Predictors of Effective Web-Based International Business Management Courses in China: Students’ Perceptions on Course Interaction and Satisfaction

The aim of this study is to examine the determinants of effective web-based teaching and learning processes, using MEBIR (Management Education by Internet Readiness) Scale. Data were obtained from 407 students studying in a number of universities in China. The results demonstrate that the perceived quality of the web-based international management courses offered in the Chinese universities hinges on a number of factors such as course interaction, and course satisfaction. The study identified the Internet readiness of students at universities in China and paved avenues for asynchronous learning networks with the use of collaborative Internet technologies in interuniversity instructions. The implications surrounding the effect of the web-based management programs on students, staff, and universities are discussed.     

Cultural Fit and the Choice of International Market Entry Scale of Chinese Firms

Previous research on how cultural distance impacts the choice of entry mode shows contradictory findings. This study uses a strategic fit perspective to examine the impact of distinct cultural factors as predictors of equity entry scale of Chinese firms. Findings from a sample of 667 Chinese firms demonstrate that the effects of cultural fit on equity entry scale vary across cultural dimensions. Whereas a collectivism cultural fit motivates Chinese investors to secure a high-equity entry scale in foreign firms, a lower power distance cultural fit (“misfit”) leads to higher entry involvement.     

Relation between external audit fees, audit committee characteristics and internal audit

This study examines whether the existence of an audit committee, audit committee characteristics and the use of internal audit are associated with higher external audit fees. Higher audit fees imply increased audit testing and higher audit quality. We find that the existence of an audit committee, more frequent committee meetings and increased use of internal audit are related to higher audit fees. The expertise of audit committee members is associated with higher audit fees when meeting frequency and independence are low. These findings are consistent with an increased demand for higher quality auditing by audit committees, and by firms that make greater use of internal audit.     

Attitude,Machiavellianism and the rationalization of misreporting

Audit standards around the world describe three factors, known together as the fraud triangle, that purportedly predict the likelihood of fraudulent financial reporting ( and ). The first two factors, opportunity and incentive/pressure, are largely accepted as being associated with fraud (,  and ), whereas the third factor, attitude/rationalization, remains a relative mystery ( and ). I conducted an experiment in which participants were provided the opportunity and motivation to misreport, in order to explore attitude and rationalization in greater detail. As expected, I found that participants whose attitude favors misreporting and individuals who are higher in Machiavellianism are both more likely to misreport; and participants who misreport experience negative emotions (affect). Of concern, however, is that higher Machiavellians who misreport feel significantly less guilt than others who misreport. When I changed the experimental setting and asked participants to think about common rationalizations they may use, in an attempt to reduce rationalizing before they made their reporting decision, significantly fewer participants misreported; while those who still misreported rationalized to an even greater extent. Implications for future research and fraud detection and prevention are discussed.     

A longitudinal study of net interest margin by bank asset size: 1992–2005

With the consolidation in banking over the past 20 years, interest in the comparative performance of big and small banks intensified. This study expands this research and examines the profitability of intermediation (measured by net interest margin or NIM) through a longitudinal model that uses panel data. Banks are assigned to one of five asset classes for each year of the 1992–2005 period, and the classes serve as the panels. Results show that interest rate effects on NIM vary by asset class, but the presence of economic effects and fixed effects on NIM depends on the model's specifications.     

Managing business processes across supply networks: the role of coordination mechanisms

The theory of network coordination provides a theoretical basis to explain how companies can overcome organizational boundaries and constraints to jointly manage business processes across supply networks. In particular, this paper focuses on Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR), a collaboration process whereby supply chain trading partners activate inter-firm coordination mechanisms to jointly plan key supply chain activities, from production and delivery of raw materials to production and delivery of final products to end customers.By discussing three case studies of CPFR implementation in supply networks of different industries–i.e. pharmaceutical, automotive and mechanical–the paper provides a theoretical framework that contributes to explaining the relations between inter-firm coordination mechanisms and the characteristics of interdependence among the actors involved in CPFR implementation.