Mobile learning adoption for tourism education in a developing country

Since developing countries are gradually introducing mobile-based tourism education, it is a growing demand to understand the students’ intention to adopt mobile learning. The study used partial least squares-based structural equation modelling to analyse survey data from 176 questionnaires at three tourism education institutes in Bangladesh. The study contributes to the theory of planned behaviour by examining the antecedent impact of innovativeness and moderating effect of self-efficacy. Results confirmed innovativeness as a significant antecedent on the attitude–intention relationship; however, the moderating effect of self-efficacy has not been supported. The study has marketing implications for tourism education institutes and government bodies.     

Diversification and performance: evidence from East Asian firms

We examine the impact of diversification on performance for firms operating in different institutional environments during a relatively stable period and during a major economy‐wide shock. We locate our study in six Asian countries at different levels of institutional development. Results indicate that diversification negatively impacts performance in more developed institutional environments while improving performance only in the least developed environments. Even in the least developed institutional environments, diversification offers limited benefits when an economy‐wide shock strikes. Though successful diversifiers are sometimes affiliated with business groups, diversification is associated with poorer performance for both affiliated firms and independent firms. In sum, we find that the outcomes of diversification are influenced by institutional environments, economic stability and affiliation with business groups. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Empirical Assessment of Money Demand Stability Under India’s Open Economy: Non-linear ARDL Approach

Journal of Quantitative Economics - This study explores stability issues of money demand in the wake of a new economic policy regime of India’s open economy, particularly since the 1990s. The...     

An ‘Islamic future’ without a name

In this allegory of the search for a name for his grandson, the writer envision alternative themes of Islamic futures. In the conclusion of the quest, more fundamental insights into the nature of the future and our present relations to it are gleaned.     

Microdata evidence on rent-sharing

We examine the effect of firm profits on wages for individual workers while focusing on the empirical complications associated with estimating the extent of rent-sharing. Controlling for worker and firm fixed-effects and using several instruments to deal with the endogeneity of profits, we report results indicating that Ordinary Least Square (OLS)-estimates strongly underestimate the effects of profits on wages. Moreover, the effect of profits on wages are estimated separately for firms with increasing and decreasing profits within a given time period. We find a positive and stable effect only in firms with increasing profits. This is in line with the idea that falling profits do not lead to wage cuts while increasing profits imply higher wages.     

ASEAN‐5 bond market development: Where does it stand? Where is it going?

Since the late 1990s' Asian crisis, ASEAN‐5 countries have expended considerable effort in developing their bond markets. However, the size of these markets relative to GDP has hardly changed. Can we explain this? And does it mean that domestic markets have not, in fact, developed? The article argues that bond market growth has been held back by a sharp fall in business investment, which has left firms with little need for bond borrowing. Even so, markets have developed in other ways, to such an extent that substantial amounts of foreign portfolio investment have begun to flow into ASEAN‐5 bonds. These developments have important ramifications. With the investor base growing and infrastructure investment likely to rise, ASEAN‐5 bond markets could expand rapidly, holding out the prospect that the region could finally achieve ‘twin engine’ financial systems in the near future.     

Societal institutions and HRM practices: an analysis of four European multinational subsidiaries in Bangladesh

Using the ‘societal-effect’ approach, a variant of the institutional theory developed and tested in Europe, this study investigates the impact of societal institutions on human resource management (HRM) practices of European multinational subsidiaries in Bangladesh, which is now on the list of the Next-11 economies of the world. In-depth case studies of four European multinational subsidiaries revealed the presence of different degrees of influence – partly attributable to societal effect – on the human resource practices of these subsidiaries. Our study added a new dimension to the interface between the strong and weak institutions and how such interfacing accords both legitimacy and reverse legitimacy to MNC subsidiaries and their societal institutions respectively. Another interesting finding of the study is the emergence of political system as a societal institution and, hence, a determinant of HRM practices in these subsidiaries. The study's implications are given.     

The use of the consumer ethnocentrism and consumer animosity scales in Iran: A research note

This research note presents the results of testing the reliability of two constructs from the country‐of‐origin literature—consumer ethnocentrism and consumer animosity—within the Iranian national consumer environment. Consumer ethnocentrism, developed by Shimp and Sharma (1987), measures the level of consumer ethnocentrism and has been used broadly in several countries. The consumer animosity scale (Klein, Ettenson, & Morris, 1998), a newer construct, has not been widely tested for its reliability in diverse national contexts. The country of Iran, with its ongoing dispute and hostility with the United States, provides an ideal context to test both of these constructs. We utilized the original animosity scale and an adapted version of the ethnocentrism scale. Both scales performed well and provide strong support for the reliability of each construct, allowing other researchers a high degree of confidence in their application. This finding suggests that these research tools may be useful and can be expanded to the greater Middle East region. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.