E-Finance: An Introduction

E-finance is defined as “The provision of financial services and markets using electronic communication and computation”. In this paper we outline research issues related to e-finance that we believe set the stage for further work in this field. Three areas are focused on. These are the use of electronic payments systems, the operations of financial services firms and the operation of financial markets. A number of research issues are raised. For example, is the widespread use of paper-based checks efficient? Will the financial services industry be fundamentally changed by the advent of the Internet? Why have there been such large differences in changes to market microstructure across different financial markets?     

Is There a Third Way for Industrial Relations?

There has been little systematic analysis of what the ‘Third Way’ means in the sphere of industrial relations. This paper examines the record of the New Labour government in order to evaluate the distinctiveness, innovation and coherence of its industrial relations policy. It argues that many of the limitations of this policy result from the institutional context within which it was introduced. In comparative perspective, Third Way industrial relations can be thought of as a policy adaptation specific to centre–left governments in weakly co‐ordinated liberal market economies.     

Estimating corporate bankruptcy forecasting models by maximizing discriminatory power

Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting - In this paper, we estimate coefficients of bankruptcy forecasting models, such as logistic and neural network models, by maximizing their...     

The dilemma of implementing controls: The case of managerial accounting

Managerial accounting contains a technical theory of control. Whenever this technical theory of control is correctly implemented to deal with issues that are embarrassing or threatening, the players activate their personal-human theory of control in order to remain “in control”. The correct implementation of the personal-human theory of control necessary inhibits the effective implementation of the technical theory and vice versa.     

Brand Valuation: A Model and Empirical Study of Organisational Implications

This paper presents a model concerned with the organisational and behavioural implications associated with accounting for brand values. A series of propositional statements concerning the internal implications of brand value accounting are formulated and the relative strength of each proposition is analysed using data collected via a mailed survey. In interviews conducted with senior management in strongly-branded companies it was found that beneficial managerial implications are expected to result from a brand valuation. Interviewees saw these implications as primarily strategically, rather than operationally, orientated. This view was provided with some support by the survey data. Evidence is also provided that marketing directors perceive greater benefits arising from brand valuation than do finance directors.     

Deducing a state-of-the-art presentation of the Eclectic Paradigm from four decades of development: a systematic literature review

Management Review Quarterly - For over four decades the Eclectic Paradigm has experienced a myriad of interdisciplinary advancements and evolved into an ever-broader and complex accumulation of...     

A stake in the business

When Chris Sullivan and three friends opened the first Outback Steakhouse in March 1988, in Tampa, Florida, they were hoping it would be successful enough to spawn a few more and maybe some other kinds of restaurants as well. Since then, their chain of Australia-themed restaurants has grown to some 900 locations and counting-plus another 300 or so "concept" restaurants that operate from under Outback's corporate umbrella. Growth like that doesn't happen accidentally, Sullivan says, but it certainly wasn't part of the original plan. In this first-person account, Outback's chairman describes the organization's formula for growth and development, which is consciously rooted in the founders' belief in putting people first. They've created an organizational model in which field managers make most of the decisions, garner the rewards, and live with the consequences. Specifically, the founders believe that the most effective way to make customers happy is to first take care of the people who cook for them, serve them, and supervise operations at the restaurants. Outback servers have fewer tables to worry about than those at other restaurant chains; the cooks have bigger, cooler, better-equipped kitchens; and the supervisors work their way up the ranks toward an equity stake in the restaurant or region they run. There are no administrative layers between field managers and the executives at headquarters. Giving employees good working conditions and the chance to become owners has proved to be good business: Turnover among hourly employees is low, and Outback and its subsidiaries opened 120 restaurants last year, increasing sales by 20.1%. The company must grow in order to keep offering career opportunities to its workers; in turn, those opportunities ensure that Outbackers remain committed to making customers happy and the company successful.     

Brand value accounting: an international comparison of perceived managerial implications

Data concerned with the managerial implications of brand value accounting were collected from accountants and marketing managers working in strongly branded companies in New Zealand (N.Z.), the United Kingdom (U.K.) and the United States (U.S.). Since the external reporting climate in the U.S. prohibits the inclusion of brand value as a separate asset in the published balance sheet, it was anticipated that U.S. managers would be the least positively disposed to the potential of beneficial managerial implications deriving from brand valuation. Contrary to this expectation, managers in the U.K are the least positively disposed to potential managerial implications associated with brand value accounting. This result is particularly interesting as brand value accounting has commanded considerable attention from the U.K. accounting profession since the late 1980s when several large U.K. companies elected to capitalize brand values in their external financial statements. In addition to the international differences noted, the degree of commonality of findings across the three countries is also noteworthy. The data reported provide strong support for the view that there is considerable potential for positive managerial implications from brand value accounting.