Revisiting the trans-situationality of values in Schwartz’s Portrait Values Questionnaire

Quality & Quantity - Schwartz in his famous theory of basic values follows Parsons and Rokeach in arguing that human values are trans-situational or context free. For any individual, the same...     

An evaluation of the performance and suitability of R × C methods for ecological inference with known true values

Ecological inference refers to the study of individuals using aggregate data and it is used in an impressive number of studies; it is well known, however, that the study of individuals using group data suffers from an ecological fallacy problem (Robinson in Am Sociol Rev 15:351–357, 1950). This paper evaluates the accuracy of two recent methods, the Rosen et al. (Stat Neerl 55:134–156, 2001) and the Greiner and Quinn (J R Stat Soc Ser A (Statistics in Society) 172:67–81, 2009) and the long-standing Goodman’s (Am Sociol Rev 18:663–664, 1953; Am J Sociol 64:610–625, 1959) method designed to estimate all cells of R × C tables simultaneously by employing exclusively aggregate data. To conduct these tests we leverage on extensive electoral data for which the true quantities of interest are known. In particular, we focus on examining the extent to which the confidence intervals provided by the three methods contain the true values. The paper also provides important guidelines regarding the appropriate contexts for employing these models.     

An institutional perspective of accountants' new roles – the interplay of contradictions and praxis

This paper critiques the public interest proclamations of accounting professions with particular reference to the role of disciplinary procedures in protecting these interests. It is argued that professions' widely declared concerns for the public interest, often conceptualized as encompassing a commitment to public accountability and transparency, are frequently used as a convenient mechanism for avoiding criticism and maintaining the power and privilege of delegated self-regulation. This argument is developed by examining the role played by disciplinary procedures, in particular the reporting of their results, in creating a perception that the profession acts in the public interest. The critique is supported with data derived from an investigation of the disciplinary procedures of one accounting body, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI). The results of this examination indicate that the ICAI process appears deficient in terms of its accountability and transparency and further that there is little fairness or equity in terms of the penalties applied to members for offences committed. This tends to support prior research which suggests that disciplinary procedures (and the ethical codes they purportedly enforce) fulfil a ‘profession protection’ as opposed to a ‘society protection’ role aimed at insulating the profession from inspection and assessment from outside parties. Implications for the accounting profession and for future research are discussed.     

An analysis of natural disasters’ effects – A global comparative study of ‘Blessing in Disguise’

This paper addresses the intriguing issue of whether natural disasters do not only generate negative impacts on society, but, in the long run – under favourable and effective policy and behavioural responses – also positive outcomes. This challenging and novel resilience question is formulated here as the ‘Blessing in Disguise’ hypothesis. There is quite some speculation in the literature on possible long-term and systemic effects of disasters, but there is little empirical evidence supported by solid quantitative analysis on expected positive outcomes. The challenging aim of the present study – to examine under what conditions natural hazards may lead to positive socio-economic outcomes in the long run (‘Blessing in Disguise’) – is empirically addressed from a resilience perspective. It integrates in one quantitative research framework (the ‘Pentagon model’), a Stimulus-Response approach and a Capability-Theory inspired framing of territorial opportunities in coping with natural disasters, and uses a mix of statistical and econometric analyses, such as multiple linear regression analysis, cluster analysis, and a Stimulus-Response adjusted Difference-in-Difference model. Our findings, based on a global comparative study, show that a ‘Blessing in Disguise’ scenario is frequently a valid proposition that may manifest itself differently in different geographic, social-economic, political and institutional contexts. Although there is not a single pattern of development specific in all cases, it is clear that positive recovery trends can be observed both at the state level, and also at the regional level. The analysed data show regularly incremental changes after recent natural disasters (especially in the long term) at country level, but more thorough positive changes can be identified at the regional scale. In conclusion, the management of disasters requires proper response capacities and appears to create a window of opportunity for improved capabilities, but it is only a conditional possibility that may be transformed into a sustainable form of new development.     

A comparative analysis of the work values of Greece's ‘Millennial’ generation

This study adds to the growing body of international evidence concerning the millennial generation (i.e. those born after 1980), by documenting the work values of millennial-aged undergraduate students (N = 649) in Greece, using an adapted version of the Lyons Work Value Survey. Our results show that millennial-aged Greeks place most importance on intrinsic and social aspects of work, and less importance on extrinsic and prestige values. We statistically compare our results to those of published studies of millennial-aged respondents from other countries and find that Greek respondents hold a unique work value profile, although they demonstrate some similarities to counterparts in other countries. Our findings do not clearly support the notion of a ‘global youth generation’, as young people in various countries hold different work value priorities. This suggests that employers seeking to recruit, engage and retain young workers internationally must tailor their offerings to the specific cultural context.     

Public values: citizens’ perspective

ABSTRACT

Drawing data from more than 2,000 US citizens, the current article focuses on empirically derived citizens’ public values. Objectives include: (1) to provide and analyse empirical data on citizens’ specific views about what does and does not constitute a public value, (2) to distinguish between ‘Contested’ and ‘Consensus’ public values; (3) to suggest some implications of citizens’ public value assessment in terms of their theoretical meaning; (4) to compare expressed vs. enacted public values (based on decision vignettes). Findings show widespread agreement about a handful of putative public values, but when enacted in vignettes responses are inconsistent.     

An evaluation of the validity of the Crowne–Marlowe need for approval scale

Over the past four decades, research has consistently documented negative correlations between the Crowne?CMarlowe (CM) social desirability trait scale and numerous measures of sensitive behaviors, conditions, and opinions. These findings have been interpreted as evidence that persons with self-presentation concerns tend to under-report negative information. In contrast to this classic social desirability interpretation, a second perspective, labeled the true-behavior hypothesis, maintains that these correlations in fact reflect accurate reporting of both sets of variables, suggesting that the CM scale is not a sensitive indicator of the social desirability trait. We test these alternative interpretations by examining data from a community survey that collected both self-reports of cocaine use and the biological specimens necessary to validate the self-reports. In bivariate analyses, the CM scale was found to be associated with the concordance of cocaine use reporting and biological assays in a manner consistent with the classic social desirability hypothesis. The CM scale was not found to be associated with actual cocaine use, as measured by drug test assays, a finding inconsistent with the true-behavior hypothesis. After adjusting for other known correlates of substance use in logistic regression models, the CM scale was not associated with cocaine use under-reporting, nor with actual cocaine use behavior. Until further evidence is available, we conclude that the CM may be a questionable indicator of socially desirable reporting behavior in social surveys.     

Coherent identities and roles? Hybrid professional managers’ prioritizing of coexisting institutional logics in differing contexts

This article explores how hybrid professional managers relate to coexisting institutional logics in their everyday work. It examines coherence between the logic that informs managers’ identity and that prioritized in their role. By comparing interview data from managers in two settings, a faith-based hospital and a religious organization, this article analyses primary and secondary identities and roles. Findings show that experiences of coexisting logics differ according to the organizational context. Hospital managers identify with a managerial logic in both their identity and role. A professional logic informs church managers’ identity, yet they prioritize a managerial logic in their role. The article proposes a model that links hybrid professional managers’ identities and roles with a framework of coexisting logics proposed earlier.     

Households’ attitudes toward earthquake protection: An empirical analysis of the impact of fiscal support in Japan

Faced with an aging society and major earthquake risk in the near future, promoting the improvement of existing houses is one of the most important issues in Japan. In this paper, we formulate two types of demand models for home safety: a model for barrier-free conversion and a model for seismic retrofit based on a logit model. We explore statistically the factors that affect the demand for each improvement using prefectural data in Japan. We also analyze statistically the significance and impact of financial support programs for improving existing houses, which the Japanese government has implemented at the prefectural and municipal level. The results clarify the differences between the determinants of each type of improvement and show that the support program for barrier-free conversion has a positive and statistically significant effect on households’ preference. However, neither the seismic test nor the seismic retrofit program conducted by prefectures has a positive impact on preference, whereas those by municipalities do affect preference.     

On the nearness of record values to order statistics from Pitman’s measure of closeness

In the two-sample prediction problem, record values from the present sample may be used as predictors of order statistics from a future sample. In this paper, we investigate the nearness of record statistics (upper and lower) to order statistics from a location-scale family of distributions in the sense of Pitman closeness and discuss the corresponding monotonicity properties. We then determine the closest record value to a specific order statistic from a future sample. Even though in general it depends on the parent distribution, exact and explicit expressions are derived for the required probabilities in the case of exponential and uniform distributions, and some computational results are presented as well. Finally, we consider the mean squared error criterion and examine the corresponding results in the exponential case.     

An investigation of effective factors on children’s growth failure in Iran using multilevel models

Quality & Quantity - Delay or stop in children’s growth is referred to as failure to thrive (abbreviated as FTT) which leads to adverse effects such as increased mortality, reduced...     

Is Ulrich's model useful in understanding HR practitioners' roles in non-western developing countries? An exploratory investigation across private and public sector organizations in the Sultanate Kingdom of Oman

This study set out to explore whether Ulrich's model is useful in understanding HR roles in non-western developing countries such as Oman. The study surveyed a random sample of 780 HR practitioners, line managers and employees from public and private sector organizations. In addition 12 HR practitioners and managers were interviewed to supplement the data collected from the survey. The findings indicate that HR practitioners in Oman perform all the roles. However, ‘strategic partner’ is the least performed role. The findings also indicate that HR practitioners in the private sector are more likely to perform all the five roles to a greater extent than their counterparts in the public sector. We also found partial support for our proposition that HR practitioners in the public sector would play more ‘operational’ roles (e.g. employee advocate or functional expert) than ‘strategic’ roles (i.e. strategic partner or HR leader). The study revealed that Ulrich's model is robust enough to help in the understanding of HR roles in a non-western, developing country context. The findings are discussed within the context of institutional and cultural frameworks. The paper argues for more research to improve the understanding of how socio-economic and cultural factors influence HR roles and how they are performed.     

An empirical behavioral model of household’s deposit dollarization

We use the behavioral concept to endogenously model the evolution of the link between households’ deposit dollarization and exchange rate developments in Russia. We estimate the model empirically and show that the reaction of households to exchange rate appreciation weakens when exchange rate developments become more volatile. The proposed model outperforms the contemporary nonlinear time series models in forecasting the changes in dollarization during the Bank of Russia’s transition to a flexible exchange rate regime.

     

On the determinant of bank loan contracts: The roles of borrowers’ ownership and board structures

Given the worldwide economic importance of bank loan financing, we empirically investigate the roles of borrowers’ ownership and board structure in bank loan terms through a comprehensive dataset, which includes the complete history of individual bank loan contracts for firms publicly listed in the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE). We find that firms with smaller deviation in shareholder voting and cash flow rights, larger non-retail shareholding, fewer shares pledged by the board of directors, independent directors, and firms without dual boards are more likely to borrow from banks at lower spread. In addition, good governance practices are also associated with larger loan size or longer loan period, suggesting that banks take into account borrowers’ governance practices when designing loan contracts. This fact is consistent with the agency cost and information risk explanations of Bhojraj and Sengupta (2003). Furthermore, this study uncovers that the beneficial effect of good governance practices on bank loan contracting is more pronounced in borrowers with high leverage and poor rating, which implies that the monitoring role of governance is more crucial in risky firms. Our findings are robust to the various characteristics of firms and loans.     

The roles of implementation and organizational culture in the HR–performance link

This article attempts to (1) explore the process by which a high-performance work system (HPWS) affects firm performance and (2) demonstrate the mediating role of implementation and organizational culture in the HPWS-performance link. The proposed model was tested using a sample of 243 Hong Kong and Taiwanese firms operating in Guangdong, China. The results from the present study supported the hypothesized mediation of implementation and organizational culture on the HR–performance relationship. This study offers important insights into the mediating mechanism of the HPWS-performance research. Implications for research and managerial practices are provided.     

Changes in Russian managerial values: a test of the convergence hypothesis?

This paper considers how Russian managerial values are developing in the context of the sweeping economic, political and social changes associated with the transition of Russia to a market economy.

By replicating earlier research (Holt et al., ; Ralston et al., ), it was possible to overcome the weaknesses of previous cross-sectional studies by tracking changes in Russian managers' values over time.

The paper concludes that some convergence between the values of Russian and US managers can be observed, but that the form of this convergence is not uniform. In addition, the way in which Russian managers act upon these values in the context of their own national context means that considerable divergence in managerial behaviour is still evident. Implications for international human resource management are discussed.     

Creditworthiness evaluation of Italian SMEs at the beginning of the 2007–2008 crisis: An MCDA approach

In this paper we use a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) approach in order to evaluate the creditworthiness of about 40,000 Italian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) viewed as potential applicants for bank loans in the three-year period 2006–2008, a timespan embracing the beginning phase of the recent economic and financial crisis. This approach is able to consider simultaneously different factors affecting the firms’ solvency level. The results obtained in terms of classification into homogeneous rating classes, scoring and migration probabilities show that the proposed approach is able to unveil early signal of recession in the Italian SMEs sector. Furthermore, some comparisons between our approach and a couple of known methodologies for creditworthiness assessment show the goodness of our method.     

An alternative direct proof of Gibbard’s random dictatorship theorem

We present an alternative proof of the Gibbards random dictatorship theorem with ex post Pareto optimality. Gibbard(1977) showed that when the number of alternatives is finite and larger than two, and individual preferences are linear (strict), a strategy-proof decision scheme (a probabilistic analogue of a social choice function or a voting rule) is a convex combination of decision schemes which are, in his terms, either unilateral or duple. As a corollary of this theorem (credited to H. Sonnenschein) he showed that a decision scheme which is strategy-proof and satisfies ex post Pareto optimality is randomly dictatorial. We call this corollary the Gibbards random dictatorship theorem. We present a proof of this theorem which is direct and follows closely the original Gibbards approach. Focusing attention to the case with ex post Pareto optimality our proof is more simple and intuitive than the original Gibbards proof.Received: 15 October 2001, Accepted: 23 May 2003, JEL Classification: D71, D72Yasuhito Tanaka: The author is grateful to an anonymous referee and the Associate editor of this journal for very helpful comments and suggestions. And this research has been supported by a grant from the Zengin Foundation for Studies on Economics and Finance in Japan.     

The analysis of students’ academic achievement: the evaluation of peer effects through relational links

In literature, the analysis of the influence of the environmental context on individual choices and behaviors, with particular reference to areas related to school and academic education, is usually performed through the methodology of peer effects. In this study, after presenting a brief overview on this approach, we propose a procedure for the analysis of the dependence of students’ academic performances on the contextual effects, determined by the sociometric ties observed between them, and by the subsequent division of the network into groups, using the linear-in-mean model for social interactions. This procedure is then applied to real data, collected in a second level degree course of the university of Rome Tor Vergata, for the construction of some models on student academic achievement. Empirical evidence suggests that peer effects are a significant determinant of performance, and that they identify explanatory aspects of individual achievement, that usual regressors are not able to catch.