March 2012
Controversies in using derivatives in the context of the financial crisis
As a phenomenon, risk is specific for any human activity. Following this logic, we can say that this concept is a constituent element in the definition given to the financial sector, investments and market competition. The questions that the whole range of operators (governments, regulation bodies, financial institutions, companies and shareholders) must answer are: Which type of risk should one assume within an...
March 2012
Customer relationship management concept and competitiveness of companies from Western Balkans
On the global market level, the competitiveness of companies from Western Balkans, except Slovenia and Montenegro, is at a very low level. According to Global Competitiveness Report 2010 to 2011, companies from Western Balkans were ranked from 45th to 102nd positions. The main objective of modern business should be to achieve business excellence and reach world class of product and...
March 2012
Algorithm of "vehicle routing scheduling problem" for business managers in the third millennium
The problem studied in this literature tend to be highly simplified compared to the issues faced by distribution managers due to several reasons: the number of vehicles, customers, difficult real world constraints and the fact that such routes must be constructed in a relatively short period of time. In the past several years, micro computers have become more powerful and less expensive, thus they enhanced their...
March 2012
The efficiency performance of Taiwanese enterprises in China: Tax incentive perspective
This paper explores the efficiency performance of individual Taiwanese manufacturing enterprises in China and Chinese tax incentives impact. Applying data envelopment analysis (DEA) to operations data for 3,506 firms over the four year period (2004 to 2007), the study finds that Taiwanese firms located in the special tax incentive zones benefit from tax incentives than their counterparts in the other zones along with...
March 2012
Value relevance of financial assets’ fair values: Evidence from Chinese listed companies
The primary objective of this paper is to examine the value-relevance of financial assets’ fair values using data from all A-share listed companies in non-financial industries during 2004 to 2009 in China under IFRS-based new China Accounting Standards (CAS). We find that value-relevance of financial instruments is improved following the implementation of the fair value accounting standards, as predicted....
March 2012
In the context of the knowledge economy of parameters: Econometrics analysis of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) economies
The difference between knowledge economy and the others is that, the former has the primary importance. In recent years, the theoretical and empirical studies emphasize the role and the parameters of the knowledge economy. The important part of the empirical studies, concentrates on the relationship of knowledge economy and economic growth. In this study, the relationships between the variables effect and knowledge...
March 2012
Banking customers’ attitudes toward complaining: Their likelihood of voicing a complaint and service recovery they consider appropriate
This paper measures the attitude of banking customers towards complaining and their likelihood to complain when a service failure is experienced at their current and another bank. Insight is also provided into the service recovery responses customers consider appropriate when a service failure is experienced. The target population included individuals in the Gauteng Province of South Africa who hold a bank account...
March 2012
Creating of roadmap model for public policy towards national power development plan
Currently, public policies and plans of work are presented in a descriptive format which makes systematic projections of future scenarios a difficult task. This concern is especially applicable to the National Power Development Plan (PDP), which is expected to be an important factor in the economic development and quality of life of the Thai citizenry. This paper therefore proposes a PDP Roadmap-Model, employing the...
March 2012
The impact of institutional ownership on risk-taking behaviors
One of the major factors influencing a company’s performance is undoubtedly the level of risk-taking. As owners of a great deal of company stock, institutional investors can play an important role in determining this level. Therefore, this study has investigated the influence of institutional ownership on the risk-taking behavior of companies that are listed in the Tehran stock exchange. The study has used the...
March 2012
Consumers’ awareness and consumption intention towards green foods
Consumers’ food consumption patterns are changing rapidly. Consumers are becoming more concerned about the food they consume. They tend to consume food that is nutritious, healthy, safe and friendly to the environment and animals. Thus, the green concept is now steadily being disseminated among consumers in conjunction with the sustainability and conservation of agricultural development. Green foods refer to foods...
March 2012
Joint determination of the choice of planting season and technical efficiency of potato in northern Thailand: A comparison of Greene’s versus Heckman’s sample selection approach
The potato sector in Thailand has undergone significant changes with rapid expansion of the contract farming system, thereby, leading farmers to grow potato either early or late in the season. The present paper addresses two interrelated issues: (a) jointly determine the choice of planting season, productivity and technical efficiency of potato cultivation in northern Thailand; and (b) compare suitability of the two...
March 2012
Microfinance and women empowerment: A case study of District Bahawalpur (Pakistan)
Empowerment of women is one of the important issues in developing countries. Women are an integral part of the society, their participation in decision making through their participation in economic activities is very low. Microfinance plays a significant role in improving women decision making through participation in economic activities. The study is an attempt to explore the socioeconomic determinants of women...
March 2012
Assessing the impact of organizational learning capability on firm innovation
The importance of the innovation to survive organizations in fast changing environment is generally accepted by all. Therefore, finding the effects of the organizational features on innovation is of paramount importance. The organizational literature shows that Organizational Learning Capabilities (OLC) plays a critical role in the development and promotions of companies and increases the potential of innovation. In...
March 2012
Partial least square (PLS) path modelling and its application: Evaluation of patient satisfaction with service quality (SERVQUAL)
Increasing developments and opportunities in health sector made patient satisfaction more important. It is inevitable for health institutions to increase their service quality in ever increasing rivalry conditions. In the evaluation of service given in hospitals by patients, dimensions of service quality are one of the most effective factors. In this study, the causative relationship between service quality and...
March 2012
Personal values and entrepreneurial career location: The case of high-skilled immigrants from a developing country
The purpose of this research is to analyze the influence of personal values on the reasons why high-skilled immigrants from developing countries are returning to their home countries for career development by creating a business instead of starting up in their host country. A case study methodology was used to understand the role of personal values. The cases studied had a migration experience from Colombia to Spain and...
March 2012
E-Newsletter as a marketing tool for hospitality and travel firms to retain customers
There are no empirical studies on e-mail newsletters, especially studies focused on the hospitality and travel industries. The study uses literature on customer retention and customer relationship marketing together with information on hospitality and travel firms to provide insights on the benefits of using email newsletters as well as considerations in creating and improving email newsletters to ensure positive...
March 2012
An empirical study on the role of intermediary in global e-business management
The aim of this paper is to empirically examine the role of export intermediary firms (EIFs) based on structural equation modeling (SEM) for the unified global economic structure. E-business based export intermediary firms (e-EIFs) have experienced the systematic and professional paradigm shift. For this paradigm shift, we propose two hypotheses: the knowledge hypothesis for the traditional EIFs about the market and...
March 2012
Overcoming executive bureaucracy in the application of administrative justice to foreigners in South Africa
This article examines the various problems being faced by foreigners on a daily basis in order to obtain the necessary permits to work and reside in South Africa. The article highlights that the major obstacle is unnecessary bureaucracy by the officials of the Home Affairs who are responsible for the processing of permits. The article also examines how executive bureaucracy is affecting administrative actions and what...
March 2012
The existence of favoritism in organizations
The aim of this study is to determine if favoritism exists in Turkish universities and, if so, to clarify its type and to present the views of faculty members regarding the reasons for favoritism. This is a descriptive study and its population consists of the faculty members of Turkish universities. The study was carried out by obtaining the views of 385 faculty members who were...
March 2012
Introduction of private sector management principles to the public sector: Easier said than done
The public sector on the African continent is viewed by critics as dysfunctional, inefficient and ineffective in meeting and addressing societal demand in a turbulent socio-economic environment. The proponents of neo-economic liberalism are of the view that the introduction and application of private sector management principles to the public sector will address service delivery deficiencies. The study focuses on the...
March 2012
Integrated multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method combined with decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and analytic network process (ANP) in food supplier selection
The analytic network process (ANP) is a relatively new multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method which can be used to solve supplier selection problem. Because there are different degrees of influence among the criteria, using ANP average method (equal cluster-weighted) to obtain the weighted super-matrix may be inexact. This paper uses an effective solution based on a combined ANP and the decision-making trial and...
March 2012
The effect of earnings management on the quality of financial reporting
The accuracy of predicting future operating cash flows and the stability of accounting profit were the indices applied in defining the quality of financial reporting. The hypotheses of the study were tested through the panel data gathered from 70 listed companies in Tehran Stock Exchange. The findings of the research indicated that earnings management through accruals decreased the quality of financial reporting, that...
March 2012
Family businesses: How to measure their performance
Numerous studies on family businesses have drawn on the theory of resources and capabilities and have employed the concept of familiness as an indicator of family influence on businesses. A literature review shows that to measure the performance of this type of organization, it is necessary to use indicators that reflect both business variables and socio-economic factors related to family involvement in a company and...
March 2012
A Brazilian study on the importance of instrumental and terminal personal values
A great part of the efforts in international marketing and market segmentation focus on the comprehension and measurement of personal values in different cultures. This paper aims to verify which dimensions of personal values emerge from a group of Brazilian students, as well as the most important ones for such group. The present study was a descriptive research, using quantitative data analysis procedures. Instrumental...
March 2012
How entrepreneurs identify opportunities and access to external financing in Tunisian’s micro-enterprises?
Micro-enterprises play an extremely important role in the development of any country, especially in developing countries. To understand entrepreneurs who operate in a low-technology industry and in a low financial resources, we rely on the network and human perspective on entrepreneurship. In this paper, we investigate how the social and human capital of entrepreneurs influences their ability to identify opportunities...
March 2012
Exchange effects and sectorial rotation role in selecting financial securities portfolios
The development strategies of large companies are marked, after the beginning of the 1990s, by two major evolutions as compared to the industrial and financial consolidation processes: on the one hand, the activities refocusing on basic materials, and on the other hand, the acceleration of the internationalization of activities connected to the market globalization. More than that, if globalization preserves a closer...
March 2012
Relationship between employees’ perfectionism and their creativity
A major challenge confronting managers in the 21st century is how to effectively use the potential capabilities of their employees. To achieve this goal, employees must be encouraged to use their intellectual capabilities to enhance their knowledge and creativity. One aspect that reinforces individual creativity is perfectionism, which is a stable pattern of thinking and behavior that changes relatively little over...
March 2012
Financing the start-up and operation of immigrant-owned businesses: The path taken by African immigrants in the Cape Town metropolitan area of South Africa
Drawing a sample of 135 successful African immigrant-owned businesses, this paper sets out to investigate how their owners acquired the necessary capital for start-up and growth thereafter. The paper was designed within the quantitative and qualitative research paradigms, in which a triangulation of three methods was utilised to collect and analyze the data. The paper revealed that although African immigrants are...
March 2012
Multi-criteria decision of business management for the best selection in product design industries
This study explores why some researches conclude that multi-criteria decision of business management approach is changeable with unclear condition and time intraditional product industries. It also helps the enterprise to face important reforms by using Fuzzy set with multi-attribute policy to make decisions in business management. These reforms construct an integrity product design operation...
March 2012
Ensuring equality at the workplace by strengthening the law on prohibition against discrimination
Nigeria is a liberal democratic society, a free market economy and a secular state. As such, it is vulnerable to invidious workplace discrimination. This article examines inequality and blatant discriminatory practices in the workplace in Nigeria. The paper explores extensively the jurisprudence of the workplace discrimination in Nigeria and makes a comparison with approaches from other jurisdictions. The paper argues...
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