Assessment of Interjudge Reliability in the Open-Ended Questions Coding Process

In the process of coding open-ended questions, the evaluation of interjudge reliability is a critical issue. In this paper, using real data, the behavior of three coefficients of reliability among coders, Cohen’s K, Krippendorff’s α and Perreault and Leigh’s I _r are patterned, in terms of the number of judges involved and the categories of answer defined. The outcome underlines the importance of both variables in the valuations of interjudge reliability, as well as the higher adequacy of Perreault and Leigh’s I _r and Krippendorff’s α for marketing and opinion research.     

Restricted forecasting with VAR models: An analysis of a test for joint compatibility between restrictions and forecasts

A restricted forecasting compatibility test for Vector Autoregressive Error Correction models is analyzed in this work. It is shown that a variance–covariance matrix associated with the restrictions can be used to cancel out model dynamics and interactions between restrictions. This allows us to interpret the joint compatibility test as a composition of the corresponding single restriction compatibility tests. These tests are useful for appreciating the contribution of each and every restriction to the joint compatibility between the whole set of restrictions and the unrestricted forecasts. An estimated process adjustment for the test is derived and the resulting feasible joint compatibility test turns out to have better performance than the original one. An empirical illustration of the usefulness of the proposed test makes use of Mexican macroeconomic data and the targets proposed by the Mexican Government for the year 2003.     

电法找水在某变电站工程中的应用

利用电法勘探的理论寻找地下水,通过具体应用实例说明其可行性及准确性。该方法实测简单,准确率较高。     

Perceived compensation discrimination against physically disabled people in Andalusia

This study proposes and tests a model that explains the job dissatisfaction of the physically disabled as a result of their general perception that they are treated inequitably by their employer, and their specific perception that they have experienced discrimination in compensation. These three variables have not previously been studied in combination. Using the theoretical framework of organisational justice, we apply structural equation models to test our hypotheses in a sample of 220 employed people with physical disabilities in Andalusia. We show that the perception of discrimination in compensation follows the perception of inequity and mediates the relationship between that perception and job dissatisfaction.     

Personality and the creativity of frontline service employees: linear and curvilinear effects

Abstract

Previous studies have investigated the relationship between the Five-Factor model of personality and creativity. As this model has been criticised for providing a limited account of an individual’s personality, this study considers additional personality traits that have recently been investigated in the literature as determinants of employee behaviour. Moreover, we also contribute to the existing body of literature by conducting this study in a service setting, for which we predict personality traits will exert differentiated effects on creativity when compared to other settings. Finally, while past research has focused on linear effects, this study examines the existence of non-linear effects between personality and creativity. The results indicate that personality traits apart from the Five-Factor model have an impact on creativity and that the effects of several personality traits on the creativity of frontline service employees differ from those obtained in other settings. Lastly, the findings also show that five of the personality traits have non-linear effects on creativity, and this may be a stimulus for a new stream of research in the human resources literature.     

High involvement work practices and firm performance

During the past two decades the chain of three links organizational strategy – human resources practices – organizational performance has been deeply analysed. However, the mediator role of organizational structure in the first link of this chain remains relatively uninvestigated. In this article we analyse a model of relationships among organizational strategy, organizational structure, human resources practices, and organizational performance. Through a structural equation methodology applied to a sample of 183 Spanish companies, we will try to confirm that organizations with differentiation strategies are more likely to implement high involvement work practices. As a novelty we will introduce organizational structure as a mediator of this relationship. For that we will use the construct control mechanisms (centralization, formalization and socialization). Further, we will analyse the effect on firm performance of these proposed relationships among differentiation strategy, control mechanisms and high involvement work practices.     

Discretionary Accruals and Auditor Behaviour in Code-Law Contexts: An Application to Failing Spanish Firms

This study examines the relationship between earnings management and auditor behaviour in the pre-bankrupt client segment of the Spanish audit market. As proxies for auditor behaviour, we use type of audit firm (Big N/non-Big N) and type of audit report. In contrast to the USA, audit reports in Spain often include modifications other than a going-concern opinion. This allows us to study the relationship in more detail than is possible with US data. The results of our study show that discretionary accruals are negatively related to going-concern opinions but are positively related to reports modified for reasons other than going-concern problems. However, unlike Butler et al. (Journal of Accounting and Economics, 37, pp. 139–165, 2004) the negative relationship is explained not by liquidity survival tactics but by auditor conservatism. We find this conservatism not only in the value of discretionary accruals but also in the qualifications that accompany a going concern. In these cases GAAP violations have a much greater income effect and a stronger relationship with the reversal of manipulation accumulated over the years than with the manipulation introduced during the last year. Finally, our results suggest that Big N differentiation in a code-law country is context-specific and depends on the business risk parameter of the ‘audit risk model’. In particular, for high-risk firms, Big N auditors show a significantly lower level of discretionary accruals and a greater propensity to issue a going-concern opinion.     

Fairness perceptions and work attitudes revisited: roles of employee specialty,hospital level and ownership

Compensation is widely acknowledged as an important job element in the eyes of employees. Health care is a special industry in which compensation received by employees differs greatly. This study examines empirically the relationships between hospital employees' perceptions of compensation fairness and their work attitudes, taking into account the roles of employee specialty, hospital level and ownership. Using data from 2,938 employees of thirty hospitals in Taiwan, the results indicate that fairness perceptions and work attitudes differ significantly among hospital employees according to their specialties. Hospital level and ownership exert impacts on employees' fairness perceptions, although not on their work attitudes. A positive relationship is observed between fairness perceptions and work attitudes of hospital employees.     

Management and employee involvement in achieving an environmental action-based competitive advantage: an empirical study

The objective of this work is to conduct an empirical study that shows whether certain management and human resource factors influence the achievement of an environmental action-based competitive advantage in a company. To this end, we have taken a sample of 110 factories. Management's deep involvement and its strategic integration, as well as employee motivation and participation, have a positive impact on the achievement of an environmental action-based competitive advantage in a company.     

The booster function and the entrepreneurial quality: an application to the province of Seville

The objectives of this paper are two-fold. First, to elaborate a theoretical model that shows the characteristics of an entrepreneur of quality and the factors that influence them. Second, to apply the model to entrepreneurs in the province of Seville, one of the least developed areas in the European Union. The purpose is to show the importance of entrepreneurship for business success and, more importantly, in economic development. In summary, the model shows that entrepreneurs of quality possess an intrinsic motivation and, as consequence of this, they adopt some energizer behaviours, such as the capacity for innovation, ambition and co-operation with others. The model also takes into account factors that influence these characteristics, including the personal context of the entrepreneur, such as experience, education and family, and the global context, such as productive opportunities, socio-cultural factors and political-institutional factors. In the analysis of the entrepreneurs of Seville, the paper mainly focuses on the motivation and the energizer behaviours and their interdependence. The empirical findings indicate that the model is valid.