‘A dense mass of petty accountability’: Accounting in the service of cultural imperialism during the Irish Famine, 1846–1847

One response of the imperial government in London to the Irish Famine (1845–1849) was to initiate a scheme of public works underpinned by relief payments based on task work. This policy was informed by a determination to improve the ‘moral habits’ of the native Irish in relation to work. To support the data collection and control systems necessary to operate this intervention, the imperial government recruited a large number of accountants charged with introducing a vast accounting apparatus to Ireland. The institutionalisation of accounting that this facilitated laid the basis for interventions by the imperial power intended to ‘civilise’ the native Gaelic population as well as recalcitrant Anglo-Irish landlords. This intervention is considered within the context of concepts of governmentality and cultural imperialism.     

Charges in the Industrial Water Sector: Comparison Between Ireland and Spain

The European Treaty supports the application of the polluter pays principle in all environmental policies including the Water Framework Directive. This paper assesses the efficiency of water-charging systems in two European regions. The regions examined are the South west region of Ireland and the Navarre region in Spain which were selected because they are similar in terms of economic indicators but different in terms of water pricing structures. The paper describes the development and application of a simple model to analyse data on water-charging systems from these two regions. We present the results of a detailed scenario-based investigation illustrating the differences between experience, composition and basis, impact and constraints on the application of water charges for both regions. The key findings are that existing water charges do not provide incentives for users to use water efficiently and thereby do not contribute effectively to the environmental objectives of the Water Framework Directive.     

Austerity measures in crisis countries — results and impact on mid-term development

Since the onset of the sovereign debt crisis, the crisis-stricken countries in Europe have been pushed to take drastic steps to consolidate their finances and reduce their budget deficits. Despite strong public opposition and largely damaging short-run effects, the countries have undertaken many of the internationally recommended/mandated reforms and spending cuts. In this Forum, authors from Greece, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Portugal report on the fiscal consolidation achieved in their respective countries — and the sacrifices that have made it possible. Furthermore, the authors detail what remains to be done to resolve the crisis.     

A woman's place is in the… startup! Crowdfunder judgments,implicit bias,and the stereotype content model

We examine investor stereotypes and implicit bias in crowdfunding decisions. Prior research in formal venture capital settings demonstrates that investors tend to have a funding bias against women. However, in crowdfunding – wherein a ‘crowd’ of amateur investors make relatively small investments in new companies – our empirical observations reveal a funding advantage for women. We explain the causal mechanism underlying this counterintuitive finding by drawing upon stereotype content theory and testing a dual path moderated-mediation model. Based on archival data and a follow-up experiment, our findings suggest common gender biases held by amateur investors function to increase female stereotype perceptions in the form of trustworthiness judgments, which subsequently increases investors' willingness to invest in early-stage women-led ventures. We discuss our results with specific attention to how our findings extend the entrepreneurship funding literature as well as the gender dynamics literature in entrepreneurship and organization research more broadly.     

Factors Affecting Group-Oriented Travel Intention to Major Events

Large-scale, major social events, such as music and cultural festivals and international sporting events, are an important motivator of tourism activity and an increasingly significant component of destination marketing. Despite the growing consumption trend of group-oriented travel behavior and the economic significance of large-scale, event-based tourism, a theoretical gap exists in understanding what drives potential attendees' desire to attend these events, particularly in groups. A theoretically developed conceptual model is empirically tested using survey data from 170 Australian respondents planning to attend, and travel in a group, to a major social event. The results support the model showing that travel motivations (configured as a Type II multidimensional model), affective destination image, and enduring involvement in the event category influence group-oriented travel behavior to major events. Managerial implications and recommendations for future research are also presented.     

Nanotechnology Policy and Education

Nanotechnology has been a focal area of United States (US) Science and Technology policy since President Clinton’s administration. The Unites States is investing more funds in nanotechnology research and development than any other nation. The US National Laboratory community and Sandia National Laboratories in particular is responding to their country’s interest by generating exceptional Nano-based science and technology and focusing these efforts on national security and safety concerns. The United States and others are finding that the technological, safety, ethical, economic, and policy considerations centered on nanotechnology are complex and interconnected. Further, that tomorrow’s decision makers need an expanded educational background for them to make optimal choices concerning nanotechnology. Sandia National Laboratories responded to this need by initiating the National Institute for Nanotechnology Engineering (NINE). NINE is prototype educational effort designed to provide an exceptional foundation for the next generation of US nanotechnology decision makers.     

The evolution of corporate no net loss and net positive impact biodiversity commitments: Understanding appetite and addressing challenges

The World Economic Forum has identified biodiversity loss as an increasingly significant and impactful risk facing business. However, businesses themselves can negatively impact on biodiversity. Recognizing this, a number of companies have developed their own biodiversity commitments, including those to achieve a no net loss (NNL) or net positive impact (NPI) on biodiversity by balancing or outweighing any negative impacts through mitigation activities. We reviewed corporate‐level NNL and NPI commitments over the last two decades to establish the extent of their adoption, retraction, and scientific foundation. Between 2001 and 2016, 66 companies had made NNL/NPI environmental commitments. Thirty three of these 66 companies made specific biodiversity commitments. The numbers of companies making commitments increased in that period. However, some commitments were retracted, or their status became unclear, leaving only 18 companies with active NNL/NPI biodiversity commitments in 2016. Added to this, many of the commitments are lacking science‐based criteria that would allow more transparent and systematic assessment of corporate activities. Thus, although commitments are being made, they may not be delivering as intended. To secure real biodiversity gains, we recommend advancing methods to assess biodiversity risks to businesses, and using science‐based criteria to deepen corporate commitments and actions. Concerted effort from all sectors is needed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, and the “biodiversity policy super‐year” of 2020 is the perfect moment for business to deliver through well‐framed and implemented commitments to biodiversity NPI.     

Innovation in NTBFs: Does leadership really matter?

Innovation is considered to be a key contributor to both the long-term survival and development of superior competitiveness in New Technology-based Firms [NTBFs]. Many factors contribute to a firm’s differential innovation performance. According to the resource-based view of the firm, leadership is one of the key contributory resources. In this article, the relationship between innovation, leadership and performance is examined through a study of 194 NTBFs. The results suggest that the level of innovation, the likelihood of success and the development of the competences needed for effective innovation are influenced by the firm’s leadership style. In particular, it was found that the transformational/human resources leadership style is more conducive to innovation and the introduction of new products, whereas transactional leadership tends to be associated with the modification of existing products. The findings outline the attributes of each leadership style associated with innovation and provide practical guidelines to enable senior managers to consider leadership in the formulation and deployment of their innovation plan. Finally, the analysis indicates the need to consider and align leadership and approaches to innovation in order to achieve sustainable competitive performance.     

Toward understanding business student professional development engagement

Professional development engagement (PDE) is defined as the level of perceived undergraduate engagement in professional development activities. An 11-item measure of PDE exhibited a good reliability. Using a complete data sample of 467 graduating business undergraduates, four variable sets (student background or precollege variables, college-related variables, organization-related variables, and motivation-related variables) each explained significant incremental variance in PDE. Significant individual correlates of PDE included joining a student professional organization and motivation to attend business school. One outcome suggests that business schools need to leverage technology more aggressively to deliver professional development content both asynchronously and synchronously to more of their undergraduates.