Personal skills development in the accounting curriculum

Today's challenging economic situation means that it is no longer sufficient for a new graduate to have knowledge of an academic subject; increasingly it is necessary for students to gain those skills which will enhance their prospects of employment. For over a decade, a number of employers have been sounding warnings to the higher education sector that a ‘skills gap’ was emerging at the employer/graduate interface. This paper highlights one strategy that attempts to facilitate the development of transferable and managerial skills in an undergraduate accounting degree. Using a stakeholder approach the adequacy of current in-house provision, and a comparison of this with best practice in the sector, was undertaken. Analysis of the findings resulted in the conclusion that skills development using an embedded delivery approach was insufficient. Likewise, a dedicated skills module in Year 1 was also inadequate and an appropriate course needed to be developed and incorporated as a core module in Year 2 of the programme. The result of this has been the creation of a module entitled Business Enterprise Skills.     

How the purpose of the inter-firm relationships influences the choice of the governance form: evidence from the machine tool and the pharmaceutical industries

In today's competitive landscape, the choice of the appropriate mode to govern an inter-firm relationship is a critical factor for companies. In the literature several theoretical strands have examined the impact of the purpose of inter-firm relationships on the forms of governance. Building on a robust literature review on the topic, this study focuses on a specific issue influencing the choice of the form of governance in inter-firm relationships, i.e. the purpose of inter-firm relationships with relation to partner's resources. We gather in a unique framework three typologies of partner's resources, i.e. production, R&D and marketing, and through two empirical analyses in two different Italian industries, machine tool and pharmaceutical, we show how differently these purposes shape the choice of the governance mode.     

Strategy,Valuation, and Forecast Accuracy: Evidence from Italian Strategic Plan Disclosures

Using a sample of 264 strategic plan presentations by Milan Stock Exchange firms during 2001–2012, we present evidence of both a security price reaction and an increase in the accuracy of analysts’ earnings forecasts pursuant to plan disclosure. In the cross-section, the information content of the plan disclosures and the accuracy increase are incrementally associated with the extent of forward-looking narrative disclosures in the plan, after controlling for other disclosures within and outside the plan presentation and the fact that the firm has self-selected into the sample. Both quantitative and qualitative narrative disclosures are informative to investors and analysts. The results are driven by narrative disclosures about company strategy and action plans rather than about the business environment in which the company operates. Our study informs the current debate on the use of voluntary comprehensive, integrated, long-run-oriented strategic plan disclosure as a potential complement for disclosures such as quarterly earnings forecasts that have been described as an example of ‘short-termism’.     

Global business partnering among family-owned enterprises

This article focuses on foreign partnering in the family-owned business sector of a developing economy in Latin America. The article presents a report on four selected Brazilian companies. Following an analysis from a grounded theory perspective, the findings are discussed, and directions for future research are provided.     

Turbulent firms, turbulent wages?

Has greater turbulence among firms fueled rising wage instability in the U.S.? We find strong support for the hypothesis that rising turbulence in the sales of large publicly-traded U.S. firms over the past three decades has raised their workers’ high-frequency wage volatility. Through controls and instrumental variable probes, we rule out straightforward compositional churning as an explanation for the link between firm sales and wage volatility. We also observe that the relationship between sales and wage volatility at the firm level is stronger since 1980, is present only in large companies and is stronger in services than in manufacturing companies.     

The relationship between organisational context and novice workers’ learning

This article reports on findings from a longitudinal study, carried out during 1998–9, of the learning and training experiences of 11 Australian teenagers in their first year of fulltime work. Interviews with the young people over the course of the year were supplemented by interviews with parents, employers, and college teachers where appropriate. The working and training environments, and the learning experiences of the young people are described. The relationship between performance and learning is discussed. The article provides an insight into the lived experiences of young people attempting to learn about work within an organisational context.     

Can Bonus Packs Mislead Consumers? A Demonstration of How Behavioural Consumer Research Can Inform Unfair Commercial Practices Law on the Example of the ECJ’s Mars Judgement

The use of psychological findings in EU internal market regulation has gained interest, particularly in the area of unfair commercial practices. This study investigates consumer perceptions of bonus packs containing an oversized indication of the “extra” volume in the package, such as in the Mars case. The Mars case serves as a standard reference in EU unfair commercial practices law which is used as a benchmark to determine the “average consumer.” Our study demonstrates how an experiment can be set up to provide empirically based insights on whether a practice is “deceptive.” Results of our experiment show that consumers overestimate the extra volume when confronted with an oversized indication compared to control conditions, which is first empirical evidence that this practice is potentially deceptive.     

Age diversity management and organisational outcomes: The role of diversity perspectives

Several macro‐level and meso‐level factors have led to unprecedented proportions of aged employees in organisations, resulting in higher levels of age diversity. Little is known about which age diversity practices and programmes are effective in which types of organisations for which outcomes. Derived from social exchange theory, this paper proposes and tests positive relationships between age diversity practices and organisational outcomes and work‐life programmes and organisational outcomes. Derived from contingency theory, it also proposes and tests for a moderating effect of diversity perspective (fairness and discrimination vs. synergy) on the two main relationships. Data were collected from 248 medium to large‐sized for‐profit organisations. The results partially support both main effect hypotheses and one moderating effect hypothesis. The findings suggest different organisational outcomes for age diversity practices and work‐life programmes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.