Losing More than Money: Organizations’ Prosocial Actions Appear Less Authentic When Their Resources are Declining

Journal of Business Ethics - Companies often benefit from others’ attributions of moral conviction for prosocial behavior, for example, attributions that a company has a sincere moral desire...     

Contrasting Two Models of Wealth Redistribution

Philanthropy tries to improve the condition of people. Yet there are different models of philanthropy. American philanthropy tries to improve conditions for different people, without reference to race or language; this evolved from the notion of equality. In contrast, Chinese clans arose in Singapore, as a response to a society segmented along racial and linguistic lines; in a culture that emphasized face, rich entrepreneurs could "buy" prestige and leadership positions, by assisting their poor. This article examines philanthropy as practiced by entrepreneurs in America, and compares this to the Chinese model of wealth redistribution. The latter is centered on clan associations. In the new economy, however, these have been losing importance, as governments take on some roles previously taken care of by such associations; this includes, for instance, education and assistance to start-up entrepreneurs. We conclude that there appears to be a relationship between philanthropy, government and entrepreneurship.     

SMEs’ Financing and Banks’ Profitability: A “Good Date” for Banks in Ghana?

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the core of most economies and are a major source of economic growth. In recent times, banks have been actively involved in the financing of SMEs through the provision of loans to this sector. This paper investigates the impact of SMEs financing on banks’ profitability in Ghana. The study employed the fixed effect model as the main regression tool. The study result reveals that SMEs significantly contribute to banks’ profitability in Ghana. Interestingly, transaction cost in administering SME loans was insignificant in all the models. Higher inflation reduces the real value of the loan and erodes the interest returns on the total credit to the SMEs. Conversely, growth of GDP enhances the growth of the bank profit.     

Triggered or evaluated? A qualitative inquiry into the decision to start using e-grocery services

ABSTRACT

This qualitative paper examines the importance of both situational factors and adoption constructs in the decision to use online grocery services for the first time. To that end, we have conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with (one or more representatives of) 15 households in Flanders (the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium), who all use Collect & Go, Belgium’s most popular online grocery service. The content analysis shows that adoption is often induced by situational factors (such as health problems or changes in family circumstances), but not in isolation from an evaluation of technology adoption constructs (such as performance expectancy and social influence). Indeed, we find that immediately or soon after the emergence of the initial trigger, consumers start thinking of the service in terms of innovation characteristics. Moreover, unlike what the literature suggests, adoption is not discontinued when the initiating trigger disappears.     

Moody:Weakening Steel Demand in China

Moody’s Investors Service says that Asian steel companies face increasing operating challenges in2015,as Chinese steel demand slows.Moody’s could change its outlook on the Asian steel sector to negative from stable if this weakness persists.According to Moody,China’s Purchasing Managers’Index(PMI)fell to 49.8 in January,which indicates a contraction in manufacturing activities.In another sign that manufacturing is slowing,steel prices fell more than     

A microcomputer‐aided support environment for Xerox quality improvement teams: A case study

Although successful total quality management (TQM) emphasizes the role of teams, the quality literature does not provide a clear picture of the conditions that enable high‐performance teamwork. This case study describes the impacts of a microcomputer‐aided support environment implemented to support quality improvement teams (QITs) at Xerox. The support environment, called the Quality Support Center or QSC, was proposed and implemented explicitly to aid Xerox QITs in intensifying quality practice. The QSC features a comprehensive software tool kit, which, in conjunction with human facilitation, is designed to support correct use of Xerox structured meeting and quality processes and tools and facilitate team coordination over time. Impacts—realized from implementing solutions proposed by QITs using the QSC, as well as impacts on the work of QITs—have been substantial and far‐reaching, indicating that use of the QSC has contributed significantly to the business bottom line and quality intensification. The contribution of contextual enablers to these impacts is assessed using Hackman's [1] influential model; QSC software is described as reinforcing and augmenting these contextual enablers. Practical implications of this study stem from its documentation of the impacts of use of the QSC in the award‐winning TQM environment of Xerox. This study contributes to theory development as well by mapping features of the Xerox TQM environment on to the Hackman model. The mapping suggests the relevance of frameworks drawn from group research for modeling contextual enablers of high‐performance teamwork in TQM settings, especially as the need for theory in assessing QIT performance enablers has been emphasized [2].     

Alternative approaches to tertiary tourism education with special reference to developing countries

The diversity of tourism education programmes makes well considered choice of appropriate training and education in tourism particularly difficult for developing countries. This article distills guidelines for programme choice from examining two main approaches to tourism—the demand- and supply-oriented approaches—and outlines the main components of an ‘ideal’ system, paying particular attention to the needs of developing countries and the problems that are likely to be encountered in this regard. Keywords: education, tourism development curricula choice, developing countries.