The Impact of Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance on Real Options Exercise: Potential for Suboptimal Time Delays and Value Destruction

Real options (RO) valuation has been promoted as a way to evaluate investment opportunities and make investment decisions that takes into account the value of managerial flexibility in the face of uncertainty. Although RO enjoys a substantial body of literature considering its application and suitability in different situations, the impact of national culture on the application of RO has received little attention. Values embedded in national culture affect the behavior of managers. In particular, these values play a role in how managers frame information, communicate, and make decisions, directly and indirectly affecting behavior through cultural layers such as organizational culture. National culture, therefore, can systematically affect the application of RO, potentially leading to suboptimal outcomes. In this article, we hypothesize how 2 particularly relevant dimensions of culture, power distance and uncertainty avoidance, affect RO exercise, and estimate the magnitude suboptimality of these effects using a model we develop for the case of a put option. Our estimates suggest RO may not always be a superior valuation approach to net present value for national cultures with certain characteristics.     

The cross‐cultural study of LMX and individual employee voice: The moderating role of conflict avoidance

This article examines the role of national culture, measured by conflict avoidance, on the relationship between leader–member exchange (LMX) and individual employee voice. Using data collected from automotive industry employees in the United States and Korea, the findings show that conflict avoidance is negatively related to employee voice and also moderates the relationship between LMX and employee voice in the Korean sample. In particular, the relationship between LMX and voice becomes less positive when conflict avoidance is high. On the other hand, conflict avoidance does not have a direct effect on employee voice as well as an interactive effect with LMX on employee voice in the U.S. sample. This study, therefore, highlights the importance of the national culture in the comparative study of employee voice.     

The uneasy alliance of organisational culture and equal opportunities for ethnic minority groups: A British example

Recent statistics suggest that there is a continuing disparity in labour market outcomes between ethnic minority (EM) groups and their White counterparts. However, although there is now an abundance of statistical and anecdotal evidence that speaks to the disadvantage of EM groups, there is less understanding of the intraorganisational dynamics that give rise to the outcomes that are reported. Drawing on postcolonial, cultural capital, and social capital theories, this article argues that the dominant approach through which organisational culture is conceptualised and the ways in which it is commonly managed may encourage labour market inequality and disadvantage for EM groups (defined as access to employment and having opportunities for promotion while in employment). The article explores three intraorganisational interventions that are common in culture management initiatives (leadership, selective recruitment, and internal promotion) to illustrate the arguments. The article concludes by discussing a series of implications and highlighting the pivotal role of the HR academy and practitioners in generating deeper insights and attention into the potential sources of EM disadvantage that are linked to culture and culture management.     

A study on motivation differences among traditional festival visitors based on demographic characteristics,case study: Gol-Ghaltan festival,Iran

Villages and cities have a growing tendency to share their culture and nature with tourists by developing events. This article aims to identify motivational factors influencing visitors' attendance in traditional festivals and then analyzing significant motivation differences among visitors based on their demographic differences. The statistical sample is domestic tourists who visited the 8th Gol-Ghaltan Festival, Iran in 2015. The convenience sampling method has been used and 287 acceptable questionnaires were acquired. Factor analysis has determined six important motivational factors, including “Gol-Ghaltan and Family,” “Cultural Exploration,” “Socialization,” “Supporting Local Community and Heritage,” “Event Novelty,” and “Escape.” Most of these factors are coinciding with previous literature on cultural events except first and fourth factors. Results of T-test and ANOVA show that visitors in various demographic groups have significant differences in the motivational factors. Finally, in accordance with the findings of the research, practical suggestions are presented for managers and marketers of this event.     

COMPARING PPP WITH TRADITIONAL PROCUREMENT: THE CASE OF SCHOOLS PROCUREMENT IN IRELAND

Advocates of public‐private partnerships (PPPs) argue that they can deliver public infrastructure more efficiently than traditional procurement through timelier completion and superior value for money. Despite these claims comparative analysis of the performance of both procurement methods has received scant attention in the PPP literature to date. This paper addresses this issue by providing an in‐depth, case‐based comparison of PPP versus traditional procurement in the schools sector in Ireland. Through detailed semi‐structured interviews with key stakeholders and an examination of the available documentation, we assess whether the key objectives of using PPP have been achieved. Overall, we find no evidence that PPP leads to faster delivery of infrastructure when the overall procurement process from contract notice to delivery is accounted for. In addition, we find only limited evidence to suggest that PPP results in better value for money.     

跨文化交际与外语教学

外语教学中重语言教学、轻文化教学这一现象有其产生的原因，同时也凸显了外语教学中跨文化交际技能培养的重要性。     

谈体育教学改革发展趋势

体育教学“以人为本”观念形成的社会环境是现代化发展的必然结果。我们教育改革思路提出“健康第一”的指导思想，同样验证了“以人为本”的现代体育观念的社会环境背景。学生对体育课的要求和看法将对体育教学改革提供“主体”依据，体育教学改革要“以人为本”。     

偏远地区高校图书馆构建和谐文化作用初探

偏远地区的高等学校图书馆是该地区重要的科技、文化信息源，构建和谐文化，应该充分发挥这些图书馆的信息辐射作用。高等学校和地方政府应共同努力，把图书馆建成当地的科技、文化信息中心，以促进我国和谐文化的早日建成。     

论当前我国可持续消费文化的建构

可持续消费是可持续发展研究的一个重要内容，也是实现可持续发展的重要机制之一。可持续消费文化本质上就是要强调人与社会、人与人、人与自然、人与文化协调一致发展。文章基于社会问题本质上是一种社会建构产物的观点，从消费社会学视角探讨了转型期我国建构可持续消费文化的基本条件及其社会文化机制问题。     

关于健全独立董事制度的若干思考

入世给我国中小企业的发展带来了机遇与挑战。培育核心竞争力是其抓住机遇 ,应对挑战 ,走向成功的关键所在。文章在分析了我国中小企业面临困境的基础上 ,提出了培育我国中小企业核心竞争力 ,促进我国中小企业发展的方法和措施。