Digital Commons Network^™

Decentralization And Firm Investment: Evidence From China, Xiaofei Pan, Yiping Wu, Huihang Wu

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Taking advantage of decentralization reform that enlarges the authority of county government in China, we construct a quasi-experiment. Using a large sample of Chinese firms, we show that after the implementation of decentralization reform, firms located in decentralized counties experienced a significant increase in investment expenditure compared with other firms. We also find that after the decentralization reform, state owned enterprises (SOEs) experienced greater increase in investment expenditure on average compared with non-SOEs, and that, within non-SOEs, collective firms have an even larger increase in investments, followed by foreign firms and private firms. Further analysis shows that the influence of …

Contemporary Trends In Professional Doctorates, Michael L. Jones

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Undertaking a PhD is commonly viewed as an apprenticeship, where the student learns the trade of becoming an academic. However, the doctoral degree did not start off with that intention, and it may not continue this way into the future. The initial design of the PhD was a professional degree which gave students the licence to teach. Research was not a focus of the degree until the 1800s. Recently, the purpose of the doctorate has been under examination. This re-examination has come about for a number of reasons: (1) Employment options within academe are no longer as abundant or secure …

Women's Gambling Behaviour, Product Preferences, And Perceptions Of Product Harm: Differences By Age And Gambling Risk Status, Simone Mccarthy, Samantha L. Thomas, Melanie J. Randle, Amy Bestman, Hannah Pitt, Sean Cowlishaw, Mike Daube

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Background: Women's participation in, and harm from gambling, is steadily increasing. There has been very limited research to investigate how gambling behaviour, product preferences, and perceptions of gambling harm may vary across subgroups of women.

Methods: This study surveyed a convenience sample of 509 women from Victoria and New South Wales, Australia. Women were asked a range of questions about their socio-demographic characteristics and gambling behaviour. Focusing on four gambling products in Australia-casino gambling, electronic gambling machines (EGMs), horse betting, and sports betting-women were asked about their frequency of participation, their product preferences, and perceptions of product harms. The sample …

Big Data And Predictive Analytics In Humanitarian Supply Chains: Enabling Visibility And Coordination In The Presence Of Swift Trust, Rameshwar Dubey, Zongwei Luo, Angappa Gunasekaran, Md Shahriar Akter, Benjamin Hazen, Matthew A. Douglas

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Purpose - The primary objective of this research is to understand how big data and predictive analytics (BDPA), as an organizational capability, can improve both visibility and coordination in humanitarian supply chains.

Design/methodology/approach - We conceptualize a research model grounded in contingent resource-based view (CRBV), where we propose that BDPA capabilities affect visibility and coordination under the moderating effect of swift trust. Using Ordinary Least Squares Regression, we test the hypotheses using survey data collected from informants at 205 International Non-Government Organizations (NGOs).

Findings - Results indicate that BDPA has a significant influence on visibility and coordination. Further, results suggest …

Wikirate Student Engagement Report: International Case Studies, Stephanie Perkiss, Bonnie Amelia Dean, Belinda Kathlyn Gibbons, Theresa Heithaus, Alec Wersun, Maria Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez, Stephanos Anastasiadis, Pilar Acosta, Roman H. Mesicek, Hannah Jun, Richard Mills

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

This report is the product of a year-long international collaboration across eight countries. The research was initiated to explore the multiple ways the WikiRate Student Engagement Project was being implemented in higher education institutions in diverse classrooms around the world. By eliciting the perspectives of students and teachers, our aim was to learn more about its impact, challenges and potential.

Designing A Knowledge Management System For Social Services Not-For-Profit Organisations, Peter R. Massingham, Rada Massingham, Alan A. Pomering

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

This article discusses knowledge management system design for SSNFPOs. The transfer of best practice knowledge management to SSNFPOs is not easy. SSNFPOs have different strategies and ways of doing business compared to 'for-profit' organisations. Sector reforms in disability services, aged care, and child services in Australia threaten to disrupt social value as new for-profit rivals enter and pursue economic value. In response, the case study organisation (CSO) has been working with the research team to consider how knowledge management might help it become a stronger organisation and ensure its survival and growth in the reformed sector. The research was informed …

Moderator Impact Of Preferred Hrm Culture On The Relationship Between Work Values On Contextual And Task Performance, Palli Mulla K A Chandrakumara

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

This study examines the moderator effect of individual preferences for HRM practices on the relationship between work values and contextual and task performance (CTP).The relevant literature suggests that the notion of individual preferences in regard to their effect on CTP, moderator effect in particular, has received scant systematic attention.The data were obtained in a sample of 356 manufacturing sector employees in Sri Lanka. A three-step moderated hierarchical regression procedure was adopted to examine the moderating effect of individual preferences. The results of the study supported the hypotheses. Originally, work values and ethics had a direct effect on CTP. However, this …

Sydney Siege, December 2014: A Visualisation Of A Semantic Social Media Sentiment Analysis, Jan Wendland, Christian Ehnis, Rodney J. Clarke, Deborah Bunker

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Sentiment Analyses are widely used approaches to understand and identify emotions, feelings, and opinion on social media platforms. Most sentiment analysis systems measure the presumed emotional polarity of texts. While this is sufficient for some applications, these approaches are very limiting when it comes to understanding how social media users actually use language resources to make sense of extreme events. In this paper, the authors apply a Sentiment Analysis based on the Appraisal System from the theory of communication called Systemic Functional Linguistics to understand the sentiment of event-driven social media communication. A prototype was developed to code and visualise …

Political Promotion, Ceo Incentives, And The Relationship Between Pay And Performance, Xiaping Cao, Michael Lemmon, Xiaofei Pan, Meijun Qian, Gary G. Tian

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Both theory and empirical evidence suggest that managers' career concerns can serve as an important source of implicit economic incentives. We examine how incentives for political promotion are related to compensation policy and firm performance in Chinese state-owned enterprises. We find that the likelihood that the CEO receives a political promotion is positively related to firm performance. We also find that CEOs with a higher likelihood of political promotion have lower pay levels and lower pay-performance sensitivity. Overall, the evidence suggests that competition in the political job market helps mitigate weak monetary incentives for CEOs in China.

Dynamic Service Analytics Capabilities For Service Systems In The Global Big Data Economy - A Systematic Review And Agenda For Future Research, Shahriar Akter, Saradhi Motamarri, Mujahid M. Babu, Mario Fernando, Samuel Fosso Wamba, Kathy Ning Shen

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Extended abstract presented at the Data, Organisations and Society Conference, 21 November 2018, Coventry, United Kingdom

An Investigation In The Sustainable Economic Practices Of Ecovillages, Belinda Kathlyn Gibbons, Emma Elizabeth Heffernan, Oriana Price, Simon Ville, Mary C. Johnsson

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

This 2018 research report represents Phase 1 of a small project investigating economic practices within one Australian ecovillage. Phase 2 of the same project (a longitudinal progress update) was completed in 2019. The 2018 report provides a summary of 'lessons learned' findings from a literature scan on ecovillages including the websites of 14 ecovillages. In addition, the report contains analysis of findings from mixed method research including an online survey, focus group, individual interviews and other qualitative data collection activities generated from interacting with members of the Australian ecovillage.

Voices Unheard: Employee Voice In The New Century, Adrian Wilkinson, Paul J. Gollan, Senia Kalfa, Ying Xu

Sydney Business School - Papers

The concept of employee voice has attracted considerable attention in research since the 1980s primarily in the fields of Employment Relations/Human Resource Management (ER/HRM) and Organisational Behaviour (OB). Each of these disciplines focuses on different aspects of employee voice, the former examining the mechanisms for employees to have 'a say' in organisational decision-making (Freeman, Boxall, & Haynes, 2007; Gollan, Kaufman, Taras, & Wilkinson, 2015; Wilkinson & Fay, 2011) and the latter considering voice as an 'extra-role upward communication behaviour' (Morrison, 2014, p. 174) with the intent to improve organizational functioning. The purpose of voice is seen by each of these …

Training For The Coaching Leader: How Organizations Can Support Managers, Julia Ahrens, Grace Mccarthy, Trenton J. Milner

Sydney Business School - Papers

Purpose – The demand for leaders to coach their employees is increasing as the benefits become more and more evident. However, little is known about the training managers have received in coaching or what support is available/required from their organizations. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper encompassed a survey of 580 managers in Australian organizations with more than 200 employees. The authors used qualitative thematic analysis to examine the extensive free text answers.

Findings – The findings indicated that while some managers had received some form of training in coaching (30-40 percent, depending on training …

Continuance Of E-Textbook Use By Tertiary Students: A Qualitative Approach, John D'Ambra, Concepcion S. Wilson, Md Shahriar Akter

Sydney Business School - Papers

Textbooks are an important information resource for tertiary students. E-textbooks are now widely available and accessible to students offering them distinct advantages over print books at lower costs. However the uptake of e-textbooks has been slow and student preferences for either medium are not well understood. This study adopts a qualitative approach using an expectation-confirmation theory (ECT) lens and revealed causal mapping to understand from students participating in focus groups, their intentions to continue using e-textbooks. We extend ECT by including two new constructs: perceived quality and perceived value. The results assist in interpreting students' behavior regarding intentions to continue …

Turning Information Quality Into Firm Performance In The Big Data Economy, Samuel Fosso Wamba, Shahriar Akter, Laura Trinchera, Marc De Bourmont

Sydney Business School - Papers

Purpose: Big data analytics (BDA) increasingly provide value to firms for robust decision making and solving business problems. The purpose of this paper is to explore information quality dynamics in big data environment linking business value, user satisfaction and firm performance.

Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on the appraisal-emotional response-coping framework, the authors propose a theory on information quality dynamics that helps in achieving business value, user satisfaction and firm performance with big data strategy and implementation. Information quality from BDA is conceptualized as the antecedent to the emotional response (e.g. value and satisfaction) and coping (performance). Proposed information quality dynamics are tested …

A Narrative Approach To Coaching Multiple Selves, Paul Lawrence

Sydney Business School - Papers

According to many philosophers and psychologists, we are each not one, but many. The origins of multiplicity theories are briefly outlined before several contemporary theories are described in more detail. In this conceptual paper, it is argued that a multiplicity perspective of self, challenges us to think differently about coaching. Six specific implications are considered, and a pragmatic link between multiplicity theory and post-modernist principles explored. It is argued that a narrative approach to coaching may be particularly useful for the coach interested in experimenting with multiplicity theory, and some initial approaches to applying multiplicity theory in practice are suggested.

An Exploration Into The "Over The Wall Handling" Phenomenon Of Aid And Development Supply Chain Systems, Mark Edwards, Lee Styger

Sydney Business School - Papers

This paper provides some insight regarding the causes and implications of waste within Aid and Development programs and the impact on Aid effectiveness. In order to understand this better, a comparative case study analysis of three Aid and Development programs using a systems mapping process was used to identify major constraints within these supply chain systems. This work identified a complex matrix of nodal links within these systems that correspond to the flow of both funding and value creation. The findings point to Aid and Development supply chain systems being a closed loop system where much of the funding can …

Lessons Learned From Introducing Social Media Use In Undergraduate Economics Research, Martin J. O'Brien, Katharina Freund

Sydney Business School - Papers

The research process and associated literacy requirements are often unfamiliar and daunting obstacles for undergraduate students. The use of social media has the potential to assist research training and encourage active learning, social inclusion and student engagement. This paper documents the lessons learned from developing a blended learning model for undergraduate economics research incorporating social media blogging at a regional university in Australia. Student surveys, interviews with colleagues and students, in addition to a review of higher education literature highlight key issues associated with the choice of social media platform, need for clarity in assessment design, and assumptions of student …

Active Teaching Strategies And Student Engagement: A Comparison Of Traditional And Non-Traditional Business Students, Amir Arjomandi, Juergen Heinz Seufert, Martin J. O'Brien, Sajid Anwar

Sydney Business School - Papers

Using survey data, this paper presents a comprehensive analysis of student engagement for different groups of students, many of which may be classified as "non-traditional". The analysis presented in this paper is based on Kahu's framework for student engagement. Both the antecedents as well as consequences of engagement are incorporated in the framework used in this paper. The research highlights the role that active teaching strategies may play in this engagement framework. An important contribution of this research is to show that non-traditional students generally display greater engagement than traditional students. However, while there is a strong connection between active …

A Pilot Study Into Mapping Atypical Supply Networks, Mark Edwards, Pauline J. Ross, Lee Styger

Sydney Business School - Papers

A system can only be improved if it is measured. In order to adequately measure a system, that system needs to be mapped and all key inter-nodal linkages, constraints and pathways recorded. Commercial supply chains demonstrate similar characteristics to other systems. Much has been written about mapping supply systems, where typically, the product or service is tracked from the originating source such as a raw materials supplier to the end customer of the product such as the consumer. There is however, another classification of supply system, where the payment for the product or service is not undertaken by the end …

The Knowledge Enhancement Process Of Knowledge Workers, Carol Mcgowan, Kate L. P Reid, Lee Styger

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Using Constructivist Grounded Theory this research sought to explore the nature of knowledge workers and knowledge work itself. The interview findings reveal that knowledge workers have a set of processes they employ to remain connected and informed both personally and professionally in their domain area of expertise. They have learned to collect, curate, work with and share information to their best advantage. We have described this as knowledge workers knowledge enhancement process. A deeper understanding of this process has implications for organisations aiming to optimise the work of knowledge workers and for those teaching new knowledge workers for the future.

Lending To Private Firms: Evidence From China On The Role Of Firm Openness And Bribery, Wenjuan Ruan, Erwei Xiang, Shiguang Ma

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

This article investigates the effects of firm openness and bribery on bank lending decisions. Using World Bank data covering 1,781 private firms, we do not find supportive evidence on the role of bribery in helping private firms to obtain bank credit. However, we find evidence that firm openness has a positive effect on helping private firms to obtain banking finance. This finding holds true only for large firms, manufacturing firms, and firms located in regions with good banking development. We also find that private firms with greater government assistance are more likely to obtain bank loans, and more credit overall.

Lean Six Sigma And The Australian Business Excellence Framework: An Exploratory Case Within Local Government, Oriana Price, Matthew P. Pepper, Matthew Stewart

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine a contextualized local government case study of the application of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in conjunction with the Australian Business Excellence Framework (ABEF) to highlight the importance of a good strategic fit between LSS and organizational objectives before implementation.

Design/methodology/approach A local government council is used in a case study-based approach. Organizational artefacts and documents were used for data collection in conjunction with interviews from senior executives within the organization.

Findings Results indicate that when used in conjunction with the ABEF, LSS provides focus on organizational learning practices embedded within the …

Supervision's 'Three Amigos': Exploring The Evolving Functions Of Supervision And Its Application In The Field Of Coaching, Mike Armour

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

The literature on supervision includes an enduring theme related to the 'functions' of supervision. However, each helping profession has defined the functions of supervision somewhat uniquely. Within the field of social work functions are defined as being "administrative, educational and supportive" (Kadushin, 1976, pp. 20-21), indicating specific roles that are undertaken by the agent-supervisor. The notion of functions also appears to have been widely embraced within counseling literature, although the terms have been adapted as a framework of tasks being "formative, restorative and normative" (Proctor, 2000, p. 12), to describe processes which are for the benefit of the therapist. More …

When Too Many Anti-Consumption Opportunities Lead To Anti-Consumption Of Anti-Consumption, Michael S. Lee, Ulku Yuksel, Nguyen T. Thai

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

A petition is a document signed by numerous people, announcing a demand that requires a corporation or public entity to take an action to remedy a transgression via essential course of practices. Signing a petition to support a positive cause or a boycott call, as an upshot of a negative cause worth boycotting, may be less taxing for consumers than partaking in boycotts organized by boycott organizers. Thanks to the internet and social media, hundreds of thousands of online petitions are created worldwide each year with millions of signatures supporting various causes (Antonetti & Manika, 2017; Wright, 2016). This raises …

Heterogeneous Effects Of High School Peers On Educational Outcomes, Silvia Mendolia, Alfredo R. Paloyo, Ian Walker

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

We investigate peer ability effects on high-stakes test scores at ages 16 and 18, and on the probability of university attendance. To account for endogeneity in peer ability, we use the average ability of the primary school peers of one's secondary school peers, excluding those from the same primary school of the individual, as an instrumental variable for average secondary school peer ability. Our results show that average peer quality has a small effect on an individual's test scores, and a larger proportion of low-quality peers has a significantly detrimental effect on achievements of an average student. Furthermore, peer ability …

Caught Between Two Worlds: Clusters, Microfinance Officers And Accountability Mechanisms In A Sri Lankan Mfi, Nadeera Ranabahu, Lee C. Moerman

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

This paper studies the accountability mechanisms and dynamics that exist within a microfinance context when microfinance officers (MFOs) interact with borrowers at the community level (MFO-community interface). In the Sri Lankan microfinance institution (MFI) used in this study, community units or clusters comprising of several peer or solidarity groups engage with MFOs in the field. Using Ritchie and Richardson's (2000) accountability typologies (codified, contingent, assumed and collateral), this article explores how multiple and complex accountability relationships manifest at the MFO community interface.The data collected from interviews, discussions, observations, document reviews and the primary researcher's reflective notes demonstrate that both codified …

Work-Integrated Learning Design For Undergraduate Business Degrees: Stakeholders' Perspectives, Laura L. Rook, Lisa Mcmanus

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Work-integrated Learning (WIL), where the theory and practice of work are integrated through various activities in the curricula, provides several benefits to stakeholders if designed and implemented correctly. This study explored the views of undergraduate students and academics in relation to the potential implementation of a Work-integrated Learning program in the undergraduate degrees of a business school at a regional university through the lens of stakeholder theory. A total of 50 students and 24 academics participated in the study. The findings suggest students and academics hold different views to the effectiveness of on-campus and off-campus WIL activities, structure of a …

Disclosing Volunteers As 'Human Capital': Analysing Annual Reports Of Australian Emergency Services Organisations, Yoke J. Berry, Michael L. Jones

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Annual reports of 11 volunteer-based emergency services organisations were analysed to determine how volunteers are valued in terms of human capital. A simple method was designed to enable comparison between agencies on nine categories of human capital being volunteer numbers, gender, age, length of service, diversity (three types), training and awards. The results were compared to the disclosure of the same categories pertaining to paid staff. Results showed that narratives of annual reports gave recognition and praise to volunteers but human resources sections reported primarily on paid staff. Data on volunteer numbers and diversity are poorly reported in many annual …

Sharks, Social Sentiment And Science, Mehmet Ibrahim Mehmet, Peter Denyer-Simmons, Rodney J. Clarke

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

This article is positioned within critical and strategic social marketing literature (Andreasen, 1995; Goldberg, 1995; Gordon, 2011, 2013; Gordon, Moodie, Eadie, & Hastings, 2010), which asserts the importance of conducting community-based research to gain insights that assist in strategic social program design (Andreasen, 2002; French & Gordon, 2015). Campaign design failures associated with 'top down' or 'expert led' approaches, have been linked to poor in-depth community research (French & Gordon, 2015, p.13). The policy design/implementation of New South Wales shark management strategy has been an example of a top down, expert driven implementation design strategy. The aim of this research …