Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Business Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 17 of 17

Full-Text Articles in Business

A Comparison Of Theory And Practice In Market Intelligence Gathering For Australian Micro-Businesses And Smes, Pauline Ross, Carol Mcgowan, Lee Styger Mar 2014

A Comparison Of Theory And Practice In Market Intelligence Gathering For Australian Micro-Businesses And Smes, Pauline Ross, Carol Mcgowan, Lee Styger

Lee Styger

Recent government sponsored research has demonstrated that there is a gap between the theory and practice of market intelligence gathering within the Australian micro, small and medium businesses (SMEs). Typically, there is a significant amount of information in literature about "what needs to be done", however, there is little insight in terms of how market intelligence gathering should occur. This paper provides a novel insight and a comparison between the theory and practices of market intelligence gathering of micro-business and SMEs in Australia and demonstrates an anomoly in so far as typically the literature does not match what actually occurs …


Rationalism's Irrationality - An Example From Australian Mental Health Policy, Ciorstan J. Smark Mar 2014

Rationalism's Irrationality - An Example From Australian Mental Health Policy, Ciorstan J. Smark

Ciorstan Smark

This article reflects on the way in which accounting-related thinking influenced one particular historical event: the process of deinstitutionalisation from mental hospitals in New South Wales. The article suggests that accounting (via economic rationalism and other allied philosophical lenses ) led to the under funding of the deinstitutionalisation process to the detriment of society as a whole. Some of the societal difficulties inherent in using such rationalist calculus (biased towards quantified, monetary, accounting entity assumptions) as a means of evaluating social policies are then considered.


Employment Effects Of Army Service And Veterans' Compensation: Evidence From The Australian Vietnam-Era Conscription Lotteries, Peter Siminski Feb 2014

Employment Effects Of Army Service And Veterans' Compensation: Evidence From The Australian Vietnam-Era Conscription Lotteries, Peter Siminski

Peter Siminski

Exploiting Australia's National Service lotteries of 1965 to 1972, I estimate the effect of army service on employment outcomes. Population data from military personnel records, tax returns, veterans' compensation records, and the Census facilitate a rich and precise analysis, identified by 53,000 complying conscripts. The estimated employment effect is -12 percentage points (95% CI: -13, -11) overall, -37 for those who served in Vietnam and 0 for those who served only in Australia. It emerged in the 1990s, mirrored by veterans' disability pension effects. These results contrast with those for the United States, possibly reflecting employment disincentives associated with Australia's …


Australian School Funding And Accountability: History Imploding Into The Present, Kathleen M. Rudkin Feb 2014

Australian School Funding And Accountability: History Imploding Into The Present, Kathleen M. Rudkin

Kathy Rudkin

This paper examines historical origins of accountability for public funding in the Australian school education system. Understandings of accountability have developed unique to the Australian context, embedding institutions and ideas from a colonial past. It is shown that the funding arrangements used to distribute and account for public education funds are political devices to mediate enduring historic relationships between government and non-government schools, while at the same time masking these relationships in the veiled rhetoric of a broader Australian cultural imperative of egalitarianism. It concludes the current funding and accountability of school education in Australia is a simulacrum of accountability. …


Development And Validation Of An Australian Video Speed Test (Avst), Jennifer Ann Algie, John R. Rossiter Feb 2014

Development And Validation Of An Australian Video Speed Test (Avst), Jennifer Ann Algie, John R. Rossiter

John Rossiter

Anti-speeding educational campaigns (in television commercials, print ads, and outdoor ads, mostly) are constantly being tried but it is difficult to determine which ads are effective in reducing speed. A promising solution to this problem is to use a behavioural simulation such as the Video Speed Test, the VST (Horswill and McKenna, 1999). The driving simulation test involves getting drivers to view video excerpts of a person driving a vehicle in real driving situations. The drivers then are asked to estimate the speed that they would use in the same situations, that is, how many kilometres/hour slower or faster they …


Should The International Income Of An Australian Resident Be Taxed On A Worldwide Or Territorial Basis?, John Mclaren Feb 2014

Should The International Income Of An Australian Resident Be Taxed On A Worldwide Or Territorial Basis?, John Mclaren

John McLaren

Many countries impose income tax on the worldwide income of their residents or citizens. This is the case in Australia where 'Australian residents for tax purposes' must pay income tax on their worldwide income including statutory income such as capital gains and dividends. If the government of a country adopts a 'worldwide' basis for imposing income tax on its residents then the existence of tax havens and offshore financial centres becomes an important issue because income from passive investments may not be disclosed and subsequently taxed in Australia. The Australian Government has recently funded 'Operation Wickenby', in an attempt to …


Australian Online Public Information Systems: A User-Centred Study Of An Evolving Public Health Website, Helen Hasan, Joseph Meloche, Sumayya Banna Feb 2014

Australian Online Public Information Systems: A User-Centred Study Of An Evolving Public Health Website, Helen Hasan, Joseph Meloche, Sumayya Banna

Helen Hasan

The strategic, transformational nature of many information systems projects is now widely understood. Large-scale implementations of systems are known to require significant management of organisational change in order to be successful. Moreover, projects are rarely executed in isolation - most organisations have a large programme of projects being implemented at any one time. However, project and value management methodologies provide ad hoc definitions of the relationship between a project and its environment. This limits the ability of an organisation to manage the larger dynamics between projects and organisations, over time, and between projects. The contribution of this paper, therefore, is …


Institution Building And Variation In The Formation Of The Australian Wool Market, David Merrett, Simon Ville Nov 2013

Institution Building And Variation In The Formation Of The Australian Wool Market, David Merrett, Simon Ville

Simon Ville

The relocation of the wool market from London to the major Australian port cities from the late nineteenth century required the formation of an institution to govern the auction business, namely the wool brokers' association. Regional variations, among Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, occurred in the structure and effectiveness of the institution despite each regional association having been formed around the same time, for the same purpose, and with an overlap of participating firms. We draw on institution theory to guide our account and find that the impact of legacy factors and differences in market conditions explain the regional variations.


The Australian Corporate Closet, Why It's Still So Full: A Review Of Incidence Rates For Sexual Orientation Discrimination Gender Identity Discrimination In The Workplace, Ian Smith, Lindsay G. Oades, Grace Mccarthy Jul 2013

The Australian Corporate Closet, Why It's Still So Full: A Review Of Incidence Rates For Sexual Orientation Discrimination Gender Identity Discrimination In The Workplace, Ian Smith, Lindsay G. Oades, Grace Mccarthy

Grace McCarthy

The paper reviews the extant Australian literature on sexual orientation (SO) discrimination within the Australian workplace. In the research, there is variation in organisational workplace and a bias towards health and educational sectors as a research setting, which raises some methodological considerations such as poor generalisability to other organisational contexts. The small body of Australian research into SO discrimination encompasses; (i) varied methodological and theoretical approaches, (ii) disparate authors selecting a varied range of aspects of discrimination thus absenting a unifying framework to guide research and lacking as yet seminal authorship providing focus, iii) limited sampling of participants making comparisons …


The Institutional Legacy And The Development Of An Australian National Innovation System, Simon Ville Apr 2013

The Institutional Legacy And The Development Of An Australian National Innovation System, Simon Ville

Simon Ville

Institutions are the rules of the game that help to shape the long-term historical development of societies. They mediate human interaction and can be more or less formal (or tangible) in nature ranging from systems of government to common modes of behaviour. Most formal institutions can be distinguished as economic, social, political or cultural in nature although such distinctions are more difficult to make for informal institutions. What is certain is the pervasive impact of all types of institutions on a country’s multifaceted development. Thus, economic performance may be shaped as much by a nation’s legal system as by its …


Assessing Sme Innovation Within Different Cluster Models: Lessons From The Australian Wine Industry, David Aylward, John Glynn Oct 2012

Assessing Sme Innovation Within Different Cluster Models: Lessons From The Australian Wine Industry, David Aylward, John Glynn

John J Glynn

This paper assesses core innovation activity among SMEs within different levels of cluster development. The aim of the paper, using empirical data from the Australian wine industry, is to demonstrate that innovation levels and activity intensify as an industry cluster develops. By dividing wine clusters into ‘innovative’ (highly developed) and ‘organised’ (less developed) models, the paper uses selected core indicators of innovation activity to explore levels of integration within each model. This integration is examined in the context of Porter’s theory of ‘competitive advantage’, with implications for SMEs in particular, and lessons for industry clusters in general.


Ranking Australian Economics Departments By Research Productivity, Frank V. Neri, Joan R. Rodgers Sep 2012

Ranking Australian Economics Departments By Research Productivity, Frank V. Neri, Joan R. Rodgers

Joan Rodgers

This study ranks Australian economics departments according to the average research productivity of their academic staff during 1996-2002. It also ranks departments according to the variability of research productivity among their members, the assumption being that, ceteris paribus, the less variable is productivity within a department, the better. Research productivity is found to be highly skewed within all departments. A few departments have high average research productivity because of just one or two highly productive members. However, in general, research productivity is more evenly distributed within those departments that have relatively high average research productivity than within departments with relatively …


Ranking Australian Economics Departments By Research Productivity, Frank V. Neri, Joan R. Rodgers Sep 2012

Ranking Australian Economics Departments By Research Productivity, Frank V. Neri, Joan R. Rodgers

Frank Neri

This study ranks Australian economics departments according to the average research productivity of their academic staff during 1996-2002. It also ranks departments according to the variability of research productivity among their members, the assumption being that, ceteris paribus, the less variable is productivity within a department, the better. Research productivity is found to be highly skewed within all departments. A few departments have high average research productivity because of just one or two highly productive members. However, in general, research productivity is more evenly distributed within those departments that have relatively high average research productivity than within departments with relatively …


Portfolio Management: The Australian Experience, Aileen Koh Jul 2012

Portfolio Management: The Australian Experience, Aileen Koh

Aileen Koh

The increasing use of project and programs by organizations to achieve business strategy and goals have led to the need to understand project portfolio management. Along with the increasing diffusion of portfolio management, a new managerial role evolves: the portfolio manager. This new role is pivotal in planning and controlling complex project landscapes more effectively and efficiently. This study is to investigate the governance structures and the roles, responsibilities and practices of portfolio managers. A sequential mixed method approach under a realism paradigm is used. This paper presents the first stage qualitative study, using an inductive interview based approach with …


Financing Growth: New Issues By Australian Firms, 1920-1939, David Merrett, Simon Ville Apr 2012

Financing Growth: New Issues By Australian Firms, 1920-1939, David Merrett, Simon Ville

Simon Ville

An expanding economy, new technologies, and changing consumer preferences provided growth opportunities for firms in interwar Australia. This period saw an increase in the number of large-scale firms in mining, manufacturing, and a wide range of service industries. Firms unable to rely solely on retained earnings to fund expansion turned to the domestic stock exchanges. A new data set of capital raisings constructed from reports of prospectuses published in the financial press forms the basis for the conclusion that many firms used substantial injections of equity finance to augment internally generated sources of funds. That they were able to do …


Inter-Firm Collaboration In Australian Telecom Market, Aimee Zhang, Charles Harvie Apr 2012

Inter-Firm Collaboration In Australian Telecom Market, Aimee Zhang, Charles Harvie

Charles Harvie

The Australian telecommunications market is a typical mature market in a developed country. This paper gives an overview of the Australian telecommunication market’s development, industry structure, major components and contributions, major firms, key government agencies and organizations in this market. The history and development process of the Australian telecommunications market is, like most telecom markets in the world, one from monopoly to limited competition, from state ownership to market driven and from closed to open. To study inter-firm collaboration types, benefits, and barriers, a qualitative interview was conducted to collect real industry data from different sectors. Face-to-face interviews were adopted …


Assessing Sme Innovation Within Different Cluster Models: Lessons From The Australian Wine Industry, David Aylward, John Glynn May 2008

Assessing Sme Innovation Within Different Cluster Models: Lessons From The Australian Wine Industry, David Aylward, John Glynn

David K. Aylward

This paper assesses core innovation activity among SMEs within different levels of cluster development. The aim of the paper, using empirical data from the Australian wine industry, is to demonstrate that innovation levels and activity intensify as an industry cluster develops. By dividing wine clusters into ‘innovative’ (highly developed) and ‘organised’ (less developed) models, the paper uses selected core indicators of innovation activity to explore levels of integration within each model. This integration is examined in the context of Porter’s theory of ‘competitive advantage’, with implications for SMEs in particular, and lessons for industry clusters in general.