Grounded Theory und ihre bisherige Anwendung in der empirischen Controlling- und Rechnungswesenforschung

Zusammenfassung  Die Bildung von Forschungshypothesen ist zwar immer ein kreativer, sollte aber gleichzeitig kein unsystematischer Prozess sein. Im vorliegenden Artikel liegt der Fokus auf der Methodenunterstützung des Entdeckungszusammenhangs. Die Methode der Grounded Theory bietet einen Bezugsrahmen für qualitative empirische Studien, mit dem Theorien entwickelt werden, die aus dem Textmaterial zu begründen sind. Eine Literaturanalyse verdeutlicht, dass das Potenzial dieser Methode bisher in der Controlling- und Rechnungswesenforschung weitgehend ungenutzt bleibt. Anhand einer Diskussion empirischer Studien, welche auf die Methode zurückgreifen, werden Anwendungsm?glichkeiten der Grounded Theory für diese Disziplinen aufgezeigt.

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Summary  Creating research hypotheses is always a creative but not necessarily an unsystematic process. In our study we introduce a method supporting the logic of discovery. The grounded theory approach provides a framework for a systematic development of theories emerging from empirical data. A literature review stresses that the potential of the method so far is unused in accounting research. The grounded theory approach is introduced to support empirical work within this research field. Options for an application of the method in accounting research are shown by the means of a discussion of empirical studies. Furthermore the reader gets hints for reference studies.

     

Brand Attachment and Consumer Emotional Response to Unethical Firm Behavior

Attaching consumers to a brand is a cornerstone of relationship marketing as attachment increases loyalty. This research investigates another possible benefit of attachment, its potential and limits for shielding brands from firms’ ethical missteps. Merging motivated reasoning and attachment theories, two studies focus on how brand attachment influences consumer judgments of firm ethics and the emotional and behavioral consequences developing from those. A field study indicates that attachment attenuates judgments of unethical behavior, contributes to emotional ambivalence, and affects purchase intentions. A subsequent experiment corroborates these findings and shows that the buffering role of attachment is limited to conditions when the information about firm ethics is moderately rather than extremely negative. Implications focus on advancing research on ethics and emotional ambivalence in consumer brand relationships and on managerial implications.     

Die Bedeutung verhaltensorientierter Aspekte in der Controllingausbildung an deutschen Universit?ten

Die gestiegene Relevanz des verhaltensorientierten Wissens in der Controllingforschung und -praxis gab Anlass zu einer Studie über die Bedeutung verhaltensorientierter Aspekte in der Controllingausbildung an deutschen Universit?ten. Auf Basis einer schriftlichen Befragung von Controllingprofessoren wurde der Status Quo und die erwartete zukünftige Entwicklung der Controllinglehre erhoben. Im Vordergrund der Untersuchung stand die Frage, ob und inwieweit verhaltensrelevantes Wissen vermittelt wird. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der Umfang, in dem verhaltensrelevantes Controllingwissen in den Lehrveranstaltungen vermittelt wird, auch und gerade vom zugrunde gelegten Controllingverst?ndnis des Lehrstuhlinhabers abh?ngt. Die Befragten gehen zudem davon aus, dass verhaltensorientierte Aspekte in Zukunft vermehrt in der Lehre thematisiert werden.     

Emerging competency methods for the future

Competency‐based applications have gained a foothold in HR practice worldwide; however, changes in the business environment and the structure of work itself are challenging the value of traditional competency methods in achieving strategic organizational benefits. The key question facing HR executives and practitioners today is how to leverage existing competency practices to greatly increase the impact of competency development on business results. The authors identify five emerging trends in the evolution of competency methods, identify the implications for HR practice, and propose several new directions for the application of competency methods to improve organizational learning and business performance. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Do vendors benefit from promotions in a multi-vendor loyalty program?

The growing trend of networking in recent years has led to an increase in number of loyalty program partnerships, most notably multi-vendor loyalty programs (MVLP). In an MVLP (as in other types of LPs), cardholders frequently receive promotional mailings intended to increase sales at the participating vendors. This study examines individual vendor and joint (multiple vendors) promotions on the sales performance of five main vendors within an MVLP. Findings of the study indicate low responsiveness of cardholders to LP-induced promotions. The responsiveness may be improved if multiple communication channels are used jointly to present an individual-vendor promotion. Moreover, this is one of the first empirical studies to investigate potential networking benefits of coalitions in an MVLP. Empirical evidence of coalition benefits of promotions is lacking, because we find neither stronger effects for joint-relative to individual promotions nor significant spillover effects of promotions across vendors (i.e., cross-vendor effects). The current study offers potential explanations for these findings.     

The Accuracy of Design-based Judgments: A Constructivist Approach

Three studies examine how three factors generic to design, its typicality, clarity, and information content, relate to the accuracy of individual judgments about a brand's quality or personality. Study 1 focuses on interpersonal accuracy and shows that consensus in judgments made by managers and consumers are higher for designs high rather than low in typicality, clarity, and information content. Study 2 focuses on the interpersonal accuracy among consumers and finds again that consensus is higher for high typicality, high clarity, and high information designs. Study 3 focuses on intrapersonal accuracy and shows that – when consumers view designs first from a distance and then close – viewer judgments change less (i.e., are higher in consensual accuracy) for designs low on information content, whereas typicality has no effect. Across the studies, individual design acumen enhanced and category involvement attenuated design effects on accuracy. Further, higher accuracy was associated positively with purchase intention, and corresponded with greater ease and speed of judgment formation.     

The relationship between credit system of buying and background characteristics of teachers in Accra,Ghana

Abstract The main purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between credit buying of clothing and background characteristics of teachers in primary and junior secondary schools in Accra, Ghana. Frequency and percentage distributions were used to analyse data collected from 180 respondents. The hypotheses that there were no relationships between credit buying of clothing and age, educational background, household size, religion, ethnicity, marital status and gender were tested using the chi–square statistic at the 5% level of significance. The majority (75.6%) bought clothing on credit. A total of 66.2% were women and 33.8% were men. The respondents used credit because of poor salaries, for convenience and to meet emergencies. Traders (44.4%) or traders and customers together (29.5%) decided on the terms of payment. The open-account (39.4%) or instalment credit (36.2%) plans were used to honour payments. A total of 67.8% honoured their terms of payment. The traditional Kente cloth and fabrics for ‘Ntama and Kaba’ (slit and blouse), the traditional outfit for women, were mostly bought on credit from hawkers (58.3%). Accessories, undergarments and cosmetics were also credited by 33.8%, 16.9% and 7.3% respectively. Credit buying increased the number of clothing items of 73.3% of the respondents. There was a significant relationship between credit buying and gender but not between credit buying and age, religion, ethnicity, educational level, household size or marital status. The researchers suggest that a comprehensive study be carried out using representative samples from the 10 regions of Ghana to give an overall picture of the credit system of buying clothing among teachers in Ghana. A study of why Ghanaian consumers buy goods on credit could be carried out to determine whether the reasons for buying goods other than clothing are the same or are different.     

Farmers' Preferences for Alternative Crop and Health Insurance Subsidy

In addition to production risks, farmers desire to balance personal risks of health care. A theoretical framework is developed for holistic health and crop insurance products that provide the opportunity to switch a portion of existing crop insurance subsidy for greater health coverage. A random utility discrete choice experiment is used to assess farmers' stated preferences for holistic insurance products. Farmers prefer higher levels of coverage and are price sensitive. A sample of farmers did not prefer the subsidy switch. However, the subsidy switch is preferred by older farmers, those with higher health care spending, and farmers who have experienced major health problems.