Опубликована Окт. 21, 2014

This study examines the effect that age and business size have on business performance. A structured research instrument was used to collect data from 500 SMEs in retail industry through interviewer administrated and selfadministrated survey and 93% of questionnaires were returned. The results show that there is no statistical significant difference between the means of business size and business performance. There is no significant difference between the age categories; under one year and 20 years and more and business performance. Age is no longer a significant factor in a company’s performance after twenty years. Life cycle approach of the company …

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Опубликована Ноя. 25, 2022

Машинное творчество становится одной из самых важных технологий при создании объектов интеллектуальной собственности. Это происходит во многих отраслях творческой деятельности, как с указанием на использование технологий, так и с утаиванием данной информации. В итоге человеческое творчество может быть заменено творчеством ЭВМ. Можно предположить, что в дальнейшем все творческие специальности могут исчезнуть и стать такой же экзотикой, как ручная работа мастера. Они будут цениться в определенных социальных кругах, но в массовом обороте окажется труд машины, которая будет эффективнее и экономичнее, чем человек. Тем не менее в регулировании машинного творчества существуют нерешенные правовые вопросы, так как законодатели многих стран подходят с осторожностью …

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Опубликована Окт. 19, 2014

The present study highlights the importance of alignment between a business model (BM) and business processes. The authors employ a case study method and analyze a young company focused on R&D in high technology. In order to explicate the observations, the researchers invoke the newly developed ‘VIP framework’ (Solaimani and Bouwman, 2012). The research reveals that the business processes (BP) carried out in the company must fit the stated business model. The case study demonstrates how some of the processes are not optimal and efficient, and that the two main requirements for achieving a higher level coherence and consistency between …

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Опубликована Март 11, 2015

Business failure may be the result of either voluntaristic (internal) firm actions/decisions, deterministic environmental (external) events or both given causes (integrative approach). This study examines the prevalence of these causes of business failure. Results indicate that the largest proportion of firm failures is explained by the integrative approach, although two other perspectives hold a prominent role also. Moreover, internal causes of failure are more frequent than external. The findings based on multinomial logistic regression revealed that the causes of failure also vary with the size and age of firms. The implications of the results for research and practice are discussed

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Опубликована Сен. 18, 2014

Since its introduction more than 20 years ago the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) has garnered the interest of both academics and practitioners. In the ‘official’ practitioner-oriented literature the BSC’s main proponents Kaplan and Norton have touted the concept’s potential performance enhancing effects. Academics have been more skeptical, and have not found a clear-cut relationship between the use of the BSC and organizational performance. It appears that some uses of the BSC may increase performance, while other types of BSC use might decrease it. Still, research has shown that the concept is widely used in practice, more than 20 years after its …

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Опубликована Окт. 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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Опубликована Фев. 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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Опубликована Фев. 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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Опубликована Фев. 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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Опубликована Апрель 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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