Re‐Examining the Technical Efficiency of Australian Banks: A Bootstrap DEA Approach

This study re‐examines both pure technical and scale efficiency of Australian banks using bootstrap data envelopment analysis (DEA). The aim is to improve the choice of variables of the core profit efficiency model which is commonly used in earlier Australian banking efficiency studies. After we introduce the “interest income” over “net interest income” variable in the core profit efficiency model, the proportion of fully pure technical efficient banks decreased to 23% which is significantly lower than 81% which was reported in a recent study. This research argues that the main issue that has contributed to this difference is that improving the choice of variables significantly increases the discriminatory power of efficiency estimates. Additionally, emphasising on statistical properties of efficiency estimates, this study employs bootstrap DEA to provide confidence intervals and bias corrected estimates of pure technical efficiency scores of the sample banks. The bootstrap results show the importance of incorporating sample variation and bias in estimating efficiency scores. Earlier Australian banking efficiency studies ignored such issues. The new findings from the sample banks could have important implications for the banking industry in Australia.     

Progress billing method of accounting for long-term construction contracts

This article questions the reliability of the amount of revenue recognized in the percentage of completion （POC） method of revenue recognition in construction industry and recommends a new method based on the progress billing which is more reliable. The most commonly used method of revenue recognition in the construction industry is the percentage of completion method （POC）, where the revenue is recognized on the basis of the percentage of work completed. The calculation of percentage of work completed is made on the basis of the cost incurred for the contract work during the financial period and the cost required for completion of the work as estimated by the contractor. Here, the acceptance of the product by the buyer （contractee） is not involved in recognizing the revenue. The reliability of the amount of revenue and its collectability can be assured only when the buyer accepts the product. The approval of the progress bill by the contractee is needed to assure the reliability and collectability and it must be the event that triggers the recognition of revenue.     

Indirect networks: an intangible resource for biotechnology innovation

In the context of the emergence of new modular organizational forms, especially in high-tech sectors such as the biotechnology sector, this article proposes that while a firm observes benefits from direct alliances, it also benefits from indirect linkages. First, a theoretical framework revolving around indirect ties is built on the basis of social network and innovation management literature. It ends with the proposition of two research hypotheses linking the indirect network position of a firm to its innovation capacities. To test those hypotheses, data on strategic partnerships and collaborations were collected through 40 interviews with biotech firms from the nutrition sector in the biotech clusters of Quebec (Canada). Using network analysis, centrality measures and hierarchical regressions, results of this study indicate that by occupying a central position in a network of indirect ties, a firm is more likely to access useful knowledge from its direct partners and increase innovation. We suggest, as a conclusion, that indirect network position could be considered as an intangible strategic resource for biotech firms.     

Accounting Reform in Australia: Contrasting Cases of Agenda Building

On 4 March 1997, the Department of Treasury of the Australian Government announced sweeping measures to reform standard setting arrangements in Australia ( CLERP Paper No.1 , Commonwealth of Australia, 1997 ). The Government's agenda is profoundly reformist as it recommended the wholesale adoption of International Accounting Standards by Australian reporting entities, as well as advocating the introduction of market (selling) price accounting both nationally and internationally. While the notion of market value accounting is not new, this recommendation appears to be a historical first from a government, regulatory or standard setting body. Against this background, our study draws on a framework of 'political agenda building' proposed by Cobb and Elder (1972 ) and Cobb et al . (1976 ), in order to compare and contrast the competing standard setting reform agendas adopted by the Australian accounting profession and the Government. Using the Cobb and Elder framework, we discuss potential reasons why the CLERP agenda has supplanted that of the Australian accounting profession as well as some implications of these developments for the future of standards harmonization.     

Multi-item dynamic lot-sizing with delayed transportation policy

We optimize ordering and inbound shipment decisions for a manufacturer that sources multiple items from a single supplier. The objective is to satisfy the requirements in the production plan with minimum transportation and inventory holding costs over a multi-period planning horizon. Transportation costs are charged to the manufacturer on a per truck shipment basis. We investigate the option of delaying a less-than-full truckload shipment to the next period, by utilizing the safety stocks as needed. We analyze the impact of delaying shipments on both cost and service levels in stochastic environments through experiments with data from a bus manufacturer. The results indicate that the proposed policy reduces both holding and transportation costs without creating much stock-out risk.     

Determining the impact of age and LOS on job satisfaction: a case study of Pakistan automotive industry

This research was conducted to ascertain the impact of age and length of service (LOS) on job satisfaction in engineers of Pakistan public sector. Field survey was conducted using job satisfaction survey (JSS) questionnaire having closed-ended questions. Multistage sampling was conducted using a combination of cluster sampling, stratified sampling and random sampling techniques. Power and Precision software was used to determine the sample size. JSS questionnaires were administered amongst 225 electrical and mechanical engineers from five public sector organizations. 158 usable questionnaires were received and data were analyzed in SPSS. Statistical analyses showed existence of an open mouth U-shaped relationship between LOS/age and job satisfaction. It was found that age moderates relationship between LOS and job satisfaction. Non-responsiveness of senior engineers led to one of the limitations of this study. Results of this study can be used for policy-making decisions.     

Impact of organizational justice on customer satisfaction in the hospitality industry of Pakistan: The moderating role of uncertainty avoidance

This study investigates the impact of distributive justice, procedural justice, interactional justice, and informational justice on customer satisfaction in the hospitality industry of Pakistan, also the study investigates the moderating role of uncertainty avoidance on all relationships. Data were collected from 309 consumers from all provinces of Pakistan. A significant positive impact of dimensions of organizational justice on customer satisfaction is found; however, contrary to expectations, no moderating role of uncertainty avoidance is proved for any of the relationships. At the end of the article, the results of the study are discussed. This study shows potential implications for service providers.     

UK press and tourist discourses of Iran: a study in multiple realities

The aim of this article is to investigate the competing discourses of Iran currently circulating in British society, and their influence on the tourist destination image of that country. A mixed-methods approach was adopted within a social constructionist perspective: this consisted of a Foucauldian discourse analysis of news reports in a range of British broadsheet newspapers, interviews with tourists who had visited Iran, and analysis of travel blogs written by a second group of tourists who had also previously visited the country. The findings show that the leading British broadsheets examined exclusively circulate an extremely negative discourse of Iran-as-Polity, originating in US and mediated by the British political field, whose main components are nuclear issues, danger, hostility and terrorism. Though UK tourists to the country are often drawn there initially by a largely Orientalist discourse of Iran-as-Persia, i.e. as a site of historical monuments, during and post visit, they develop a counter-discourse of Iran-as-Society which concentrates on the modernity of certain aspects of the country and above all the hospitality of its citizens, a discourse which is then further disseminated in the form of travel blogs. The article also mobilises Bourdieu’s concept of academic capital to examine the role of education in providing resources to resist the discourse of Iran-as-Polity. In its range of sources analysed, the article offers a relatively novel approach to investigating the role of media discourse and the internet – the latter framed using Foucault’s ‘genealogical’ approach – in the formation of competing tourist destination images of Iran.