Dominant stakeholders,activity and accountability discharge in the CSO sector

Civil society organisations (CSOs) comprise a diverse range of associations, including non‐governmental organisations (NGOs), community groups, political parties and social networks. Nevertheless, despite heterogeneity, regulators, funders and donors often treat CSOs as homogeneous when demanding accountability. This paper highlights differences in to whom CSOs across different categories (or types) perceive themselves to be accountable, what for and the different practices they undertake to discharge accountability. It calls for stakeholders to acknowledge diversity in accountability across different CSO types. This survey‐based research finds CSOs weight upwards and downwards stakeholders equally, and undertake voluminous reporting. They would benefit from negotiating multiple‐use mechanisms, especially with dominant stakeholders. In combining stakeholder and accountability theory, the research highlights specific CSO types needing further study.     

Sources of airline productivity from carbon emissions: an analysis of operational performance under good and bad outputs

This study incorporates carbon dioxide emissions in productivity measurement in the airline industry and examines the determinants of productivity change. For this purpose a two-stage analysis under joint production of good and bad outputs is employed to compare the operational performance of airlines. In the first stage, productivity index are derived using the Luenberger productivity indicator. In the second stage, productivity change scores derived therefrom are regressed using the random-effects Generalized Least Squares to quantify determinants of productivity change. The paper finds low cost carriers and average number of hours flown per aircraft having a positive impact on productivity under joint production model while demand variable negatively impacts on productivity under market model.     

The Research‐Practice Gap in Human Resource Management: A Cross‐Cultural Study

In this study, we examine the cross‐cultural differences in human resource (HR) managers’ beliefs in effective HR practices by surveying HR practitioners in Finland (N = 86), South Korea (N = 147), and Spain (N = 196). Similar to previous studies from the United States, the Netherlands, and Australia, there are large discrepancies between HR practitioner beliefs and research findings, particularly in the area of staffing. In addition, we find that interpersonal‐oriented aspects of HR practices tend to be more culturally bound than technical‐oriented aspects of HR practices. We interpret the differences using Hofstede's cultural dimensions (Power Distance, Individualism versus Collectivism, Masculinity versus Femininity, Long‐Term Orientation versus Short‐Term Orientation, and Uncertainty Avoidance). We discuss the overall nature of the science‐practice gap in HR management, and the implications for evidence‐based management. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Impact of Rebates and Refunds on Contributions to Threshold Public Goods: Evidence from a Field Experiment

We investigate the impact of rebates and refunds on contributions to threshold public goods using evidence from a field experiment conducted in conjunction with an Australian charity, Life Goes On. We find that offering rebates and refunds has a significant positive impact on both participation and average donations in the absence of seed money. Our results suggest that offering rebates and refunds, and the existence of seed money may, to some extent, play substitute roles in encouraging giving behavior. Seed money has a significant positive effect on participation only. Seed money's impact on average donations may be mitigated by a threshold effect.     

When health care workers perceive high-commitment HRM will they be motivated to continue working in health care? It may depend on their supervisor and intrinsic motivation

In this health care field study, we examined the link between human resource management (HRM), transformational leadership, intrinsic motivation and motivation to continue to work. Based on the social exchange theory, we proposed a mediation model linking HRM to motivation to continue to work in health care, via respectively transformational leadership and intrinsic motivation. Results from data collected from 171 employees revealed that transformational leadership and intrinsic motivation mediate the relationship between perceptions of high-commitment HRM and workers’ motivation to continue to work. Practical implications for organizations in health care are discussed.     

Assessing macro environment trends in Singapore: Implications for tourism marketers

The growth in the number of Singaporeans traveling overseas has been quite remarkable. In 1994, Singaporeans made over 2.4 million overseas trips. This was made possible by the increased affluence of the population, after several decades of continued economic development. At the same time, there are changes in the demographic and psychographic composition of the population which attracted the attention of tourism marketers not only locally and abroad. This paper attempts to examine these changes and discuss their implications. Several types of new tours are suggested for a tourism industry that must innovate and upgrade their products and services to meet the demands of a new breed of consumers.     

Developing a critical view on e‐learning trend reports: trend watching or trend setting?

Trend watching reports are an indispensable resource in the e‐learning domain. Many HRD departments consider these reports as essential cornerstones for the development of their e‐learning strategy. But what is the quality of the forecasts made in these reports? In this article, several methods of forecasting trends are discussed, resulting in a checklist to evaluate the quality of trend studies. Next, this checklist is applied to evaluate some significant trend studies. The evaluation results show that the reports do not meet basic quality criteria, such as ‘sound methodology’ and ‘objectivity’. The article concludes with some critical remarks on the role trend watching reports play in the domain of e‐learning.     

Assessing dimensions of organizational trust across cultures: A comparative analysis of U.S. and Indian full service hotels

This study delves into the organizational trust based similarities and differences across “individualist” and “collectivist” service employees in hotels. Specifically, the three dimensions of organizational trust, i.e., integrity, commitment and dependability are compared across the two samples from the U.S. and India to highlight how employees perceive the level of each of the three dimensions across cultures. Findings suggest that the three dimensions represent the trust construct across different national cultures. However, in comparing the individual dimension of the trust construct, a significant difference exists between the perceptions of employees in the two cultures, suggesting that perception-based differences exist across cultures.     

Modelling the linkages between US and Latin American stock markets

This paper examines the linkages between US and Latin American stock markets during the 1995–2002 period using recently developed cointegration techniques that allow for structural shifts in the long-run relationship. Results suggest that when conventional cointegration tests are applied, a long-run relationship is found only in the cases of Brazil and Mexico for the Dow Jones (DJ) index, and in the case of Brazil for the Standard and Poor's 500 (SP500) index. In contrast, if the possibility of structural breaks is introduced, strong evidence is found in favour of such a relationship between the Argentine, Chilean and Venezuelan indices and the DJ index after the 1998 financial turmoil, and between the Brazilian and Mexican indices and the DJ index before such turbulence, while some marginal cointegration is detected between the Mexican and DJ indices from February 1998. Additionally, evidence is found of a cointegrating relationship between the Argentine, Chilean and Mexican indices and the SP500 index from August 1998, April 1999 and October 1999, respectively, and between the Brazilian and the SP500 indices before November 1997, as well as some marginal cointegration between the Mexican and SP500 indices before October 1999. The results suggest that the gains from international diversification for investors with long holding periods is limited.     

A Ten-Year Study of the Effectiveness of an Educative Programme in Ensuring the Ecological Sustainability of Recreational Activities in the Brisbane Ranges National Park,South-Eastern Australia

Managing the spread of cinnamon fungus, an exotic root-rotting pathogen which kills a wide range of native plants, is an over-riding management concern in the Brisbane Ranges National Park of south-eastern Australia. Parks Victoria has implemented a suite of approaches for informing recreational users about the disease and its ecological impacts. To assess longitudinal changes in the effectiveness of the educative programme, recreational users were surveyed in 1993 and in 2003. 81% were not aware of cinnamon fungus dieback in 1993; the proportion in 2003 was almost unchanged at 83%. Despite the lack of awareness of cinnamon fungus dieback, a large majority (76% in 1993; 74% in 2003) of respondents replied that they had viewed information boards in the park or read visitor guides with information on the disease and its ecological impacts. When recreational users were informed of the impact of infection, there was unanimous support for track closures for quarantine purposes. Our findings indicate that current methods of educating recreational users about cinnamon fungus dieback are not effective. Recommendations are made to improve the penetration of the educational and interpretive information, including the incorporation of affective and cognitive approaches.