ABSTRACT OF APRIL
EDITION 2014
Volume 10*Number 1*
APRIL 2014
ISSN 1813-0534
1.
Understanding The Sources of National Competitiveness And
Innovation of Gulf-Based Emerging Markets: The Case of The
United Arab Emirates
Martin
Spraggon* and Virginia Bodolica*
ESE
Business School, Universidad de los Andes, Chile & American
University of Sharjah, School of Business and Management, United
Arab Emirates
ABSTRACT
The United
Arab Emirates (UAE) is a fascinating country located on the
Arabian shore of the Persian Gulf that has experienced a
vertiginous economic growth over the past years. Considering
that the country has attained noteworthy regional and
international standings in only a few decades, the purpose of
this article is to uncover and discuss the specific sources of
national competitiveness and innovation of the UAE. This
analysis is both relevant and timely for understanding how this
constantly
evolving economy has achieved its current level of development
and for delineating future strategic priorities for allowing a
successful implementation of its long-term vision. The UAE has
become an important player on the world map and is determined to
take advantage of its central geographical location to transform
itself into a hub for global aerospace, logistics, finance and
trade.To illustrate the pillars on which the country relies to
secure its competitive advantage and engage in
innovative
undertakings, we focus on analyzing and benchmarking the UAE’s
rankings from the latest Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) and
Global Innovation Index (GII). Our article seeks to not only
introduce the reader to the recent national accomplishments but
also open opportunities for a constructive debate on how the UAE
can continue its journey of sustainable growth and development.
*Acknowledgement:
The
initial stages of this research project were conducted while the
authors were on a Visiting Research Fellowship at the Middle
East Center of the London School of Economics and Political
Science (United Kingdom). The authors would like to acknowledge
the support of the fellowship in making this research possible
and thank Dr. Robert Lowe, the Manager of the Middle East Center
at the London School of Economics, for his encouragement..
2.
Surviving The Crisis: An Empirical Study of Capabilities And
Competitive Advantages of Small And Medium-sized Enterprises
Vijaya
Thyil, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
ABSTRACT
How to
entrepreneurial firms create and sustain competitive advantages
despite widespread shocks such as the global financial and
economic crisis? What are the proactive moves and pre-emptive
strategies they use? Using the data from in-depth interviews
with 50 entrepreneurs operating in the manufacturing and
business services sectors in Australia, this paper aims to
explore and analyze the creation and sustenance of competitive
advantage. Data and discussion reveals similarities as well as
differences among both sectors. The implications are useful for
entrepreneurs,
policy
makers and researchers.
Keywords:competitive
advantage; capabilities; manufacturing; business services;
global financial crisis;Small and medium-sized enterprises;
Australia
3.
Monitoring And Optimum Stimulation Level on Impulse Buying And
Variety Seeking
C.
A. Malarvizhi*, Katayoon Ershadi**, Abdullah Al Mamun***,
Sreenivasan Jeyashree**, Mohammad Nurul Huda Mozumder****
* Faculty
of Management, Multimedia University, Malaysia
**
Graduate School of Management, Multimedia University, Malaysia
***
Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia
Kelantan, Malaysia
****Faculty of Administrative Sciences, Laval University, Canada
ABSTRACT
The
objective of this study was to examine how consumer
impulsiveness, self-monitoring, and optimum stimulation level
affect impulsive buying and variety seeking behavior among
Malaysian consumers. This study employed a cross-sectional
design and a total of 302 respondents were selected using a
convenience sampling method. Findings of this study revealed
that consumer impulsiveness and optimum stimulation level has a
significant positive effect on impulsive buying and variety
seeking.
This study therefore recommends organizations and retail stores
to display their goods and products in suitable, accessible, and
reachable places, while keeping in mind the products that are
placed on the path of consumers trigger customers’ impulsive
behaviors at a higher level. Building attractive showrooms and
displays for products is another way in which to increase sales,
due to the stimulation of customer’s impulse buying and variety
seeking behaviors.
Keywords:Consumer
Impulsiveness, Self-Monitoring, Optimum Stimulation Level,
Impulsive Buying,Variety Seeking Behavior, Malaysian Consumers
4.
An Exploration of The Factors Influencing Social CRM
Adoption:Evidence from Australian Firms
Kritcha
Yawised, School of Engineering and ICT, University of Tasmania,
Australia
Nuttaneeya
(Ann) Torugsa, Australian Innovation Research Centre, University
of Tasmania, Australia
ABSTRACT
Businesses
around the world are placing increasing emphasis on effectively
improving relationships with customers by using social media.
This idea is called social customer relationship management
(Social CRM) – an emerging concept that includes strategies,
processes and technologies to link social media with traditional
CRM processes. Despite growing attention being paid to this
concept, there is very limited empirical evidence on what
determines the adoption of Social CRM by
private
firms. Using a large-scale sample of 1,025 Australian firms, we
explore several factors (firm size, industry sector, type of
market served, and the perception of barriers) that may affect
Social CRM adoption. We find that the uptake of Social CRM
increases with firm size, and service firms are more likely than
manufacturing firms to adopt Social CRM. Firms that sell to
individual customers tend to adopt Social CRM more than those
that sell to other companies or other divisions of their firm.
Three types of barriers negatively associated with Social CRM
adoption include costs outweighing benefits, rigid
organisational culture and lack of management support, whilst a
positive association observed for the barriers related to high
financial cost and employee misuse of social media tools.
Keywords:
Social
CRM, social media, social networking, size, sector, market,
barriers.
5.
Does Information Technology Exist to Server Business Objectives
Only? The Significant Role of Modern IT in Reshaping Business
Strategy
Ahmed
Elmorshidy, Ph.D.
Claremont
Graduate University, USA / Gulf University for Science &
Technology, Kuwait
ABSTRACT
The
traditional view of Information Technology (IT) was that it is a
tool to achieve business strategies and objectives. Most
research in this regard focused on aligning IT with business
strategies.Today, with the impressive advancements of modern IT
infrastructure, communications, and connectivity and the role of
the Internet and enterprise-wide applications, Information
Technology is starting to reshape and affect business strategies
in many organizations moving towards an integrated and mutual
picture of IT/business effect and changing the way of framing IT
as only a functional-level strategy. This paper investigate the
role of modern IT in reshaping business strategies, reviews
literature about the key dimensions of digital business
strategy. The paper also introduces a new research model by
extending the Technology Acceptance Model of Davis (1989) with
the incorporation of the effect of the key dimensions of digital
business strategy.
6.
Conservation And Economic Generation of Indigenous Community in
Integrated Tropical Fruits Reforestation
Mohd Amin
Ahmad
Shafiee Md
Tarmudi
Muhamad
Ismail Pahmi
University
Technology of MARA Malaysia
mohda479@johor.uitm.edu.my
ABSTRACT
The
purpose of this study is attempted to look into conservation and
economic generation of integrated tropical fruits reforestation
in Malaysia particularly secondary forest granted to the
indigenous community which left idle or partially cultivated
with self subsistence crops towards fulfillment of at least some
of the national economic agendas namely income generation and
livelihood of Malaysian
indigenous
communities and national economy. The introduction and
implementation of a designated cost effective methodology or
approach of manageable Integrated Tropical Fruits Reforestation
Technique and program on the idle or partial attended indigenous
customary land will resulted in reaping in profits in upgrading
income and livelihood of indigenous people. This not only will
reap in the high returns of quality tropical exotic fruits like
durian, langsat, cempedak, tampoi, petai, etc, creating orchards
within the jungle vicinity as well as tourism. At the same time
conservation effort in economically reforestation of the
tropical fruits saplings into its natural habitats will reduce
the climatic change, environmental conservation as well as
create jobs for the local indigenous people. The participative
efforts from JHEOA, state government and indigenous community
chieftains are crucial and certainly will have great impact in
determining the level of achievement in upgrading indigenous
community
income and livelihood as well as generate country’s economy
through the expansion of total reforested tropical fruits trees
within the jungle land areas, retain and sustain the last
frontier of Malaysian treasured environment. Technicality and
expertise in the implementation process are two important
factors. Knowledge on forest management and tropical fruits
agriculture are also taken into consideration in this study. In
general, there is a significant difference among factors stated
above on
reforestation of indigenous community’s idle land with tropical
fruits trees. The initiatives and eagerness to be successful in
this concept depend on the inter-relatedness of the various
quarters in the initiatives that will constitute to the income
generation and livelihood of indigenous community. The vast
secondary jungle land allocated to the indigenous community in
Malaysia has much potentiality in consolidation into integrated
tropical fruits reforestation not only for the purpose of
conservation of Malaysian jungle frontier but also able to
upgrade income and livelihood of the indigenous community within
the third wave of national economy through agriculture. It was
of utmost important for developing the under develop indigenous
community and conserve the natural habitat and heritage of
the
remaining limited Malaysian jungle frontiers into a profitable
economic venture.
Keywords:
Conservation, Indigenous community, Tropical fruits
reforestation, Economic Generation
7.
Rough Set Theory on Corporate Financial Crisis Prediction
Hia Jong
Teoh, Hsing-Hui Chu*
Ling Tung
University, Taiwan
ABSTRACT
This paper
proposes rough set theory approach to predict corporate
financial crisis. The aim of this paper is to verify the
relationship between the failure-signs of small and medium
enterprises and the unlisted company. In conclusion, this paper
disclosed the relevant subsets of prediction characteristics and
represented the important relationships between crisis warnings
for small and medium enterprises and the failure of public
traded company. The rough set theory analyses the hidden
relationship in the signs of failure we input in and recommends
effectiveness prediction rules to corporate management,
investors, creditors, financial institutions and even the
government.
Keyword:
rough set
theory, financial ratios, financial crisis, hidden relationship,
prediction rules
8.
Comparison between Stock Synchronicity Measures –
An Empirical Analysis
Sarod
Khandaker
Centre for
Enterprise Performance, Faculty of Business and Enterprise,
Swinburne
University of Technology,Australia
ABSTRACT
In this
paper, I analyse three measures of stock market synchronicity;
the classical measure, the R square measure and the zero return
measure proposed by Morck et al. (2000), Skaife et al. (2006)
and Khandaker (2012). It is found that the classical measure and
the R square measure exhibit somewhat similar aspects of stock
market synchronous behaviour while the zero return measure
provides a different finding. Further, cross-sectional analysis
shows that inflation is generally positively
correlated
with the classical measure and the R-square measure, while it is
negatively correlated with the zero return measure; and
government accountability and trade openness is negatively
correlated with the classical measure and the R-square measure
whereas it is positively correlated with the zero return
measure. Analysis of the correction coefficient shows that the
classical measure is positively correlated with the R square
measure while the zero return measure is negatively correlated
with both
these
measures. The paper concludes that the classical measure and the
R square measure of stock synchronicity are closely correlated
while the zero return measure captures an aspect of stock market
behaviour other than stock synchronicity.
JEL
classification:
G12, G14
Keywords:Synchronicity,
Cross-Sectional Analysis, Classical Synchronicity Measure, R
square
Measure,
Zero Return Measure
9.
High Dividend Rates Can Not Contribute to Long Investment
Horizons:The Chinese Evidence
Hai Long
Zhaoyong
Zhang
School of
Business, Edith Cowan University,Australia
ABSTRACT
This
paper, based on Campbell (2000), introduces investor
sentiment-related variables to a logarithm model, aiming to
examine the relationship between dividend rate and investment
horizons in the emerging Growth Enterprise Market of China.
Using data sample of 243 IPO firms during 2009-2012, the study
find that these firms’ dividend policies do not contribute to
investment horizons in the listing market, and both dividend
rates and investment horizons vary across industry sectors. In
addition, a majority of these firms failed to fulfill their
dividend policies.
Keywords:
Dividend
Policies, Growth Enterprise Market of China, Investment Horizons
10.
Bankruptcy Prediction of Indian Listed Companies Using
Discriminant Analysis, Logistic Regression And Neural Network
Varadraj
Bapat and Abhay Nagale, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay,
India
ABSTRACT
The
purpose of this study is to develop reliable bankruptcy
prediction models for Indian listed companies. Multivariate
discriminant analysis, logistic regression and Neural Networks
are employed to a dataset of 90 matched pairs of bankrupt and
non-bankrupt Indian listed companies. The results indicate that
the models yield an overall correct classification accuracy of
80 to 85% one year prior to bankruptcy. Neural Network has
higher classification accuracy compared to discriminant analysis
and logistic regression.
11.
The Compliance Cost of Anti-Money Laundering Legislation under
Malaysia’s Dual Financial System: A Survey of Bank Compliance
Officers
Prof Wee
Ching Pok
Accounting
Research Institute,Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selangor, Malaysia
Prof
Normah Hj Omar
Director,
Accounting Research Institute, Universiti Teknologi MARA,
Selangor, Malaysia
Prof
Milind Sathye( Corresponding author)
University
of Canberra, University Drive, Bruce, Australia
ABSTRACT
We develop
our understanding of the regulatory cost burden on banks due to
the
Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001
(AMLATFA),
by
surveying 82 compliance
officers
in Malaysia. The study assumes importance given the dual
financial system (conventional and
Islamic)
enshrined in the
Malaysian Central Bank Act 2009.
The
compliance officers envisage
significant increase in cost in the next three years. The
proportion of bank compliance officers
expecting
costs to rise between 21 to 50 per cent was 43 for conventional
banks and 67 per cent for
Islamic
banks. The study contributes to the enforcement theory of
regulation with evidence from Malaysia and would help inform
policy about risk-based regulation.
Key words:
Compliance
cost, Malaysia, AML/CFT, dual financial system, Islamic banks
JEL:
G21, G38, K42
12.
On The Relation between Internal Corporate Governance And Bank
Risk-taking: Evidence from Gulf Cooperative Council Countries
Houda
Arouri, Qatar University ,Qatar
Mohammad
Badrul Muttakin, Deakin University, Australia
Mohammed
Hossain, Griffith University, Australia
Omar Al
Farooque, University of New England, Australia
*Corresponding author: Mohammed Hossain, email:
mohammed.hossain@griffith.edu.au
ABSTRACT
This study
investigates the relationship between ownership structure, board
composition and risk-taking of listed banking companies in the
Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) countries during 2004–2010.
Building on limited literature and using OLS and Fixed-effect
models, we document that both ownership structure and board
composition are important determinants of bank risk-taking
behaviour, in particular foreign ownership and larger board size
in bringing financial stability and less
risk while
government ownership and CEO duality having detrimental effect
on bank risk-taking, and no particular effect of institutional
ownership. These findings have important policy implications for
the banking industry in GCC countries with distinct economic,
financial and cultural background, and nature of banking system
in shaping corporate governance system to restrict the
unrestrained risktaking behavior of banking firms to avoid
financial turmoil in the Gulf region.
13.
National Culture as An Influence on Perceptions of Employer
Attractiveness
Mr Sultan
Alshathry University of Adelaide. Dr Wayne O’Donohue, Griffith
University.
Dr Mark
Wickham & Dr Simon Fishwick, University of Tasmania
ABSTRACT
In
competitive market for skilled employees, it has become
increasingly important for
organizations to implement strategies that establish and
maintain a brand as an ‘employer of choice’. This study aims to
investigate how national cultural context influences perceptions
of potential employees about employer attractiveness. The study
findings demonstrate how the Saudi national cultural context
influences the perceptions of potential Saudi employees, and
contributes to the literature
in two
ways: firstly, by demonstrating the need to extend the employer
attractiveness framework developed by Berthon, Ewing and Hah
(2005) to include dimensions relevant to national cultural
context; and secondly, by highlighting the need to give
consideration when measuring employer attractiveness to the
relative level of importance of each aspect of employer
attractiveness in the light of any specific national cultural
context.
14.
Perceived Organizational Justice And A Wildcat Strike :
A Study Conducted in China
Lei Wang*,
Ph.D., The University of Texas – Pan American, USA
Leonel
Prieto, Ph.D.,Texas A&M International University,Laredo, TX ,USA
Grace K.
Dagher, Ph.D., Lebanese American University, Beirut, Chouran,
Beirut
ABSTRACT
China has
witnessed an increased number of labor strikes in recent years.
This paper is aimed to explain such phenomenon from the
perspective of organizational justice. The predicted
relationship between labor strikes and organizational justice
was examined with a field study conducted in a company in China,
where a strike was ended approximately six months before the
study took place. The case study results demonstrated the
presence of three types of organizational injustice among the
workers–distributive injustice, procedural injustice, and
interactional injustice. Recommendations were provided on
management practices for preventing labor strikes.
15.
Leadership Characteristics, LMX Currencies, Perceived
Supervision, And Subordinate Behavior in Taiwan
Ismatilla
Mardanov, Southeast Missouri State University,USA
Kuan-Ju
Chen, Washington State University,USA
ABSTRACT
Relying on
the prominent leadership theories, we examine the extent to
which leadership characteristics -- traits, roles, and styles --
can influence LMX currencies and the reciprocal effect of LMX on
leadership characteristics. We also test the impact of
leadership and LMX on perceived supervision that forms
subordinate behavior. Results indicate that leadership
characteristics play an important role in shaping LMX currencies
that managers must know for leadership effectiveness. LMX
currencies
have a stronger reciprocal effect on leadership. Leadership and
LMX have significant effect on subordinate perceptions of
supervision, and the latter has a strong impact on subordinate
feelings and behavior measured by such variables as satisfaction
with supervision, inspiration, and decision to stay. The main
finding is that the dynamics of leadership characteristics
change the nature of leader-member
exchange,
member perceptions of supervision, and subordinate behavior.
16.
Key Managerial And Organizational Issues of Corporate
Entrepreneurship
So-Ling
Chau, Hang Seng Management College, Hong Kong
ABSTRACT
Entrepreneurship can be regarded as the key to business success
nowadays. Yet, for a
well-established organization, entrepreneurship still has a role
to play and it is not the sole domain of new ventures. This
paper explains the basics of the concept of corporate
entrepreneurship and identifies its key dimensions. Strategic
value and importance of corporate entrepreneurship are then
highlighted. Antecedents of corporate entrepreneurship are also
covered which could shed lights to managers on how to promote
corporate entrepreneurial activities and overcome the barriers
in organizations. Finally, a conclusion is drawn
17.
In Search of The Equilibrium for ERP Project Success:
Dynamic Management of Intangible Resources
Mudiarasan
Kuppusamy, Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation,
Malaysia
Ali Salman
Saleh, Notre Dame University, Lebanon.
Yi-Chen
Lan, University of Western Sydney, Australia
ABSTRACT
Enterprise
resource planning (ERP) system is well-known as one of the
central technological infrastructure that facilitates efficient
business operations in a dynamic business landscape. Adoption of
the systems however is mired with numerous problems; a well
cited reality in multitude industrial and academic reports. This
paper applies the dynamic capabilities view to examine the
effects of intangible resources (i.e. Governance, Knowledge and
Relationship) toward successful implementation of ERP systems in
Malaysian service firms. Results from the Partial Least Square
(PLS)
estimation shows that Relationship resource has a significant
individual and direct effect toward ERP implementation success.
Further analysis shows that Governance resource is the mediator
that enhances the effects of Knowledge and Relationship
resources toward successful implementation of ERP systems. The
findings suggests that successful ERP implementation could be
prominent if the
implementing firm is able to manage their technology project by
integrating and reconfiguring their intangible resources in a
strategic context. The strategic determination of resources with
the capability to enhance the competence of other resources can
become the strategic equilibrium for ERP project implementation
success.
Keywords:Dynamic
capabilities, Enterprise Resource Planning, Intangible
Resources, Partial Least
Squares
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