Accountants, Ethical Issues and the Corporate Governance Context

This paper aims to identify the types of ethical issues encountered by accountants, the influence of such experience on accountants' ethical perceptions and the effect of situational factors—the field of employment and the accountans position in the organisation—on accountants' perceptions of ethics. Differences were found in perceptions about ethical issues among accountants in different fields of employment. The study also confirms the inverse relationship between hierarchical position and ethical perception among top, middle and junior staff, with higher-ranked accountants perceiving most ethical issues as less important than their subordinates.     

A Positive Theory of Income Redistribution

This article examines how redistribution of human capital expenditure can come about voluntarily. A model is developed in which, in the absence of redistribution, human capital expenditure is financed through tax revenue collected locally. However, circumstances are shown under which transfers of human capital expenditure across neighborhoods can take place voluntarily, even in the absence of interfamily altruism. These transfers can eliminate absolute inequality and reduce relative inequality. In addition, the effect on aggregate income of such human capital funding transfers across neighborhoods is evaluated. Empirical evidence supporting the model's implications for the impact of redistribution of human capital expenditure on the persistence of income inequality is presented     

Business Cycles: Theory, Evidence and Policy Implications

This paper looks at recent advances in the study of aggregate fluctuations. The emphasis is on three prominent areas of research: the stochastic growth model, economies which exhibit macroeconomic complementarities and models that emphasize heterogeneity. Each section of the paper outlines the theory, examines relevant empirical evidence and then discusses some policy implications of the analysis.     

Sensitivity and Stability Analysis in DEA: Some Recent Developments

This papersurveys recently developed analytical methods for studying thesensitivity of DEA results to variations in the data. The focusis on the stability of classification of DMUs (Decision MakingUnits) into efficient and inefficient performers. Early workon this topic concentrated on developing solution methods andalgorithms for conducting such analyses after it was noted thatstandard approaches for conducting sensitivity analyses in linearprogramming could not be used in DEA. However, some of the recentwork we cover has bypassed the need for such algorithms. Evolvingfrom early work that was confined to studying data variationsin only one input or output for only one DMU at a time, the newermethods described in this paper make it possible to determineranges within which all data may be varied for any DMU beforea reclassification from efficient to inefficient status (or vice versa) occurs. Other coverage involves recent extensionswhich include methods for determining ranges of data variationthat can be allowed when all data are varied simultaneously for all DMUs. An initial section delimits the topics to be covered.A final section suggests topics for further research.     

Strategic experimentation: Understanding change and performance in new ventures

This research was motivated by an interest in understanding more about the extent to which entrepreneurs initiate changes along various dimensions of strategy, the nature of those changes and their implications for firm performance. Our interest in this topic began with the observation that, within the large body of strategic-change literature, the research effort has focused almost exclusively on large and established firms. Moreover, a fundamental assumption underlying much of this work is that strategic change involves movement from one dominant strategic approach to another. This premise does little to motivate or contribute to the understanding of change and strategy in new ventures, where it is less likely that a dominant approach exists. Thus, we drew upon the literature in managerial cognition to develop the idea of strategic experimentation as the conceptual foundation for studying change and strategy in new ventures. Our basic premise is that in new ventures, changes along dimensions of strategy are reflective of a process of trial and error learning, whereby the entrepreneur seeks to develop an understanding of the competitive situation and determine how to compete within that context. Further, we suggest that some aspects of the firm's strategy are more likely to be the focus of experimentation than others.Building on these premises we developed a series of research hypotheses which propose that the greater the level of perceived environmental hostility, the higher the level of strategic experimentation that will be undertaken. We also propose that experimentation will always be greater along some dimensions of strategy than others, and that the degree of environmental hostility will influence the extent to which there are performance benefits associated with strategic experimentation. Our hypotheses are tested using data from a three-year study of over 400 young businesses. Overall, we find support for our assertions.For entrepreneurs and their advisors, this study has several important implications. First, it suggests that strategic experimentation is a normal part of the process by which entrepreneurs seek to position their businesses. Although the present study does not empirically address the linkage between formal planning and experimentation, the learning and cognition literature upon which the construct of strategic experimentation is based suggests that, no matter how much attention to detail is involved in the preparation of the business plan, the actual formation and development of the business will involve considerable adjustment to and/or deviation from that plan. This is because the process of new business development involves iterative changes in the way the entrepreneur positions his/her firm as he/she develops an understanding about what does and does not work. The results of this study further suggest that some dimensions of the firm's strategy are more likely to change than others. Specifically, it appears that peripheral changes (competitive emphasis and time allocation) are more likely to be the focus of such learning and adaptation efforts than core features (product scope and partnership status). This, in part, is because the former dimensions are easier to change than the latter. Moreover, our results show that ventures in more hostile environments clearly face difficult dilemmas. Although poor performance may stimulate experimentation along various dimensions of strategy, the complexity of learning within a hostile environment suggests that entrepreneurs will have a particularly difficult time determining the type of changes that will make a difference.     

Seizing Opportunities: The Moderating Role of Managerial Characteristics on the Relationship between Opportunity‐Seeking and Innovation Efficacy in Small Businesses

We draw from regulatory focus theory to examine the relationship between a focus on opportunities through strategic orientation and entrepreneurial culture and managerial reports of innovation efficacy in small businesses. We propose that manager goals and behaviors moderate these relationships. Hypotheses were tested on a sample of 352 small employer firms. Findings support that strategic orientation positively associates with innovation efficacy and that this relationship is stronger under low managerial direction behaviors. Entrepreneurial culture positively associates with innovation efficacy when managers focus on profit and growth goals and under high managerial direction behaviors.     

STRATEGIC SUPPLY CHAIN MAPPING APPROACHES

There are a number of compelling reasons to build a strategic supply chain map. However, widely accepted conventions for this kind of mapping do not yet exist. The strategic map provides a tool for linking corporate strategy to supply chain strategy and for helping to manage and modify the supply chain structure. Before the discipline addresses the process of building strategic supply chain maps, there is a need for mapping conventions and a framework for categorizing strategic supply chain maps.