Adm. Sci., Volume 8, Issue 3 (September 2018) – 33 articles

As customer-brand engagement progressively shifts to digital domains, understanding social media effects in branding has become a vital issue. Social media effectiveness is especially important for the US retail sector due to intense competition among retailers for consumer attention and engagement on digital channels. Yet, the research on the effectiveness of social media in the retail industry remains sparse. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how social media affects US retailers’ customer-based brand equity (CBBE) which is an important indicator of brand success. Using a dataset of 15,717 retailer-day observations, the authors empirically test the dynamics between owned and earned social media and CBBE using panel vector autoregression (PVAR). The authors find strong impacts of owned and earned social media on CBBE across the board. However, they find that owned social media harms CBBE of retailers dealing in hedonic and high involvement products. Whereas owned social media helps general retailers in building CBBE, it reduces CBBE of specialty retailers. Full article

The pharmaceutical industry is known for investing heavily in promotions targeted at healthcare professionals (HCPs). Governments around the world try to regulate unwanted promotional practices in different ways. Where binding laws are in place in the U.S.A., European governments favor self-regulation. The purpose of this research is the evaluation of the Middle East and Africa Code of Promotional Practices (MEACPP) as a preliminary draft and its implications. Our paper fills a research gap by looking into the perceptions of the parties involved, analyzing their interests, and predicting possible outcomes. We used a mixed-method approach. Interviews were conducted with pharmaceutical companies and associations; while a questionnaire was administered to HCPs. Our findings suggest that all parties are in favor of more transparency. However, when it comes to disclosing the received financial support, the HCPs are hesitant. An estimated 20% would be willing to fully disclose their received benefits, which is in line with their European colleagues. Multinational pharmaceutical companies follow their own in-house standards and fear being at a competitive disadvantage when local companies can promote their drugs without any strings attached. MEA pharmaceutical companies do not see the potential benefits of analyzing the publicly available data to identify key opinion leaders (KOLs). The limitation of our research is the fact that the MEACPP has not been implemented yet and survey results are therefore based on expectations rather than real events. Full article

The purpose of this study was to understand how employee brand equity is cultivated in services. Specifically, a conceptual model, adopted from brand equity literature, was developed and tested to analyze the internal brand building process. To achieve this, a quantitative research methodology, using structural equation modeling, was used to understand the role of brand building mechanisms, namely the internal communication, external communication, and employee experience with the brand, in building employee brand equity. As a part of the service industry, data were collected from hotel employees who have direct contact with customers. The findings evidenced the distinguished role of each mechanism to build employee brand equity. That is, while internal communication enhances brand knowledge and role clarity, external communication and employee experience with the brand positively affect the brand commitment of employees. Therefore, as being the first study adopting customer service brand equity to employee context, this research confirmed the effect of brand building mechanisms on employee brand equity. In addition, the study proposes practical implications for organizations to design a balanced branding approach both internally and externally through the means of communication. Full article

This study analyzes customers’ online social communication to rate lodgings and tourist destinations. A practical methodology is proposed to analyze the online reputation of lodgings as well as the main concepts rated by customers in their online social communication process. To this end, an empirical study was carried out by analyzing the online opinions expressed by customers on the Booking.com tourist lodging website. Based on the information available, three new variables were created and analyzed that represent clearly defined concepts in the minds of consumers. This includes “service quality,” “perceived value,” and “added value.” This study shows that perceived value and service quality are concepts evaluated by customers that are able to differentiate between lodgings in tourist destinations. Therefore, the results show that the online social communication that takes place through this portal has the capacity to guide potential customers by differentiating between the services offered by lodging companies. Full article

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has the characteristic of being a truly global idea, and its global features could give rise to the assumption that national dynamics are secondary or even irrelevant. However, while CSR policies may be of a global nature, recent research suggests that lasting national institutions and distinctive ideological traditions determine corporate decisions. In this study, we analysed the 2004–2014 decade from a panel data sample of 6600 observations from 600 large, internationally listed companies, and based on multivariate statistical methods, we contrasted the relevance of national identity in the sustainable behaviour of companies with the discovery of important national discrepancies, which corroborates that the country of origin of companies offers a series of facilities and barriers for the development of CSR practices. Companies, depending on different pressures and expectations, care about what is important in their own country. Thus, the corporations coming from Nordic countries—recognised as welfare states—are presented as the leaders in sustainable behaviour, highlighting in the social aspect the proper treatment of their employees and interest groups. They are followed a step below by companies whose country of origin is located in Southern Europe, which prioritise environmental reports. Organisations whose headquarters are centralized in North American countries are in a very delayed position, especially in environmental performance, giving greater preference to ethical issues. Full article

Brand value is an intangible asset of all firms and plays an important role in a firm’s performance. Many independent firms publish the brand values of the different leading firms worldwide. Here a very simple and basic question is raised; should stockholders and investors consider and analyze brand value when they invest or not. The main objective of this study is to consider this basic question. To answer this question we considered the Global top firms in the period from September 2009 to October 2014. Results are positively significant concerning signaling theory and, it is concluded, in the context of signaling theory, that famous value brands have very important marketplace signals that can help to improve information asymmetry. Investors and stockholders can use this information regarding their investment. Full article

The booking purchase process in B2C tourism online from the perspective of the quality-satisfaction-loyalty value chain has scarcely been investigated. The measurement models of the variables are not unified and essential variables, as transaction costs, need more research in order to achieve a comprehensive model of the digital tourist purchase process. This research is aimed at solving this gap through the proposal of a theoretical structural model, which is tested for the Spanish context. The results show that the measurement of website-perceived quality must include utilitarian and hedonic aspects, which can provide a competitive advantage to acquire and retain customers. Perceived quality and transaction costs determine customer’s satisfaction and, ultimately, repurchase intentions or brand loyalty. Prices are found as mediator variables fostering the effect of quality on satisfaction, and non-monetary costs act as a cause of satisfaction. The online B2C tourism business must implement efficient internal and external processes to justify perceived costs. Full article

While most research on electronic commerce has focused on customer behaviour according to websites’ functional tasks, consumers are influenced by many other factors such as website content and design, especially in online food shopping. This is the first study that aims to examine which variables best explain satisfaction and behavioural e-loyalty (to return to the website and purchase) regarding online local food shopping. It empirically tested a model with a local food e-commerce website using a sample of 305 real e-buyers. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique was used to estimate the structural relationships. The findings revealed that all the tasks of a website could be strategically designed to enhance users’ loyalty, and stressed the importance of measuring how all website features jointly influence perceived flow and control. This study makes a significant contribution to the consumer literature that deals with local food websites, a subject which is currently under-researched, and the eventual impact on behavioural e-loyalty. Full article

Drawing from the tenets of social cognitive theory, the present study examined the effect of thriving at work on innovation behavior via organizational support of innovation. The data were collected at three points in time from 402 participants occupying a variety of positions in Chinese organizations. Structural equation modeling and multilevel regression analysis results demonstrated that employees’ thriving was positively related to organizational support of innovation, which in turn was positively related to innovative behavior. In addition, moderated mediation results demonstrated that employee external contacts strengthened the relationship between organizational support of innovation and innovative behavior, and enhanced the positive effects of thriving. Our results deepen and go beyond previous research on thriving at work. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. Full article

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have received a great deal of attention in academic literature but the role of human resources management in M&A success is still understudied. Of the three stages identified in a merger and acquisition process (planning, integration and implementation), most research focuses on the planning and integration stages. Thus, the aim of this paper is to analyse the main factors that determine the success of HR management in the implementation stage of an international M&A operation: consolidate leadership; human resource provision and evaluation; structure, strategy and culture evaluation; and control of the merger and acquisition process. With this objective, we developed a case study of a multinational company that operates in the mechanical engineering sector. The results illustrate the main factors, human resource practices, and human resources management and behaviour outcomes undertaken by a multinational company during the M&A implementation stage. The case study allows researchers to learn from professionals and business leaders and presents a roadmap that can be considered to manage HR in the M&A process. Full article

Owing to a “War for Talent” every organization is struggling for the best employer status. Thus, attracting, recruiting and retaining talented human capital is the primary focus of every organization. In this regard the aim of the present study is to answer the most frequent and recently asked question of what value(s) organization focus on the retention of their workforce? In so doing, Social Learning Theory and Reciprocity Theory were used as a theoretical background; to further proceed with the study, data was purposively collected from 204 respondents from educational institutes of Pakistan. Findings of the study revealed that development value has a substantial relationship with employee retention. Since, development of new knowledge and skills results in the improvement of one’s present job. Furthermore, limitations and implications of the study are discussed. Full article

While cross-sector partnerships are sometimes depicted as a pragmatic problem solving arrangements devoid of politics and power, they are often characterized by power dynamics. Asymmetries in power can have a range of undesirable consequences as low-power actors may be co-opted, ignored, over-ruled, or excluded by dominant parties. As of yet, there has been relatively little conceptual work on the power strategies that actors in cross-sector partnerships deploy to shape collective decisions to their own advantage. Insights from across the literatures on multiparty collaboration, cross-sector partnerships, interactive governance, collaborative governance, and network governance, are integrated into a theoretical framework for empirically analyzing power sources (resources, discursive legitimacy, authority) and power strategies (power over and power in cross-sector partnerships). Three inter-related claims are central to our argument: (1) the intersection between the issue field addressed in the partnership and an actor’s institutional field shape the power sources available to an actor; (2) an actor can mobilize these power sources directly in strategies to achieve power in cross-sector partnerships; and, (3) an actor can also mobilize these power sources indirectly, through setting the rules of the game, to achieve power over partnerships. The framework analytically connects power dynamics to their broader institutional setting and allows for spelling out how sources of power are used in direct and indirect power strategies that steer the course of cross-sector partnerships. The resulting conceptual framework provides the groundwork for pursuing new lines of empirical inquiry into power dynamics in cross-sector partnerships. Full article

In their treatise on meta-organization, Ahrne and Brunsson theorize a distinctive organizational form, the association of organizations. Meta-organizations have the properties of formal organizations—boundaries set by determinations of membership, goals, a centre of authority, and ways of monitoring and sanctioning member behaviors. The theory draws a strong distinction between meta-organizations and networks, suggesting that similarity among members is the primary characteristic of meta-organizations, whereas networks signify complementarity and difference. Meta-organizations serve and are governed by their members, though the meta-organization itself may develop its own agency and may regulate its members. It is on this basis that Ahrne and Brunsson develop an account of the dynamics of meta-organizations, placing less emphasis on external sources of change than on the internal relationships between members and the meta-organization itself. This paper appraises the theory of meta-organizations, using a case study of Partners in Paediatrics, a subscription association of health care organizations, as the empirical reference point. Data about this partnership’s membership and its activities are drawn from 12 ‘annual reports’ covering a 17-year period. Focusing, particularly, on the membership composition of the Partnership and its relationship to the changing environment, the case analysis traces the changing character and circumstances of the Partnership, identifying four distinct phases, and raising questions for meta-organization theory and its account of meta-organization dynamics. Full article

This paper contributes to the debate on the corporate governance of financial institutions, by studying the effect of different board characteristics on the level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures of banks. For that, we use a sample composed by 159 banks over the period 2004–2010. We found that independent directors and gender diversity favor the disclosure CSR information in baking sector. But, these results are moderated by the national cultural system; concretely, previous positive effects of independence and diversity of banks’ boards on CSR reporting are reduced in countries with a weaker cultural system, that is, individualist, masculine and vertically stratified societies, that are little indulgent and short-term oriented and show high levels of uncertainty avoidance. Full article

This study investigates risk management practices in public entities in the Ghana. We relied on the popular framework designed by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission—COSO, to advocate for possible ways to minimize the occurrence and effects of risk in public organizations. The internal control elements used include: control environment, commitment to ethics, segregation of duties, review and information and communication. These constitute the explanatory variables used in performing multivariate data analysis to determine the dimensionality of the data set and possible outcomes. The exploratory research followed a quantitative approach using the survey method and a structured equation model. We established that, due to globalization and increases in the scale of operations, it is practically impossible for management through the help of auditors and those in charge of governance to validate the entire operations of the public sector to ensure strict compliance to internal control principles, in order to minimize the detrimental impacts of risk. However, an alternative sustainability depends on the prominence of quality financial reporting, compliance, commitment to ethical values and consistency in pursuit of the strategic and operational objectives based on good corporate governance. On the other hand, the implications of risks should be embedded in the minds of public servants as part of the organizational culture that will complement existing tools and techniques of internal control. Full article

This paper presents an algorithm to solve the multilevel location–allocation problem when sabotage risk is considered (MLLAP-SB). Sabotage risk is the risk that a deliberate act of sabotage will happen in a living area or during the transportation of a vehicle. This can change the way decisions are made about the transportation problem when it is considered. The mathematical model of the MLLAP-SB is first presented and solved to optimality by using Lingo v. 11 optimization software, but it can solve only small numbers of test instances. Second, two heuristics are presented to solve large numbers of test instances that Lingo cannot solve to optimality within a reasonable time. The original differential evolution (DE) algorithm and the extended version of DE—the modified differential evolution (MDE) algorithm—are presented to solve the MLLAP-SB. From the computational result, when solving small numbers of test instances in which Lingo is able to find the optimality, DE and MDE are able to find a 100% optimal solution while requiring much lower computational time. Lingo uses an average 96,156.67 s to solve the problem, while DE and MDE use only 104 and 90 s, respectively. Solving large numbers of test instances where Lingo cannot solve the problem, MDE outperformed DE, as it found a 100% better solution than DE. MDE has an average 0.404% lower cost than DE when using a computational time of 90 min. The difference in cost between MDE and DE changes from 0.08% when using 10 min to 0.54% when using 100 min computational time. The computational result also explicitly shows that when sabotage risk is integrated into the method of solving the problem, it can reduce the average total cost from 32,772,361 baht to 30,652,360 baht, corresponding to a 9.61% reduction. Full article

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the perception of healthcare professionals in improving the quality of services in healthcare centers by deploying the platform of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Individual attributes, organizational impression, information, and the system quality of ERP have been used to evaluate the overall influence of integrated planning systems on health care service quality. A mixed methods approach is used to collect and examine data through triangulation. Data for the empirical study was collected from 279 medical professionals of five healthcare organizations operating in the city of Lahore, Pakistan, through a self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics squared multiple correlations and reliability coefficients were used as data analysis tools. Moreover, the goodness of fit test of the structural model was conducted through AMOS 20. All given dimensions of ERP are postulated to have a positive effect on healthcare service quality. The results reveal that the use of an enterprise planning system has a positive impact on individuals, organizational information quality, and system quality in healthcare services. The study further concludes that a well implemented ‘Enterprise Resource Planning System’ results in better system output and enables healthcare professionals to provide better healthcare service quality. Full article

Although a significant body of knowledge has been created around strategic management that drives change and innovation, there are voids in the literature regarding assembling a flexible and localized environmental scanning (ES) framework needed to assess threats, opportunities, the current environment, and the desired end-state of a global value chain (GVC) with direct linkages to strategic enactment. In this paper, the author describes this gap and develops a capability to create a task plan from a situational ES. The need for ES customization is further validated as a result of the change during a transformation or adaptation, hence the need for a localized feedback mechanism. Full article

This paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of the literature on open innovation and entrepreneurship. Several studies have applied bibliometric methods to innovation and entrepreneurship separately. However, no study has considered these fields in combination while using a bibliometric approach. The main aim of this paper is to understand the relationship between open innovation and entrepreneurship. We develop a descriptive analysis, focusing on temporal evolution, journals, authors, universities, countries, and keywords, and a co-word analysis. Our research identifies the main topics investigated in the open innovation and entrepreneurship literature and describes their relationships. Based on our results, the topics are grouped in three clusters. We present observations on how this literature is influenced by the resources and how this literature affects the management of innovation and knowledge. Future research could focus on questions such as the advantages of open innovation in the creation of new companies, whether open innovation processes facilitate access to funding sources by entrepreneurs or the analysis of business models based on open innovation for the creation of new companies. Full article

This paper examines the impact of board independence on corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure and analyses the moderating effect of the presence of family ownership. Using an international sample from 29 countries from 2006 to 2014, our panel Tobit estimation shows that board independence is negatively associated with CSR disclosure practices and they present opposition to CSR disclosure practices. However, family ownership moderates the relationship and enforces the positive orientation of independent directors towards CSR disclosure. This shows that the presence of family ownership reduces independent director concern of reputation risks associated with receiving misleading information and family firms decrease the asymmetries of information between the independent director and management. The study also finds that independent directors encourage CSR disclosure in family firms more in civil law countries where investor protection is low compared to common law countries where investor protection is high. Full article

Financial scandals have highlighted the need for greater corporate transparency. Thus, corporate governance has emerged as an instrument for corporations to fulfil their social responsibility by offering more reliable information to their stakeholders. In this sense, the corporate governance report has become one of the leading mechanisms of business reporting to attend the growing need for reliable information by users. External and independent assurance of corporate governance reports is a tool to reduce potential risk derived from malpractices. However, within the Spanish context, there is a few number of listed companies who assure their corporate governance reports, and some of them have been shaken by corporate malpractices and financial scandals. This work tries to offer a critical appraisal of current corporate governance of assurance statements in Spain, developing a research strategy based on the case-study. Thus, by analysing assurance on corporate governance reports in three Spanish listed companies, we identify strengths and weaknesses of an unusual assurance process. Obviously, because of the recent scandals occurred in the analysed companies, we raise a particular concern about the potential managerial capture of this activity. Without real changes in governance mechanisms, the corporate governance assurance could amount to little more than a public relations activity. Full article

The ability to internationalize has become a competitive necessity for many firms, and one important for survival and growth in the era of globalization. At the same time, digitalization is transforming the locus of entrepreneurial opportunities and entrepreneurial practices, thus offering new perspectives on internationalization. Internationalization requires marketing capability as well as market orientation. However, there is a gap in the literature exploring the interplay of digitalization, market orientation and marketing capability in the internationalization process. The objective of the present study is to improve our understanding of (1) the impact of market orientation, marketing capability and digitalization on firm performance among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and (2) the differences in this impact between internationalized SMEs and SMEs operating only in domestic markets. The data were gathered from 101 Finnish SMEs in the wood-product industry, and analyzed with AMOS using path analysis. The results show that marketing capability mediates the effect of market orientation on firm performance. For internationalized firms, market orientation and marketing capability are crucial to their success in foreign markets. However, digitalization has no effect on firm performance with internationalized firms. With other firms, the effect is direct and significant. Full article

While there appears to be consensus amongst policy makers that legislation to protect whistleblowers is needed, the emerging policy question addresses what institutional framework is most fit to implement whistleblowing legislation. However, the institutions to whom whistleblowers report—which are in the literature addressed as internal or external recipients of whistleblowing concerns—have been given limited scholarly attention. Research has instead focused on motives, behaviour, and experiences of whistleblowers on the one hand, and whistleblowing legislation on the other. Particularly the role of external agencies, like ombudsmen, anti-corruption agencies, and Inspector General offices, in dealing with whistleblowing concerns has been under-studied. With the aim of starting to fill this research gap, this paper reports the findings of a comparative study of governmental whistleblowing agencies (other than courts) and non-governmental whistleblowing protection organizations (NGOs), as important examples of external recipients of whistleblowing concerns, in 11 countries with whistleblowing legislation. The study aimed to find similarities and differences between these agencies, and to identify challenges and dilemmas that the installation of whistleblowing agencies bring about. Data collection was done by means of 21 interviews with academic experts and high-ranking officials within the selected countries, and in-depth analysis of available (policy) documents and reports. This paper finds that in the studied countries, there is a trend to install governmental whistleblowing agencies that combine various tasks to implement whistleblowing legislation (e.g., advice, psychosocial care, investigation of wrongdoing or retaliation, and prevention of wrongdoing). When such agencies are absent or considered weak, NGOs may step in to fill the need. Whereas most governmental whistleblowing agencies have investigative tasks, in Belgium and in the Netherlands, investigations of wrongdoing and retaliation are done within the same department for the reason that these issues cannot be easily separated. Other agencies have separated these tasks to avoid conflict of interest or because different expertise is claimed to be needed for both. Further research is needed to analyze the effects of each institutional approach, and how to avoid conflict of interest, particularly the risk of partial investigations of wrongdoing. Our study also shows that while not many countries provide government funds for specific psychosocial care for whistleblowers, most governmental whistleblowing agencies do give advice to whistleblowers and invest in the prevention of wrongdoing or training of those who implement whistleblowing legislation. While providing important insights into the role of whistleblowing agencies in 11 countries, this study also develops questions for further research. Full article

Spain is one of the European countries that is the most strongly committed to the presentation of non-financial information. In 2017, Spain adapted its legislation to Directive 2014/95/EU through Royal Decree-Law 18/2017, which required Public Interest Entities (PIEs) to provide information in accordance with the requirements of the European Union (EU) Directive, with respect to financial years from 1 January 2017. Our research is focused on Spanish IBEX-35¹ listed companies and seeks to identify current trends in non-financial reporting. To our knowledge, the present paper is the first study to examine the impact made in Spain by the legislative changes. Our aim is to analyse the publication of non-financial information by Spanish listed companies whose first reports in this regard were made from early 2018. Specifically, we consider the impact of this information disclosure, determining whether the companies in question restrict themselves to meeting regulatory requirements or whether they go further and voluntarily supply additional information. Our findings show that the level of regulatory compliance produced is associated with the business sector in which the company operates. We also show that the highest rates of disclosure of non-financial information correspond to companies that provide this information in the sustainability report. Full article

The assurance of sustainability reports faces significant challenges that arise from the characteristics of sustainability information and the regulatory context in which it is developed. This recently growing service has favoured the creation of a rapidly evolving market, a complex professional field in its early stages of development and study. The aim of this paper is to analyse whether the use of international standards or the profile of the provider performing the service affects assurance process and quality. To this end, we applied a novel methodology for this field: a survey through written questionnaires. The use of a primary information source allows us to gain insight into the topic, beyond other visible aspects often used in previous literature (e.g., assurance statement contents). We tested our hypotheses on a sample of Spanish accounting and consulting firms. Our results show that neither the use of international standards nor the provider’s professional background has any effect on assurance process and assurance quality. However, the way the professional perceives the developed service does have an impact on quality. Full article

The role of strategic management is to handle the day-to-day needs of the firms with respect to current events of fluctuating markets so that they can effectively reach to their pre-planned, long-term goals. This study aims to explain the steps taken to design a new conceptual framework in the strategic management department of the National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC), as well as the main components of the conceptual framework. It first goes through the logic behind the techniques applied to design this conceptual framework, and then each component is explained as to why it works as part of an integrated conceptual framework. This new framework is part of a change regime in the organisation along with the whole oil industry in Iran aimed at contributing to directing the organisations confronted with rapidly altering environments. The insights of this study shed light on the basics of designing an adjusted conceptual framework for managers and researchers, and all companies faced with constant internal and external challenges and other characteristics of modern organisations. Full article

Multiparty systems bring together various stakeholder parties and their representatives and offer a platform for sharing their diverse interests, knowledge and expertise in order to develop and realize joint goals. They display complex relational dynamics in which within-party interactions (interpersonal interactions within each stakeholder party) as well as between-party interactions (interactions between the stakeholder parties) intertwine to generate bottom-up and top-down influences. We investigate these influences in a behavioural simulation. Our results show that changes in task conflict at the stakeholder party level positively predict changes in perceived collaborativeness in the overall system, while changes in relationship conflict at the stakeholder party level positively predict changes in perceived conflictuality in the system. Moreover, we show that changes in perceived overall conflictuality leads to a proportional change in relationship conflict experienced within the stakeholder parties. Full article