual to see typical traditional silos within an organization never meeting, posing the question that if internal relationships were never fully forged how could a strong external strategic alliance be built and maintained? Furthermore, this silo …


Where Have All The Designers Gone?, Lee Styger Jan 2009

Where Have All The Designers Gone?, Lee Styger

Sydney Business School - Papers

For many years we have heard the call for more design professionals and, importantly, more recognition and certification within the sector. However, the recent global financial crisis has had catastrophic effects on the availability of design resources. Typically, significant downsizing has occurred and design and development professionals have been the first to go. In an effort to save money many companies have adopted a strategy based on extending current product life cycles, as opposed to stimulating depressed markets with new products. Some commentators are suggesting that the downturn has gone as low as it will and the upturn is just …