The Business Review Journal

Vol. 12 * Number 1 * Summer. 2009

The Library of Congress, Washington, DC  *  ISSN 1553 - 5827

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Empirically Testing Explicit and Tacit Knowledge Assumptions: Implications for Competitive Advantage

and Quantitative Business Analysis

Dr. Joseph G. Gerard, Suny Institute of Technology, Utica, NY

Dr. Ann K. Buchholtz, University of Georgia, Athens, GA

Dr. Robert Yeh, Suny Institute of Technology, Utica, NY

Dr. Robert Orilio, Suny Institute of Technology, Utica, NY

ABSTRACT

 Most studies that currently employ the tacit knowledge term classify accounting and finance data, because they rely upon written number-based output, as explicit by definition and therefore easily understood, easily  transferred, and incapable of providing an advantage for any firm. In effect, quantitative – and therefore explicit - business analysis functions are unlikely sources of advantage. This clearly contrasts with practical reality, however, wherein figures are misrepresented, performance obfuscated, and information applied inappropriately, requiring continuous adjustment (Harris & Helfat, 2007). Government and industry negotiations concerning oversight and regulation, ongoing Sarbanes-Oxley discussions, calls for transparency, and the need for auditing mechanisms all point to a body of knowledge that, contrary to general perception, is difficult to understand despite the codified end product. We first provide a concise introduction to tacit knowledge as it is most frequently used in other business papers. We then test the popular tacit knowledge postulate that mathematical information (i.e., numeric and formulaic data) is by definition explicit. We discuss our results which suggest a relationship between explicit and tacit knowledge exists, but that these appear to be separate constructs. This is more congruent with a Polanyian personal knowledge perspective (Polanyi, 1962). We also find, contrary to most research, that core activities relevant to accounting, finance, and quantitative business analysis do not fit an explicit-only mould. This has major implications for expectations of firm value and competitive advantage, which we discuss.

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Globalization, Capital Controls, and the Tobin Tax

Dr. Ahmet Baytas, Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, NJ

Dr. Serpil Leveen, Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, NJ

ABSTRACT

 This paper briefly describes the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, the rise of the global finance and neo-liberalism, and the consequences of these developments for the global economy.  It then summarizes the literature on the Tobin Tax, one of the most widely discussed proposals to stabilize the international exchange markets.  It concludes that a Tobin Tax could indeed reduce volatility in the financial markets and generate revenue that can be used for global public goods, including bailouts of countries whose currencies have been under speculative attacks.  The Bretton Woods system was predicated on the notion that unrestricted capital mobility is not compatible with the objectives of free trade and full-employment, and that currency and financial markets would be vulnerable to destabilizing outflows of funds unless some regulations were in place.  Hence, various controls were imposed on international capital flows, including purchases of foreign currency and lending across borders.  However, following the breakdown of the Bretton Woods system in the early 1970s, the financial system ceased to be just a means to achieve growth and employment and began taking a life of its own unrelated to the real economy.   It is indeed widely acknowledged that the international economy of the post-Bretton Woods era has largely been driven by powerful global finance and is characterized by reduced growth rates, greater frequency of financial crises, and increased inequality within as well as among nations.  Nowadays, roughly $2 trillion changes hands on a typical day in the foreign exchange market.  This means that in less than a week foreign exchange market transactions exceed the annual value of world trade.  Most trades are among the dealers themselves and do not involve actual users of foreign exchange. 

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OmniJet: A Case Study in Crisis Turnarounds

William A. Andrews, Ph.D., Stetson University, Deland, FL

ABSTRACT

 Cal Johnson, a turnaround consultant, has been asked by Joe Barton, CEO of OmniJet to recommend a course of action for rescuing Barton’s floundering company.  OmniJet is a family owned business that grew from a jet engine maintenance facility to a holding company of eight related businesses in five years.  Although the businesses were legally separate, costs and revenues were shuffled between companies for tax optimization. Now, management information was muddled, liquidity was poor, the management structure functioned poorly, financial controls were inadequate, most of the “departments” were losing money, the top management family members were bickering among themselves, and OmniJet has experienced some bad luck.  Johnson must help Barton devise a plan for recovery and sensible growth. The case fits will into courses in entrepreneurship, family business, and turnaround management.  Cal Johnson, a turnaround consultant, reflected on a note he had received from Joe Barton, CEO of OmniJet, covering performance over the last two calendar years. Cal had spent a couple of days talking to management and employees in an attempt to gain insights into OmniJet’s problems. OmniJet had become, in effect, a holding company for 8 aviation-related businesses, having grown from its original engine maintenance operation in just 5 years. It currently had about had about 100 employees, and had sales of about $17 million. The desperation and frustration in Joe’s tone was unmistakable:

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Abusive Managers and Variables Impacting Retaliation in Organizations

Dr. Debra Y. Hunter, Troy University-Atlanta, GA

Dr. Diane Bandow, Troy University-Atlanta, GA

ABSTRACT

 This paper examines the abusive managers and variables that impact if employee perceptions of managerial abuse.  Multiple aspects of abusive behavior are examined relative to personality, interpretations, behaviors and perceptions of justice that influence retaliation in the workplace.  A combination of various factors can produce an abusive environment in organizations of that management is responsible for not only preventing violence but from refraining in retaliatory tactics against employees.  Implications for managers are reviewed.  Although uncivil and abusive behavior such as harassment and bullying have been in society for some time there is increased interest in how these behaviors impact the workplace,  especially since the well-known events of the US Postal Service  - 2000 incidents in four years (Anonymous, 1994) -  and other organizations where employees have attacked and even murdered coworkers.  One aspect of this behavior is abusive behavior by management and supervision focused upon subordinates.  An increased interest in uncivil, abusive and potentially destructive behaviors has been noted in the literature.    The EEOC (n.d.) has specifically forbidden retaliation by employers against those who “…file or threatened to file charges, assist in an investigation, complain about alleged discrimination, refuse to obey an order believed to be discriminatory or request reasonable accommodations" (Solano and Kleiner, 2003).  However, many instances of workplace retaliation are never reported and frequently not even reported to management, so what is reported is likely only a small percentage of actual occurrences. 

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When a Merger is Not a Merger

Professor Diana Peaks, Jacksonville University, Jacksonville, Florida

Dr. Gordon W. Arbogast, Jacksonville University, Jacksonville, Florida

Dr. Ruth O’Keefe, Jacksonville University, Jacksonville, Florida

ABSTRACT

 The Bell Atlantic – GTE merger of 2000 was designed to join the products and services of two giants: Bell Atlantic’s data intensive customer base in thirteen states along the east coast with GTE’s national footprint of advanced data communications capabilities and long-distance expertise into one super giant – Verizon Communications.  As with many other mergers in various high-tech industries across the United States, this merger presented the newly established Verizon executive team with the challenges of extreme cultural diversities, a new set of global competition issues and unanticipated internal organizational strife.  This paper analyzes the strategy adopted by the Verizon executive leadership for the joining of two separate and distinct occupational differential cultures.  This combination was far from being a seamless amalgamation into one cohesive organizational culture; it was handled more like a normal acquisition by Verizon.  An earlier independent occurrence by Southwestern Bell Corporation in “merging with Pac Bell” illustrates a similar example of this phenomenon.  These two corporate initiatives offer concrete evidence that some mergers may in fact be acquisitions in disguise.  According to a 1995 Family and Work Survey, a national probability survey of individuals who were employed full time (as cited in Cappelli, 1997), forty-two percent of surveyed employees reported personal experience with organizational downsizing. As part of the downsizing exercise, twenty-eight percent cut back some or all levels of management and eighteen percent of employees were involved in either a merger or an acquisition. The reported restructurings were more prevalent among larger organizations; in these forty-eight percent with 500 or more employees significantly reduced the management population and twenty-eight percent were either engaged in or preparing for either a “merger of equals” or an acquisition.

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Using Music and Song Clips as a Teaching Tool: Perspectives for Teaching Management & Organizational Behavior

Dr. Michael Albert, Professor of Management, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA

 ABSTRACT

 The article explores how music and song clips can be used as a teaching tool and for curriculum design in a Management & Organizational Behavior course. Although there have been many publications focused on the use of film and film clips in Management courses, only a few articles have focused on using music and song clips as a teaching tool. Perspectives from these articles are discussed, along with contributions from a few articles that have focused on using music as a teaching tool in other business disciplines, namely Marketing, Statistics, and Economists. Several educational benefits from the author’s use of music and song clips are discussed, along with in-depth examples of selecting relevant songs, and editing specific song clips for particular chapter concepts and topics. In addition to using song clips focused on concepts and topics, several other uses are discussed.  Although management educators have recognized the benefits from using film as a teaching tool in the classroom to focus on specific topics and concepts (Bumpus, 2005; Champoux, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007; Comer, 2001; Gallos, 1993; Gioia & Brass, 1985; Foreman & Thatchenkery, 1996; Harrington & Griffen, 1989-1990; Hobbs 1998; Huczynski, 1994, Huczynski, & Buchanan, 2004; McCambridge, 2003; McMahon & Bramhall, 2004; Roth, 2001; Serey, 1992) there has been little acknowledgement and discussion in the literature of using music in the classroom. Whereas many articles have discussed how jazz improvisation can provide a powerful metaphor for understanding organizations, leadership, work groups, and strategy (Barrett, 1998; Barrett & Peplowski, 1998; Bell, 1998; Bento, 2000; Depree, 1992; Eisenhardt, 1997; Kao, 1997; Majchrzak, Logan, McCurdy, & Kirchmer, 2006; Meyer, Frost, & Weick, 1998; Nielson, 1992; Scheer, 2003; Weick, 1992; Zack, 2000), these publications do not focus on using music in the classroom.

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Ethical Idealism, Concern About Ethics of Information Management and Demand for Notice About Uses of Personal Information

Joseph S. Mollick, Ph.D., Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

ABSTRACT

 What do individuals demand from information intensive organizations when they are concerned about the ethics of information management practices in organizations? Do customers demand that organizations behave transparently by notifying them about the uses of personal data about them? Is an individuals’ ethical idealism positively related to their demand for notice about uses of personal information? Using data collected from a survey of students at a large U.S. university, we build a theoretical model and empirically test two hypothesized relationships to answer these questions. Implications of the results for administration of personal information management systems in universities and other organizations are discussed.  On January 21, 2009, the first full day of a new administration, the White House issued a memo instructing all heads of federal agencies and departments to respond “promptly and in a spirit of cooperation” to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The White House FOIA memo states that government “should not keep information confidential merely because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears.” In addition, agencies should take affirmative steps to make information public [24].  It can be argued that individuals conscious about personal rights and freedoms demand transparency in information management practices not only in a national government but in other organizations as well. Individuals demonstrate different degrees of idealism in the way they form opinions regarding the ethical soundness of actions undertaken by individuals and organizations.

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Creating a New Green Management Course

Dr. Constance Bates, Florida International University, Miami FL

Dr. Ronnie Silverblatt, Florida International University, Miami FL

Professor Jack Kleban, Florida International University, Miami FL

ABSTRACT

 Just as firms are increasingly recognizing the value of green programs, so, too, are Colleges of Business.  Green or sustainability courses are beginning to appear in university business curriculums.  This article describes how a new green management course was developed and how it is structured to meet current AACSB requirements.  It includes Learning Objectives and describes an experiential learning assignment:  proposing green programs to area businesses.  It also presents a detailed examination of all the course elements, such as homework, textbooks, and oral report. Additionally, a survey of green courses at AACSB institutions is presented. This outline could be used as a guide for others developing new courses in the area of sustainability.  In terms of going green, business is ahead of the business schools.  There are many cases of firms implementing green projects, from cleaner energy to vertical farming.  One of the most commonly used definitions of sustainability comes from the UN.  Sustainable development is development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (UN, 1987). There are fewer cases where business colleges are offering green courses.  A sampling of business schools shows only 31% offer at least one green course.  Yet, green has become a mainstream goal for many business organizations.  It is the responsibility of business schools to prepare students for careers in organizations.

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When is the Line Crossed

Dr. Richard Murphy, Jacksonville University, FL

Dr. George Henry, Jacksonville University, FL

Dr. William Crosby, Jacksonville University, FL

ABSTRACT

Recently, there has been a plethora of media reports citing corporate scandals. Mr. John Rigas, the founder of Adelphia Communications the fifth largest cable operator in the United States, is just one of the many corporate officers removed by Federal Authorities in handcuffs. The elderly Mr. Rigas, his sons, and other top leadership at Adelphia were indicted. This paper will center on the application of business ethics, and inappropriate decisions that Mr. Rigas may have made when he was at the helm of Adelphia Communications. The TheTpaper will also demonstrate examples of business practices that may not be illegal; however, these practices allow serious ethical concerns to remain when inaccurate financial reporting by public companies is not questioned. Ethics can be defined as "the study of general nature of morals and specifics moral choices an individual makes in relating members of a profession..." not only when making professional decisions but personal choices as well. Sometimes it is difficult to make the right choice, especially when pleasure is involved in choosing a behavior that seems good for us, but it may not be the right choice as described by the deontology theory which says "the good is defined independently of the right," meaning not everything that is good is right or vice-verse. When making any kind of decisions it is important to ask ourselves some questions, and to be honest when answering these questions. For example, "It is right? Is it fair for others or for me? Am I hurting anyone making such a decision? Could I disclose this to the public? Would I tell my child to do this? Does it pass the stink test?" These are only few questions that can help individuals to decide between what is right, good and/or wrong. In its simplest form ethics deals with right and wrong not necessary what’s legal.

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Development of the Hospitality Quality Consciousness Scale: A Pilot Study

Wei-Jaw Deng, Ph.D., Chung Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Lei Pei, Chung Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, R.O.C.

ABSTRACT

 This research describes the development and validation of a 19-item instrument (hospitality quality consciousness scale, HQCS) for assessing employees’ quality consciousness in hospitality organizations. Two studies were conducted to develop the final scale items, and to evaluate the scale’s reliability and validity. Two core dimensions of quality consciousness are identified, namely, service management and total quality management. The HQSC has a variety of potential applications and can serve as a framework for further empirical research in service management or human resource management field.  The more special difference between service industry and others industry is the compact intricate relationship between employee and customer. Employee completes service delivering that is part of service product. Customers consume such service product and finally assess the service quality and consuming values. Some time customers even are participators of service production. In such circumstance, there is no chance that employee can correct service failures without customer’s awareness. Therefore, by source management viewpoint, every service enterprise really needs to make endeavor of employee management in service system to pursue the competitive advantage of excellent service quality and customer satisfaction.  The performances of front-line employee dramatically affect service quality and customer satisfaction (Mohr and Bitner, 1995). Many researchers emphasized the importance of customer-contact employees in creating and providing good service quality (Bitner et al. 1990; Hartline & Ferrell, 1996; Kelley & Hoffman, 1997). Tsaur and Lin (2004) indicated service quality depends on the performance of interactive result between employees and customer. Heskett et al. (1994) presented a Service-Profit Chain theory that had emphasized the critical role of employee’s performance in pursuing customer satisfaction. The good performances of front-line employee deeply depend on their service attitudes and service behaviors.

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The Economic Impact of Agriculture Education Projects in the Texas Economy; Values Beyond the Classroom

Dr. Roger Hanagriff, Associate Professor, Texas A&M Kingsville

Dr. Tim Murphy & Dr. Gary Briers, Professor, Texas A&M

Dr. Grady Roberts, Associate Professor, University of Florida

ABSTRACT

 Experiential learning or more commonly called SAEs are well documented valuable and integral parts of agriculture education (Deyoe,1953; Moore, 1988; Cheek, Arrington, Carter, & Randall 1994; Dyer & Osborne, 1996; Bryant, 2003; Roberts & Harlin).  Cole and Connell (1993) found that there is little research regarding the economic value of SAEs and suggest that measuring the cost and economic benefits of SAEs would be valuable knowledge to provide additional benefits of SAE programs.  This study finds that Texas entrepreneurship SAEs are contributing $103 million in direct spending to the Texas economy.  A common measure of economic impacts is the IMPLAN Model that provides estimates of additional benefits from direct spending, which applied to these values represent $189 million in total economic value from SAE and associated activities.  These economic impacts are important values and should be reported to school stakeholders and methods of assessment should be improved to provide more accurate estimates of value.  Previous research has linked the educational value of an SAE to student achievement and knowledge (Cheek, Arrington, Carter, & Randall 1994; Dyer & Osborne, 1996).  The educational purposes and objectives built into the SAE benefit students by challenging them to gain new skills and experiences (Bryant, 2003).  However, an SAE requires additional investment cost such as travel and for an entrepreneurship SAE costs for supplies and capital purchases.  This research reviews the educational intent and value of SAE’s, previously completed research in economic valuation of SAE’s and determines the economic value of SAE’s to the Texas economy. 

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Networked Business Models for Train ICT System Implementation

Svahn Senja, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland

Vaaramaki Tapio, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland

ABSTRACT

 This study focuses on the implementing new Intelligent Transport System to the trains. Our goal was to study the current system in the Finish Railways and then to analyze the existing needs to develop the system further. Based on our analyses we suggest a new future concept. Furthermore, the innovations required by the new system are identified. As a conclusion the business network approach to form this new intelligent transport system is suggested. The business network benefits the train operator by binding together various actors producing different products and services to a single package.   This paper focuses on implementing Railways’ Intelligent Transport Systems (RITS) by utilizing a business network, consisting of companies offering different products and services.  It continues the recent work by Väärämäki et al. (2007) and Riihimäki et al. (2007) by introducing the actors involved in the RITS implementation.  The popularity of public transportation is increasing smoothly and this can be expected to continue due to the change in the commuting climate. Typical public transportation vehicles include ships, aeroplanes, coaches, and trains. Trains are competing with aircrafts: modern trains are capable of moving at a speed of  up to 500km/h (Ono 2002).  In addition, trains can potentially be used as mobile offices with all the expected accessories required by the modern integrated mobile information and communications tools, such as laptops and mobile phones. Trains can also offer practically uninterrupted working with adequate working space. In this, railways can do better than their competitors, including air traffic.

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Does the Investment Upper Limit Regulation Matter?  The Case of Taiwan’s Communication and Internet Firms

Yi-Hui Chiang, Ph.D Candidate, National Chiao-Tung University and

Ta-Hwa Institute of Technology, Taiwan, Taiwan

Chih-Young Hung, Associate Professor, National Chiao-Tung University, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

 In this paper, we developed a partial least squares (PLS) path model to investigate the outward foreign direct investment (FDI) of Taiwan into China. The main purpose of this study is to answer a question: “How much has the investment upper limit regulation interfered with Taiwanese firms’ decisions in making FDI into China?” The question will be answered by testing six hypotheses on the determinants of the model. The results of our study, using data of Taiwanese communication and internet firms between 1998 and 2007 showed that the regulation indeed affects the FDI outflow. However, it is also found that firm specific factors had much stronger effects than did the investment upper limit regulation on Taiwanese firms’ FDI into China.  The deregulation of capital outflows by the Taiwanese government in 1987 caused a watershed in the pattern and frequency of foreign direct investment (FDI) emanating from Taiwan. The policy permitted a business or an individual to send annually up to US$5 million abroad that needed no governmental approval. As a result, outward FDI surged. In the period between 1987 and 1988, both the flow and the stock of Taiwan’s outbound FDI surpassed those of inbound FDI. Taiwan has since become a net capital exporter. However, after the occurrence of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, the destinations of Taiwan’s FDI outflows changed dramatically. This is particularly evident in the re-balancing of FDI funds between those crisis-affected Southeast-Asian countries on one hand and China on the other. Not only have the FDI flows from Taiwan to China increased over the last ten years, but the ratio between the FDI flowing to China and the FDI flowing to those Southeast-Asian countries has also increased steadily after 1997.

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What Culture Do We Need for Economic Development?

Dr. Vojko Potocan, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia

ABSTRACT

 The important developmental starting-point of all and especially the advanced countries is the culture that represents all their subjects, fields and society levels. Recent research on sources of regional economic differences stresses the crucial role of culture, especially culture of the organizations—as most powerful institutions in modern society. For example, it finds that that the difference between US regions in terms of economic development results do not result from technology alone, but also from the development of culture. The level of development culture, and within it especially the economic cultures, importantly define the development and characteristics of organizations of all societies. The process of organizational development can be defined as the totality of the following phases: Supplying enterprise, Efficient Enterprise, Quality Enterprise, Flexible Enterprise, Innovative Enterprise, and Sustainable Enterprise. Each of these phases is based on a specific economical culture, which embraces different levels of transformation of important factors of organizations. This contribution discusses two theses: (1) the direction of development of a country is critically dependent on the influence of the surrounding culture, especially in the area of organization, and (2) working and behavior in organizations are importantly defined by the prevailing economical culture.   A crucial economic culture trend reflect the economic development against the background of competitiveness  phases from (1) the production factors phase via (2) technological investment phase and (3) the innovation phase to (4) the affluence phase (Mulej, 1979; Affuah, 1998; Rogers, 2003).

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Enforcing an Arbitration Agreement tainted by Bribery: Cautions and Controversies

Dr. Felix W. H. Chan, The University of Hong Kong

Zhao Liang, The University of Hong Kong

Abstract

 The body of literature on economic, legal and sociological analysis of corruption has been growing in recent years.  In the landmark case Fiona Trust v. Privalov [2007], the House of Lords in the United Kingdom was called upon to decide whether the arbitral tribunal in question might rule on its own substantive jurisdiction, including whether there was a valid arbitration agreement existed between the parties, even though the shipowners alleged that the charterparty containing the arbitration agreement had been procured by bribery.  This paper surveys and critically explores the arguments that an arbitration clause should be immune to certain vitiating factors (including illegality caused by corruption) affecting the validity of the agreement in which it is contained.  The doctrine of separability of arbitration clauses is also examined in the context of the latest case law. Arbitration is a consensual and private process where, by mutual agreement (usually in the form of an arbitration clause in a contract), parties to a contract refer a dispute for determination by one or more independent persons other than a court of competent jurisdiction.    Similar to a court judgment, the decision reached by the arbitrators, called an award, can be enforced.  In the past decades, there has been much discussion about the interpretation of arbitration clauses and the competence of an arbitration tribunal to rule on its own jurisdiction.  In the landmark case Fiona Trust v. Privalov [2007] (1), the House of Lords in the United Kingdom was called upon to decide whether the arbitral tribunal in question might rule on its own substantive jurisdiction, including whether there was a valid arbitration agreement existed between the parties, even though the shipowners alleged that the charterparty containing the arbitration agreement had been procured by fraud, namely bribery.

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Applying Foreign Experience in Work Incentive Tools When Creating Microsimulation Model for the Czech Republic

Robert Jahoda, Ph.D., Masaryk University and RILSA, Czech Republic

Abstract

 The article states, that combination of taxes and social benefits on the supply side of the labour market, create inactivity traps in which case households resign from seeking income on the labour market and depend more on the state social benefits. In order to locate those traps marginal effective tax rates – METR – have been used simply because they take into account not only the tax system but also the social benefit system. According to this analysis, the most endangered by the already mentioned inactivity traps are the households with higher subsistence minimum and those with only one – substandard – financial income from regular work. In addition to this part there is an evaluation of foreign experiences in creating motivational schemes in order to encourage the access to the labour market. More precisely, we have focused on broad experience of Great Britain with tools of the given kind. Possible introduction of the tools in the Czech republic and an evaluation of the process are being dealt with in the final part of this paper. Microsimulation methods are viewed as suitable means for evaluation, although under current conditions of increasing costs of living and ongoing rent deregulation it may provide inaccurate data.  The combined effect of taxes and social subsidies on willingness to work is one of the research areas of the labour supply. Increased interest could be detected in those countries where combination of higher labour taxation and vast redistribution programmes is one of the reasons for ineffectively functioning labour market. A research has been conducted over the past years for instance in OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), where e.g. Carone, Immervoll, Paturot, Salomäki (2004) exemplify usage of effective tax rates indicators when evaluating household motivation for seeking work-related/earned income.

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Consequences of Job Characteristics in an Arabian Environment: A Longitudinal Assessment

Dr. Ahmed S. Maghrabi, Makkah, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

 The purpose of this study is to test the consequences of implementing job characteristics in an Arabian environment. Using a longitudinal approach, the study tracked 120 (male and female) managers classified into two groups from 1993 to 2004 years period.  Results indicated that attitudes, behaviors and effectiveness are improved drastically. In addition job characteristics were significant in task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback. But job characteristics were not significant in skill variety, and dealing with others for the years 1993 to 2004.  Implications for future research and practice are discussed.  In recent years the topics of job characteristics have been frequently discussed in the literature particularly on the managerial level. However, there is a paucity of scientific research into the true value and usefulness of job characteristics.  In particular much of the research concerned with job characteristics in the Arabian environment Saudi Arabia is anecdotal. The research reported here was undertaken as a first step towards developing and empirical basis for assessing the consequences of job characteristics for both the participants, managers and the sponsoring organization.

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Foreign Retailers Private Label Brands Strategy in Emerging Markets: Evidence from the Brazilian Retail Industry

Mbaye F. Diallo, Doctorant-Allocataire de recherche CERGAM, University Paul Cézanne Aix-Marseille III

ABSTRACT

 The importance of Private Label Brands (PLBs) or store brands has significantly increased over the past years in western countries and contributed to changing many purchase and consumption behaviors, in particular in grocery stores. Simultaneously, retailers are increasingly involved in international markets in order to be more consistent with the globalization of retailing operations. The aim of this study is to propose a simplified framework of the strategic role of Private Label Brands in emerging markets (EMs). In this, we review the literature pertaining to PLBs in relation with the international brand strategy and present two case studies - Carrefour and Casino - in the Brazilian retail industry. Theoretical contributions are better understanding of PLBs in emerging markets. As for managerial implications, this study shows that a PLBs strategy may be useful for international retailers operating in EMs at three points: to improve store loyalty and store image, and to face store competition.  In recent years, consumer goods markets and frequently bought categories in particular, witnessed an increasing presence of private label products. In 2005, private brands held 16 per cent of retail sales in USA, compared to 45 per cent in Switzerland and 28 per cent in Great Britain (ACNielson, 2005). Private Label Brands (PLBs) or own label products are defined as consumer products produced by, or on behalf of, retailers and sold under the retailers’ own name or trademark through their own outlets. This extensively discussed and documented trend in both practitioner and academic oriented literature, characterizes most western economies in Europe and North America.  At the same time, retailers are concentrating their efforts at an international level or even global level, especially in emerging markets, in order to benefit from opportunities in host markets (Pederzoli, 2006). Thanks to their low price positioning and their increasing improved quality, PLBs have come to be regarded as an important competitive tool in the arsenal of international retailers. 

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Allocation of Medical Resources Using System Dynamics

Su-Chen Hsu, Ph.D. Candidate, National Cheng Kung University and

Vice President, Kangshan Hospital in Kaohsiung County (Show Chwan Memorial Hospital) Taiwan

Dr. Jung-Hua Wu, Associate Professor, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

 The Taiwan government implemented the Global Budget Payment System（GBPS） in 1998 to curb soaring medical expenditures of the National Health Insurance（NHI）system. However, hospitals have reduced by 145 from 647 to 502, a reduction rate of 22.4 percent from 1998 to 2007. This reduction implies that operating hospitals is difficult under the current government policy.  This study applies system dynamics for constructing a community hospital sector overview diagram and generates systematic ideas for hospital operations that promote suitable allocation of medical resources. Hospital operational data was used to simulate the impact of medical resources allocation on net profit. Analytical results are consistent with the reference model of behavior (RMB) of the GBPS case hospital, proving model applicability.  This paper proposes measures for hospitals to cope with the GBPS. Hospital administrators should adopt multiple measures to increase income and reduce expenses simultaneously under the GBPS. Focuses should be put on reducing expenses to stabilize hospital operations in the short term, and harness external hospital resources and increase cooperation rate among units and user-pay services in the long term.

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Intangible Capital, Earnings and Stock Valuation of Electronics Companies: Empirical Evidence from Taiwan

Dr. Hsuehchang Tsai, National Chi-Nan University and Providence University, Taiwan

Dr. Mingshu Hua, Takming University of Science and Technology, Taipei City, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

 This study aims to investigate the value relevance of intangible capital (IC) and earnings. We use a “two-stage” discounted residual income (DRI) model to measure firm’s IC and test it on a sample of 239 electronics companies in Taiwan. The empirical results show that a firm’s IC-measured fundamental value is highly correlated with its current observed value (stock price). In regressions of stock prices, the joint explanatory power of IC and book values is superior to that of earnings and book values. Moreover, the empirical results also document that including IC in the Accounting-based valuation model will significantly increase the explanatory power of the model for stock prices.  In today’s knowledge-based and technology intensive economy investments in human resources, information technology, research and development, patents and brands, customer satisfaction, and advertising have become essential in order to maintain the firm’s competitive advantage and ensure its future viability (Stewart, 1997; Lev, 2001; Kaplan and Norton, 2004). As Goldfinger (1997) suggests, the source of economic value and wealth of a firm is no longer the production of material goods but the creation of intangible assets.  However, in most cases these intangible investments are not reflected in the balance sheet due to the existence of very restrictive accounting criteria for the recognition and valuation of intangible assets. As a result, traditional financial statements cannot capture most of the value drivers that dominate the new economy, and thus result in an increasing gap between the market value and book value of firm’s equity. Lee et al. (1999) indicate that the sharp uptrend in the market-to-book (M/B) ratio has risen three times between 1981 and 1996 for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Lev (2001) reports a dramatic increase in the mean M/B ratio of US stocks, rising from 1 in the 70s to almost 6 in March 2001.

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Open Book Management: A Review of Underlying Systems

Dr. Loretta F. Cochran, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, AR

Dr. L. Kim Troboy, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, AR

ABSTRACT

 Although it has been practiced for over 20 years, Open Book Management (OBM) is a relatively new phenomenon for the field of management. The concept began to receive attention and be included in the survey textbooks within the last ten years. As an organizational development intervention, OBM appears to draw on the contributions of several existing systems, including Hoshin planning. This paper compares performance management and Hoshin planning to the characteristics and operationalization of OBM. The characteristics of a successful OBM implementation is proposed.  The need to connect employees with corporate goals has led to the development of several management interventions. Several different types of programs have been introduced to translate organizational goals into performance measurement and feedback systems that can be transferred to the shop floor level for employees. An overreaching assumption has been made that there must be subsets of objectives in order to motivate shop floor employees. In the field of human resources, performance management systems have been designed as vehicles for goal translation from top management to lower levels. The total quality management literature introduces hoshin planning systems as a formula for disseminating goals between layers within the organization. Hoshin management's stated purpose is the aligning of all layers of employees with the company's goals and objectives (Cowley and Domb, 1997). A new entrant to the performance management field is Open Book Management (OBM). As an intervention, Open Book Management serves as an example of a management system that links employees and organizational goals without the use of secondary objectives. The study questions to be addressed are as follows:

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Antecedents of Voluntary Work Behavior in Thailand

Dr. Chuchai Smithikrai, Chiang Mai University, Thailand

ABSTRACT

 The objective of this study was to examine the patterns of relationships between three groups of antecedents and voluntary work behaviors, i.e., organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and counterproductive work behavior (CWB), in Thai context. The sample comprised of 1,622 employees working in government offices and private companies. The confirmatory structural modeling and the relative weight analyses indicate that personal characteristics explain more variance in OCB and CWB than organizational attitudes and organizational controls. The results also indicate that OCB and CWB have different relationships with a common set of presumed antecedents.  Two types of voluntary work behaviors, i.e., organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and counterproductive work behavior (CWB), have been extensively discussed recently, as the consequences of these behaviors are pervasive both to organizations and to employees. Researchers have recognized that there are personal and organizational variables that contribute to these voluntary work behaviors (Martinko, Gundlach, & Douglas, 2002; Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Paine, & Bachrach, 2000; Spector & Fox, 2005). Several studies have also investigated antecedents of OCB and CWB (e.g., Marcus & Schuler, 2004; O’Brien & Allen, 2008). In sum, the same constructs (e.g., job satisfaction, organizational justice, and negative affectivity) have been identified as antecedents by both the OCB and CWB research literatures. Nonetheless, the relative contributions of these antecedents have rarely been empirically investigated. Although a study (O’Brien & Allen, 2008) compared the relative importance of correlates of OCB and CWB, only two groups of antecedents were included in the study (i.e., organizational attitudes, and individual differences).

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Third Party Roles in Mediating or Preventing Psychological Contract Violations in High-Context Cultures

Gaye Karacay-Aydin, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey

ABSTRACT

 The focus of this paper is to present the proposition that culture affects psychological contract violations, and these cultural considerations in high-context cultures may require third-party interventions. By this paper, we propose an adapted model whereby culture and third party roles be incorporated into Morison and Robinson’s (1997) model of psychological contract violation by integrating behavioural responses to violations (Thomas, Au and Ravlin, 2003). The model presented in this paper is the first of its kind to differentiate high- and low-context cultures in mediating or preventing psychological contract violations.  A psychological contract is an employee’s unwritten set of expectations about reciprocal obligations based on perceived promises between the employee and his or her organization (Morrison and Robinson, 1997; Rousseau, 1989; Schein, 1965). Violating a psychological contract and its related effects on employee trust and satisfaction has become an important concept in our world of changing organizational structures. Morrison and Robinson (1997) modelled the stages of how a psychological contract violation develops by referring to the importance of social context. They did not, however, incorporate the effects of cultural perspectives and related communication styles into the violation process. Based on the premise that cultures differ in various dimensions, this paper questions whether communication structures of cultures affect psychological contracts. In particular, this paper explores several questions. First, can the indirect and subtle communication styles of high-context cultures, where communication depends on the external environment, situational factors and non-verbal behaviour (Hall, 1981), create more misunderstandings among people? Second, is it possible that more psychological contract violations occur in high-context cultures? Third, is it possible to prevent or mediate some of these violations?

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Organizational Learning as an Intervening Variable in the Life Insurance Industry

Yu-Lung Hsu , National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan

Dr. Cheng-Haw Lee, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan

Wen-Hai Chih, Dong Hwa University, Taiwan

Tien-You Chiu, Dong Hwa University, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

 Many scholars suggest that leadership styles and organizational cultures are significant factors in organizational performance. However, the intervening variable between these two factors is rarely discussed. This study reviewed literature on leadership style, organizational culture, organizational learning and organizational performance, to establish a causal model with these four constructs. Structural equation modeling was applied to examine associations among these constructs, whether organizational cultures significantly influence organizational learning, and whether organizational learning has the most significant influence on organizational performance. Hierarchical regression analysis was performed to prove that the intervening results of organizational learning for leadership types and organizational culture significantly affect organizational performance. The intervening effect of transactional leadership on organizational performance through organizational learning (team and memory orientation) revealed a greater influence than that of transformational leadership. Similarly, the intervening effect of supportive organizational culture on organizational performance through organizational learning (memory and team orientation) had a greater influence than that of innovative organizational culture.

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Behavioral Approach to Subprime Mortgage Crisis: A European Perspective

Serkan Cankaya, Kadir Has University, Istanbul, Turkey

ABSTRACT

 This paper investigates the causes of recent subprime financial crisis from both economic incentives based approach and behavioral approach. It follows by a detailed analysis of the crises from a European and US perspective and their responses to the current 2007-2008 crises. The article continues with the role of structured finance in the current crises and searches for lessons by examining the causes of the crises and concludes with new solution proposals in order to avoid future crises.  Most neoclassical economists do not accept the behavioral explanations of economic phenomena and they prefer the framework of rational thought of optimizing agents in a free-market framework. However, research in the cognitive neurosciences has provided convincing experimental evidence that human decision-making consists a complex blend of logical calculation and emotional response (Lo, Repin, & Steenbarger, Fear and Greed in Financial Markets:An Online Clinical Study, 2005). Under normal conditions this kind of a combination leads to decisions that work well in free markets. However, under extreme conditions, the balance between logic and emotion can shift, leading to extreme behavior such as the recent crises in stock markets around the world (Lo, Hedge Funds, Systemic Risk, and the Financial Crisis of 2007–2008, 2008). Behavioral approach incorporates insights gained in other social sciences. For that reason, many financial theorists of old school have resisted this revolution. They fear that it renders their mathematical models useless. On the contrary, it opens up their models to far richer and more successful applications (Shiller, The Subprime Solution:How Today's Global Financial Crisis Happened, and What to Do about It, 2008).

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Financial Intermediation and Growth – Evidence from Transition EU Member and Candidate Countries

Marijana Curak, Ph.D., University of Split, Croatia

ABSTRACT

 Differences in performing financial intermediaries’ functions may explain the disparity in growth rates across countries. This is a hypothesis that emerges from linking the theory of financial intermediation and the endogenous growth theory and is largely supported by the empirical evidence. However, the results from studies on European transition countries are mixed. Using the endogenous growth model and a panel estimation technique, this study examines whether financial intermediation affects the economic growth in 12 transition European Union (EU) member countries, as well as candidate countries, between the years of 1991 and 2006. After controlling for other influences on economic growth, both size and effectiveness of financial intermediation were found to be robustly predictive of increased economic activity. Thus, our findings support the view of the positive contribution of financial intermediation to economic growth.  The contribution of financial development to economic growth has been debated quite extensively in the literature. Contemporaneous literature on the linkage between financial development and economic growth combine the theory of financial intermediation and the endogenous growth theory. Financial intermediaries provide a number of functions that lower financial market imperfections. These functions include the provision of means for clearing and settling payments to facilitate the exchange of goods, services and assets, the provision of a mechanism for pooling resources and the subdivision of shares in various enterprises, resource allocation, risk management, price information to help coordinate decentralized decision-making in various sectors of the economy, and the means to deal with the incentive problems created when one party of a financial transaction has the information that the other party does not, or when one party acts as an agent of the other (Merton and Bodie, 1995).

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The Empirical Research of Diversification Strategy on Group R&D Spillovers: Evidence from Taiwan

Hou Ou-Yang, Ph.D., Kun Shan University, Tainan, Taiwan

Li Cheng Chang, Kun Shan University, Tainan, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

 This study focuses on the effect of the diversification strategy of Group enterprises on the positive spillover moderating impact of R & D. In this study, we refer to the methods of Jacquemin and Berry (1979), Palepu (1985), Young (2008), Ou-Yang and Chang(2008) in which applied the Entropy method was used to calculate the diversification extent of the Group enterprise. We then adopt listed companies belong to Group enterprise in the Taiwan Stock Exchange during 2006, and proceed to the empirical analysis. The empirical results show that there is a significantly positive relationship between Group enterprise R & D assets and the component company’s financial performance, especially when the component company's strategic direction is related diversification. The contribution of this study focuses on two aspects: First, we provide empirical evidence from the economic and information disclosure literatures that indicating that the group enterprise diversification strategy has R & D positive spillover impacts on the financial performance; Secondly, this study also pointed out that there is a significant positive relationship between the R & D spillover effect and financial performance for group enterprise component companies with related diversification strategies. When there is an unrelated diversification strategy, an insignificant negative relationship between R & D spillover effects and financial performance is found.  In today's rapidly changing and technology-oriented economic environment, the ability to innovate and create value is one of the main ways for a company to maintain the competitiveness, while innovative ability comes from the inputs for R & D activities. For nearly two decades, researchers have confirmed that R & D by enterprises has positive impact on companies’ future performance(Sougiannis, 1994; Lev and Sougiannis, 1996, 1999; C.S. Ou, 1998; Young, 2008; Ou-Yang and Chang, 2008).

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Staffing the Contemporary Fire Department: A Decision Model

Dr. Harry R. Carter, Capella University, Adelphia, NJ

Dr. Robert S. Fleming, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ

ABSTRACT

 Volunteer fire departments in many communities are experiencing serious problems related to providing sufficient staffing.  A number of experts have indicated that there are certain time periods during the day when an insufficient number of fire department members are available to deliver an effective level of fire protection; while there are other time periods when a sufficient number of volunteer members are available to respond.  This paper presents a decision-making framework designed to assist in making decisions as to when the time has come to supplement volunteer members with paid, career personnel.  The stakeholders of the contemporary fire department have valid expectations regarding the level of fire protection and emergency services available to them.  Cote (2003) articulates the purpose of a fire department as having the programs, procedures, and organizations for preventing the outbreak of fires in the community and for minimizing the danger to persons and damage to property caused by fires that do occur.  According to the published standards of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) (2002), a modern fire department would be expected to provide such services as: fire prevention and risk reduction; fire prevention and inspection programs; public fire safety education; emergency medical services; general emergency response capability; and community consultation. 

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Legal Regulations, People’s Perceptions on Law and Scope of Services Provided by Firms:

A Study on Dwelling Developers in Beijing and Hong Kong

Rita Yi Man Li, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Abstract

 To enhance home owners’ sense of well-beings, provisions of kitchen cabinets, built-in washer-dryers have become a norm in Hong Kong’s first hand dwellings. Close-to-ideal fittings provide convenience to purchasers on the one hand, a chance for developers to capture profit on the other hand. Developers in Beijing, however, only provide empty flats to vendors. There is nothing other than doors and windows. Floors and walls are still in grey color. Developers in Hong Kong have made a lot of contracts with various parties, wall and floor tiles suppliers, kitchen cabinets providers, electrical appliance companies etc. Developers in China only need to make contracts with those concrete, steel and foundations contractors. While Steven Cheung suggests that firm is contractual in nature, size of developers in Beijing is smaller than those in Hong Kong substantially. As is evident, level of "vertical" integration, or more appropriate to say, supersession of the price mechanism, varies greatly from firm to firm (Coase 1937). What then determines the size and scope of the developers? How do legal system and informal institution of law affect entrepreneur’s decisions on developer’s organization arrangement? Seldom could we find a research as such. This paper aims to fill this gap of research.

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Corporate Governance, Industry Clustering and Corporate Performance

Lan-Fen Wang, National Taipei University, Taipei, Taiwan

Yi Yin Yen, Ph.D., National Taipei College of Business, Taipei, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

 Ownership structure is an important link in corporate governance systems, and it affects the decision-making and performance of companies. With the sudden emergence of China’s economy, more and more companies in Taiwan invested in China and industrial clustering phenomena have become increasingly obvious. This study thus analyses the effect of ownership structure (including variables such as the shareholding percentages of directors, supervisors, major shareholders, qualified foreign institutional investors (QFII), and domestic individuals) and industrial clustering (including clustering in north China, central China, east China and south China) on company performance. The empirical results indicate that the shareholding percentages of major shareholders and QFII have significantly positive effects on company performance, while shareholding percentages of directors, supervisors and domestic individuals have significantly negative effects on company performance. Industrial clustering in east China and central China have significantly positive effects on company performance, while the other variables are insignificant.  After a series of financial scandals disclosed in the US, the prominent international organizations such as the OECD, APEC, and World Bank launch a new wave of efforts to promote corporate governance. More recently, Taiwan’s capital were rocked by embezzlement and financial fraud scandals at Procomm and Infodisc Technology, and corporate governance has been strengthened aggressively.

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Relationships of Categories and Competitive Efficiencies on Comparative Advertising

Dr. Chin-tsun Shih, Kainan University, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

 This study validates the relationship among different categories of comparative advertising, conflicting claims and competitive efficiencies by a competitive market which is different from previous documents on the influence of comparative advertising intensity on advertising effect of different brands. This study collects the comparative advertising cases from TFTC and validates them. The results demonstrate it can produce competitive efficiencies in the competitive market; besides, it also demonstrates that competitive efficiencies of parity comparative advertising are more significant than those of superiority comparative advertising. The results can be provided as reference for business to plan and execute comparative advertising strategy. Comparative advertising means advertising that compares one or multiple attributes of two or more brands by critical or attaching attitude (Wikie & Farris, 1975). Content attribution of advertising can be further divided into superiority comparative advertising which intends to devalue the rival’s companies or brands to highlight the superiority of the brand being advertised or parity comparative advertising which tries to attach the brand being advertised with well-known brands to increasing the consumers’ trust in it (Wikie & Farris, 1975). Previous scholars (e.g., Barrio-Garcia & Luque-Martinez, 2003 ;Barry, 1993) described the conflicting claims of comparative advertising by a hierarchy-of-effects model to indicate that comparative advertising could provide more information to consumers, help them to make correct purchasing decisions and lead them to reaping better beneficial effects for advertising brands; on the other hand, it could mislead the public by including false and deceptive information or unfair advertising claims resulting in counterarguments from consumers’ and rivals’.

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The Effects of Website Design on Female’s Emotional Arousal and e-Satisfaction

Dr. Mengkuan Lai, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan

Dr. Wann-Yih Wu, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan

Shu-Mei Lin, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

 As the rapidly growing population of global female users, understanding their preference for website design and subsequent effects on persuasion becomes a critical task to marketers. Twenty-five cosmetics websites were thereby chosen as the stimuli material to examine the effects of interactivity and vividness on females’ emotional arousal and e-satisfaction. The findings showed that, vividness increases females’ perceived telepresence and evokes emotion arousal more significantly than interactivity. Additionally, e-satisfaction is positively related to females’ perceived telepresence and positive affect. Implications and limitations stemming from the results are discussed for strategic planning and further empirical research.  Nowadays the website has become an important vehicle for companies to communicate with consumers (Karson and Korgaonkar, 2001). However, females’ lower motivation for using websites (Rodgers and Harris, 2003) may frustrate companies’ efforts to access the female segment through the websites because, according to prior evidence, women tend to use e-mail for interpersonal communication whereas males browse websites more frequently for searching information (Jackson, Ervin, Gardner and Schmitt, 2001). To better tailor online communication to the female segment, therefore, it is important to identify the features of website design which can draw females’ voluntary exposure to a website.  Based on the perspective of modified ELM model (Cho, 2003), consumers in low involvement situation take the peripheral route to the voluntary exposure to the Internet ads. Those low-involved users feel emotionally satisfied with a highly interactive website (Evanschitzky, Iyer, Hesse, et al, 2004; Szymanski and Hise, 2000) due to the experience of flow, which can be attained through greater telepresence (Hoffman and Novak, 1996). According to prior research, a strong sense of telepresence is induced by interactivity and vividness (Sheridan, 1992; Steuer, 1992). Interactivity had been shown to be effective on communication in the Internet ads (e.g., Coyle and Thorson, 2001; Fortin and Dholakia, 2005); however, related evidence rarely contributes, to our knowledge, about the communicative effects of vividness in the online context.

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Prioritization of Organizational Innovativeness Measurement Indicators Using Analytic Hierarchy Process

Ming-Ten Tsai, Ph.D., National Cheng-Kung University

Shuang-Shii Chuang, Ph.D., National Cheng-Kung University

Wei-Ping Hsieh, National Cheng-Kung University and Chia Nan University of Pharmacy & Science, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

 This study aims at discussing the analytical typology of organizational innovation in high-tech industry, and using some methodology to construct organizational innovation measurement model. To do so, some methodology based on the in-depth interviews, focus group techniques, factor analysis, and analytic hierarchy process are applied. The results of the study show the “technical innovation” is more important than “administrative innovation” in high-tech industry.  The term innovation frequently appears in the literature, with technology improvements or breakthroughs being the main subject of investigation in related studies. Innovation and technical innovation used to refer to the same thing in most cases. A large number of studies address innovations in technological research and development. Relatively fewer studies consider an organization as a whole and investigate organizational innovation. It is important to further explore the context of organizational innovation (OI) and contribute more theoretical supplements. Most previous studies on organizational theories are concerned with performance improvement, addressing how to achieve targets through better technological abilities but rarely proposing organizational innovation concepts or ways of coordinating related factors for the improvement of organization performance.

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 Cash Changes Following Proxy Contests

Chia-Yuan Jiang, Yuan Ze University, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

 Faleye (2004) suggests that proxy contests could address the agency problem of excess cash. In this study, we examine the impact of proxy fight outcome on the changes in cash following proxy contests. Using 176 contest firms over the period 1988 to 2006, we find that prior to the proxy contests sample firms have more cash, lower MB ratio and poor operating performance than their industry peers. The empirical evidence suggests that sample firms with management victory have significant decrease in cash following proxy contests and this group also shows significantly positive long-term abnormal stock returns afterward. It seems that proxy contests may be the warning to inefficient managers. Hence, managers improve the cash management following the proxy contests.  Agency problems come from the existence of conflicts of interest between corporate managers and shareholders. Many literatures conclude that firms with excess cash holdings may lead to agency problems. Jensen (1986) defines free cash flow as cash flow in excess of that required funding all projects that have positive net present values when discounted at the relevant cost of capital. In order to resolve the agency problems of free cash flow, previous studies propose many suggestions, such as increasing leverage, share repurchase, paying cash dividend, takeover activity, leveraged buyout activity. Jensen (1986) and Ang et al. (2000) suggest that raising debt would decrease the agency costs between shareholders and managers. Noheland and Tarhan (1998) provide evidences indicate that firms use stock repurchases to spend excess cash. Opler and Titman (1993) argue that firms with fewer investment opportunities and higher cash flows would initiate leveraged buyout activities. This finding is also consistent with free cash flow theory.

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Cultural Values Affect Consumer Behavior in Taiwan Cafes

Dr. Hu Yu-Ning, National United University, Taiwan

Dr. Ching-Mei Hsiao, Hsing Kuo University, Taiwan

Dr. Jack Fei Yang, Hsing Kuo University, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

This study analyzes the cultural value factors, which affect consumer behavior.  According to the literature, ten hypotheses and thirty factors have been selected. The factor analysis method, the Equamax method and its rotate method have been used to draw out the seven constructs of cultural value; universal love, hedonism, self-control, self-realization, stimulation, customs and habits, and a powerful desire all have obvious positive relation to recommendation, which is one of the elements of post-consumption behavior.  Culture is one of the most important ways that affects human behaviors. Basically, culture is a complex system in which people have learned values, standards, attitudes, and other meaningful signs in the past (Kroeber and Kluckhohn 1954; Tylor 1871; Keesing 1974; Adler 1983; Chen-Hwaun Lin 2002).  Schwartz (1994), an Israeli author, developed a new measurable method, which can judge the value of cultural levels. He used western and non-western sources to measure ten constructs of culture value, including power, achievement, hedonism, stimulation, self-direction, universalism, benevolence, tradition, conformity, and security. These are the main factors of the questionnaire designed originally for this study.  Authors have accomplished practical research of the culture (Shu-Ting Zhang 1999; Kun-Tian Huang 2002; Hsin-Ying Wu 2003). In summary of this research, when consumers proceed with choices, their behavior will affect culture and a self-valued concept.

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Comparison of IT Outsourcing Firms & IT Departments

Nina Can, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey

Dr. Ozgur Dogerlioglu, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey

Gul Sonmez, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey

Mine Yardimci, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey

ABSRACT

 The aim of this study is to investigate and evaluate tendencies and differences between IT departments and IT Outsourcing firms. The sample consists of 5 firms providing IT services to various organizations and IT departments of 4 firms in technology sector. Two different types of questionnaires exist for each sample. IT Outsourcing firms’ contribution is 62 questionnaires and 35 questionnaires are from IT departments. The findings show that IT outsourcing firms and IT departments differ from each other in flexibility, efficiency and company culture.  Outsourcing, sharing responsibilities and operations with other parties, is a highly preferred method nowadays. Outsourcing provides crucial benefits to companies by declining costs, increasing flexibility and decreasing risks. A decision of outsourcing consequently affects firm’s organizational structure and culture. In this paper, the field research focuses on differences and similarities between firms providing outsource services and internal departments of firms which do not prefer outsourcing.  Organizations need to find new strategies in order to success in this competitive world. An effective way to create a competitive advantage by lowering costs and increasing productivity is outsourcing. The term outsourcing refers to the delegation of non-core operations of a firm to an external entity which specializes in management of that entity. From a corporate culture perspective, outsourcing can be stated as transferring an organizational practice to a third party (Bardhan and Kroll, 2003). Therefore outsourcing can be seen as sharing operations and responsibilities between parties where one party is customer and other is providing a service. There are also different definitions of outsourcing in the literature. Lei and Hitt (1995) defines outsourcing as “reliance on external sources for manufacturing components and other value adding activities”.

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The Feres Doctrine: Is It Time for A Change?

Benjamin A. Neil, Towson University

Benjamin A. Neil II, Maryland State Police

ABSTRACT

 The Feres Doctrine bars Federal Tort Claims Act recovery when the allegedly tortuous act was incident to a service member’s military service.  The Feres Doctrine has been applied to torts committed both on and off base and duty and against those who have never served in the military.  The Feres Doctrine does not differentiate between torts and thus effectively bars a service members and others from recovering for medical malpractice and iatrogenic-related torts committed by military medical staff.  While Feres gave three rationales for the Feres Doctrine, all three have since fallen and only a post-Feres rationale stands: military disciple.  In light of the Federal Tort Claims Act’s text and legislative history, presently available less narrow alternative means of accomplishing the same objective, and wide-spread dissention amongst the circuits, the Feres Doctrine should be overruled. (Bruening, 2005).  Under the Federal Tort Claims Act (hereafter FTCA) (28 U.S.C.S. Sect 2671-80, 2005), Congress statutorily waived the federal government’s sovereign immunity defense and made the United States “liable...in the same manner and to the same extent as a private individual under like circumstances…” (28 U.S.C.S. Sect 2674, 2005).  Especially relevant to this discussion, Congress also barred two other types of claims.

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Capital Control, Cost of Capital, and Firm Value

Dr. Chaiporn Vithessonthi, Mahasarakham University, Thailand

Dr. Jittima Tongurai, Oita University, Japan

ABSTRACT

In this paper we investigate the effect of capital control on stock returns using data arising from the announcement of capital control imposition in Thailand in 2006. We find that based on a sample of 19 resources firms listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), the average abnormal stock return for the resources firms on the announcement day is negative, albeit not statistically significant, while the average abnormal return on Day +1 (the effective date) is –11.58 percent and statistically significant. Also, the results of regressions suggest that financial leverage, operating leverage, and prior firm performance tend to positively affect the cumulative abnormal return around the announcement, whereas firm size has a negative effect on the cumulative abnormal return. Capital control is a policy instrument that usually aims at reducing vulnerability to volatility in capital flows, and subsequently stabilising the exchange rates. Over the past two decades several monetary authorities (i.e., the central banks) of developing countries, for example, Malaysia, Chile, Thailand, Colombia and Brazil, have imposed various types of capital control so as to reduce the exchange rate volatilities (Ariyoshi et al., 2000; Edwards, 2003; Reinhart and Smith, 2002; Soo, 2005). In most instances the rationale of the monetary authority for implementing capital control is based on the promise of increasing and/or maintaining the levels of output and/or employment as a result of the relatively stabilised exchange rates (Ahmad, 2006). Regardless of the justification, the overriding argument puts forward by the monetary authority is that capital control results in greater exchange rate stability, wealth increases for private sectors (i.e., welfare increases of the whole nation), or speedy recovery after financial crises (Abbas and Espinoza, 2006; Doraisami, 2004). However, the effect of the exchange rate policy on macroeconomic variables is at best indirect.

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World Economy 2006.  Wealth and Poverty Comparisons Using Principal Components Analysis

Paraschos Maniatis, Athens University of Economics and Business, Greece

ABSTRACT

 The purpose of this study is to analyse some socio-economic parameters of the rich and the poor counties in the world using the principal components analysis (PCA).  This technique is appropriate for the analysis of multidimensional data; however, it has not yet found its fair place in the body of the statistical sciences, mainly because of the difficulties in the results interpretation. Another reason might be that it is rather remote from the classical body of the inferential statistics, which is based on parametric techniques and significance tests.  The purpose of this study is to present the technique in a simple, comprehensive manner; its problematic, its mathematical foundations, and the way to interpret the results. In order to clarify the technique and to show the help it can give to the researcher we apply the technique to a table, which contains 13 socio-economic variables relating to the welfare and the poverty in 60 countries.  The compacted information obtained by the analysis seems to justify the application of the technique.   The principal components analysis is designated to analyse large tables- multidimensional data. As such, it belongs to the great family of multidimensional descriptive statistics. A close term to the term ‘multidimensional’, is the term ‘multivariate’.

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Do Recruiter Gender, Applicant Gender, and Target Market Gender Impact the Recruiting Outcome?

Perceptions of Turkish Recruiters

Dr. Musa Pinar, Valparaiso University

Dr. Michael K. McCuddy, Valparaiso University

Dr. Zeliha Eser, Baskent University

Dr. Paul Trapp, Valparaiso University

ABSTRACT

 This study investigates the gender effect on recruiting for sales positions and on selling performance in terms of targeting and being successful in selling in Turkey. Based on 99 surveys of recruiters, the results indicate that female recruiters are more likely than male recruiters to offer a sales job, but applicant gender does not have any effect on being offered a sales job. With regard to sales performance, recruiters feel that applicants will target and be successful in selling to opposite-gendered buyers; however, gender matching between the salesperson and buyer does not bring any advantage, or may even have an adverse impact on sales performance. The paper discusses the implications of the findings for recruiting and developing a successful sales force.  As more women joined the workforce, a number of studies have investigated the gender effect on sales position recruiting and sales performance. While these studies have made significant contributions to understanding the effects of gender, the results have been mixed. Additionally, none of the studies have directly considered how a gender effect on the recruiting process could impact selling performance or how a gender effect in the buyer-seller relationship might affect the recruitment of salespeople. Lastly, most of the studies concerning the gender effect on recruiting for sales positions and sales performance have been conducted in the developed countries, mainly in the United States. Therefore, this study is aimed at investigating the gender effect on recruiting for sales positions and on selling performance in a developing country (Turkey). Specifically, this study investigates:  (1) how strongly male applicants and female applicants would be recruited for a sales position; (2) how likely applicants would be to target male and female prospects; and (3) how successful applicants would likely be in selling to potential male and female buyers.

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Propensity for Entrepreneurship Among University Students

Dr. Joao Pedro Almeida Couto, University of the Azores

Dr. Maria Teresa Borges Tiago, University of the Azores

ABSTRACT

 Having a university degree is a relevant aspect to the establishment of high value added new ventures that capture knowledge and innovative technologies. Thus the purpose of this paper is to understand the propensity to entrepreneurship among university students and the factors that influence this propensity. We test a framework of variables that tries to weight the influence of socio-demographic variables, psychological characteristics and contextual factors. The results show nationality, gender, enrolment in academic associations, family background and the level of income are the more significant factors that differentiate students that consider starting a new business.   Entrepreneurship has an important role in a country’s economy, contributing decisively for the creation of new businesses or business opportunities in companies that already exist, according to Global Entrepreneurship Monitor  (GEM, 2007).

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