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Full-Text Articles in Business
Converting Business Travellers To Leisure Travellers, Gregory Kerr, Katie Lazarevski, Sara Dolnicar
Converting Business Travellers To Leisure Travellers, Gregory Kerr, Katie Lazarevski, Sara Dolnicar
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
The aim of this paper is to propose a novel strategy for attracting vacation tourists to destinations, especially destinations that are not in the favourable position of having a strong positive brand image as a tourism destination. This involves the conversion of involuntary first time visitors, such as business travellers, to tourists who spend leisure time at the destination. An empirical study was conducted to investigate if this proposed strategy is practically viable. Results indicate that involuntary first time visitors with a high intention to return as tourists in their leisure time have distinctly different characteristics in terms of how …
Does One Size Fit All? The Suitability Of Answer Formats For Different Constructs Measured, Sara Dolnicar, Bettina Grün
Does One Size Fit All? The Suitability Of Answer Formats For Different Constructs Measured, Sara Dolnicar, Bettina Grün
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
Survey research is used to investigate a variety of different constructs, such as beliefs, behavioural intentions, perceptions, preferences and so on. Despite the wide range of constructs studied by social scientists, the ordinal answer format tends to be used across the majority of survey research studies. We challenge this standard approach in survey research by hypothesizing that the ordinal answer format is not optimal under all circumstances. Instead, we propose that the suitability of answer formats depends on the construct measured. We conduct a repeat measurement study using binary, ordinal and metric answer formats measuring two different constructs: beliefs and …
Intellectual Capital Disclosure From Sell-Side Analyst Perspective, S. Abhayawansa, Indra Abeysekera
Intellectual Capital Disclosure From Sell-Side Analyst Perspective, S. Abhayawansa, Indra Abeysekera
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
Purpose – Research on the use/disclosure of intellectual capital (IC) information by sell-side analysts, using content analysis of their reports, is growing. The objectives of this paper are to establish the importance of this perspective in understanding the role of IC in communicating firm value, to introduce possible theoretical frameworks to interpret the findings of such studies, and to propose methodological developments. Methodology/approach – The paper argues for the need to look at IC from the perspective of sell-side analysts, and then advocates the use of several theoretical frameworks to enrich current understanding of the role of IC as it …
Management Control Systems For R&D Activities In Government Sector: A Case Of Indonesia, Parulian Silaen, Robert Williams
Management Control Systems For R&D Activities In Government Sector: A Case Of Indonesia, Parulian Silaen, Robert Williams
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
Research and Development (R&D) organisation has different activity, employee’s characteristics, goals, and planning system from a non-R&D organisation. It requires Management Control Systems (MCS) that fit R&D activities. The study proposes four important core elements of MCS particularly for a R&D organisation: desired ends, actors, control implementation, and control tools. The study investigates the existence and the use of those core elements in R&D project from the Government units and the control systems implemented by three government units. The study finds the existence of desired ends to have qualitative characteristics and to use it to control the project direction and …
Marketing In Non-Profit Organizations : An International Perspective, Sara Dolnicar, Katie Lazarevski
Marketing In Non-Profit Organizations : An International Perspective, Sara Dolnicar, Katie Lazarevski
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
Purpose – This study tests three hypotheses: (1) that non-profit organizations follow a customer-centered approach to marketing, (2) that marketing is run by marketing-trained staff and (3) that cross-continental differences in the adoption of marketing in the UK, the USA and Australia exist due to differences in the operating environment. Methodology – A survey study was conducted with non-profit managers. The sample contains 136 respondents; 36 from the UK, 33 from the USA and 67 from Australia. Findings – Non-profit managers indicated that the most important marketing activities are promotional in nature. The importance of market research and strategic marketing …
Methodological Reasons For The Theory/Practice Divide In Market Segmentation, Sara Dolnicar, Katie Lazarevski
Methodological Reasons For The Theory/Practice Divide In Market Segmentation, Sara Dolnicar, Katie Lazarevski
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
A theory/practice divide exists in market segmentation. The main reasons are the focus of academic studies on statistical techniques, and managers' lack of understanding of fundamental segmentation basics (Dibb 2005; Greenberg and McDonald 1989). To date, only one study has explored methodological reasons for the theory/practice divide: Dibb and Simkin 1994. We extend their work by: (1) detailing key methodological aspects likely to cause difficulties in translating segmentation findings into managerially useful information, and (2) empirically investigating specific research questions about methodology-induced reasons for the theory/practice divide derived from both theory and the propositions of previous studies. Results indicate a …
Does Cultural Background Affect Volunteering Behavior?, Melanie J. Randle, Sara Dolnicar
Does Cultural Background Affect Volunteering Behavior?, Melanie J. Randle, Sara Dolnicar
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
The purpose of this qualitative investigation is to help nonprofit organizations which rely heavily on the support of volunteers increase the effectiveness of their marketing by accounting for differences in cultural background among community members. It was conducted in the multi-cultural Australian context and included 79 participants from different cultural backgrounds. Findings indicate that as a whole, cultural groups differ significantly with respect to their attitudes, social norm and perceived behavioral control over volunteering. Nonprofit organizations are unlikely to be successful in attracting volunteers from a range of different cultural backgrounds unless they account for heterogeneity among volunteers and customize …
Spotlights And Shadows: Preliminary Findings About The Experiences Of Women In Family Business Leadership Roles, Mary Barrett, Ken Moores
Spotlights And Shadows: Preliminary Findings About The Experiences Of Women In Family Business Leadership Roles, Mary Barrett, Ken Moores
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
In an earlier study (Moores & Barrett 2002) we found successful CEOs had learned leadership of family controlled businesses (FCBs) in a series of distinct learning phases. Because that study's sample did not include many women, our present study focuses on women in FCBs to better understand how they exercise leadership and entrepreneurship in the family firm context. Case study analysis of an international sample of women FCB leaders, using frameworks which avoid essentialist assumptions about women's and men's approach to leadership, suggests there are some characteristic ways women leaders learn FCB leadership and entrepreneurship roles. We have tentatively labelled …
Form Over Substance, The Politics Of International Accounting Setting, Hajar Roudaki, Kathleen A. Cooper, Lee C. Moerman
Form Over Substance, The Politics Of International Accounting Setting, Hajar Roudaki, Kathleen A. Cooper, Lee C. Moerman
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
This paper lays the foundation of the move towards international standards and an international body being dependent upon the involvement of politics. Callon's translation model is adapted to develop the concept that the underling purposes and objectives that international bodies have been established by would not be achieved as a result of powerful players. According to Robson (1991, p.552) the "process of translation is common to many instances of accounting problematisation and accounting change"
Public Sector Gambling: Local Council Investment Exposures, Graham Bowrey, Greg Jones
Public Sector Gambling: Local Council Investment Exposures, Graham Bowrey, Greg Jones
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
Local councils in New South Wales (NSW) have the authority to invest ratepayers' money that is not currently required for any other purpose by the council. At the end of 2006-07 financial year local councils in New South Wales had invested $590 million dollars in structured financial products such as collateralised debt obligations (CDO). By the end of January 2008, six months later, the market value of these investments dropped $200 million to $390 million. Since then the financial investment market has further significantly reduced with the value of the councils' investments losing many more millions of dollars. In NSW …
Not Just Any Volunteers: Segmenting The Market To Attract The High Contributors, Melanie J. Randle, Sara Dolnicar
Not Just Any Volunteers: Segmenting The Market To Attract The High Contributors, Melanie J. Randle, Sara Dolnicar
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
Growing competition in the third sector has resulted in nonprofit organizations making more sophisticated use of marketing techniques to attract volunteers. Not only are organizations attempting to attract more volunteers but increasingly the focus is shifting to attracting the right type of volunteers, or those who will contribute the most hours. This study segments the volunteering market by number of hours contributed in the past 12 months, and identifies significant differences between the characteristics of high-contribution and low-contribution volunteers. High-contribution volunteers are found to (a) exhibit distinctive sociodemographic characteristics; (b) have a greater number, and broader range, of motivations for …
Self-Congruity Theory In Volunteering, Melanie J. Randle, Sara Dolnicar
Self-Congruity Theory In Volunteering, Melanie J. Randle, Sara Dolnicar
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
According to self-congruity theory, people prefer brands that they associate with a set of personality traits which are similar to their own. This notion is widely accepted by consumer researchers and has been empirically tested in a number of commercial product and service contexts. It has not, however, been tested in the context of the third sector, particularly in relation to volunteering organisations. This study finds preliminary support for two hypotheses: (1) volunteers who prefer a specific volunteering organisation over others differ significantly in their self-concept; and (2) the self-concept of volunteers who prefer a specific volunteering organisation most closely …
Changes In Poverty Rates During The Howard Era, Joan R. Rodgers, Peter Siminski, James Bishop
Changes In Poverty Rates During The Howard Era, Joan R. Rodgers, Peter Siminski, James Bishop
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
This article considers changes in poverty rates under the Howard government. We also make three methodological contributions. We consider the statistical significance of the estimated changes in poverty. We propose a decomposition technique that reconciles the trends in absolute and relative poverty. We also use 'poverty profiles', which illustrate sensitivity to alternative poverty lines. We find decreases in absolute poverty and increases in relative poverty, both of which are statistically significant over a range of poverty lines. At a poverty line equal to half of the median income, the increase in relative poverty is statistically significant for all people and …
A Welfare Analysis Of The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, Peter M. Siminski
A Welfare Analysis Of The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, Peter M. Siminski
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC) is a key element of a suite of benefits for Australia's 'self-funded retirees'. Its main component is a pharmaceutical concession, which is analysed as a form of public health insurance. The utility gain through risk-pooling is found to be negligible under conservative assumptions. The deadweight loss through moral hazard may be considerable. Finally, the CSHC may be seen as an inequitable transfer, because CSHC holders are a particularly wealthy population.
Socially Innovative And Commercially Viable: Partners Or Prisoners Of Future Business Developments, Patrick M. Dawson, Trevor A. Spedding, Michael D. Clements, Lisa Daniel
Socially Innovative And Commercially Viable: Partners Or Prisoners Of Future Business Developments, Patrick M. Dawson, Trevor A. Spedding, Michael D. Clements, Lisa Daniel
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
There is a growing need for supply chain partners to work together in improving their performance and systems of operation. New information and communication technologies can be used to improve operations and facilitate the building of closer relationships, but they can also serve to undermine relations and create tensions. RFID represents the first major improvement traceability technology that potentially supersedes barcodes and our study seeks to develop a simulation model that moves beyond a purely technical analysis, towards an assessment that is able to accommodate the social and cultural dimensions in providing a dynamic roadmap for change.
Responsible Financing?: The Equator Principles And Bank Disclosures, Jane Andrew
Responsible Financing?: The Equator Principles And Bank Disclosures, Jane Andrew
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
The purpose of this paper is to consider the impact of the Equator Principles on banking disclosures. The research explores whether signatory banks are disclosing information related to their obligations under the Equator Principles and discusses the types of disclosures being made publicly available. The research illustrates that banks are disclosing very little information to help users assess the impact the Equator Principles have had on these banks practices. It is also suggested that banks are reframing their identity through these principles, but it is still difficult to assess whether this is also transforming practice. There is little academic research …
Value For Money? Neo-Liberalism In New South Wales Prisons, Jane L. Andrew, Damien Cahill
Value For Money? Neo-Liberalism In New South Wales Prisons, Jane L. Andrew, Damien Cahill
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
The NSW prison sector has undergone considerable reform over the last ten years. The NSW government now oversees the operation of publicly managed prisons, one privately managed prison and a number of new public prisons operating under the new 'Way Forward' management model. In order to establish which approach to prison management offered the best value for money, the NSW government undertook a 'value for money' assessment in 2005. In this article, we argue the cost accounting information is privileged in the assessment process. However, we contend that this information was limited and partial, and provided a poor basis on …
How Buyers And Sellers Value B2b Relationships: A Relationship Value Continuum For Internet Based Exchange, Michael D. Clements
How Buyers And Sellers Value B2b Relationships: A Relationship Value Continuum For Internet Based Exchange, Michael D. Clements
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
The internet as a vehicle for engaging two parties around a transaction is more prolific than any previous information system. With the speed and accessibility of information on products and services available at the touch of a button, it is the awareness of open information sharing, the acceptance of moving customer loyalty, and the changing of buyer/seller relationships that is the focus of this research. This paper introduces and proposes the concept of a relationship value continuum between buyers and sellers in business to business relationships, as an important mechanism for maintaining and developing buyer/seller relationships both off and online. …
The Effects Of Currency Appreciation On Share Market Return: Ardl Approach, Gary G. Tian, Shiguang Ma
The Effects Of Currency Appreciation On Share Market Return: Ardl Approach, Gary G. Tian, Shiguang Ma
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
This study employs the ARDL cointegrating approach to examine the impact of financial liberalization on the relationships between three Chinese main bilateral exchange rates and its share market performance. We discovered that a long-term equilibrium relationship measured by cointegration has emerged between the exchange rate of the RMB against the Japanese Yen and, to a lesser extent, the exchange rate against both the US dollar and Hong Kong dollar and the Shanghai Composite Index since 2005 when the Chinese exchange rate regime changed from a peg system to a more flexible managed floating system. We found that the exchange rate …
A Longitudinal Study Of The Use Of The Web By Regional Tourism Organisations (Rtos) In Australia, Lois Burgess, Belinda Parrish, Joan Cooper, Carole Alcock
A Longitudinal Study Of The Use Of The Web By Regional Tourism Organisations (Rtos) In Australia, Lois Burgess, Belinda Parrish, Joan Cooper, Carole Alcock
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
The information-intensive nature of the tourism and travel industry suggests an important role for Web technology in the promotion and marketing of tourist destinations. The rapid development of the Internet is also having profound impacts on the industry. In fact, travel and tourism has become the single largest category of products sold over the Internet (Tourism White Paper, 2007). With reports of travel purchases and reservations being one of the fastest growing segments of the Internet community it is no surprise that the number of tourism operators on the Web has increased considerably over the past few years. This paper …
Board Composition, Board Activity And Ownership Concentration, The Impact On Firm Performance, Shiguang Ma, Gary Tian
Board Composition, Board Activity And Ownership Concentration, The Impact On Firm Performance, Shiguang Ma, Gary Tian
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
This paper provides a parallel investigation on the impact of board composition, board activity and ownership concentration on the performance of listed Chinese firms. We find that independent directors enhance firm performance effectively than other board factors. The frequency of shareholder meetings, rather than board meetings, is positively associated with firm value. Tradable share ownership concentration has a positive and linear relationship with firm value, while state and total share ownership concentration represent U(V) shapes. Importantly, companies with the highest levels of both total share and tradable share ownership concentration have a greater firm values than companies with the highest …
Fostering Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership In Family Firms: Ten Lessons, Mary Barrett, Ken Moores
Fostering Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership In Family Firms: Ten Lessons, Mary Barrett, Ken Moores
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
Women's potential to lead a firm - whether one started by a family member or a new venture of their own - is still not often enough acknowledged. With family firms acknowledged as the seeding grounds for the next generation of entrepreneurs, and with increasing attention in research and public policy to women's entrepreneurship, it is important to understand the factors in family firms which help and hinder their women members' leadership and entrepreneurship potential. This article, based on the authors' book Women in Family Business Leadership Roles: Daughters on the Stage (Edward Elgar, 2009), presents ten lessons for family …
Contributions Of Longitudinal Data To Poverty Measurement In Australia, Joan R. Rodgers, John L. Rodgers
Contributions Of Longitudinal Data To Poverty Measurement In Australia, Joan R. Rodgers, John L. Rodgers
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
Chronic poverty is of greater social consequence than transitory poverty but its measurement requires longitudinal data. This article uses six waves of data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey to explore the extent to which longitudinal data contribute to what is known about poverty from cross-section data. We find an imperfect correspondence between people's annual poverty status and chronic poverty status. Consequently, policies that aim to reduce chronic poverty using means-tested benefits may be partially misdirected if beneficiaries are identified using annual income. Furthermore, some households experiencing chronic poverty may fall through the safety net.
Response Style Contamination Of Student Evaluation Data, Sara Dolnicar, Bettina Grun
Response Style Contamination Of Student Evaluation Data, Sara Dolnicar, Bettina Grun
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
Student evaluation surveys provide instructors with feedback regarding development opportunities and they form the basis of promotion and tenure decisions. Student evaluations have been extensively studied, but one dimension hitherto neglected is the actual measurement aspect: which questions to ask, how to ask them, and what answer options to offer to students to get the most valid results. This study investigates whether cross-cultural response styles affect the validity of student evaluations. If they do, then the student mix in a class can affect an instructor's evaluation, potentially producing biased feedback and prompting inappropriate decisions by university committees. This article discusses …
Accounting For Emission Rights: An Environmental Ethics Approach, Emma Zhang-Debreceny, Mary A. Kaidonis, Lee Moerman
Accounting For Emission Rights: An Environmental Ethics Approach, Emma Zhang-Debreceny, Mary A. Kaidonis, Lee Moerman
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
We argue that the International Accounting Standard Board's difficulty in arriving at a standard for accounting for emission rights, which is central to Emission Trading Schemes, is an opportunity to re-examine the issues from an environmental ethics approach. We critically evaluate the IASB approach which privileges profits, and views emission rights as tradeable entitlements to pollute. We consider social ecology, an example of an environmental ethical perspective which holds that humans' survival and the environment's sustainability are inextricably linked. We conclude that social ecology can inform accounting standard setters about the accounting treatment of emissions rights.
Visualizing Cluster Results Using Package Flexclust And Friends, Friedrich Leisch
Visualizing Cluster Results Using Package Flexclust And Friends, Friedrich Leisch
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
Centroid-based partitioning cluster analysis is a popular method for segmenting data into more homo- geneous subgroups. Visualization can help tremendously to understand the positions of these subgroups relative to each other in higher dimensional spaces and to assess the quality of partitions. In this talk we present several improvements on existing cluster displays using neighborhood graphs with edge weights based on cluster separation and convex hulls of inner and outer cluster regions. Using symbols or complete high-level plots in the nodes of the graph help to understand the association of background variables and clusters. A new display called shadow-stars can …
Drinking Water From Alternative Water Sources: Differences In Beliefs, Social Norms And Factors Of Perceived Behavioural Control Across Eight Australian Locations, Sara Dolnicar, Anna Hurlimann
Drinking Water From Alternative Water Sources: Differences In Beliefs, Social Norms And Factors Of Perceived Behavioural Control Across Eight Australian Locations, Sara Dolnicar, Anna Hurlimann
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
Australia is facing serious challenges in the management of water in various urban and regional locations. Two popular responses to these challenges are increasing supply through alternative water sources such as recycled and desalinated water. However, significant gaps exist in our knowledge of community attitudes to these alternative sources of water, particularly for potable use. This paper reports results from an Australian study of community attitudes to alternative water sources. Sixty six qualitative interviews were held at eight locations with distinctly different water situations. This paper explores all three antecedents to the behaviour of drinking recycled water and desalinated water …
A Generalized Motif Bicluster Algorithm, Sebastian Kaiser, Friedrich Leisch
A Generalized Motif Bicluster Algorithm, Sebastian Kaiser, Friedrich Leisch
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
In many application domains different clusters in data may be defined by different sets of variables. E.g., in maketing one group of consumers could mainly be concerned about price and technical features of a product, while others care most about design and how \cool" the product is (almost regardless of the price). Standard clustering algorithms use all variables for all clusters and hence may fail to detect such structures in the data. Biclustering is the simultaneous clustering of columns and rows in a data set: each cluster is defined by a different subset of variables, these subsets can of course …
Dynamic Pricing Support Systems For Diy Retailers - A Case Study From Austria, Martin Natter, Thomas K. Reutterer, Andreas Mild
Dynamic Pricing Support Systems For Diy Retailers - A Case Study From Austria, Martin Natter, Thomas K. Reutterer, Andreas Mild
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
Merchandise managers have long dreamt of automated dynamic systems to help them make well-informed pricing decisions. However, such systems have proved as elusive as the Holy Grail - until now, that is. The story of an Austrian DIY retailer shows often undetected opportunities to use valuable information, hidden in retailers' data warehouses, on consumer reactions to previous price changes in order to make automatic pricing and promotion decisions.
Interactive Visualization Of Clusters In Microarray Data: An Efficient Tool For Improved Metabolic Analysis Of E. Coli, Theresa Scharl, Gerald Striedner, Florentina Potschacher, Friedrich Leisch, Karl Bayer
Interactive Visualization Of Clusters In Microarray Data: An Efficient Tool For Improved Metabolic Analysis Of E. Coli, Theresa Scharl, Gerald Striedner, Florentina Potschacher, Friedrich Leisch, Karl Bayer
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
Background Interpretation of comprehensive DNA microarray data sets is a challenging task for biologists and process engineers where scientific assistance of statistics and bioinformatics is essential. Interdisciplinary cooperation and concerted development of software-tools for simplified and accelerated data analysis and interpretation is the key to overcome the bottleneck in data-analysis workflows. This approach is exemplified by gcExplorer an interactive visualization toolbox based on cluster analysis. Clustering is an important tool in gene expression data analysis to find groups of co-expressed genes which can finally suggest functional pathways and interactions between genes. The visualization of gene clusters gives practitioners an understanding …