The Ethics of Blockchain in Organizations

Journal of Business Ethics - Blockchain is an open digital ledger technology that has the capability of significantly altering the way that people operations (i.e. human resource management)...     

Tax Rebate and Dividend Payout in Bangladesh

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of the introduction of 20% tax rebate in 2002 for certain firms on the dividend policy of firms potentially qualifying for this rebate in Bangladesh. A balanced panel data set of 63 non-financial firms of Bangladesh for 14 （1998-2011） years from the Dhaka stock exchange is used for this purpose Newey-West estimator is used to estimate a logit model and the specified model uses binary values of 0 and 1 to identify if it met the tax rebate threshold. The explanatory variables are finn size, log of market value to face value ratio and profitability. A dummy variable was used to separate the pre-rebate period （2003 and before） from post-rebate period （after 2003）. The dummy variable turned out to be insignificant indicating that introduction of the tax rebate had no impact on dividend policy of qualifying firms.     

Cash Flow Estimation and Cost of Capital for Overseas Projects

Several issues concerning foreign project evaluation are critically examined. The paper suggests that the point of view for analysis, cost of capital and cash flow estimation be internally consistent. Three points of views of analysis, local, global, and parent specific, are identified and various inconsistencies in the estimation of the initial outlay and project cash flows are identified. The elimination of the inconsistencies is discussed. It is argued that the treatment of blocked funds is relevant only from the parent specific point of view. A number of alternatives for the estimate of the terminal value is also suggested. The differences between the parent specific point of view and the global and local views are sharply drawn. An integrated scheme is also presented to underscore the need for consistency in evaluating foreign investments.     

Binomial innovation diffusion models with dynamic potential adopter population

Models for describing the time pattern of the diffusion processes for innovations are used by researchers in various disciplines. These models are in general binomial models—binomial in the sense that they focus their attention on two causal variables: 1) that part of the population who have already adopted the innovation, and 2) the rest of the population who are potential adopters. However, these models have a serious limitation in that the potential adopter population is assumed to remain constant over time. This paper presents some modified binomial innovation diffusion models that incorporate dynamic potential adopter populations. Moreover, the developed models are applied to some case studies, and their superiority in forecasting the time pattern of diffusion is also included in this presentation.     

Project evaluation framework for industrial technology capacity enhancement

There is an increasing trend for interconnections between all nations of the world owing to the widespread globalization of industrial production, inputs sourcing and outputs marketing. A further reason is the raised awareness of global consequences, resulting from natural resources depletion and apparently localized environmental degradation activities by industries. Much of this ever-growing and complex interdependence has been possible as a result of a host of unprecedented technologial achievements in the past few deades, which have enabled industrial enterprises in developed countries to accomplish an increased degree of flexibility, through automated manufacturing, to combine economies of sale, through process standardization, with economies of scope, through product differentiation, and to acheive quicker response times to customers7apos; prefernces and market demands. Simultaneously, in most developing countries, there is also an observable undercurrent of deregulation, privatization or corporatization, and open international market competition for industrial development. In this present era of new internationalism, technology management has become one of the main strategic priorities, because it provides the vital factor underpinning the survival and prosperity of industrial enterprises everywhere. Hence, given the recognition that the key competitive advantage in the international market-place nowadays is the ability of an enterprise continuously to introduce technological innovations faster than others, the need for endogenous technology capacity building can hardly be overmphasized. This paper presents a general framework for the development of a set of technology indicators which could be useful for assesing industrial investment projects funded by an international or national development finance institutino. The framework attempts to integrate business and technology strategies particularly in the context of developing countries. Starting with consideration of the unique characteristics of technolgoy at the firm level, and using a systems analysis approach to the market structure, possible strategic mixed are determined by considering four business stratetgies—price, value, niche and green leadership—and four technology strategies—technology leader, follower, exploiter and extender. The necessary considerations for a technological capability enhancement and palusible technology strategy rogression path are also discussed for different development conditions. The analytical measures presented in this paper are focused on such important aspects as the degree of technology component sophistication, the level of technology capability advancement, the status of technology infrasturcture building, and the dynamism of technology climate, all of which could be used for investment project review and appraisal undertaken by iunternational and national development finance institutions.     

The legal framework and initiatives for promoting safety in the United Arab Emirates

Injury is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE is a rapidly developing country with fast economic growth, demographical and environmental changes that are associated with new hazards emerging at a similar pace. The UAE as a federal entity has federal and local systems responsible for safety policy, regulations and enforcement. To set priorities for safety promotion and injury prevention, it is necessary to have data on the most frequent external causes of injury and the main individual, equipment and environmental risk factors that contribute to injury. However good quality data for injury prevention are scarce. The aim of this paper is to describe the scale of injury as a public health problem in the UAE, and the development of safety policies, regulations and promotion efforts with special emphasis on traffic, occupational and child safety.     

Polynomial innovation diffusion models

In an earlier paper [42] the authors presented a comprehensive evaluation and extensions of available causal models of “binomial type” for describing the time pattern of the innovation diffusion processes. The binomial models are based on the assumption that the entire population can be divided into two groups—adopters of an innovation and the potential adopters—such that eventually everyone adopts the innovation and an innovation once adopted is never rejected. However, many examples can be cited where this assumption is unrealistic. Therefore this paper presents some polynomial innovation diffusion models that are less restrictive compared with the binomial models. The paper also shows the link between the polynomial diffusion process and the multilevel technological substitution process.     

A generalized model for forecasting technological substitution

This paper presents a generalized mathematical model for forecasting technological substitution under a wide variety of circumstances. Some of the existing models are shown as special cases of the generalized model. Methods are also suggested for improving the reliability of the model by taking corrective measures on the available data and following a step-wise forecasting procedure.     

A procedure for adapting technological forecasting models

A simple procedure is presented for adapting available mathematical models for forecasting technological substitution. The procedure takes into consideration the strengths and weaknesses of the available models and the environmental interactions to identify a set of feasible alternative forecasts, from which a selection is to be made by the decision-maker based on judgement.