Developing and validating an instrument for measuring managers’ attitudes toward older workers

Three studies were carried out to develop and validate an instrument for measuring managers’ attitudes toward older workers. In the first study we explore (a) managers’ attitudes toward older workers, and (b) retirees’ perceptions about their last experiences before retirement. In the second study, 51 items emerging from the first study and from the literature were developed. The corresponding questionnaire was then applied to a sample of 224 Portuguese managers who were also invited to make decisions in three scenarios involving younger and older workers. The third study replicated the second one with a sample of 249 Brazilian managers. The main findings are: (a) five types of managers’ attitudes toward older workers were identified (adaptability, value of older workers’ competencies, organizational conscientiousness, social capital/generosity and performance); (b) these attitudes predict how managers select older vs. younger workers in hiring and selecting employees to participate in training; (c) the empirical patterns identified in the Portuguese and Brazilian samples are similar; (d) in spite of recognizing positive qualities in older workers, managers discriminate against them; (e) managers develop different attitudinal profiles toward older workers, which has consequences for how they make decisions about those workers.     

Impact of IFRS adoption on accounting quality in European firms

In this paper it is examined whether firms following International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS） exhibit higher accounting quality. While IFRS are supposed to improve international comparisons by harmonisation and definition of strong principles, Ball （2006） and Nobes （2006） were concerned about differences in the application of IFRS cross-countries and firms. Barth, Landsman ＆ Lang （2008） stated that the flexibility of principles- based International Accounting Standards （IAS） could create incentives for firms to manage earnings. This paper contributes to analyse the impact of IFRS on accounting quality for European firms. The findings show that for firms in the European Union （EU） IFRS produce a negative effect on accounting quality that continues after 2005, when IFRS becomes mandatory. By contrast, for European firms which are not EU members the IFRS adoption increases accounting quality. These results support the concerns about IFRS application and flexibility and indicate that accounting quality does not improve just because the adoption of IFRS is mandatory.     

What aspects of demographic,personality, attitudes and perceptions of law enforcement influence self-reported likelihood of drink driving?

The aim of the current study was to examine the associations between a number of individual factors (demographic factors (age and gender), personality factors, risk-taking propensity, attitudes toward drink driving, and perceived legitimacy of drink driving enforcement) and how they influence the self-reported likelihood of drink driving. The second aim of this study was to examine the potential of attitudes mediating the relationship between risk-taking and self-reported likelihood of drink driving. In total, 293 Queensland drivers volunteered to participate in an online survey that assessed their self-reported likelihood to drink drive in the next month, demographics, traffic-related demographics, personality factors, risk-taking propensity, attitudes toward drink driving and perceived legitimacy of drink driving enforcement. An ordered logistic regression analysis was utilised to evaluate the first aim of the study; at the first step the demographic variables were entered; at step two the personality and risk-taking were entered; at the third step, the attitudes and perceptions of legitimacy variables were entered. Being a younger driver and having a high risk-taking propensity were related to self-reported likelihood of drink driving. However, when the attitudes variable was entered, these individual factors were no longer significant; with attitudes being the most important predictor of self-reported drink driving likelihood. A significant mediation model was found with the second aim of the study, such that attitudes mediated the relationship between risk-taking and self-reported likelihood of drink driving. Considerable effort and resources are utilised by traffic authorities to reducing drink driving on the Australian road network. Notwithstanding these efforts, some participants still had some positive attitudes toward drink driving and reported that they were likely to drink drive in the future. These findings suggest that more work is needed to address attitudes regarding the dangerousness of drink driving.     

Knowledge management,relational learning,and the effectiveness of innovation outcomes

This paper proposes a conceptual model to test the moderating effect of relational learning on the link between knowledge strategies and innovation. To accomplish this, this study is carried out on healthcare organizations. It has been generally accepted that both explicit and tacit knowledge play a basic role in organizational innovation. However, although there are plenty of research works that study the existing relationship between knowledge management (KM) and the effectiveness of the innovation process, there are certain peculiarities with regard to this link, which have yielded some inconclusive results. This paper revisits this research topic with data on KM, relational learning and innovation outcomes from a sample of Spanish hospitals. The results show that a deep and broad knowledge base leads to better innovation outcomes. In addition, this study found that hospitals and/or units that invest and involve themselves in relational learning mechanisms are more likely to foster innovations.     

Information technology as a determinant of organizational learning and technological distinctive competencies

This study aims to assess the role played by information technology (IT) in organizational learning (OL) considered as a process of knowledge creation and determined by the interaction of stocks and flows variables. We also examine how IT and OL influence both business performance and the development of the technological distinctive competencies (TDCs), as well as the latter's influence on leading the firm towards better outcomes. These relationships have been tested via an empirical analysis carried out with a sample of 140 industrial companies, applying a structural equation linear model according to the Partial Least Squares (PLS) methodology. Our findings allow us to confirm that IT acts as an enabler of the OL process and influences on the development of TDCs, which allow the achievement of a better business performance. Such competencies are also the result of OL, thus demonstrating the influences of them both on perceived organizational performance.     

How Pervasive is the World Business Cycle?

The paper tries to establish whether business-cycle synchronization across countries is due to a single world business cycle, to a diversity of regional business cycles or a combination of both. The methodology used does not impose any prior hypothesis about the existence of a business cycle with a specific regional composition. If regional business cycles exist, the regional composition would be estimated from the data used and the countries will form a region. The results indicate that there are four common components, but none specific to a geographical or cultural region. The only division found is between high and middle income countries. However inside these groups we can find some sets of countries that have a high degree of commovement. We will call these last groups clusters.     

A closer look at the world business cycle synchronization

This paper uses a transformation of the period-by-period index proposed by Cerqueira and Martins (2009), to overcome some of its shortcomings, in a non-parametric estimation to analyze how business cycle synchronization for a sample of 111 countries evolved in the period 1960–2007. The period-by-period index is able to distinguish between negative correlations due to episodes in single years, asynchronous behavior in turbulent times and synchronous behavior over stable periods and the non-parametric approach provides a more detailed analysis than the use of a parametric approach. The results show that since the nineties the synchronization at the world level, within and between country groups, experienced a dramatic increase reaching the highest values ever at the sample end.     

Poverty trap,boom and bust periods and growth. A nonlinear model for non-developed and developing countries

This work investigates the qualitative and quantitative dynamics of a Solow–Swan growth model with differential savings as proposed by Böhm and Kaas (J Econ Dyn Control 24:965–980, 2000) assuming the shifted Cobb–Douglas (SCD) production function (see Capasso et al. in Nonlinear Anal. 11:3858–3876, 2010) which makes it possible to consider the long-run dynamics of non-developed and developing countries as well as that of developed economies. The resulting model is described by a nonlinear discontinuous map generating both a poverty trap and complex dynamics. Furthermore, multistability phenomena may emerge: besides the “vicious circle of poverty”, long-run behaviours may include boom and bust periods. Complex basins can emerge, hence, economic policies trying to raise the capital per capita may fail and economies may be captured by the poverty trap.     

Quality practices and their influence on customer results: an empirical study

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the critical factors of quality and customer results in the rural accommodation sector. An extensive review of the academic literature allows us to propose a theoretical model that explains this relationship, together with the hypotheses to be validated by the technique of structural equation modelling. Empirical data were collected from 100 rural accommodation establishments in Spain certified with the Quality Management System. The results show a direct, significant and positive relationship between employee management and process management with customer results. Knowing the structure of relationships between the critical factors of quality and customer results provides managers of rural accommodation establishments with information about which factors they should focus their efforts on when their goal is to improve the results in their clients. The relationship between the critical factors of quality and customers results has not been analysed in the rural accommodation sector, an essential component of rural tourism, which in recent years is consolidating as a major tourist destination.     

On the value relevance of information on environmental and social activities and performance – Some evidence from the UK stock market

Motivated by the requirements of the UK Companies Act 2006 for a Strategic Report introduced in late 2013, and the subsequent Directive 2014/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, we investigate the relationship between the levels of disclosures on environmental and social activities and performance (analyst following) and subsequent analyst following (subsequent levels of disclosures on environmental and social activities and performance). We do so to investigate the value relevance of information about environmental and social activities and performance. Our evidence is consistent with their value relevance and an associated demand for, or general interest in, such disclosures from informed market participants. We also argue that our results suggest positive links between analyst following and the quality of environmental and social disclosure.