Regulatory perspective for deepening CSR disclosure practice in Nigeria
March 2015
The purpose of this study is to assess the need for a regulation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosure practices of listed non-financial sector entities in Nigeria. Survey research method was adopted in the study. Information gathered from the primary source (questionnaire) was used to test the users’ perception on the need for a regulated practice in Nigeria. Both Content Validity and...
Entrepreneurial opportunities in the craft- distilling market in South Africa
March 2015
Opportunities for entrepreneurial entry into the craft-distilling product and market domains of the agricultural sector are presented in this study. Although the craft spirits industry in South Africa is currently in its infancy, the study is able to investigate potential entrepreneurial opportunities for such activities in the farming areas of the Western Cape Province. The first part of the study explores the supply...
Information technology and e-risk of supply chain management
March 2015
Application of information and communication technology (ICT) is exponentially growing in Supply Chain Management (SCM) for increasing productivity and profitability in business. This growth of Information Technology in SCM has changed the paper based environment to Virtual Supply Chain, which is also generating electronic risks (e-risks) in form of cybercrime or fraud. Although, reducing the e-risks from huge data...
Interdependence between GCC stock market and oil prices and portfolio management strategies under structural breaks
March 2015
This paper empirically investigates the interdependence between GCC stock market and oil price by considering structural breaks in conditional volatility. The univariate and multivariate GARCH models are extended by including structural breaks which are determined endogenously by using ICSS algorithm proposed by Inclan and Tiao. Empirical results indicate that the inclusion of structural breaks in the model...
Value-at-risk in times of crisis: An analysis in the Brazilian market
March 2015
The present study aimed at evaluating the predictive ability of the models of market risk estimation in times of financial crises. To this end, models were tested to estimate the financial indicator Value-at-Risk (VaR) applied to the daily returns of the BM&FBovespa, the Ibovespa index. Traditional models and those based on the Extreme Value Theory (EVT), considered as two types of distribution, the Generalized...
Scrutinising the effectiveness of customer loyalty programmes: A study of two large supermarket chains in South Africa
March 2015
There is a worldwide trend toward loyalty marketing, and companies are implementing loyalty strategies aimed at cultivating strong relationships with their customers. Due to this increased importance and relevance that is attached to loyalty programmes, most retailers have been committed to sustaining customer loyalty and cultivating an enduring and favoured relationship with customers who are expected to regularly...
Effects of microfinance services on the performance of small and medium enterprises in Kenya
March 2015
The Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) sector in Kenya has grown tremendously over the last two decades but its growth is characterized by low productivity and survivalist enterprises. The sector is however very strategic in providing future employment for the economy. This paper reviews the effects of microfinance services on the performance of MSMEs using an explanatory research design. The study...
The methodological profile of scientific publications on public transparency: An analysis of the African scenario
March 2015
This study seeks to analyze the methodological profile of scientific publications completed on public transparency within the context of the African continent. The following are the specific objectives of this study: to present the research methods commonly utilized in academic investigation concerning public transparency in Africa, to survey compilation of a sample of articles on public transparency contained in the...
Developing an instrument to assess work-family pressures and resources needed by women managers in South Africa
February 2015
In the last decade, there has been a sharp increase in the employment of working mothers in the South African labour market. Work-family scholars argue that organisations must develop supporting policies and benefits to shield working mothers against work-family pressures. This article focuses on the development of the Work-Family Pressure and Support Questionnaire (W-FPSQ) as a measure to assess the pressures that...
The effect of privatisation on political and managerial accountability
February 2015
The study seeks to assess the effect of privatisation on political and managerial accountability, considering the cases of Intercity State Transport Company and GAFCO. A sample data were collected from both managerial staff and some junior employees through interviews and questionnaire. Paired sample test was used to analyse the data of the questionnaire and content analysis for the interviews. The results indicated...
Does capital structure influence payout? A study on KSE -30 Index
February 2015
The paper aims to provide an insight into underlying factors which a given mix of owners’ funds and outside funds have on the payout of KSE 30 Index. Capital structure comprises equity and borrowed funds (debt) that listed companies need to carry out their business operations. We have applied panel data methodology on twenty-one KSE-30 companies for the period of 2001-2011. Our results show that high proportion of...
The relation between organizational trust, organizational support and organizational commitment
February 2015
Organizations are bodies composed of people who gather in order to reach specific objectives. This situation prompts the organizations to produce people oriented policies and increase the interest in the subject of organizational commitment. However, there are not much academic studies in Turkey on organizational commitment. The general objective of this research was to assess the relationship between organizational...
Fame versus no name: Gauging the impact of celebrities and non-celebrities endorsement on purchase
February 2015
The use of celebrity in advertising has become a trend for companies and one of the best ways to strengthen brand image and marketing of products/services. Today, every company is promoting its products by using celebrities to gain customer’s attention and thus increase the market share. Advertising ideas involve this approach, and the choice of picking right celebrity is made through these strategic motives. The...
Audit research: A systematic literature review of published research on ISI Web of Science between 2002 and 2013
February 2015
We examined the international scientific productivity on auditing between 2002, when the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was published, and the end of 2013, based on a bibliometrics/scientometrics analysis of scientific articles included in the Web of Science from the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI). A database was created including 2,394 publications. As a contribution it was possible to systematically identify the...
An analysis of the impact of oil price shocks on the growth of the Nigerian economy: 1970-2011
February 2015
This paper examines the impact of oil price shocks on Nigerian economic growth while controlling the effects of unrest in the international oil market, exchange rate and agriculture output using quarterly time series data from 1970:q1-20011:q4.The broad objective of the study is to evaluate the long run relationship among the variables namely; oil price, exchange rate, agriculture output, unrest and economic growth. The...
An empirical study of consumers’ willingness to pay for traceable food in Beijing, Shanghai and Jinan of China
February 2015
There have been more and more food safety incidents since 1990s in China. Implementation of traceability system is an important way to improve food safety in China. The food traceability system is still in an initial stage and implemented only in limited products and companies in China. Contingent valuation method (CVM) was used to investigate the Chinese consumers’ willingness to pay for traceable vegetables and...
Monetary policy in Cape Verde and macroeconomic changes: Empirical evidences
February 2015
The main objective of this study was to analyze Cape Verdean monetary policy, the rules chosen by the decision makers, its changes and its transmission to the economy. Primarily, we analyzed the dynamics of the most important Cape Verdean macroeconomic time series. By using the Vector Autoregression (VAR) and the Markov Switching Vector Autoregression (MS-VAR) models, we also analyzed and compared how those dynamics...
Team briefing and workers’ commitment in Nigerian banking industry
February 2015
The association of team briefing and workers’ commitment was examined in this study. Respondents were drawn from a sample of 357 bankers in the South-south zone of Nigeria. Cross sectional survey design was utilized. With the use of Spearman Rank Order Correlation, we obtained the following results: team briefing had a significant positive relationship with affective, continuance and normative commitment. This...
The impact of credit risk on profitability performance of commercial banks in Ethiopia
January 2015
The objective of the study was to empirically examine the impact of credit risk on profitability of commercial banks in Ethiopia. For the purpose secondary data collected from 8 sample commercial banks for a 12 year period (2003-2004) were collected from annual reports of respective banks and National Bank of Ethiopia. The data were analyzed using a descriptive statics and panel data regression model and the result...
The relationship between some demographic variables and leadership effectiveness among local government managers in South Africa
January 2015
Scholars have argued that demographic variables are critical factors that could also be used together with other factors to explain the variances in the behaviour of effective leaders. They are very significant to virtually all kinds of modern organizations. The current workforce is increasingly getting younger and highly educated. And an increasing proportion of female managers are also found in today’s...
Networking for SMES in Uganda: A conceptual paper
January 2015
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are considered a sector with significant contribution to the economical growth of both developed countries and emergent countries. However, SMEs are facing challenges for their survival with their limited resources. There is also considerable lack of empirical studies focusing on networking between SMEs in developing countries. Promotion of networking approaches with other...
Motivational factors of formation, cooperate actions and gains obtained from the cooperation networks of building material retail in Parana: A comparative between the associated managers’ and retailers’ perceptions
January 2015
This study analyzes factors that condition the formation of the building material of retailer cooperation networks and the results obtained with this actuation. This study was carried out of multiple descriptive and comparative cases, with transversal perspective of time. A non-disguised questionnaire was used, answered online by fifteen associated retailers and the manager of each one of the four formally incorporated...
Research on the mechanisms of big data on consumer behavior using the models of C2C e-commerce and countermeasures
January 2015
The purpose of this study is to investigate the mechanisms of big data on consumer behavior on the models of C2C e-commerce. From the beginning of the following five aspects: recommendation system, information search, reputation system, virtual experience and security system, the paper discusses some factors that affect buying intention in C2C e-commerce under big data. It fully considers the characteristics of big...
Environment designing considering the needs of youth according to Abraham Maslow’s needs case study: District 9 of Isfahan City
January 2015
This study aims to design an environment for the youth by considering their needs and interests. This study sought to provide all of the needs of the youth by environmental affordances according to the hierarchy of needs developed by Abraham Maslow. It was conducted in district 9 of Isfahan city on about 380 of young people and evaluated 8 suggested spaces with 6 groups environmental affordance by use of questionnaire....
The impact of tax policy stimulus on automobile choice- Evidence from Chinese automobile industry
January 2015
Using detailed national brand-level automobile sales data from January 2004 to the end of 2009, we quantify the impact of a series of tax policy stimuli initiated by the Chinese Government on automobile sales in China. These tax stimuli aimed either to prevent high displacement car consumption or to encourage low displacement car purchases. We conclude that the first two tax adjustments surpass high-emission auto sales,...
MS excel functions as supply chain fraud detector
December 2014
Information technology (IT) is playing a vital role in increasing the productivity, profitability of businesses and optimizing decisions at each stage of Supply Chain Networks (SCN). Supply chain manager must often trust data for decision making even reported from vendors/suppliers. These types of data are vulnerable to manipulation and creating an opportunity for ‘supplier opportunism’. Use of MS excel...
Accounting, taxation, and the cost of capital
December 2014
This paper investigates the link between accounting and taxation and its implications for the cost of equity capital. Using a simple model, we characterize the determinants of the cost of capital in a setting where reporting rules combine accounting and taxation estimations. Accounting and tax rules usually result in different estimates of true earnings, each one with its own estimation error. The correlation between...
Effects of 2008 global liquidity crisis on the performance of banks’ shares traded in Nigeria stock exchange market
December 2014
The global financial crisis of 2008 is an event that affected the entire world economic cycle, the consumers, producers, financers and other parties that constitute the economy. The crisis was as a result of liquidity, currency, fluctuations of banks’ share prices and risks in business with banks, which started from major financial institutions of the US and spilt over to the rest of the world. These gave birth to...
Factors hindering unemployed youths from starting their own business: The case of Mekelle City educated unemployed youths
December 2014
The general objective of the research is to assess major factors hindering unemployed youths from starting their own business. To identify the impediments, the research analyzed the influence of individuals’ behavior, the social and external contexts. In relation to identifying the major factors hindering the unemployed youths from becoming an entrepreneur, determinants of propensity to start own business in...
Information technology as a catalyst of relationship marketing within a global context
November 2014
Marketing has evolved since the beginning of the 20th century, thanks largely to information and communication technology (ICT). The transformation can be seen in changes to the economy and to technology and in the shifting preferences and needs of clients. With ICT, companies can deal directly with their clients, simulating real-life situations. This allows them to understand the necessities of the market in adopting...
Modeling Green Supply Chain Management framework using ISM and MICMAC analysis
November 2014
In recent years, green supply chain management has gained popularity both in academics as well as in the industry and is reflected in the special issues of journals and themes of conferences. The rubber products manufacturing sector plays a pivotal role in the Indian economy and is considered to be one of the key players in global rubber business. Globalization and the increased number of countries entering the world...
Employees’ reactance and survival strategies in an underperforming Zimbabwean parastatal
November 2014
This research is an analysis of employees’ survival strategies in an under-performing Zimbabwean parastatal. It argues that employees’ survival strategies may evidence failure of an organisation to accommodate changing realities under conditions of distress. The prevailing economic conditions in Zimbabwe may discourage employees from switching jobs even though they are not paid by their employer so that they...
An assessment of the economic viability of ecological coffee processing technology in Cameroon
November 2014
Coffee is an important crop in Cameroon in terms of income and employment generation. Productivity of coffee has been declining over time with a consequent decline in the corresponding incomes. The Government of Cameroon is addressing this shortfall through a number of measures, a key one being introduction of four pilot central pulping units (CPUs). This paper assesses the technical, economic and commercial...
Relationship analysis of B2B channels: A case study on channel relationships in Brazilian agribusiness companies
November 2014
This paper examines through a case study the relationships of an agricultural input supplier company with its distribution channels in Brazil. In this paper concepts are presented related to the subject distribution channels and the dimensions of behaviour in relationship marketing. We present four models attempting to evaluate the stage of relationship marketing that two companies can have. The focus of this paper is...
The influence of age and gender on entrepreneurial behaviour characteristics of students and professionals of Business Administration
November 2014
The main objective of this study is to identify the elements that show the influence of age and gender on entrepreneurial behavior characteristics observed in both enterprising professionals and students of Business Administration. It was based on a survey with 851 professionals registered by the Regional Board of Directors of Business Administration of Bahia and with 207 students from public and private universities in...
External debt and economic growth in the East Africa community
November 2014
Using annual data from 1970-2010, this paper employs a panel fixed-effects model to estimate the effect of external debt, as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), on economic growth in East Africa Community (EAC). This study was based on the Solow growth model augmented for debt. The Levin-Lin-Chu test (LLC) approach was used to investigate the properties of the data with respect to unit roots. The Hausman...
Accounting education at vocational high schools in Turkey: An application
November 2014
Accounting shows the process of taking right and effective decisions to present some regular, complete, and true information of the past and also make a plan towards the future. In other words, while accounting presents information about the present state in of managements, it shows a way for taking reel decisions related to the future and fixing risks and opportunities at the same time. Because accounting is able to...
A study of the relationship between carbon emission and tourism development in Maldives
October 2014
The scope of this paper is to explore the relationship between tourism development and carbon emission in Maldives. Data used are already published data for Maldives tourism development and carbon emission. Individual Model for tourism development indicators and combined model of all the indicators were used to test the relationship. Unit root test was used to test the stationary status of the data. Empirical tests were...
A hybrid model for a performance measurement system of business: A case study in critical logistics process
October 2014
The performance evaluation of companies is an important issue. Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and Six Sigma approaches are widely in use in business in this context. In this study, BSC and Six Sigma performance management systems have been elaborated, their strengths, which can be used in practice by a number of enterprises in a variety of sizes, have been identified; and a new hybrid model of performance measurement...
Course performance evaluation based on neural network modeling
October 2014
Modeling the performance of an academic course based on a given set of affecting factors is the goal of this research. For different institutions, these factors differ in terms of availability and usefulness. This study was conducted for the nine engineering departments at King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia with a total of 281 courses for the last 8 years. First, all measurable input factors were acquired from the...
Leading self, teams and organizations from a female perspective: An exploration of the women leaders’ journey
October 2014
This paper seeks to capture the characteristics that prevail in the leadership styles of women leaders paying special attention to their individual leaders’ journeys. The study reviews the theoretical models of leadership and feminist theory that are particularly pertinent from the discussion of women leadership. A narrative approach is adopted for analyzing two women leaders’ journeys –Mary Kay and...
Effect of family control and internal auditor on conservatism behaviour
October 2014
In this study, we deal with the effect of internal auditor and family control on operational accrual items measurements across the Tehran Stock Exchange registered firms. The operational accrual items of the Giuli and Hin Model have been used to measure the conservatism level. In comparison with other models, including Basu’s model, the above-mentioned model is more reliable. "Herfindal-Hirschman Model”...
Can training and career development be considered best practices using the universal and contingency approaches?
October 2014
Because human resource management is a challenge for mostorganizations, many companies seek practices that will enable them to compete with other companies. In our work, we examine the study of training and career development and their consideration as high-performance practices by considering the universal and contingency approaches for a sample of 560 companies. If practitioners know the effects of these...
Entrepreneurship complexity: Salient features of entrepreneurship
October 2014
The topic of entrepreneurship has attracted a lot of attention in academia and industry circles. This paper seeks to explore theories of entrepreneurship as well as its definitions. To this end a model that includes the salient entrepreneurial features, such as non-resource ownership and non-monetary gain, in defining entrepreneurship has been developed. It is now a known fact that no country can do without...
Measuring organizational innovative climates in technical institutes and university teachers
October 2014
Teachers’ perceptions of organizational innovation climates are vital to understand the success or failure of innovational implementations of technical institutes and universities. This study aims to develop a “Measure of Organizational Innovation Climates for Technical Institutes and University Teachers (MOIC-TT) in order to recognize the influence of schools on teachers’ creative behaviors. First,...
Organizational performance and readiness for change in public sector undertakings
October 2014
The present study makes an assessment of the readiness/resistance to change of employees of State Public Sector Undertakings (SPSUs), compares readiness between executives and workers of SPSUs, employees of SPSUs and Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs), and between employees of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) making profits as well as losses. The factors affecting readiness to change were identified...
Effect of knowledge management practices (KMPs) and the moderating role of interpersonal trust (IPT) on firm’s performance (FP): A study in software industry of Pakistan
October 2014
The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of knowledge management practices on the firm’s performance in software industry of Pakistan. A co relational research design using a multiple regression was used to test the causal relationships among the knowledge management practices, firm’s performance and the moderating role of interpersonal trust. Hypotheses were tested through field...
The next frontier: Open innovation and prospecting of knowledge for value co-creation in complex environments based on new business models by 3D modeling and additive manufacturing
October 2014
This article aims to contribute to a policy of innovation management. To do so, it presents the influence of practices of open innovation in the prospecting of knowledge for value creation in highly complex environments under 3D modeling and additive manufacturing. The research was conducted in the light of theoretical excerpts and application of a survey to specialists, with knowledge about the investigated...
The nurse as an integration agent in handoff: A social networks analysis perspective
October 2014
The growing interest in social networks, in health services, follows international pressure by improving quality and reducing costs in this sector. Identifying the most important actors in a social network is one of the applications of graph theory in social network analysis (SNA). Socialization among health professionals (actors) and their structural positions, in social networks, are important factors to be considered...
Regulation and gender equality and non-discrimination of women in top management positions in Ghana
October 2014
The engagement of more women at top level management positions in both public and private institutions has increasingly been attracting interest amongst the general public, academia and policy-makers; especially given the seemingly increasing participation of females in the labour market. In spite of the many campaigns for the inclusion of women at top level management, it appears the proportion of women to men in...
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