Credit card usage and consumer debt burden of households

The primary objectives of this study were to examine changes in credit card usage and the amount of debt between 1982 and 1986 and to identify factors influencing the amount of and changes in consumer debt held by households. Personal interviews were completed in 1982 and again in 1986 with the money managers of households in a small midwestern town in the U.S.A. The sample consisted of the 123 households that were represented both in the 1982 and 1986 surveys. Paired-samples t-tests were used to identify changes over time. Significant differences were found between 1982 and 1986 total household assets and total amount of debt. Regression analysis indicated that significant predictors of the amount of consumer debt burden were age, net income, total assets, and the degree to which managers felt comfortable with debt. Younger money managers were more likely to make larger monthly debt payments and have more consumer debt. Households with larger incomes and higher levels of assets also had higher total debt. Significant predictors of change in debt burden over the 4-year period were change in net income and total assets, with year-end savings being negatively correlated with consumer debt.     

Scope of improvement in water usage efficiency in manual dishwashing: A multicountry study by questionnaire survey

Over recent decades, water conservation have become increasingly an utmost important issue for debate, and this includes the domestic sector. Reducing demand water by improving the efficiency of water use in domestic sector requires an understanding of how water is used and in what ways water savings can be realized. The focus of this global, web‐based, consumer questionnaire survey was to analyze individual consumer attitudes towards using water in manual dishwashing and understand the likelihood of a prospect of changing the daily manual dishwashing method resulting to a more efficient domestic usage of water. This study was designed to investigate the manual dishwashing technique used in the 5249 households of nine different countries ‐ China, Germany, Italy, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil, India, South Africa and Argentina. Besides socio‐demographics, technical questions like cleaning steps, hygiene questions motivational question, environmental awareness questions, questions on payment for water and electricity, questions on information sources about household work were included in the study. It was found that the awareness to conserve water was common among the Asian participants but it necessarily was not practiced in the households as individual washing of dishes was found to be quite high. Among the many outcomes, important one was that ‘running tap method’ was found to be most prevalent (86%) among Russian participants, complimenting their detached approach towards conserving domestic water usage. In South American countries like Brazil (66%) and Argentina (51%), high occurrence of ‘running tap rinse’ was found to be a common practice, confirming the lack of conscious use of water in manual dishwashing in the subcontinent. Based on the overall responses, awareness of a new and efficient technique of manual dishwashing could be propagated through the most voted mediums of Internet (81%) and TV (69%).     

Global consumer study to identify water wastage in the usage of automatic dishwashers

In dishcleaning automatic dishwashers do clearly win over manual cleaning when it comes to efficiency: Resources can be saved without compromising on hygiene. But mistakes in the usage behaviour can equalize saving advantages. Consumers in nine countries, covering different regions of the world, were asked about their dishcleaning behaviour to identify if this household work is done in a resource saving way. By analysing mistakes in the current behaviour, the potential of water savings shall be estimated.     

Ethics in education: A comparative study

This study reports the results of a survey designed to assess the impact of education on the perceptions of ethical beliefs of students. The study examines the beliefs of students from selected colleges in an eastern university. The results indicate that beliefs which students perceive are required to succeed in the university differ among colleges. Business and economics students consistently perceive a greater need for unethical beliefs than students from other colleges. Michael S. Lane is an Associate Professor of Management at West Virginia University. He is the coauthor of Corporate Goal structures and Business students: A Comparative Study of Values, Journal of Business Ethics (1989). Dietrich L. Schaupp is Professor of Management at West Virginia University. He is the coauthor of Pygmalion Effect: An Issue for Business Education and Ethics, Journal of Business Ethics (1988).     

Cultural orientations and environmental sustainability in households: A comparative analysis of Hispanics and non‐Hispanic Whites in the United States

This article explores the effect of cultural orientations on the sustainable household behaviours of Hispanic immigrants and non‐Hispanic Whites in the United States. A model is tested in which the personal‐level cultural orientations of interdependence‐independence determine consumers' environmental value and concern, which in turn, affect sustainable behaviours (recycling, water, electricity and energy conservation). Results from a sample of 338 Hispanic immigrants and 249 non‐Hispanic Whites indicate that interdependence predicts environmental values among non‐Hispanic Whites. For the Hispanic sample, neither interdependence nor independence predict environmental value. In both samples, environmental value is positively associated with environmental concern, which is positively related to sustainable behaviours. The relationships between environmental concern and all four behaviours are relatively weaker among Hispanics compared to non‐Hispanic Whites, suggesting that immigrants have not yet fully embraced mainstream American pro‐environmental ideals and practices. Our study sheds light on cultural differences regarding environmental values and concerns, and implies theoretical and practical recommendations for marketers in the United States.     

A study on the antecedents and consequences of satisfaction and dissatisfaction in web portal usage

Service Business - Unlike previous studies on web portal preference that focused mostly on satisfaction, this study considered both satisfaction and dissatisfaction. This study established that (1)...     

Why households buy bottled water: a survey of household perceptions in the Philippines

This study investigates the determinants of household buying decisions to purchase bottled water or purified water from refilling stations among households in Metro Cebu, Philippines. A survey of 360 households was conducted to obtain data on household sources of drinking water, household bottled water buying behaviour and perceptions of water quality. A binary probit model was used to examine the effects of socio‐economic and perception‐based variables on the likelihood that a household regularly bought bottled or purified water. Results show that households that perceived their primary source of water, whether from the tap or from other sources, to be unsafe were more likely to buy bottled or purified water. Education of household heads, the presence of children ages 0–5 years, household size and price were also found to have significant effects. Income, however, was not found to have influenced the decision to buy. Having piped access to the local water district and knowledge of government assurances about water safety were also not found to have a significant impact.     

A comparative study of innovation behaviour in Singapore's KIBS and manufacturing firms

While most services innovation studies are concentrated on the OECD or EU countries, research on services innovation in the non-OECD context is still rare. This study investigates innovation behaviour of a certain group of services – knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS), compared with the manufacturing sector in Singapore. The main findings of this study are: (1) KIBS firms have higher innovating ratio than manufacturing firms, but innovating manufacturing firms are more likely to do R&D than innovating KIBS firms; (2) KIBS firms have higher human capital intensity, training spending intensity, innovation spending intensity, and R&D spending intensity than manufacturing firms; (3) KIBS firms and manufacturing firms have similar innovation objectives, although some delicate nuances do exist; (4) KIBS firms are less likely to have overseas partners for innovation collaboration than manufacturing firms; (5) there is a U pattern of innovation collaboration with geographic distance for both KIBS and manufacturing firms; (6) social capitals are important for KIBS firms' successful provision of innovation support to manufacturing clients; (7) the importance of spatial proximity varies over different phases of innovation support.     

A comparative study of career practices for management staff in Britain and India

This paper examines the developments in the field of career management in a cross-national comparative context. It investigates a wide range of career practices via two large-scale surveys in 108 Indian and 194 British organisations. The influence of a number of organisational characteristics on career practices is analysed. The study has identified a number of similarities as well as differences in the career management systems of firms operating in both India and Britain. Theoretical and managerial implications for the fields of careers and international HRM are discussed.     

Entrepreneurial characteristics in Switzerland and the UK: A comparative study of techno-entrepreneurs

The entrepreneur is the central actor in generating entrepreneurial activity. Thus, it is important to understand the motivational characteristics and variables associated with entrepreneurial behavior spurring people to become entrepreneurs. For this study, a comparative analysis of high-tech entrepreneurs in Switzerland and the UK was undertaken to determine the extent to which they differ in terms of entrepreneurial characteristics. A total of 253 useful questionnaires from entrepreneurs in both countries enabled us to distinguish differences between these two groups. Findings reveal that some entrepreneurial characteristics such as autonomy, propensity for risk, and locus of control are higher among UK techno-entrepreneurs while other characteristics such as achievement need, tolerance for ambiguity, innovativeness, and confidence are higher among Swiss techno-entrepreneurs.     

A comparative study of quality awards: evolving criteria and research

The purpose of this study is to compare several prominent quality awards based on their common criteria. Six best-known quality awards were used and analyzed to identify common quality award criteria. Trends of research on Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) and European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Award were examined along with award recipients. The results of the study showed that the portion of manufacturing MBNQA winners has decreased steadily during recent years, while the portion of manufacturing firms in EFQM award winners remained steady for the time period studied. Also, health care and education related studies have increased steadily for both quality awards and now become most commonly studied quality award areas. Quality awards criteria appear to change continuously, reflecting the new demands of the changing market environment.     

A comparative analysis of ethical beliefs: A four country study

This study examines the extent to which business students from Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan react differently to ethical dilemmas involving employees, supervisors, customers, suppliers, and business rivals. The empirical results show that the national origin of the students does have an impact on their reactions to particular ethical dilemmas. In addition, the results indicate that controlling for the problem of social desirability response bias is important to ensure the validity of the empirical findings.     

A comparative study of codes of ethics in health care facilities and energy companies

Though written corporate codes of ethics have been touted as a panacea for the embarrassments and uncertainties of the past two decades, the absence of clear evaluation procedures severely compromises their usefulness. An ethnographic study comparing development processes and compliance outcomes in large health care facilities and energy companies shows that neither of the two industries has encountered much success with a codes of ethics program. Companies that distribute copies of their code of ethics seldom ensure the process is completed or that employees understand the purpose of the document, and staff responsible for the code give it a low priority relative to their overall responsibilities. Contrary to expectations, health care facilities are no more likely to develop or implement codes of ethics effectively than are energy companies. More extensive research is needed in order to generate the data necessary for the development of realistic standards for the evaluation of codes of ethics.Isaac D. Montoya, is President of Affiliated Systems Corporation, a management and research consulting practice specializing in the health care industry. He has worked with numerous hospitals, medical schools, and government entities in developing health care systems around the world. He has developed training programs for health care personnel, administrators, and Boards of Directors as well as taught at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He serves on a number of Boards of Directors and Federal grant review committees.Alan J. Richard, is a Research Assistant for Affiliated Systems Corporation. Recently, he helped prepare a statistical analysis of Ryan White funding priorities for Harris County HIV Services. He is currently engaged in an evaluation of cocaine abuse treatment modalities at Riverside Hospital in Houston, Texas.     

Managerial attitudes to social responsibility: A comparative study in India and Britain

Changes in the understanding of the relationship between business and society have led to increased interest in and discussion of the notion of corporate social responsibility.This paper offers an empirical analysis of the perceptions of top executives in the West Midlands, U.K., and in Delhi, District Ghaziabad, India, of the notion of corporate social responsibility. Organisational changes and involvement in social action programmes, and problems of implementing and monitoring Social Responsibility in two cultures, India and Britain, were explored.The results of this study are compared with results obtained from studies on American companies and some significant similarities and differences are noted.Finally, some of the implications of the acceptance of the relevance of social responsibility to industry and the social involvement of industry are discussed. A. Farooq Khan is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Commerce of the Aligarh Muslim University. He has been awarded the Common-Wealth Scholarship (1975–1978) and he visited Hungary under the Indo-Hungarian Cultural Exchange Programme (1984–1985). He has published over thirty papers and two books: Business and Society, S. Chand & Co. Ramnagar, New Delhi, 1985; and Social Responsibility and Management, Faculty of Commerce Publication, Aligarh, 1983.Adrian Atkinson is Managing Director of Human Factor Consultants (UK) Ltd.     

四类典型同家和地区的经济发展模式比较研究

从理论上说,经济发展方式的本质是对各国经济发展模式和战略在现实经济运行中具体体现的抽象。东亚出口导向经济发展模式、拉美进口替代经济发展模式、印度非平衡经济发展模式和美国创新型经济发展模式是近期全球具有代表性的经济发展模式,它们在经济发展动力、经济发展机制及经济发展特征等三个方面具有较为明显的区别。     

Capital budgeting practices: A comparative study of the Netherlands and China

This paper compares the use of capital budgeting techniques of Dutch and Chinese firms, using data obtained from a survey among 250 Dutch and 300 Chinese companies. Our main aim is to analyse the use of capital budgeting techniques by companies in both countries from a comparative perspective to see whether economic development matters. The empirical analysis provides evidence that Dutch Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) on average use more sophisticated capital budgeting techniques than Chinese CFOs do. At the same, however, our results suggest that the difference between Dutch and Chinese firms is smaller than might have been expected based upon the differences in the level of economic development between both countries, at least with respect to the use of methods of estimating the cost of capital and the use of CAPM as the method of estimating the cost of equity.     

Corporate goal structures and business students: A comparative study of values

Are the values of business students of today synchronized with the reality of the present business environment? Two hundred twenty-two business students rated the importance of twenty corporate goals. Moreover, the students rated the same goals as they perceived chief executive officers (CEOs) would have rated them. Significant differences were found between the two ratings, with students ranking social and employee-oriented goals as more important than they perceived CEOs would have.     

Financial literacy: A comparative study across four countries

This study analysed differences in financial literacy across four countries: Canada, Italy, the UK and the US. The purpose was to understand whether factors associated with financial literacy in one country can be generalized to other countries as well or whether unique national characteristics make it necessary to examine financial literacy in each country individually. A financial literacy index, based on the number of correct answers to four multiple‐choice questions, was used to test the relevance of country of origin to financial literacy. Results suggest significant differences among countries indicating that there are national and cultural differences in what households know and need to know about their personal finances. Policy makers should consider these differences when developing financial literacy assessment tools for their respective countries.     

A comparative study to classify ICT developments by economies

Information and communication technology (ICT) attracts more and more attention as the diffusion of Internet grows rapidly. This study intends to classify ICT developments by using a different approach: a clustering technique to classify the economies with only two essential variables, namely the number of Internet subscribers and gross domestic product. This study performs a comparative analysis for 121 economies covering the period from 1999 to 2007. Then, this study validates classification results against the research results in previous studies and finds the proposed approach more effective. The classification results help to explain the global ICT developments.