Hoofing It – On Four or Two Feet? Managing Multi-use Trails and Sites

Horseback tourism in Australia has developed in response to the needs of a predominantly urban-based society, providing tourists with a nature-based experience that is in less contact with the physical environment than those who elect to walk or hike. Such differing modes of transport have created some problems in areas where multiple use of transport forms is permitted, such as the Alpine National Park in Victoria, Australia. Recognising that there is potentially a difference between groups in the parks and their motivations and relationships with the natural environment, research was undertaken to ascertain levels of attitudinal conflict between walkers to horseback tour groups. While social conflict was not as great as anticipated, there were high levels of misinformation regarding the operating permit requirements placed on horseback tours. Also, many of the survey respondents who had negative attitudes towards horseback groups had not actually encountered any themselves. The management implications for the land management agencies include a greater need for planning and operational staff to have an improved understanding of the psychological needs and motivations of visitors to national parks. Education of both land managers and visitors is the key to developing mutually beneficial and effective land management plans.     

Facts & figures

Doctors often express objections to managerialism in general practice. But, as research in this article suggests, their approach to management, revealed by the ways they manage their own practices and surgeries, can be more complex and less anatagonistic than is often assumed by observers.     

New Producer Services Businesses: Are They Any Different From New Manufacturing Ventures?

Based upon the presumed importance of manufacturing firms in both wealth and job generation, the majority of research in the field of new ventures over the past 20 years has focused upon this sector. However, with the down-sizing of many large organisations and the growth of spin-outs and management buy-outs, many of which continue to serve their former owners, attention has shifted to a questioning of the role of ‘producer services'. This article adds to this debate by posing one broad research question: Are there any significant differences in the characteristics of new business founders and new business performance and growth between ‘manufacturing’ and ‘producer services' business? Overall, the paper concludes that there are many more similarities than there are differences. However, the final discriminant model also confirms many of the anticipated trends.     

E‐commerce: consumer protection issues and implications for research and education

The impact of e‐commerce on consumers, public policy, business and education is examined. It behoves academics and students alike to keep abreast of new developments in this field and to contribute to the public debate on the widespread effects of e‐commerce. A discussion of public policy initiatives, research questions and ideas for future research are given.     

Cost and trade impacts of environmental regulations: effluent control and the New Zealand dairy sector

New Zealand legislation sets standards for water quality. Nitrogen leaching from dairy effluent compromises these standards, with the consequent move being toward land-based effluent disposal. The cost of this to the dairy sector was estimated and a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model (GTAP) was used to investigate the impact of additional production costs on NZ's dairy export trade. Two scenarios were analysed: first, NZ acts unilaterally in imposing water quality regulations, second, the other principal dairy exporters act in a similar fashion. Changes in trade patterns vary from insignificant to large, depending on the scenario analysed.     

Relative Importance of Major Job Performance Dimensions in Determining Supervisors' Overall Job Performance Ratings

This study explores the factor structure of job performance and each performance dimension's relative importance in determining supervisors' overall job performance ratings. We found that the optimal factor structure of job performance includes five dimensions: task performance, organizational citizenship behaviour directed toward the organization and individuals (OCB‐O and OCB‐I, respectively), and counterproductive work behaviour directed toward the organization and individuals (CWB‐O and CWB‐I, respectively). The percent‐based relative weight (%RW) is the highest for task performance in determining job performance, followed by OCB and CWB. Interestingly, the %RW of non‐task performance dimensions directed toward the organization (OCB‐O and CWB‐O) is similar to the %RW of task performance but greater than the %RW of non‐task performance dimensions directed toward individuals (OCB‐I and CWB‐I). Copyright © 2018 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.