Adoption of Web-Based Applications in the Financial Sector: The Case of Online Insurance

ABSTRACT

Implementation of new technologies is a never-ending process that attempts to secure the best available tools to accomplish organizational goals. Previous studies on technology implementation discuss the technology adoption process and the multiple factors that are important for making this process successful. This study focuses on the adoption of web-based applications in the insurance industry. An in-depth investigation of relevant literature on the technology adoption process and data collected from insurance companies helped us identify the success factors for online insurance. Relevant factors include infrastructure flexibility, website availability, the degree of business integration, and company age.     

Beyond Adoption Intention: Online Communities and Member Motivation to Contribute Longitudinally

As online communities become increasingly relevant to business, it is critical to understand how to support contributors' motivation to contribute content longitudinally. In this article, we draw on existing literature on motivation and technology characteristics to conceptualize a model of longitudinal content contribution. We view longitudinal content contribution as a recursive process of interaction between contributors, other participants, and the IT artifacts of online communities. Our study has several important theoretical contributions: first, our study argues that different types of motivation exist and we need to understand how to support contributors' autonomous motivation; second, our study adds the time dimension to content contribution; third, our study clarifies the path from content contribution to motivation; forth, our study helps explain why some rewards can be detrimental to contributors' motivation. Future studies are needed to extend our model and test the propositions from our model.     

差别金融待遇与发展中小金融机构的必要性

金融制度是一种节约交易费用提高资源配置效率的制度安排 ,应该为实现国民收入最大化 ,促进国家经济增长而服务。但是 ,具体到我国 ,国有金融机构针对不同类型的经济组织采取差别待遇 ,偏好于向国有经济部门提供信贷而歧视非国有经济组织。本文分析了这一问题的成因及其影响 ,认为差别金融待遇无论是对非国有经济还是对国有经济都是不利的 ,会阻碍国民经济的快速发展和金融体系的有效运行。我国现有的金融体系不能很好地为非国有经济服务 ,必须大力发展和完善中小金融机构才能从根本上解决非国有经济融资难的问题。     

Financial Inclusion in Rural Uganda: Testing Interaction Effect of Financial Literacy and Networks

ABSTRACT

Based on the premise that financial literacy take place in networks to influence the level of financial inclusion, the study examined whether networks moderate in the relationship between financial literacy and financial inclusion among poor households in rural Uganda. Studies have revealed that financial literacy affects the level of financial inclusion. However, these studies have failed to incorporate the moderating role of networks in the relationship between financial literacy and financial inclusion. The results showed that networks positively and significantly moderates in the relationship between financial literacy and financial inclusion with both financial literacy and networks having direct and significant effects.     

基于国际经验的金融发展制度因素研究

在经济学研究领域,金融发展对经济运行的积极影响已经取得了广泛的共识,进一步的理论和实证研究是寻找金融发展的决定因素。20世纪90年代以来的大量研究发现,各种正式和非正式制度对金融发展都是重要的,而增强外部投资者法律保护,建立严格的产权制度,扩大开放、增强竞争以削弱既得利益集团的利益等能够促进金融业发展,另外土地分配等政策也对金融发展产生重要影响。     

我国吸纳金融创新的时滞效应及其制度因素分析

长期以来,对金融创新在中国金融市场扩散吸收中的时滞效应的认识往往归咎于微观市场主体缺乏吸收能力或竞争所致,而忽略了中国这样的转型经济国家所具有的制度性因素的影响。本文通过分析我国与金融创新国在金融体系、经济体制、经济发展水平、金融相关率、产权制度、市场结构等因素上存在的结构性不均衡,发现异质性金融市场间的结构和金融工具比例的差异性对金融创新扩散可能产生的阻碍机制也是引发我国采纳金融创新扩散中出现时滞现象的重要原因。     

事业单位财务管理问题及对策

当前,事业单位普遍存在财务管理职能弱化、财经纪律松弛、会计信息失真等问题,致使国有资产流失严重.应从增强法律观念、依法理财,加强财会人员队伍建设,严格履行职责,强化预算管理,严格履行财务制度,推行民族理财,加强公众监督上加以应对,以抑制资产的浪费.     

Compliance with IAS Disclosure Requirements by Financial Institutions in Uganda

Abstract

This study examines the extent of compliance by financial institutions (banks, and insurance firms) with IAS issued by the IASB and adopted in 1999 in Uganda. Despite the banking crisis of the 1990s and the drive to attract more foreign direct investment, we find that the extent of disclosure in the financial sector in terms of compliance with IAS is still poor. When we compare the disclosure scores for the two groups, we find that the scores are not significantly different. This indicates that the problem of low compliance is sector wide, and regulators need to improve on the standard of reporting in Uganda in order to improve acceptability of annual reports.     

Financial Development and the Social Cost of Financial Intermediation in Africa

This article investigates the effect of financial development on the social costs of financial intermediation across a large number of banks in Africa. The study distinguishes between countries that are financially developed and those that are not financially developed to examine the impact of financial development on the social costs of financial intermediation. A sample of 260 banks from 29 countries in Africa is used over an 8-year period from 2006 to 2013. We employ both Random Effect and GMM techniques to resolve the issues of unobserved heterogeneity and endogeneity. We observe that overall, financial development reduces the social costs of intermediation. We also determine that the social costs of intermediation are lower for countries that have more developed financial systems compared to those with less developed financial systems. Our study is useful because it suggests that if countries want to reduce their social costs of intermediation, they should develop their financial systems.     

The Impact of Social Influence on Individuals' Adoption of Innovation

This article empirically examines the impact of social factors (peer and social network) on attitudes toward innovation and the impact of that attitude on individual employees adopting innovation in their workplaces in Australia. This research uses quantitative research methodology and specifically multivariate statistical analysis. The research framework is based on the theory of reasoned action, the technology acceptance model, Frambach and Schillewaert's conceptual framework, and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. Data were collected from employees of a tertiary institution in Australia using a structured questionnaire. The results of multiple regression analysis show that social network impacts significantly on attitudes toward an innovation which, in turn, affects the innovation adoption behavior of employees. Furthermore, social network has been found to directly influence the innovation adoption process. This outcome has strategic implications for organizations in the effective management of innovation involving employees. These implications are highlighted in the article. This research has focused on only one organization in a particular region in Australia. Future research can explore the relationship between variables by including a number of organizations across Australia and beyond to provide a deeper insight into the issues explored in this article.     

伊斯兰金融机构财务报告概念框架的会计信息质量特征

近期发布的伊斯兰金融机构财务会计概念框架内含的会计信息质量特征,既与欧美最新的财务会计框架中有用财务信息的质量特征存在诸多相似,又具有鲜明的自身特色,其结构清晰,可操作性强,对改进我国基本会计准则中的会计信息质量特征具有重要的借鉴价值。     

Project Communication,Individual Commitment,Social Networks,and Perceived Project Performance

This research examines the role of project communication, individual commitment, and social networks in explaining perceived project performance. Despite the increased involvement of commercial banks in citizenship projects in Uganda, anecdotal evidence reveals that over 70% of citizenship projects fall short of the expected quality, fail to boost bank awareness, are cost overrun, and are completed behind schedule. Based on data from 121 citizenship projects conducted by 16 commercial banks in Uganda, findings revealed that project communication, individual commitment, and social networks are significant predictors of perceived project performance. This study has managerial implications, which are presented in this article.     

Online Media,Market Orientation,and Financial Performance in Nonprofits

The combination of social, political, and economic changes causing simultaneously decreasing funding and increasing demand for services is driving nonprofit managers to engage in proactive marketing in a for-profit model, including the use of online media. This research extends the MARKOR model of market orientation to examine the relationship between market orientation practices, as reflected in the utilization of online media, and their effects on the financial viability of nonprofit organizations (NPOs). The Wayback Machine website (http://waybackmachine.org) provided a unique ability to track site content over time, for comparison with each organization's financial indicators at corresponding points in time. The results of this study confirm the positive relationship between higher market orientation via online media presence and improved financial viability for the sampled group of NPOs. This study provides a simple, actionable, and free measure that NPOs can use to assess their current and planned online media.     

社交网络可视化分析对电商企业网络口碑营销的影响

社交网络可视化分析能够高效地对海量数据进行简化处理,从而成为帮助电商企业推进网络口碑营销的重要工具。本文以电商企业为研究对象,通过实证调查的方法来探究企业内部社交网络可视化分析对电商企业网络口碑营销的影响。调查发现社交网络可视化分析在电商企业的市场定位、营销定向、营销成本、工作效率以及经济效益等方面都有积极的作用。本文研究以期为电商企业进行优质的网络口碑营销提供理论支持。     

网络环境下企业集团财务管理模式探究

网络环境下集团企业财务管理模式发生重大变化,财务结算速度提高、控制变得更加有力,但同时也带来了新的财务风险。针对集团企业管理链条长、监督环节不当、信息共享性差、资金周转不畅、母子公司目标不一等问题,网络环境下的集团企业对资金和会计人员都应实行统一管理;要加强预算管理,对企业经济活动实施实时控制;要加强投资管理,使投资带给企业利润最大化;要努力提高财务人员网络环境下的实际操作能力。     

Organizational Isomorphism and Corruption in Financial Institutions: Empirical Research in Emerging Countries

The globalizations of capital markets in the last 20 years has led to a historic degree of financial integration in the world. It is clear, however, that globalization is not conducive to a complete homogeneity of financial markets and institutions. Among others, one element of diversity is the importance of the impact of corruption in emerging countries. Corruption decreases the credibility of financial institutions and markets. Scandals and unethical behavior in financial institutions erode confidence in such firms. Relying on neoinstitutional literature, this article focuses on the link between corruption and organizational isomorphism in financial institutions in emerging countries. Therefore, our aim is to examine the institutional reasons for corruption in financial institutions in emerging countries. Our structural equation model is based on empirical research in financial institutions in emerging countries. A questionnaire was administrated to 70 top executives of financial institutions in 18 different emerging countries.     

Transplanting Social Capital to the Online World: Insights from Two Experimental Studies

The recent proliferation of computer networks has stimulated the emergence of thousands of online communities. Facebook, which has grown to 175-million users in five years and recently surpassed megasite MySpace to become the world's largest social networking site, is a classic example. As the importance of online communities continues to grow, a good understanding of their success factors for building and sustaining a community becomes crucial.

In this article, we apply social capital theories to examine the interactions among individuals and trust building at the initial development of an online community. Specifically, we postulate that offline social capital can be transplanted into an online community (small or large) to foster the development of trust and social norms that make a community thrive. We conduct two experimental studies: one in the context of real-world, small-scale online communities, and the other in the context of computer-simulated large-scale online communities. Results from these studies provide strong support for our proposition. We interpret these results and discuss their implications and contributions to theory and practice.     

An FsQCA Investigation of eWOM and Social Influence on Product Adoption Intention

Abstract

Following the causal complexity theory, fsQCA has emerged as an advanced methodology in examining hypotheses and creating new theories in social science. However, fsQCA falls short dealing with structural associations and with latent variables when multi-faceted scales are combined into a single indicator by mean. To extend the application of fsQCA, the study demonstrates an approach to investigate a multi-layered problem of eWOM, social influence, and product adoption intention. The findings from fsQCA successfully confirmed the results from the statistical approach that eWOM and social influence have structural associations with customer adoption intentions of new high-tech products.     

Enterprise Social Networking: Opportunities,Adoption, and Risk Mitigation

Social networks on the Internet are becoming extremely popular and have begun to change the way we live and work. Many enterprises are assessing the potential of exploiting the commercial opportunities of this technology. Although social networking commercial activities may be the next big productivity booster for firms, some consider such activities to be time wasters and security traps. Therefore, it is useful to develop a framework to consolidate the issues in adopting this technology. This article reviews the opportunities provided by enterprise social networking and proposes using the fit-viability model to evaluate concerns related to the successful implementation of enterprise social networking. We also examine the major potential risks and the mechanisms for their management.     

Canadian Social Enterprises: An Empirical Exploration of Social Transformation,Financial Self-Sufficiency,and Innovation

This article reports on empirical research investigating social transformation, financial self-sufficiency, and innovation in Canadian social enterprises. A set of profiles on 60 randomly selected social enterprises utilizing information from each organization's Web site was developed and analyzed. The profiles show that about one-third of the sample enterprises were deemed high in social transformation, approximately one-half were assessed high in financial self-sufficiency, and fewer that one-fifth were found to be highly innovative. Implications for marketing in social enterprises are drawn.