Published: Nov. 19, 2014

The article provides a direct test of the applicability of a western paradigm to Russia – a country with a different cultural and economic system. This article aims to give knowledge-intensive companies in Tatarstan (Russia) a better understanding about influence of their level of market orientation on business performance. This study validated Kohli and Jaworski’s market orientation scale in knowledge-intensive industries, particularly in small and medium knowledge-intensive companies in Russia. The findings show that the market orientation has a positive impact on nancial and non-financial business performance in knowledge-intensive industries. It is important for hi-tech companies to improve their performance …

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Published: March 11, 2015

The authors study the effect on performance of family endowment on the business from the perspective of socioemotional wealth (SEW), i.e. the stock of affect-related value which the family attaches to the business. The researchers analyze the impact of ownership and board characteristics on profitability, taking into account the possible moderating factors of the family generational stage, firm size, qualified presence of non-family shareholders and firm risk. The authors analyze 2,884 medium-large Italian private firms comparing 1,944 family and 940 non-family firms using correlation and pooling GLS regressions during 2001-2010. It is shown that in the first generational stage family …

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Published: Dec. 15, 2014

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between organizational culture and work engagement. Work engagement is shown to be powerfully linked to a range of business success outcomes. Although a large number of studies investigate the link between employees’ work engagement and organizational variables, there remains a dearth of scientific research on organizational culture and its impact on work engagement. A quantitative research design is undertaken in a South African ICT company. A total of 455 employees complete the South African Culture Instrument and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Correlation analysis shows that all the dimensions of …

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Published: Feb. 14, 2011

This paper presents the findings from a study, based on the annual reports’ analysis of German corporations listed in the DAX30, TecDAX, MDAX and SDAX, that investigates whether the implementation of audit committees and independent members with financial expertise leads to higher accounting quality (lower earnings management and accounting errors). The analysis of regressions conducted states a significant negative link between the independence and financial expertise of its members, earnings management and accounting errors. Significant results cannot be achieved if less than 50% of the audit committee members are independent financial experts

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Published: April 1, 2013

Open innovation has become a key strategic element to increase the generation and commercialization of innovations among big companies. Small and medium-sized firms (SMEs), that exhibit particular characteristics regarding organization, culture and strategy, have been more reluctant to adopt this approach. Thus little research exists on the adoption of open innovation among SMEs, and small and micro companies in particular. The paper presents the results of an explorative research design based upon semi-structured and narrative interviews that investigates particularities of small and micro firms regarding the sources of innovation, the strengths and weaknesses of their innovation process, and the potential …

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Published: Feb. 14, 2011

This study examines the predictive power of comprehensive income and its individual components within the homogenous institutional setting of German IFRS firms. First of all, the predictive power of income numbers is an attribute of high relevance for analysts as it reduces their forecast risks. Second, the standard setters are prominently referring to the importance of financial statements to assist their users in predicting the entity’s future cash flows and, in particular, their timing and certainty. Third, the examination of predictive power provides direct evidence on the relation between accounting information and future firm operating performance. The authors find no …

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Published: Oct. 8, 2011

This paper presents the most recent evolutionary lines in operational research, through a review of the basic principles that guide this field of research. In broad terms, some emphasis is given to the fact that Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (or Aid) (MCDA) takes into account that decision-making processes are complex and composed of several actors with different perceptions and value systems, stressing that this approach highlights the limits of objectivity, and considers the possibility that some problems may not have an optimal solution. In this vein, it is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss the modeling of particular …

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Published: Feb. 14, 2011

The corporate social responsibility (CSR) movement has attracted significant attention from academics and has quickly moved up the corporate agenda over the past number of years. However, the literature tends to focus disproportionately on large organizations. As SMEs (small and medium enterprises) play a crucial role in the European economy and their unique characteristics make it far from applicable for them to employ CSR theories and practices of large corporations, considerable research is needed to enhance SME CSR field. The purpose of this article is to contribute to this endeavor by conducting a thorough review of the literature on the …

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Published: April 18, 2012

These analyses explore the differences in locus of control and subjective well-being in China and Southern Africa, including how these variables relate to each other in each region and how demographic variables relate to both subjective well-being and locus of control. One hundred and eleven professionals were studied across Southern Africa and China and the hypothesis that the different regions would yield different locus of control and subjective well-being profiles was supported, with different demographic variables affecting each region differently. Furthermore, locus of control and subjective well-being were differently correlated to one another, with China showing significant negative correlation between …

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Published: March 22, 2011

This article describes a method for human capital scenario analysis, one that may be used as an organizational intelligence (OI) tool capable of supporting management decision-making. Here, scenario analysis supports a knowledge management based (KM-based) decisional method for integrating human resource (HR) and fiscal data in performance measurement. This OI scenario analysis tool may be used in strategic management, organizational development, performance measurement, and HR-related risk mitigation. The aim is to strengthen decisional capacity with regard to the management of human capital and in general with regard to the advancement of organizational performance and productivity goals. The approach taken is …

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