Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Desalinated Versus Recycled Water — Public Perceptions And Profiles Of The Accepters, Sara Dolnicar, A. I. Schäfer

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Many countries’ water resources are limited in both quantity and quality. While engineering solutions can now safely produce recycled and desalinated water from non-potable sources at a relatively low cost, the general public is sceptical about adopting these alternative water sources. Social scientists need to better understand what is causing this lack of acceptance by the general population and how acceptance levels for recycled and desalinated water can be increased. This study is the first to conduct a comparative analysis of knowledge, perceptions, acceptability, and determine segments of residents who are more open-minded than the general population toward the use …

Predicting Online Travel Purchases: The Case Of Switzerland, Christian Laesser

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper examines why and under what conditions prospective travellers complete theirbookings through online services compared to other methods. The study is based on a representativesurvey within 1,898 Swiss households. The results show that the likelihood of bookingonline increases if someone is drawn to a website to gather information in the first place,and if the product sold through the website is transparent and well-understood (either per se orbecause the customer is familiar with the product), or if any other booking-related communicationwould impose a financial charge, independent of the socio-demographic background ofthe prospective traveller.

Sustainable Tourism Marketing: What Should Be In The Mix?, Alan Pomering, Lester W. Johnson, Gary Noble

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

When tourism marketers consider how they will manage the marketing activities they wish to direct toward a particular target market, they turn to a framework such as the marketing mix. But what should a contemporary tourism marketing mix include? We consider three popular marketing mix approaches to develop a typology of activities that, we argue, should be in the mix for the tourism marketer, given the specific characteristics of tourism product offers. More importantly, we go one step further to consider how this expanded marketing mix might accommodate the imperative of sustainability by cross-referencing the mix elements with the three …

Dubai's Potential As An Integrated Logistics Hub, Cedwyn Fernandes, Gwendolyn Rodrigues

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The objective of this study is to examine the potential of Dubai as an integrated logistics hub, identify gaps and recommend polices accordingly. The key features of an integrated logistic hub are identified. The logistics performance of Dubai is compared to that of the top ranked logistics performing country, Singapore. Gaps that need to be looked into for Dubai to attain a similar status as Singapore are identified. The views of company managers in Dubai with regards to logistics facilities in Dubai are elicited using a survey method and analyzed. The study reveals that Dubai requires further development and investment …

Reframing Occupational Health And Safety Management: A Social Innovation Approach, Patrick M. Dawson, Michael Zanko

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper argues that traditional thinking about occupational health and safety (OHS) issues has limited the development of innovative solutions to improve employee well-being. However, recent interest in social innovation provides an opportunity to rethink approaches to OHS management. We consider the emphasis in industrial production on the push for ever greater performance (and profits), often at the expense of the well-being of employees. Next, we examine social aspects of work and consider the new, emerging concept of social innovation. Finally, we forward a more holistic model of OHS for improving the conditions and well-being of employees. Finally, we call …

Csr Reporting: A Process For Supply Chain Legitimation, Graham D. Bowrey, Michael D. Clements, Bonnie Amelia Dean

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Purpose – This conceptual paper aims to explore the legitimating process of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting in relation to supply chain management. The paper introduces a framework for the holistic evaluation of entire supply chain CSR reporting including the use of social audits.

Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on a review of CSR reporting literature and the role of CSR reporting as a legitimation tool of organisations that operate in distinct supply chains. The theoretical lens of three perspectives of legitimation; structural-functionalist; social constructionist; and hegemonic, are used to assess the drivers behind organisations in a supply chain …

Performance Implication Of Ownership Structure And Ownership Concentration: Evidence From Sri Lankan Firms, Athula S. Manawaduge, Anura De Zoysa, Kathleen M. Rudkin

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Purpose - This paper seeks to examine the impact of ownership concentration and ownership structure on firms’ performance of a sample of public listed companies in Sri Lanka in the premise of an agency theory framework.

Design/methodology/approach - The paper first investigates the nature of ownership structure and concentration and then examines whether there is strong evidence to support the observation that the variations of ownership structure across firms result in systematic variations in firm performance. This hypothesis is tested by assessing the impact of ownership structure and concentration on firm performance measured in terms of accounting profitability and market …

Corporate Finance Practice In Kuwait: A Survey To Confront Theory With Practice, Mohammad Al Mutairi, Gary G. Tian, Andrew S. Tan

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This study reports the results of a survey among 80 CFOs in Kuwaitilisted firms on current corporate finance practices namely, capitalbudgeting, costs of capital, capital structure, and dividend policy.This paper analyses specifically the survey responses according tothe firm s attributes and CFO s characteristics such as firm size,sector, equity, CFO s education, ownership, tenure, age, and targetdebt ratio. The results of this survey-based analysis indicate thatthere is some evidence of the application of basic corporate financetools that are inline with what is taught in classrooms. For example,we find that a surprising number of firms are widely using IRR nowas a …

New Oracles From Delphi - A 'Crucial Experiment' For Positivism In Archival History, Aida Sy, Tony Tinker, George M. Mickhail, Fahrettin Okcabol

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Empiricism has reigned supreme as an episteme for mainstream accounting research for some 25 years. In accounting, the Empiricist doctrine has assumed various guises. Positive Accounting is one of Empiricism's generic forms. It exists both in its own right, and in various incarnations such as Market Studies, Agency Theory and Historical Archivalism (in accounting history). In the U.S, these manifestations of Empiricism emerged in the mainstream literature in response to attacks on the then Big 8 accounting firms and their corporate clients. In the 1970's, Abraham Briloff's assaults in Barrons were costing the firms and their clients millions of dollars …

Hongkong And Shanghai Bank Financial Reporting Practice 1865-1876, Freda Hui, Kathleen M. Rudkin

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Accounting practices of Hongkong and Shanghai Bank from 1865 to 1876 fostered its repertoire of precocial identities. Hongkong and Shanghai bank used these identities to act opportunistically in commercial dealings with the British colonial administration of Hong Kong, the public of the United Kingdom, and the Emperor of China and his Chinese administration. This paper argues HSBC varied its financial reporting practices to manage its identities in public spaces in different cultural constituencies in order to ensure its longer term survival. The approach taken is to use the example of HSBC’s Foochow loan to demonstrate its use of financial reporting …

Using The Brand Molecule Concept To Guide The Management And Marketing Of A Professional Sports Team, Alan Pomering, Dirk Melton, Gregory Kerr

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The sports industry is an important one; it is estimated to be the 11th largest industry in the United States. Within this industry, individual sports, at both the amateur and professional levels, compete for talented players, supporters, government funding, and sponsorship dollars. It is therefore important for sports to manage their sports brands. We use Lederer and Hill’s (2001) brand molecule concept to explain the brand management implications for a professional, national sports team, the Bulldogs, a Sydney-based team in Australia’s National Rugby League competition. The brand molecule highlights for the brand manager the positive and negative atoms that comprise …

When The Going Gets Tough: Board Capital And Survival Of New Economy Ipo Firms, Nongnit Chancharat, Chandrasekhar Krishnamurti, Gary G. Tian

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The high profile corporate collapse of Enron and WorldCom has been attributed to corporate governance failures. This implicit linkage between governance failures and corporate failures raises the important question of whether good governance will mitigate the probability of failure of a firm faced with extreme financial duress. Additionally, recent studies question the assumption that a single board structure will be optimal for all firms. We empirically address this issue in the context of survival of new economy Australian IPOs. We characterize governance by board structure and leadership. Our results show that one of the key principles of the Cadbury Code …

Financial Crises And Stock Market Volatility Transmission: Evidence From Australia, Singapore, The Uk, And The Us, Indika Karunanayake, Abbas Valadkhani, Martin J. O'Brien

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

With the globalization of international trade and finance, the interaction between international financial markets has increased markedly. Therefore, this paper examines the nature of interaction between stock market returns and their volatility, with a particular focus on the global financial crises in 1998 and 2008 for Australia, Singapore, the UK, and the US. This study applies multivariate generalised autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (MGARCH) model with dummy variables for weekly data spanning from January 1992 to June 2009. Based on the results obtained from the mean return equations, we could not find any significant impact on returns arising from 1998 and 2008 …

Executive Compensation, Board Characteristics And Firm Performance In China: The Impact Of Compensation Committee, Yuqing Zhu, Gary G. Tian, Shiguang Ma

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The independent directors of a board can impact CEO payperformancemore effectively if a compensation committeeprovides information and assist them in designing relevantexecutive pay schemes. On the basis of this idea, we developed andtested the hypotheses that Chinese firms with a compensationcommittee have a closer CEO pay link with performance when alarger proportion of independent directors serves on the board. Wefocused primarily on the effect of a compensation committee onCEO pay-performance relation as a consequence of its help for theboard and found that board independence produces a strongerrelationship between executive compensation and firmperformance in Chinese listed firms. This association is more …

Employment Relations In Mncs: An Australian Story, Pauline Stanton, John Burgess, Anne Vo, Tony Edwards, John Lewer, Zeenobiyah Nadiyah Hannif, Tim Bartram

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper reviews the literature on employment relations in MNCs in Australia. It finds that first the central local debate is prominent both in relation to foreign MNCs in Australia and Australian MNCs overseas. Second, there are many factors influencing central local control. These include; country of origin effect, type of product and product market; firm size, company and HR structure, language and cultural proximity and geographical distance. Third, host country effects are prominent in terms of structural and institutional change, many companies and industries appear to have taken advantage of more favourable conditions to reshape their workforces.

Location And Interactive Services Not Only At Your Fingertips But Under Your Skin, Rodney Ip, Katina Michael, M G. Michael

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper explores the work of Professor Kevin Warwick, a researcher in the Department of Cybernetics at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, who has played a major role in propelling the science of humancentric chip implantation. On the 24th of August 1998, just over a decade ago, Professor Warwick became the first man to officially implant a radio-frequency identification (RFID) transponder under his skin. This paper explores Warwick's achievements, motivations, and chipping experience, offering a unique insight into the ethical dilemmas and controversy surrounding implantable devices for identification purposes, interactive environments and the potential for location-based services. …

The Legal Ramifications Of Microchipping People In The United States Of America - A State Legislative Comparison, Angelo Friggieri, Katina Michael, M G. Michael

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The ability to microchip people for unique positive identification, and for tracking and monitoring applications is becoming increasingly scrutinized by the legal profession, civil libertarians, politicians in positions of power, human rights advocates, and last but not least, citizens across jurisdictions. The United States is among the few nations internationally, that have moved to enact state-level legislation, regarding the microchipping of people in a variety of contexts. This paper provides an overview of nine state laws/bills in the United States of America that have either enacted anti-chipping legislation or have recently proposed bills regarding the enforced chipping of persons. The …

Location-Based Services For Emergency Management: A Multi-Stakeholder Perspective, Anas Aloudat, Katina Michael, Roba Abbas

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper investigates the deployment of locationbased services for nationwide emergency management by focusing on the perspectives of two stakeholders, government and end-users, in the cellular mobile phone value chain. The data collected for the study came from a single in-depth interview and open comments in a preliminary end-user survey. The themes presented have been categorised using a qualitative analysis. The findings indicate that although governments and end-users believe that location-based services have the potential to aid people in emergencies, there are several major disagreements over the proposed deployment. This paper is an attempt to help determine the underlying motivations …

Predicting Online Travel Purchases: The Case Of Switzerland, Isabelle Engeler, Christian Laesser, Thomas Bieger, Pietro Beritelli

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper examines why and under what conditions prospective travelers complete their bookings through online services compared to other methods. The study is based on a representative survey within 1,898 Swiss households. The results show that the likelihood of booking online increases if someone is drawn to a website to gather information in the first place, and if the product sold through the website is transparent and well-understood (either per se or because the customer is familiar with the product), or if any other booking-related communication would impose a financial charge, independent of the socio-demographic background of the prospective traveler.

Web 2.0 Solutions To Wicked Climate Change Problems, Alanah Kazlauskas, Helen Hasan

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

One of the most pressing ‘wicked problems’ facing humankind is climate change together with its many interrelated environmental concerns. The complexity of this set of problems can be overwhelming as there is such diversity among both the interpretations of the scientific evidence and the viability of possible solutions. Among the social technologies associated with the second generation of the Internet known as Web 2.0, there are tools that allow people to communicate, coordinate and collaborate in ways that reduce their carbon footprint and a potential to become part of the climate change solution. However the way forward is not obvious …

Ricardian Equivalence And The Efficacy Of Fiscal Policy In Australia, Shane Brittle

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Events surrounding the global financial and economic crises of 2008 and 2009 have sparked a renewed interest in discretionary fiscal policy. This article considers whether private saving in Australia behaves in a manner that is consistent with Ricardian equivalence, thus mitigating the effects of fiscal policy, or conversely, if fiscal policy has some ability to influence the real economy. Results indicate that, while there is not a full Ricardian response to changes in the fiscal stance, there is some partial offsetting behaviour—implying that fiscal policy does elicit some (limited) impact on economic activity.

The Probability Of Informed Trading Based On Var Model, Min Xu, Shancun Liu

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The paper researches the representative variable of the probability of informed trading, selecting CCER high-frequency trading data of Shanghai stock exchange from 2003.7.1 to 2003.12.31, adopting VAR model. Different from previous studies, the paper firstly accounts for the dynamic relationship between trade and price. Then, the content of information in trading volume, duration and trading direction are considered in our model. Finally, it gets the probability of informed trading and analyzes this variable. The results show: the probability of informed trading is about 0.172713; the more asymmetric information is, the larger spread is; the probability of informed trading is the …

Loyalty In Media Sharing Websites: The Case Of Universal Music Group, Joshua Chang, C. Lewis

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper aims to discuss the concept of how businesses can build loyalty using media sharing websites such as YouTube. More specifically, this case study will discuss how Universal Music Group created a successful channel in YouTube, and how loyalty can be generated using such a method. This study will be implemented by reviewing relevant theory in loyalty and analyzing YouTube and Universal Music Group's content in its channel within. The content analysis method is applied in this study, as it is regarded as a major research technique for understanding the design and functions of websites (McMillan, 2000). Using media …

The Influence Of Virtual Representatives On Recommender System Evaluation, Kyung-Hyan Yoo, Ulrike Gretzel

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Virtual representatives are increasingly used in recommender systems to guide users and add conversational aspects. However, the impacts of virtual representatives on users’ evaluations of the recommender system have not been investigated. This study specifically examined the influence of virtual representatives’ anthropomorphism cues on system users’ perceptions of system credibility and liking. The results revealed that system users’ perceptions of the virtual representative’s credibility have a significant influence on users’ perceived credibility and liking of the system. Also, the human-like appearance of a virtual representative significantly influences users’ perceived attractiveness of the virtual representative, while voice outputs from the representative …

The Challenge Of Preserving Rural Industries And Traditions In Ultraperipheral Europe: Evidence From The Canary Islands, Abel Duarte Alonso, Pascal Scherrer, Lynnaire Sheridan

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Demographic, economic, environmental, and political changes shape many rural areas and their communities across Europe. As a result, some fundamental aspects of these communities, including traditions, culture, social fabric, and their very raison d’être, are being tested and threatened by what seem to be irreversible events. Ultraperipheral European regions, including the `Canary Islands, are not an exception; in fact, because of their physical isolation from the mainland and other barriers, these regions may be more susceptible to changes. While these dimensions are very important and need to be addressed, to date very few studies have attempted to do so with …

Extractive Industries Accounting And Economic Consequences: Past, Present And Future, C. L. Cortese, H. J. Irvine, M. Kaidonis

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Accounting for the extractive industries has been a contested issue for decades as a result of a choice of different methods of costing available and the economic impacts of these methods on companies’ financial results. When the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) embarked on its extractive industries project in 1998, it attempted to create uniform accounting practices. An archival study of constituent responses to the IASB’s Issues Paper revealed that the economic consequences argument was relied upon again to argue for retaining choice. The IASB’s international accounting standard, IFRS 6, issued in 2004, once again permitted choice between methods, illustrating …

Online Versus Paper: Format Effects In Tourism Surveys, Sara Dolnicar, C. Laesser, K. Matus

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The popularity of online surveys is rising, yet the validity of survey data collected online is frequently questioned. This study compares online surveys versus paper surveys administered via regular mail in the tourism context, and examines in detail the extent and nature of survey bias resulting from survey format specific respondent self-selection.
Results suggest that (1) both online and mail samples deviate from census data population statistics regarding socio-demographics to the same extent (but differ in nature), (2) no differences exist in the contamination of data by response styles, (3) online respondents have a lower dropout rate and produce less …

Powerful Players: How Constituents Captured The Setting Of Ifrs 6, An Accounting Standard For The Extractive Industries, C. L. Cortese, H. J. Irvine, M. Kaidonis

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper illustrates the influence of powerful players in the setting of IFRS 6, a new International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) for the extractive industries. A critical investigative inquiry of the international accounting standard setting process, using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), reveals some of the key players, analyses the surrounding discourse and its implications, and assesses the outcomes. An analysis of small cross-section of comment letters submitted to the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) by one international accounting firm, one global mining corporation and one industry group reveal the hidden coalitions between powerful players. These coalitions indicate that the regulatory …

A Profile Of The Non-Executive Directors Of Australia's Largest Companies, C. L. Cortese

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper presents a profile of the non-executive directors of Australia's largest public companies. Using descriptive data, it assesses the extent to which these companies adhere to the requirements set down in the Australian Stock Exchange's 'Principles of Good Corporate Governance'. In particular, board structure and composition is evaluated, and levels of remuneration and independence among non-executive directors are assessed. The paper concludes with a discussion of perceived versus actual independence of non-executive directors and the benefits of having non-executive directors present on company boards.

Measuring Segment Attractiveness, Katie Lazarevski, Sara Dolnicar

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Market segmentation has been widely employed to give tourism destination planners market understanding, identify attractive target segments, and develop a marketing offer customised to their needs. While a number of authors have proposed general criteria for assessing the attractiveness of segments, measurable indicators of attractiveness have not been proposed to date. This study uses a set of indicators to make “Segment Attractiveness” measurable and illustrate the usefulness of the proposed measure in the context of a generic tourism destination and a destination focusing on reachability. Results indicate (1) the proposed indicators discriminate between different market segments, thus guiding destination managers, …