Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Three Good Reasons Not To Use Five And Seven Point Likert Items, Sara Dolnicar, Bettina Grun, Friedrich Leisch, John Rossiter

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

One of the main sources of knowledge development in tourism has been survey research. Through surveys of tourists, surveys of the tourism industry and surveys of residents living in tourism destinations, our understanding of the positive and negative impact of tourism has increased and we are now better able to understand and respond to tourists’ needs. The underlying measure in survey research is the question respondents are asked. In the physical sciences measures are highly calibrated and objective. For example, a thermometer – if not faulty – will show the true temperature of a location at any given time. A …

Quick, Simple And Reliable: Forced Binary Survey Questions, Sara Dolnicar, Bettina Grün, Friedrich Leisch

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Consumers are increasingly saturated by market research which leads to decreasing response rates and an increased danger of response bias. Market researchers thus face the challenge of recruiting respondents, increasing response rates and reducing respondent fatigue by making questionnaires as short and pleasant as possible. One way of achieving this is to replace traditionally used ordinal multi-category answer formats (such as Likert scales) with forced binary scales. This proposition is only attractive if it indeed shortens the survey time while not compromising the quality of managerial insights from the data.

This study investigates these conditions. Results from a repeat-measurement design …

Infrastructure And Economic Development, Cassey Lee

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The importance of the infrastructure sector to the process of economic growth and development has long been recognized and understood by scholars and policymakers. Without adequate infrastructure, modern commerce characterized by production specialization and exchange across markets would grind to a halt. Economic globalization would not take place without the reduction in communication and transportation costs brought about by the progress achieved in the development of infrastructure within and across countries. Thus, any attempt at understanding Malaysia’s past experiences in economic development thus requires an analysis of the role that the infrastructure has played. The purpose of this chapter is …

The Relation Of Intellectual Capital Disclosure Strategies And Market Value In Two Political Settings, Indra Abeysekera

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the political setting (civil war versus temporary truce) in a country has an influence on firms' current narrative, visual, and numerical intellectual capital disclosure being included in the current market value of equity. Design/methodology/approach – Using content analysis for data generation, this study identifies narrative, visual, and numerical intellectual capital disclosure in firms' annual reports. Financial data were obtained from firms' annual reports and the stock exchange. Fixed effect panel regression was conducted separately for the civil war period and temporary truce period. Findings – The paper finds that …

Self-Congruity And Volunteering : A Multi-Organisation Comparison, Melanie Randle, Sara Dolnicar

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

1. Purpose: To examine: (1) if individuals who prefer different volunteering organisations have different self-concepts; (2) if individuals perceive their preferred volunteering organisation as more similar to their self-concept than other volunteering organisations; and (3) if self-congruity theory correctly predicts consumer (volunteer) behaviour differences across organisations and organisational missions.
2. Design/methodology/approach: We collected data on people’s preferred volunteering organisation, their self-concept and their perceived image from eight volunteering organisations using an online self-completion survey. We then used chi-square tests and paired-sample t-tests to identify significant differences between groups.
3. Findings: Individuals who prefer different volunteering organisations differ significantly in their self-concept. For the …

Historical Approaches To Creativity And Innovation, Simon Ville

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

In this chapter, I will analyse historical approaches to creativity and innovation. Initially, this will take the form of a broad international comparative perspective and then, more specifically, I will address recent Australian historical experience. This will include a focussed look at sources of new technology in the interwar period. In the final section of the paper, I will address briefly the policy implications arising from the historical survey.

Bounded Rationality And The Emergence Of Simplicity Amidst Complexity, Cassey Lee

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The purpose of this essay is to explore the relationship between the simple and the complex in economics by anchoring our analysis on bounded rationality. Much of the conventional literature focuses on ‘un-bounded rationality’ of the rationality-as-consistency variety. Theorizing of bounded rationality tends to assume that the problem to be solved is independent of the nature of bounded rationality. Following the insights from the works of Herbert Simon and contributions from outside economics, both bounded rationality and the environment are inextricably linked. The boundaries between bounded rationality and its environment can shift. The form in which bounded rationality is found …

What Affects Public Acceptance Of Recycled And Desalinated Water?, Sara Dolnicar, Anna Hurlimann, Bettina Grun

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper identifies factors that are associated with higher levels of public acceptance for recycled and desalinated water. For the first time, a wide range of hypothesized factors, both of socio-demographic and psychographic nature, are included simultaneously. The key results, based on a survey study of about 3000 respondents are that: (1) drivers of the stated likelihood of using desalinated water differ somewhat from drivers of the stated likelihood of using recycled water; (2) positive perceptions of, and knowledge about, the respective water source are key drivers for the stated likelihood of usage; and (3) awareness of water scarcity, as …

Does Water Context Influence Behaviour And Attitudes To Water Conservation?, M Gilbertson, A Hurlimann, S Dolnicar

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Many rural and urban areas around the world are facing challenges to the supply of water. A key method of addressing water shortage is water conservation. The success of conservation measures depends on public support and behaviour change. While it is known that the public is generally supportive of water conservation measures, little is known about the dependence of water conservation attitudes and behaviour on geographical location and the water situation at specific locations. The present study investigates whether individual attitudes to water conservation, and reported participation in water conservation behaviours, differ between two Australian locations that vary significantly in …

The Effect Of Ownership Structure On Leverage Decision: New Evidence From Chinese Listed Firms, Qigui Liu, Gary Tian, Xiaoming Wang

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper examines the effect of state control and ownership structure on the leverage decision of firms listed in the Chinese stock market. Our results show that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have higher leverage ratios than non-SOEs, and SOEs in regions with a poorer institutional environment have higher leverage ratios than SOEs in better regions. We also show that the largest shareholding (the percentage of shares held by the largest shareholder) in the SOEs has a negative relationship with the leverage ratio, while the largest shareholding in non-SOEs has a non-linear relationship with the short-term and long-term debt ratios. Finally, this …

Key Drivers Of Airline Loyalty, Sara Dolnicar, Klaus Grabler, Bettina Grun, Anna Kulnig

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This study investigates drivers of airline loyalty. It contributes to the body of knowledge in the area by investigating loyalty for a number of a priori market segments identified by airline management and by using a method which accounts for the multi-step nature of the airline choice process. The study is based on responses from 687 passengers. Results indicate that, at aggregate level, frequent flyer membership, price, the status of being a national carrier and the reputation of the airline as perceived by friends are the variables which best discriminate between travellers loyal to the airline and those who are …

Cross-Sector Research Collaboration In Australia: The Cooperative Research Centres Program At The Crossroads, Tim Turpin, Samuel Garrett-Jones, Richard Woolley

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

In this article we trace changes in the institutional and social dynamics that have steered cross-sector R&D collaboration in Australia. Public policy provided the initial push toward cross-sector collaboration. The Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program is Australia's most longstanding national arrangement for industry-university-government research collaboration. Over the past two decades the program has grown to become the dominant model for cross-sector R&D cooperation in the country. Because of the size of the program in the Australian innovation system it has also become a major focus for debate about science policy. Universities have now institutionalised this imperative in all sorts of …

The Role Of The Government In Financial Sector Development, Arusha Cooray

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This study examines the impact of two dimensions of the government, namely, size and quality, on two dimensions of the financial sector, size and efficiency, in a cross section of 71 economies. The study finds that increased quality of the government as measured by governance and legal origin positively influences both financial sector size and efficiency. The size of the government proxied by government expenditure and the government ownership of banks has a negative effect on financial sector efficiency, and a positive impact on financial sector size, particularly in the low income economies.

Active Ageing: Using An Arcon Framework To Study U3a (University Of The Third Age) In Australia, Ronald C. Beckett, Michael Jones

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

There are more than 200 U3A groups in Australia where senior citizens collaborate to provide recreational learning opportunities to more than 60,000 other senior citizens. The movement continues to grow through the efforts of thousands of volunteers with very limited government support. We chose to use a collaborative network organisation modelling framework, ARCON, to both guide questions we asked in our research and to represent data from different instances in a consistent way. This provided a coherent view of the status quo, but supplementary questions were needed to consider the future viability of U3A groups. Spinoff network activities associated with …

Institution Building And Organizational Diversity: Evidence From Australian Woolbrokers’ Associations, 1890‐1939, David Merrett, Simon Ville

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Between 1890 and 1914 Australia became the world’s largest market for wool. Wresting this title from London required local brokers to create an ordered market with a central auction room, a uniform sale contract and standard arbitration procedure across a number of separate selling centres. This paper explores the various governance structures created by the Associations in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, to bind co‐operative behaviours. We argue that the dual objects of the Associations, adherence to a uniform price and the operation of a central auction, provided different levels of incentives to firms to co‐operate in each centre. Firms took …

Informal Flexibility? Issues For Accountants Working Part-Time In Small Firms, Mary Barrett, Glenda Strachan

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Formally sanctioned flexible working conditions are now common in Australian workplaces. While large organisations have policies for part-time work, career breaks, and leave options, research indicates employees may still suffer employment disadvantage if they use them (French and Sheridan 2010; Lyonette and Crompton 2008). This paper examines this issue for a lesser known population: professional and managerial employees in small accounting firms (<50 employees), particularly those working fewer than 35 hours per week and those who took career breaks. Results are drawn from a survey of all CPA Australia members working in small firms.

Unsurprisingly, given that women undertake more family and household work (ABS 2009; Burgess and Strachan 2005), more women than men worked part-time, and women had taken longer career breaks. Arrangements for part-time work and other flexible options …

Centrelink Prosecutions At The Employment/Benefit Nexus: A Case Study Of Wollongong, Freda Hui, Lee Moerman, Kathy Rudkin

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This report examines financial and social issues pertaining to Centrelink prosecutions for overpayments of unemployment‐related social security benefits. Specifically, it examines the circumstances of prosecutions of those returning to work, and those in precarious casual employment. A sample of overpayment prosecutions in the Wollongong area of New South Wales from July 2008 to June 2010 is profiled and analysed.

Earnings Management And The Effect Of Earnings Quality In Relation To Stress Level And Bankruptcy Level Of Chinese Listed Firms, Feng Li, Indra Abeysekera, Shiguang Ma

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper investigates the link between earnings management and earnings quality for the Chinese firms listed in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2003 to 2007. The earnings quality is measured by four separate earnings attributes: accruals quality, earnings persistence, earnings predictability, and earnings smoothness. We find that the stressed/bankrupt firms prefer opportunistic earnings management; the non-stressed/non-bankrupt firms are more likely to choose more efficient earnings management than the stressed/non-bankrupt firms. We find that earnings management performs better than earnings quality in predicting future profitability. We also find that the earnings quality has deteriorated over the sample period; the …

Is For Government Climate Change Adaptation Activities: An Exploratory Case Study, Stephen Smith, Donald Winchester, Helen M. Hasan, Patrick Finnegan

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper reports a case study of climate change adaptation activities of the New South Wales Government’s Climate Change Working Group where ten agencies have responsibility for thirty-five long-term activities. A concurrent Data-Centre Consolidation project has highlighted the mammoth amount of data held by different agencies that must be integrated into information to adequately support these adaptation activities. Our analysis of data collected from interviews and documents reveals the potential of a retrospective ontology capability, and a unique citizen record in enabling this integration. Adaptation activities require resolution of differences in the perspectives of government agencies and citizens and changes …

Self-Congruity Theory: To What Extent Does It Hold In Tourism?, P. Boksberger, Sara Dolnicar, Christian Laesser, Melanie J. Randle

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper investigates: (1) if, and to what extent, self-congruity theory is applicable in tourism, (2) to what extent travel and person characteristics explain the degree of self-congruity, and (3) how the operationalization of self-congruity affects the conclusions about whether self-congruity holds in tourism. Results derived from a large-scale study of Swiss travellers indicate that conclusions depend heavily on how self-congruity is measured. Using a relatively strict measure, more than half the trips under study can be classified as self-congruent. However, travel and socio-demographic characteristics are very limited in their ability to explain when self-congruity occurs.

The Impact Of Job Loss On Family Dissolution, Denise Doiron, Silvia Mendolia

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The impact of involuntary job displacements on the probability of divorce is analysed using discrete duration models. The analysis uses the sample of couples from the British Household Panel Survey and distinguishes between types of displacements. Results show that couples in which the husband experiences a job loss are more likely to divorce. Redundancies have small, positive, often insignificant and short-lived effects while dismissals and temporary job endings have larger positive impacts. This is consistent with the interpretation of redundancies as capturing negative income shocks while other types of job loss also convey new information about potential future earnings and …

Analysing Texts Used To Contribute To The Discharge Of Public Sector Financial Accountability, Graham D. Bowrey, Ciorstan J. Smark

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Purpose – This paper reviews and analyses the discourse recorded in the Hansard of the Australian Federal Parliament’s Senate Legislation Committees to determine if this parliamentary accountability process contributes to the (re)production of dominance and inequality in the public sector. Design/methodology/approach – This research is based on a relatively new approach termed critical investigative inquiry which, in this paper, is based on critical discourse analysis informed and supported by rudimentary content analysis and thematic analysis. Practical implications – This paper provides insights into the use of Senate Legislative Committees as an avenue for elites to exert dominance over those who …

Political Connection And Managerial Entrenchment: Evidence From Ceo Turnovers In China, Jerry Cao, Xiaofei Pan, Meijun Qian, Gary G. Tian

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Firms seek political connection by hiring politicians and ex-bureaucrats as top executives in China, especially in privately controlled firms. One unintended consequence of establishing political connection is management entrenchment. Political connected CEOs have smaller equity holding than CEOs without political background. Political connection significantly lowers the CEO turnover probability and turnover-performance sensitivity. Firm performance improves after political connected CEOs are replaced, particularly if replaced by new ones not politically connected. Overall, our findings suggest that political connection in association with management entrenchment destroys shareholder value, harms firm performance, and exacerbates corporate governance in emerging economies.

Red Queen Takes White Knight: The Commercialisation Of Accounting Education In Australia, Edmund W. Watts, Carol J. Mcnair, Graham D. Bowrey

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Purpose - This paper investigates the consequences of the commercialisation of Australian universities. It also provides a theoretical framework which focuses this action. Design / methodology - The Red Queen scenario posits that organisations that are more active than their rivals (they run faster) improve their competitive positions and increase their performance. However, organisations that are more sluggish (they run slower) experience negative performance consequences. This paper examines this process using the new institutional theory against the backdrop of the quest for increased international student numbers, higher international ranking and international accreditation. Findings - Using data from the 2011 Excellence …

Value Creation In Social Marketing For The Continued Use Of Wellness Services, Nadia Zainuddin

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

In social marketing, in order to incentivise individuals into performing desired social behaviours, a value proposition is required (Dann, 2008; Kotler and Lee, 2008) as consumers often act out of self-interest (Rothschild, 1999). Value propositions offer relevant and timely incentives to encourage individuals to not only voluntarily perform these behaviours, but maintain these behaviours long-term. Much of the current research in value is focussed on a goods-oriented commercial marketing context, using an economic approach, which has resulted in a lack of investigation of value in a social marketing context from an experiential perspective (Holbrook, 1994), which this paper seeks to …

Investigating Chinese And Australian Student's Awareness And Interpretation Of Csr, And The Influence Of Studying 'Socially Innovative Commerce' Over Time, Zhengfeng Li, Alan A. Pomering, Gary I. Noble

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This study compares Chinese students studying in Australia and Australian domestic students on awareness and interpretation of, and attitude and behavioural intention towards the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR), and the influence on both of studying within an environment termed "socially innovative commerce". While previous research has found that age, gender, and study major of students may influence perceptions of CSR, this rsearch found these variables are not as significant as cultural background. These findings are presented and discussed along with future research directions.

Implementing A Sustainability Balanced Scorecard 'Dashboard' Approach To Assess Organisational Legitimacy, Tairan (Kevin) Huang, Matthew P. Pepper, Graham D. Bowrey

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify and determine the contributing factors which influence the contents of a firm‟s sustainability reporting through combined social and environmental accounting and management perspectives.

Design/methodology/approach: This paper analyzes the disclosed sustainability indicators of a major Australian financial institution, Westpac, through the application of the research method content analysis. The theoretical framework will be shaped by the consideration of legitimacy theory and the Balanced Scorecard approach.

Findings: The results indicate that the four perspectives of a traditional Balanced Scorecard are related to the main sources of influential inputs to Westpac‟s …

Trends In Emissions Across The States Of Australia 1998-99 To 2007-08: A Shift-Share Analysis, Kankesu Jayanthakumaran, Ying Liu

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper reviews structural changes in emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM) in eight Australian states and territories over the period 1998 to 1999 to 2007 to 2008. A shift-share analysis decomposes the changes of an emission between these two periods into parts ( a national-share component, an industry-mix component and a state-shift component) in order to account for the ecological competitiveness of the states and territories. The results suggest that the changes in state emissions have been substantial, and tend to reflect national, industry and regional policy changes.

Reflections On Interpretive Supply Chain Research, Tillmann Boehme, Paul Childerhouse, Eric Deakins, Denis Towill

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

A key purpose of this paper is to stimulate researchers into utilising a more balanced portfolio of research methods when generating supply chain theory. The supply chain/logistics literature overwhelmingly exhibits objectivist/positivist philosophical assumptions, indicating that this is what researchers believe constitutes valid discipline knowledge. In contrast, this paper demonstrates that an interpretive perspective is capable of yielding a comprehensive picture of the relationship between the supply chain and the ‘messy’ environment within which it is embedded (contingency theory). By reflecting on lessons learned through many years of practical researcher experience with such a methodology, this paper serves to motivate the …

Using Decision Tree In Business Collaborator, Chao Sun, Yu Zhang

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Purpose - Business collaboration is important for small and medium sized enterprises. The traditional method of choosing business collaborator is largely based on individual's experience and subjective criteria. However, the failure rate of business collaboration is still high for less experienced small firms. The purpose of this research is to find a different solution for managers in choosing business collaborators.

Methodology - Decision Tree is an advanced technology, which is used in different business and industry areas. It is adopted in this study to help the managers choosing business partners. This study using the data collected from 339 firms in …