Twenty-five years of business systems research and lessons for international business studies

Since 1992, the national business systems (NBS) approach has been increasingly used to analyse not only firm characteristics, structures and strategies within NBS, but also the nature of international business and its interactions with both national and transnational institutions. In reviewing 25 years of NBS literature, we heed calls in IB journals urging researchers to use NBS notions and findings in IB research. Our systematic review of 96 articles analyses the patterns and contributions of NBS literature, revealing four thematic junctures: (1) comparative business systems, (2) firm internationalisation and the management/organisation inside MNCs, (3) the role of internationalisation in the development of organisational capabilities and innovation and (4) the emergence of transnational communities in and across firms and societies. Themes are described in terms of (a) the research questions (RQ) they focus on, (b) how NBS approach investigates the RQ and what are the major findings, (c) how IB frames and approaches the same RQ, (d) how does the NBS approach extend the perspectives of IB and (e) what are the problems faced by NBS in terms of developing further insights into the RQ. Our review contributes to the recent endeavour of IB research to institutionalism, encouraging a productive dialogue between IB and NBS research.     

The Relationship Between Consumer-Brand Identification and Brand Extension

The present research aims at examining the role of consumer-brand identification (CBI) in attitude toward brand extension regarding the congruency between the values of consumers and brands. In this way, the benefits of CBI to consumers and brand managers are outlined. This research has been conducted through designing a survey and collecting data through a questionnaire. For data mining and investigating the model, the SEM approach is implemented. According to the findings, high levels of CBI lead to positive attitudes toward the brand extension, and that value congruity positively impacts this relationship. The results outline that CBI impacts fit and tie in separate ways, so that CBI effect on fit is more substantial. Furthermore, according to the results, in comparison to the role of tie, the role of fit is more significant in predicting attitudes toward brand extension. The sample from university students is appropriate for testing theory, but limits generalizing the results of the research. In addition, this research has studied one product category and is limited in this perspective. The findings have remarkable recommendations for implementing brand extension as they emphasize the role of perceived fit. Moreover, by reexamining CBI in a less known market, the research has outlined its positive outcomes for firms. This research has used perceived tie in a brand extension context and, similar to perceived fit, has implemented it as another factor to predict attitude toward brand extension. In addition, this research is unique, as it has investigated CBI in a new context.     

A critical appraisal of the reporting quality of published randomized controlled trials in the fall injuries

To evaluate the quality of reporting in published randomized controlled trials (RTCs) in the field of fall injuries. The 188 RTCs published between 2001 and 2011, indexed in EMBASE and Medline databases were extracted through searching by appropriate keywords and EMTree classification terms. The evaluation trustworthiness was assured through parallel evaluations of two experts in epidemiology and biostatistics. About 40%–75% of papers had problems in reporting random allocation method, allocation concealment, random allocation implementation, blinding and similarity among groups, intention to treat and balancing benefits and harms. Moreover, at least 10% of papers inappropriately/not reported the design, protocol violations, sample size justification, subgroup/adjusted analyses, presenting flow diagram, drop outs, recruitment time, baseline data, suitable effect size on outcome, ancillary analyses, limitations and generalizability. Considering the shortcomings found and due to the importance of the RCTs for fall injury prevention programmes, their reporting quality should be improved.     

Laypeople roles at road traffic crash scenes: a systematic review

This study aimed to identify the roles of laypeople at road traffic injuries (RTIs). A systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The key words of ‘laypeople’, ‘layman’, ‘layperson’, ‘bystander’, ‘first responder’, ‘lay first responder’, ‘road traffic’, ‘road traffic injury’, ‘crash injury’, ‘crash scene’, ‘emergency’, ‘trauma care’, and ‘prehospital trauma care’ were used in combination with the Boolean operators OR and AND. We did electronic search on Google Scholar, PubMed, ISI Web of Science, CINAHL, Science Direct, Scopus, ProQuest. Based on the reviewed studies, some factors such as cultural conditions, knowledge, relief agencies, and demographic factors affect the interventions of laypeople at the crash scene in functional areas. Regarding the permanent presence of people at the crash scene, the present study can provide an opportunity to reduce different side effects of RTIs imposed on the society.     

International Marketing Ethics from an Islamic Perspective: A Value-Maximization Approach

International marketing practices, embedded in a strong ethical doctrine, can play a vital role in raising the standards of business conduct worldwide, while in no way compromising the quality of services or products offered to customers, or surrendering the profit margins of businesses. Adherence to such ethical practices can help to elevate the standards of behavior and thus of living, of traders and consumers alike. Against this background, this paper endeavors to identify the salient features of the Islamic framework of International Marketing Ethics. In particular, it highlights the capabilities and strengths of this framework in creating and sustaining a strong ethical international marketing culture. At the heart of Islamic marketing is the principle of value-maximization based on equity and justice (constituting just dealing and fair play) for the wider welfare of the society. Selected key international marketing issues are examined from an Islamic perspective which, it is argued, if adhered to, can help to create a value-loaded global ethical marketing framework for MNCs in general, and establish harmony and meaningful cooperation between international marketers and Muslim target markets in particular.     

Exploring the Ethical Identity of Islamic Banks via Communication in Annual Reports

Islamic Banks (IBs) are considered as having ethical identity, since the foundation of their business philosophy is closely tied to religion. In this article, we explore whether any discrepancy exists between the communicated (based on information disclosed in the annual reports) and ideal (disclosure of information deemed vital based on the Islamic ethical business framework) ethical identities and we measure this by what we have termed the Ethical Identity Index (EII). Our longitudinal survey results over a 3-year period indicate the overall mean EII of only one IB out of seven surveyed to be above average. The remaining six IBs suffer from disparity between the communicated and ideal ethical identities. We further found the largest incongruence to be related to four dimensions: commitments to society; disclosure of corporate vision and mission; contribution to and management of zakah, charity and benevolent loans; and information regarding top management. The results have important implications for communication management if IBs are to enhance their image and reputation in society as well as to remain competitive. Roszaini Haniffa is a Senior Lecturer and Head of Accounting and Finance at the Bradford University School of Management. She holds a PhD from Exeter University and has published papers in Abacus, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Journal of Business Finance and Accounting and other journals. Her research interests focus on social responsibility reporting, corporate governance, international accounting and the Islamic perspective of accounting. Ros has reviewed papers and is a member on the editorial board of several journals. Mohammad Hudaib is a Lecturer in Accounting at the Bradford University School of Management and holds a PhD from Essex University. He has previously taught at Exeter University and prior to his teaching career, was an auditor in Saudi Arabia. He has published papers on auditing and corporate governance in Journal of Business Finance and Accounting. His current research interests include auditing, Islamic perspective of accounting, accounting theory and ethics.     

PROMETHEE Group Decision Support System and the House of Quality

Quality function deployment (QFD) is a multi-step method that monitors customer needs throughout a product development process. The House of Quality (HOQ) exercise undertaken in the first phase of QFD is considered as the most important, since customer needs must be accurately translated into a set of technical requirements for the final product. This paper provides a PROMETHEE group decision support system (GDSS) approach that integrates the design preferences of the QFD team. We highlight the selection and ranking of the technical requirements in the HOQ exercise, where a group of multidisciplinary decision makers (DMs) in a globally dispersed QFD team is required to input their individual preferences. Our approach advances the HOQ group decision making context in three important areas. First, it treats each criterion and DM as unique in terms of the preference function and threshold levels. Second, it seeks a multi-criteria approach for the HOQ process, where some DMs may play a more important role than others on a certain criterion. Third, sensitivity analysis through the Geometrical Analysis for Interactive Assistance (GAIA) plane provides valuable information about the conflicts, similarities, or independencies between the criterion and the DMs, respectively. A case on an automotive part illustrates the performance of the PROMOTHEE approach with GAIA.     

Policy preferences of experts seeking to raise and stabilise farm incomes in the Eastern Gangetic Plains

Poverty is endemic in the highly populated Eastern Gangetic Plains where agriculture is critical to more than half the population. However, the mechanisms to support agriculture for development are contested. For example, some have advocated a strong role for government support and assistance due to market weaknesses, while others have promoted the need for more market-oriented approaches. We use an elicitation process focussed on expert policymaking communities, employing stated preference techniques to explore these options. Differences in perceptions about the effectiveness of policies and their delivery are reported between countries, while also empirically examining the influence of the respondents' organisational background. The results show support for policies that improve farmers' access to inputs, especially when delivered by private sector actors. The research provides an important contribution to the literature on policies for agricultural development.     

An Investigation of the Association between Cultural Dimensions and Variations in Perceived Use of and Compliance with Internal Auditing Standards in 19 Countries

Using a large sample of chief audit executives and internal audit managers from 19 countries, we investigate potential associations between cultural dimensions and variations in perceived use/compliance with the internal auditing standards. We find uncertainty avoidance to be inversely related to both use and compliance. We also find assertiveness and human orientation to be positively related to compliance but not to use of Standards. Among control variables, we find positive associations for the length of Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) membership, professional certification in internal auditing, and hours of continuing professional education (CPE) training on both perceived use and compliance. Finally, we find “Cost of compliance” and “Compliance not expected in my country” to be inversely related to perceived use/compliance. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Bayesian Inference in Auditing: Evidence on the Most Appropriate Assessment Techniques

Interest in the use of the Bayesian statistical method in auditing has been increasing over the past few years. To use this method, however, appropriate prior probability assessment techniques (PPAT) need to be identified. This study uses three evaluation criteria, acceptability, accuracy and concordance, to compare four PPATs in auditing. The four PPATs compared are cumulative distribution function (CDF), probability density function (PDF), equivalent prior sample information (EPS), and hypothetical future samples (HFS). Seventy-three practising auditors were trained to use these four PPATs in their task of compliance error quantification in an audit case study. Results indicate that PDF is the most appropriate PPAT and EPS the least appropriate PPAT for use in practical audit situations. CDF and HFS were in the middle with no clear difference between them. Implications for audit practice and research are discussed.