African Journal of
Business Management

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Bus. Manage.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1993-8233
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJBM
  • Start Year: 2007
  • Published Articles: 4187

Table of Content: 16 November 2011; 5(28)

November 2011

Comparative perspectives on environmental accounting elements in France and the United Kingdom

  The aim of this paper is to provide a comparative perspective on the output of environmental accounting systems. For the purpose of the analysis, the methodological focus was set on monetary elements included in the annual financial and sustainability reports. Following the tradition of accounting literature, two accounting cultures were selected for their paradigmatic opposition: the British and the French...

Author(s):   Voicu Dan DRAGOMIR and Elena Roxana ANGHEL-ILCU    

November 2011

An assessment of Knowledge Management (KM): A consideration of information, culture, skills and technology

  The impact of knowledge management on organizational performance has been a popular research topic in recent years. However, it seems to be a lack of empirical studies that measure knowledge orientation in educational environments, even though knowledge orientation and universities are considered complementary organizational approaches. This paper explores the level of knowledge management based on four...

Author(s):   Alireza Anvari, Gholam Abbas Alipourian, Rohollah Moghimi, Leila Baktash and Majid Mojahed  

November 2011

Trading behaviors among major investors in the United States Dollar (USD) currency futures markets: Evidence from South Korea

  The purpose of this paper is to investigate the behaviors of major traders (investment companies, banks, and foreigners) and return volatility of Won/USD futures in the South Korea currency market.  The results indicate that there exists a significantly positive relationship between currency market volatility and unexpected trading volume in terms of both banks and foreigners, and unexpected open...

Author(s):   Dar-Hsin Chen, Hwey-Yun Yau, Chin-Lin Chuang and Po-Cheng Kuo  

November 2011

Employees’ perceptions regarding social health insurance: A case of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo

  Sustaining splendid health has always been a wish for every employee of any formal organisation. If health is not excellent, employees are likely not to function as expected hence it is imperative to have social health insurance. This article reports on the findings derived from a research conducted in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. The researcher personally distributed structured questionnaires...

Author(s):   T. Kayiba and E. M. Rankhumise

November 2011

Establishment of a temporary workforce transaction mechanism using a real option approach

  To reduce labor costs and enhance profitability, many modern businesses have begun to employ temporary labor. Temporary labor not only helps businesses by providing necessary manpower during the busy season, it can also help businesses reduce labor costs during declining economic conditions by outsourcing labor. To address the need for flexibility in labor supply and extend the time needed to make labor...

Author(s):   Ying-Chyi Chou    

November 2011

Networking in the Kenyan informal sector: An attempt to manage the market failures

  This paper examines the role of informal personal networks in determining micro small enterprises (MSE’s) success in Kenya. It adopts the network perspective theoretical approach. Empirically, the paper finds that MSE’s in Kenya get around market failures and lack of formal institutions through entrepreneurial personal network as a copying strategy in the process of global transformation to bridge...

Author(s):   Ongong&#;a J. O. and Abeka E. O.        

November 2011

The three components of organizational commitment on in-role behaviors and organizational citizenship behaviors

  There is strong theoretical support for organizational commitment impact on in-role behaviors and organizational citizenship behavior performance. However, previous studies did not attain consistent conclusions with respect to the influence of organizational commitment on organizational citizenship behavior. The purpose of the study is to adopt the three components of organizational commitment scale of Meyer...

Author(s): Chun-Chen Huang and Ching-Sing You

November 2011

Factors affecting process orientation in Iranian Social security organization’s hospitals

  Process orientation was one of the new approaches in managerial topics, which were recently considered by the Iranian healthcare centers. The study’s aim is to identifies the main factors of process orientation in health care management arena in Iranian hospitals. To achieve this objective, the main variables were recognized and the questionnaire was determined. Iranian Social security...

Author(s):   Somayeh Hessam, Shaghayegh Vahdat and Shahaboddin Shamshirband    

November 2011

The impact of personality type on Chinese part-time MBA students’ performance

  The present study examines the relationship between personality types of part-time Master of Business Administration (MBA) students and their performance. A dataset was collected from the study sample, using questionnaires. From the study results, it can be deduced that the degree of part-time MBA students’ performance is significantly relevant to their personality types, based on the five-factor model...

Author(s):   Adahi Moulaye M’hamed Taher and Jin Chen    

November 2011

Using fuzzy cognitive map and structural equation model for market-oriented hotel and performance

    Firms are different from markets, resources and managerial expertise. Many studies strongly advocate that firms adopt a market orientation to achieve competitive advantage and can transform firm assets into superior performance. A paucity of research exists on how to develop market-oriented hotel and performance and is lacking an integrated framework to establish them. For establishing a guideline...

Author(s):   Cheng-Hua Wang, Shiu-Chun Chen and Kuan-Yu Chen  

November 2011

Extension of determinants of capital structure: Evidence from Pakistani non-financial firms

  This study tried to determine the influence of set of explanatory variables on the capital structure determination for Pakistani non-financial firms by using panel data. This study also finds the applicability of two capital structure theories (pecking order theory and trade-off theory) in Pakistani non-financial sector. This study used five previously studied variables (profitability, size, growth,...

Author(s):   Fawad Ahmad, Juniad-ul-Haq, Rao Umer Nasir, Mohsin Ali, Wasim Ullah        

November 2011

Sustainable technology management indicators: Objectives matrix approach

  In this paper, the concept of sustainable development is viewed in the perspective of the relations, influences and interactions in the spheres of technology management and natural resource development. The managerial methods, techniques and tools strongly rely on the measurement capacities and on the support of sustainability performance indicators. This paper, hence, focuses on the identification of the set...

Author(s):     Maja Todorovic, Maja Levi Jaksic, and Sanja Marinkovic        

November 2011

The change of consumers’ behavior in crisis conditions: A psychological approach to the empirical evidence from Romania

  The purpose of this article is to analyze the causal relation between the psychological factors of behavior in risk-generating situations and the change of consumers’ behavior in the context of nowadays economic crisis. In order to test the conceptual model of behavior change in uncertain conditions developed, the empirical data were collected according to a sample of 527 Romanian consumers during...

Author(s):   Amalia Pandelica and Ionut Pandelica  

November 2011

A holistic application of process capability indices

  Different capability measuring techniques have been proposed and are being used in industry today. Each one gives a certain portion of the quality picture, leaving out some equally important details about the process. There is no single index which addresses the whole quality of a production process on its own, hence the need to look at all the indices holistically. Each index has its own merits and demerits....

Author(s):   Nyamugure Philimon, Maposa Daniel, Sigauke Caston, Chiyaka Edward and Denwick Munjeri  

November 2011

Performance evaluation of open end and close end mutual funds in Pakistan

  The study is about evaluating the performance of close and open end mutual funds in Pakistan. It provides guidance to the investors on how risk-adjusted-performance evaluation of mutual funds can be done and how they can use performance analysis at the time of investment decision making. Different researches had been conducted on mutual fund industry of Pakistan to evaluate the performance but the focus of...

Author(s):   Bilal Nafees, Syed Muhammad Amir Shah and Safiullah Khan    

November 2011

Training needs assessment practices in corporate sector of Pakistan

  The purpose of this study is to investigate the manager training needs assessment techniques adopted by Pakistan corporate sector, especially in Islamabad and Rawalpindi region, and its impact on training outcomes. The finding related to TNA comprehensiveness was disparate because majority of the organization are using only one level or personal level analysis for their managers training needs assessment. So,...

Author(s):   Syed Kamran Sherazi, Irfan Ahmed, Muhammad Zubair Iqbal, Muhammad Umar and Kashif-ur-Rehman

November 2011

Exploring agency problems in corporate governance from the perspective of economic ethics of the capitalist market

  Moral hazard is reflected in the information asymmetry between the agent and the principal, as well as under the assumption that humans are egotistic with limited rationality, often risk-averse and antagonistic towards each other’s goals. The agent could thus hide the truth from the principal, not abide by their mutual agreement, and tamper with the investment objectives and plans. From the perspective...

Author(s):   Hsiang-Yi Lin and Chih-Wen Huang

November 2011

Do best and worst innovation performance companies differ in terms of intellectual capital, knowledge and radicalness?

  This paper has differentiated “best” from “worst” innovative companies, taking into account three separate bodies of literature, that is, the intellectual capital, knowledge-based view and innovation literatures. Based on a sample of 181 firms that belong to the manufacturing and services industries, our findings showed that the best innovation performance companies (considering both...

Author(s):   Carmen Cabello-Medina, Antonio Carmona-Lavado, Ana Pérez-Luño and Gloria Cuevas-Rodríguez      

November 2011

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley act and its capital market effects

  Starting with November 15, 2004, Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX 404) requires all accelerated firms (with at least $75 million in public equity) to report on the effectiveness of their internal controls over financial reporting. There has been some controversy regarding the burden that it casts on companies and whether the benefits outweigh the costs of compliance. Reporting under SOX is...

Author(s):   Maria Mirela Dobre  

November 2011

High-tech companies’ readiness assessment for alternative workplaces

  The aim of this research is to provide an understanding of the assessment of the initial readiness for alternative workplace arrangements (AWA) to assist the process of decision-making for its adoption from an organizational perspective. A set of readiness level assessment indicators (RLAI) with three main categories of relative advantage, compatibility and complexity was developed to help decision makers...

Author(s):   Jun Ha Kim and Yi-Kai Juan  

November 2011

Franchisee perceived relationship value and loyalty in a franchising context: assessing the mediating role of franchisee satisfaction and the moderating role of franchisee characteristics

  This article examined franchisee satisfaction as mediator and franchisee characteristics as moderators of the relationship between franchisee perceived relationship value and loyalty. Using the data from 218 franchisees in 5 Chinese convenience store franchise companies, the findings revealed a partially mediating role for franchisee satisfaction in the relationship between perceived relationship value and...

Author(s):   Weiping Chen    

November 2011

Reasons to create a new venture: A determinant of entrepreneurial profiles

  Newly created enterprises increase the dynamism of economies and generate employment. Thus, they are subject to significant recent research. Forming a new company represents a decision based on both personal and subjective motives, as much as on the environment. But regardless of the origin, a founder’s motivation represents a commitment to a project or business idea and thus dictates the future success...

Author(s):   Virginia Barba-Sanchez and Carlos Atienza-Sahuquillo      

November 2011

An application of supplier selection in supply chain for modeling of intangibles: A case study of multinational Food Coffee industry

  The objective of this paper is to present a comprehensive method for the evaluation and selection of suppliers’ offers in food industry. The supplier/vendor selection is a decision-making problem at the strategic management level that involves a semi-structured process. The inclusion of both tangible and intangible criteria in evaluation and selection of the best among the offers provided by various...

Author(s):   Gopal Agarwal and Lokesh Vijayvargy  

November 2011

Strategies to improve the level of employee motivation in the fast food outlets in Cape Town, South Africa

  Motivation increases the level of performances of employees and also increases their commitment in the workplace. This implies that motivating workers is very important. The fast food workers are unique and have their individual needs, potentials, values and goals. Job satisfaction leads to job motivation. Therefore, when workers are satisfied, they tend to be motivated to work. The study points out the...

Author(s):   Nnenna E. Ukandu and Wilfred I. Ukpere  

November 2011

Debt (a real hurdle in the economic growth of Pakistan): A time series analysis

  This study aims to highlight the problems created by the debt (external debt) to economic growth of Pakistan. Time series data from the FY1981 to FY 2008 is used. The analysis includes five variables. Growth rate of GDP per capita is taken as a dependent variable while external debt to GDP ratio, investment to GDP ratio, population growth rate and trade openness are independent variables. The ADF- Unit Root...

Author(s):   Mehboob Ahmed and Maryam Shakur

November 2011

Equality investment strategy evaluation during the financial crisis: Using TOPSIS approach

  During the financial crisis time, fear has taken over the mood of investors. There are so many uncertainties during a crisis. This time, the financial crisis came with a credit crunch. At such time, the contrarian investors were looking for better investment objectives which may increase profits in the future by mean reversion effect. But how can they be confident that the chosen investment objectives can...

Author(s):   Horng Jinh Chang, Chun-Ming Chien  and Ching Ya Hsiao