Comparing theories to explain e-commerce adoption

E-commerce is a strategy for rapid growth, especially by small and medium sized businesses (SMEs). However, the adoption rate of e-commerce by SMEs in Latin America is still undersized. The authors compare the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the theory of reasoned action (TRA) using structural equation modeling to determine which is better at predicting e-commerce adoption intentions among 210 SME managers/owners in Chile. Contrary to previous research with American respondents, the study does not find significant differences between the two theories. Thus, academics should select the more parsimonious model (TRA) to study e-commerce adoption issues in developing countries.     

削减成本的更好方式

把成本削减平摊到公司所有部门的做法看似公平,但却毫无意义。目标明确的成本削减和构建能力的尝试才是明智之举。     

When we are onstage,we smile: The effects of emotional labor on employee work outcomes

A growing body of literature has confirmed the deleterious effects of emotional labor on service employees. The study adds to it by investigating two hypothesized antecedents to emotional labor; affectivity and empathy which is conceptualized as a two-dimensional construct composed of emotional contagion and empathic concern. It also examines the impact of emotional labor on job satisfaction and exhaustion. The results confirmed a two-dimensional structure of emotional labor, emotive dissonance, and emotive effort. Hospitality employees with higher positive affect tend to experience less emotive dissonance while individuals with higher negative affect exert more effort to enact emotional labor. A positive relationship was found between emotional contagion and emotive dissonance, and emotive effort and job satisfaction. The results also suggested a negative relationship between emotive effort and emotional exhaustion. An unexpected negative relationship was found between emotional dissonance and emotional exhaustion. Managerial implications discuss training and acting techniques to more effectively manage employee emotional labor.     

The effect of increases in the level of unemployement on older workers

This study explores the influence of the level of unemployment on labour force participation and full- versus part-time status, for men and women aged 56 to 60. Comparisons are also made with 16–19- and 31–35-year-old men and women. It is found that when the unemployment increases, discourgement is greater for older men than for younger ones. For Women, Prime-aged workers exhibit less discouragement than either the older or younger women. The study also infers the original labour force status of older discouraged workers. For men, displaced workers come largely from the ranks of full-time workers. For women, both full- and part-time workers are displaced.     

Managing toxic chemicals in Australia: a regional analysis of the risk society

The paper takes examples from two decades of toxic risk management in Australia in order to examine the challenges that the conditions of the ‘risk society’ pose for the chemicals industry in this country. These issues for corporate governance are set against a shift in political discourse in the direction of the limiting of the state, co‐governance between state and industry, and new community involvements and responsibilities. The paper describes new social movements and alliances influencing corporate structures and processes for decision making in Australia. The case examples lead to conclusions concerning the fundamental innovations in the organizational design of regulatory bodies and corporations that are required if progress is to be made towards sustainability and the re‐establishment of public trust. The findings of this paper are symptomatic of the more general challenges that the ‘risk society’ poses for the mainstream political programmes and their frameworks for regulation, for corporate architecture and for the relationships between governments, corporations and the community.     

The incremental time costs of children: An analysis of children's impact on adult time use in Australia

Abstract

Raising children takes both time and money. Scholars have sought convincing ways to capture the costs of children, but even when these estimates include indirect costs, such as mothers' foregone earnings, they fall short of the true time costs involved. This paper uses data from the 1997 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Time Use Survey to study how the allocation of time differs across households with varying numbers and ages of children and how households with children differ from those without children. It also examines the intra household division of time resources, showing how childcare, related unpaid work, and the total market and non-market workloads compare for a couple in the same household. It includes secondary activity in an analysis of total parental time commitments to give a more accurate picture of the time cost of children than is possible on the basis of analyzing “primary” activities alone.     

Nursing unit characteristics and patient outcomes

In this exploratory cross-sectional study, nursing unit organizational characteristics and how they influenced patient outcomes in the form of nurse-sensitive adverse events and failure to rescue were examined. Results showed significant associations between characteristics and adverse events at the unit level. Autonomy/collaboration was associated with pressure ulcer and failure to rescue, practice control with urinary tract infection, and continuity/specialization with death. Unit-level study provided a better understanding of the effect of unit work environment upon nursing practice and outcomes.     

The funding of development research

Statistical data on the funding of development research (drawn mainly from official publications and funding bodies' reports) are presented for OECD member countries, 1973–1979, and trends in financing in this area are analysed. Policies of and expenditures by government agencies, major private funding bodies and selected international organizations are examined. Development research financing is also viewed from the recipients' standpoint, and the results of a questionnaire survey of selected development research institutes in Europe, North America and Japan are analysed. The importance of public-sector finance for development research and indications of increasing dependence of European institutes on government funding in this area are emphasized.     

Student Perceptions of the Insurance Profession

To attract students to the risk management and insurance profession, strategies need to be developed to overcome biases in their perceptions of the profession. This study attempts to determine some of those perceptions of students—specifically a group of business career high school students and a group of college students enrolled in an introduction to business course—about the personality traits of insurance professionals. A Personality Factor Questionnaire previously used extensively in other research was used to measure differences in student perceptions of personality profiles of different professions. We also measured how student characteristics such as age, sex, and expected college major influence student perceptions of these traits. The overall general conclusion was that perceptions of the profession are not as negative as many imagine, but do require some substantive work to improve, even among students seeking business careers.