Foreign Ownership and Firm Characteristics in the Taiwan Stock Market

Yi-Chein Chiang
Feng Chia University, Taiwan
Chih-Chen Kuo
Feng Chia University, Taiwan

In this paper, we investigate the characteristics of foreign ownership in the Taiwan Stock Market, using firm data from 2001 to 2003. We find that foreign investors tend to prefer firms with certain attributes, such as large size, issuing foreign securities, high ROE, low leverage ratio, and low employee stock bonuses. They also prefer MSCI-concept and China-concept stocks.

The Determinants of Repatriate Turnover Intentions: An Empirical Analysis

Hung-Wen Lee
National Chiayi University, Taiwan
Ching-Hsiang Liu
National Formosa University, Taiwan

This study examined how the factors of repatriation adjustment, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction affect Taiwanese repatriates’ intent to leave the organization and how these factors can predict their turnover intentions. The results of multiple regression analysis indicated that repatriation adjustment was the strongest predictor of intent to leave the organization for Taiwanese repatriates after repatriation. The repatriates who perceived a higher level of repatriation adjustment had a lower intent to leave. In addition to repatriation adjustment, regression analysis also found that organizational commitment significantly related to intent to leave upon repatriation. Organizational commitment was the second most important predictor in explaining the variance of intent to leave. However, the effect of job satisfaction was not significant as an effective predictor of intent to leave the organization. With the globalization of economies, the large amounts of capital invested in international personnel, the repatriation process requires further attention. This study was evidence about the difficulty of repatriation process and reports that repatriation adjustment and organizational commitment are two major factors influencing repatriates’ turnover intention. As a result, the model in predicting repatriates turnover intentions can be modified by eliminating the variable of job satisfaction. The remaining two predicting variables, repatriation adjustment and organizational commitment, can still explain a significant portion of repatriates’ turnover intentions.

The Relationship of Profitability and Growth with Stock Market Returns in the Electronics Industry

Tsung-Yuan Tsay
National Taipei University, Taiwan
Yeong-Jia Goo
National Taipei University, Taiwan

The relationships between profitability and growth indices and stock returns have not been thoroughly investigated. In this paper we examine the relationship of profitability and growth indices with returns on the Taiwanese stock market of 140 firms in the electronic industry. Data collection covered a six year period from 1998 to 2003. Time-series cross-section (TSCS) pooling regression analysis was used to examine the data. Results support the view that profitability and growth indices are strongly related to stock returns.

A Survey of Selection Practices for Male and Female Pilots among Taiwanese Airlines

Suen Huey Jun
National Taiwan Ocean University, Taiwan
Gin-Shuh Liang
National Taiwan Ocean University, Taiwan
Kung-Don Ye
National Taiwan Ocean University, Taiwan

Little research has been done into the performance of male and female pilots and how they are selected. This is an important omission because an increasing number of women are applying to be commercial pilots and effective selection methods can screen out unsuitable candidates in advance. This study thus analyzes whether differences exist between males and females in their performance, as perceived by managers, and the procedures and criteria used in the selection of male and female pilots. To examine these questions 36 semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers at 6 Taiwanese airlines. The results of the interviews revealed no perceived performance differences in operations by male and female pilots. They also showed that female and male pilots were chosen according to the same selection criteria and procedures. Finally, the interviews indicated similar selection criteria and procedures were followed by the major Taiwanese airlines when choosing commercial pilots whether they were males or females.

The Causal Relationship between Technology Attributes, Inward Licensing Beliefs and Process Performance among Manufacturing Firms: An Empirical Study

Wen-Chin Wei
Dayeh University, Taiwan

This study, based on a Technology Acceptance Model (TAM, ) investigate the causal relationship between technology attributes(technology implicitness, technology compatibility), inward licensing beliefs (technology usefulness, technology ease of use)and process performance. Two models, one for low-order, the other for high-order technology, are suggested. Empirical evidences show that the ‘ease to use’ aspect of technology has a significant impact on the effectiveness and performance of technology. The ‘implicitness’ of technology has a significant direct affect on performance and on ‘effectiveness’ as well as a significant indirect affect on performance through  ‘ease to use’ and ‘effectiveness’. In addition, the  ‘comparability’ of technology has a significant direct impact on performance and on  ‘effectiveness’.

The Application of Costs in Make-or-Buy Decisions: An Analysis

John A. Brierley
University of Sheffield, England
Christopher J. Cowton
University of Huddersfield, England
Colin Drury
University of Huddersfield, England

There has been little recent empirical research which has examined the application of costs in make-or-buy decisions. This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey with 256 British management accountants and interviews with 55 of them that gather evidence about the application of costs in make-or-buy decisions. The results of the questionnaire show that, in general, direct, manufacturing or total costs or some combination thereof are used in make-or-buy decisions. The interviews showed that in some cases that costs may be used inappropriately when the costs include allocated and assigned overheads and this might lead to sub-optimal decisions.

Developing a Model Disability Resource Information Center (DRIC) for an Institution of Higher Education in the United States

Jayanta K. Bandyopadhyay
Central Michigan University
James P. Scott
Central Michigan University

In order to ensure equal opportunity for all people with disability, the U.S. Congress extended the 1961 Civil Right Act to include people with disabilities by enacting Americans with Disability Act (ADA) in 1990, and continuously funded a number of organizations for providing various types of support services to people with disabilities. Under ADA all institutions of higher education in the U.S are also required to provide equal opportunity to their disable students, faculty, staffs by providing various types of disability related services. This paper attempts to develop a model for  an internet based disability resource information center for an institution of higher education  in the U.S as a part of information resource management for improving the facility and the performance  of their  employees, and students  with disabilities.

The Roles of Need for Cognition and Information Quantity on Consumer Judgments of Products with Conflicting Attributes: An Experimental Study

Chien-Huang Lin
National Central University, Taiwan
Pei-Hsun Wu
National Central University, Taiwan

The attitude of consumers towards products and services often requires them to make judgements about conflicting attributes--some positive and some negative--in the view of the consumer. Whereas there is some evidence that such conflicts tend to lead to neutral attitudes toward the particular products or services on the part of the consumer, there has been very little research on the effect of the amount of information provided about such conflicting attributes on consumer attitudes. Adopting a resource matching perspective, we test whether more consumers hold neutral attitudes when their own cognitive resources match or equal the resources provided to them, given by the amount of attribute Information, than when the resources they have do not match or are unequal to those provided. We found that when there are conflicting attributes, the extent to which consumers with different needs for cognition (NFC) hold neutral attitudes, depends on the amount of attribute information provided. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

The Evaluation of the Outsourcing of Information Systems: A Survey of Large Enterprises

Chin-Chia Hsu
National Taiwan University, Taiwan
Chih-Hung Wu
Takming College, Taiwan

This research used an employee performance measurement questionnaire (PMQ), to investigate types of Information System (IS) outsourcing, the constructs and practical indicators used to evaluate IS outsourcing performance. The differences between  perceptions of the performance of IS outsourcing with respect to various organisational characteristics was also considered. The result of the survey reveals that most large corporations develop and maintain their own IS; the next largest group delegates initial IS development to software companies and takes over IS development, suggesting that the IS outsourcing market still has growth potential. With regard to performance evaluation, the majority of the large Taiwanese corporations do not perform evaluations on a regular basis while some other corporations evaluate performance every six to 12 months. Evaluating the performance of IS outsourcing is not common practice among large corporations in Taiwan. Even companies that do evaluate performance tend to do so on an irregular basis, implying that large domestic corporations tend to evaluate IS outsourcing as required. Additionally, MANOVA testing showed the following six organisational characteristics to significantly influence perceptions of IS outsourcing performance: 1. education level of evaluator, 2.types of industry, 3. degree of IS outsourcing, 4.frequency of evaluation of performance of IS outsourcing, 5.style of communication between the outsourcer and the contractor, 6.competency of the evaluators involved in IS outsourcing decision making.

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A Model for Applying the Universal Development Paradigm to Cross-functional Business Problems

William Moore
Ivy Tech State College
Sharlett Gillard
University of Southern Indiana
Ernest Nolan
University of Southern Indiana

A Universal Development Paradigm that can be applied to any project in any endeavor is perhaps a “revolutionary” idea. Therefore, to further the understanding of this concept and promote its application to cross functional problem solving situations in business, we are proposing a “model” for its application.  We recognize that “reality” is dynamic, whereas our proposed model is hierarchical and static in nature. However, the model does take into consideration cross life-cycle activities, thus allowing it to be applied successfully in “real-life” business situations in different functional areas as well as at different levels within the business.

The Effect of Gender on Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment in Kuwait

Rashed Al-Ajmi
Kuwait University, Kuwait

This study explored the effect of gender on employees’ perception of job satisfaction and organizational commitment in Kuwait. The study was conducted on 436 employees (213 females and 223 males) in five Kuwaiti government ministries. Mean t-tests, correlation, and one-way analysis were employed to analyze the data. In this study no significant differences were found with regard to gender.

Impact of Information Technology on the Workforce of the Future: An Analysis

Farrokh Mamaghani
St. John Fisher College

To ascertain the impact of information technology on the workforce of the future, an analysis was conducted using an historical perspective on the use of information technology in the workplace and by the workforce. This analysis also considered recent trends in workforce management such as telecommuting, globalization, outsourcing, and off-shoring activities.  The results of this analysis revealed that technological advances in office equipment over the past thirty years have enabled organizations to improve operating efficiencies, improve communications, reduce costs, increase their global presence, and gain competitive advantage through the implementation of information technology systems. Additionally, the analysis underscored some of the issues organizations must face when implementing new information technology systems, such as the need for increased security procedures, workforce management and motivation, and managing budgetary costs in an ever-changing technology-driven marketplace.  Based upon this analysis, it appears that the workforce of the future will conduct business out of a non-traditional office setting at an increasing rate. Employees will continue to become more mobile, operating from remote locations via electronic means. In order to stay competitive in an ever-changing, technology-driven business environment, organizations must frequently consider how information technology aligns with their overall strategy.

The Financial Management of Foreign Direct Investment: A Case Study of Dutch Firms Investing in Europe

Wim Westerman
University of Groningen,The Netherlands

We examine the financial management of seven cases on industry-leading Dutch firms investing in Europe. Our results are as follows. While the internationalisation of the firm is largely fixed before a current investment, quite varying strategic analyses do shape the outline of the actual financial analysis. As financial modelling gets more detailed and diverse over time, the emphasis shifts from accounting to present value selection methods. Financial risks do not always matter that much, but financing aspects receive a place in the process. Organisation and behaviour do not play independent roles, but it matters to nurture culture and communication. The firms’ investment patterns found mainly vary as to growth strategies (acquisitions or greenfields), size of the firm, investment size and corporate governance style.

The Development of a Model for Estimating a Velocity Function for the Money Supply:A Tool for Policymakers

A.M.M. Jamal
Southeastern Louisiana University
Shakil Quayes
Georgia Southern University
Yu Hsing
Southeastern Louisiana University

This paper develops a model for the velocity of the M2 money stock that simultaneously estimates the functional form and the parameters of the velocity equation. The study is based on the data since 1991, a period characterized by an abrupt shift in the velocity level. The results show that a Box-Cox model may be more appropriate than a logarithmic model for specifying a velocity function. The accepted model and the estimated coefficients should have useful implications for the policymakers.

The Support and Planning Problems of Male and Female Businesspersons in Poland

Sean Valentine
University of Wyoming
Lynn Godkin
Lamar University
Terri Rittenburg
University of Wyoming
Edward Cyrson
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland

Utilizing a sample of Polish business operators/owners, this study investigated perceived support and planning problems. Data were collected with respondent interviews and a standardized survey, and variables were constructed with items that measured “assistance,” “advice and counsel,” and “business planning” challenges. A path analysis was used to investigate several proposed relationships, and results indicated that women believed that advice, counsel, and assistance problems were less severe than did the men. Support problems were associated with increased challenges related to developing and following a business plan.

The Effect of Trade Openness on Manufacturing Industry in Malaysia: Strategies to Enhance its Competitiveness

Mahendhiran Nair
Monash University Malaysia
Karunagaran Madhavan
Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia
Deviga Vengedasalam
Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia

In this paper, we empirically examine the impact of trade openness on the manufacturing sector of a small developing country – Malaysia. Using a robust econometric formulation called the Unrestricted Error Correction Model (UECM), we show that trade openness has a positive impact on Malaysian manufacturing sector. However, the Malaysian manufacturing sector is labour intensive and seemed to be losing its competitiveness. Supply side policies and demand side policies to enhance the competitiveness of the Malaysian manufacturing sector are discussed in this paper.

The Determinants of the Effectiveness of Foreign Direct Investment in China: An Empirical Study of Joint and Sole Ventures

Fuming Jiang
Australian National University, Australia

The study reported in this paper differentiated itself from other similar studies by focusing on the perspectives of foreign pharmaceutical firms on the determinants of effectiveness of foreign direct investment (FDI) venture’s (both joint ventures and sole ventures) operations from the perspective of the FDI venture located in China, rather than that of the parent firms. Three groups of variables were examined, including Chinese culture, relationship network (Guanxi), and organisational resource variables. It was found that way of doing business in China, relationship with Chinese partner and government authority, competent sales and marketing professionals were regarded as the most important variables. Employees’ loyalty to company and personal relationship between managerial staff were found to be more important to joint venture operations. Source of trained expatriate managers from foreign parent firm appeared to be more important to sole venture operations in the Chinese business environment. Both theoretical and practical implications are highlighted.

The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on Logistics Management

Cheng-Min Feng
National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
Chien-Yun Yuan
National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan

This paper explores the impacts of enterprises’ applying ICT on their logistics management, by conducting surveys on ICT manufacturers and transport logistics companies; 101 Taiwanese firms, 23% from manufacturing and 77% from transport logistics. Results show that applying ICTs has already had an impact and provided significant benefits to this specific industry sector. ICTs have been widely applied in the operations of customer services, transportation management, order processing, warehousing management, and ERP. Customer service management may be the most worthwhile area to apply ICT in the future. Statistical analyses were conducted between manufacturing and logistics industries, and among different sizes of companies. However, there were no significant differences between these industries and companies in most of the questions. Most of the managers agree with the value of ICT for their business, no matter what positions they are in the whole business process. Some ICT application were significantly related to the success of operations. This finding can be an important reference for both public and business sectors, and ICT suppliers.

Customer Loyalty and Disloyalty in Internet Retail Stores: Its Antecedents and its Effect on Customer Price Sensitivity

Duke Hyun Choi--
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Korea
Chul Min Kim
Dong-Eui University, Korea
Sang-Il Kim
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Korea
Soung Hie Kim
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Korea

Despite growing popularity of electronic commerce, many e-retailers are exiting from cyber markets as a result of failing to gain and maintain a loyal customer base and under pressure of intensified price competition and low profitability.  To cope with severe price competition and the resulting undermined profitability, this paper argues that raising customers’ willingness to pay more via two-dichotomy customer management strategies (managing customers’ loyal behavior and managing customers’ disloyal behavior) are essential.  From an empirical study, using a sample of 159 shoppers who have experiences of purchasing products from an Internet retail store, we identified that three quality factors from the perspectives of information technology, retailing, and customer service that exert significant influence on customers’ loyal/disloyal behaviors.  Additionally, customers’ loyal behavior and disloyal behavior mediate the relationship between those Internet retail store quality factors and price sensitivity.