Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
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The Faculty of Business, Economics and Law is committed to conducting research that matters. Research that matters is both research of high academic quality and impact, and research of relevance and value for business, the professions, government and society.
The Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, comprises The AUT Business School, The AUT Law School and The School of Economics as well as a research institute and five research centres.
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- Item8-K Filings, Twitter Activities and Stock Market Reactions(American Accounting Association (AAA), 2015-08-04) Rahman, A; Debreceny, RTwitter has become one of the major channels for information dissemination and communication, which includes companies’ market relevant information. This study investigates how Twitter activities are related to 8-K filings and the corresponding stock price and trading volume reactions. Using a sample of S&P 1500 companies, all 8-K filings are gathered for the calendar year of 2012 and calculate the following three unique Twitter metrics based on the data provided by Topsy, Inc.: abnormal tweeting activities, abnormal sentiment, and network centrality weighted by the influence level of tweeters. The findings show that on average, there are about 32% more tweeting activities around 8-K dates, compared to the benchmark period. In addition, all three Twitter metrics relate positively to both cumulative abnormal returns and cumulative abnormal trading volume in the 3-day window around 8-K filings. Abnormal sentiment and centrality weighted by the influence level of tweeters moderate positively and moderate negatively the association between abnormal tweeting activities and stock market reactions to 8-Ks. These metrics also moderate the relation between different types of 8-Ks and the corresponding stock market reactions. Based on our findings, we conclude that the level and nature of market attention a corporate announcement receives determines the level of price and volume movements of stocks in the capital markets. The study contributes to the literature by suggesting the important role played by social media, Twitter in particular, in the information dissemination process of Form 8-Ks.
- Item9/11 as False Flag: Why International Law Must Dare to Care(Edinburgh University Press, 2017-07-20) Benjamin, AAt the heart of contemporary international law lies a paradox: The attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001 have justified sixteen years of international war, yet the official international community, embodied principally in the United Nations, has failed to question or even scrutinize the U.S. Government’s account of those attacks. Despite the emergence of an impressive and serious body of literature that impugns the official account and even suggests that 9/11 may have been a classic (if unprecedentedly monstrous) false-flag attack, international statesmen, following the lead of scholars, have been reluctant to wade into what appears to be a very real controversy. African nations are no strangers to the concept of the false flag tactic, and to its use historically in the pursuit of illegitimate geo-political aims and interests. This Article draws on recent African history in this regard, as well as on deeper twentieth century European and American history, to lay a foundation for entertaining the possibility of 9/11-as-false-flag. This Article then argues that the United Nations should seek to fulfill its core and incontrovertible “jury” function of determining the existence of inter-state aggression in order to exercise a long-overdue oversight of the official 9/11 narrative.
- ItemA comparative study of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) implications on real property transactions in Australia and New Zealand(Australasian Tax Teachers Association, 2015-01-19) Yong, SE; Ma, MNo abstract.
- ItemA conceptual model of workplace stress: the issue of accumulation and recovery and the health professional(ER Publishing Ltd., 2010) Sisley, RC; Henning, MA; Hawken, SJ; Moir, FGiven that interventions for workplace stress have been shown to be effective, and behaviour change can be sustained over time (Veach, Rahe, Tolles and Newhall, 2003), a model that can serve to monitor the medium and long-term effects of both stressors and stress-management interventions should prove useful. After reviewing some familiar concepts in the stress arena, this paper presents such a model, building on existing work (Diehl and Hay, 2010; Ray, 2008; Selye, 1970, 1976; Zubin and Spring, 1977) and it is thought that this adapted model will be useful for management personnel, counsellors, educators, employees, and researchers.
- ItemA dual-mediation model of justice and service recovery(Cornell University, 2011) Xu, Y; Marshall, R; Tronvoll, BIn this service recovery research, distributive justice is set against a composite variable composed of procedural and interactive justice with co-creation, to compare the variables’ influence on satisfaction with the service recovery and subsequent repurchase intentions. The two variables (what the customer gets and how they get it) are hypothesized to mediate each other. A dual-mediation structural model is constructed and tested on survey data sought from multicultural respondents. The mediation idea is supported and the implications developed.
- ItemA literature review on the effects of living wage policies(Auckland Council, 2013-07-01) Maloney, TJNo abstract.
- ItemA longitudinal study of e-government maturity(Queensland University of Technology, 2011-06-16) Das, A; Singh, H; Joseph, DExtending the findings of prior cross-sectional studies, this paper presents a longitudinal analysis of the drivers of e-Government maturity. We constructed a panel dataset for the period from 2003 to 2007 using data published by various authoritative sources. We fitted a mixed-effects regression model to the data to study how the growth of e-Government around the globe is influenced by changing levels of affluence, ICT infrastructure, human capital, and governance. We found that countries’ e-Government matures as they become more affluent (in terms of GDP per capita) and as their ICT infrastructure improves. Human capital and the quality of governance have no significant effect on the development of e-Government maturity. The results suggest that countries investing in leading-edge ICT infrastructure can maintain or improve their global standing in e-Government without substantial changes to human capital or governance. We put forward plausible reasons to explain our findings, and their implications for future research and the practice of e-government.
- ItemA Paradox-Constitutive Perspective of Organizational Gossip(Wiley, 2023-06-20) Greenslade-Yeats, James; Cooper Thomas, Helena; Corner, Patricia D; Morrison, RachelWe review cross-disciplinary research on gossip and integrate it with two streams of theoretical scholarship: paradox theory and the communicative constitution of organization (CCO) perspective. In doing so, we develop what we label a paradox-constitutive perspective of organizational gossip. Our perspective holds that gossip does not merely reflect or reveal organizational paradoxes but contributes to constituting them. Drawing on an extensive narrative literature review (N = 184), we conceptualize organizational gossip as a socially constructed category of interpersonal communication that, paradoxically, is regarded as both an exceptionally reliable and exceptionally unreliable source of social information. In turn, we illustrate how this contradictory view of gossip engenders paradoxical tensions when gossip surfaces in organizational life, and we illuminate two specific tensions to which gossip contributes: resistance-authority tensions and inclusion-exclusion tensions. Our work has important implications for research on organizational gossip, paradox, and communication and suggests intriguing directions for future investigations.
- ItemA place to be me, a place to belong: defining fun at work in a New Zealand call-centre(Human Resources Institute of New Zealand Inc, 2012) Owler, KThis paper examines the multiple meanings and differing value that employees attach to ‘fun atwork’ in a large call-centre. It utilises a phenomenological methodology to identify four components offun at work: (1) ‘doing’ something exciting (2) a light-hearted expression of self (3) positive collegial relationships (4) best balanced with other rewards. The research findings have implications forindividuals, human resource practitioners and managers who seek to make the most of a phenomenon that fascinates so many and seems to offer important organisational benefits.
- ItemA place to be me, a place to belong: defining fun at work in a New Zealand call-centre(Human Resources Institute of New Zealand (HRINZ), 2012) Morrison, RLThis paper examines the multiple meanings and differing value that employees attach to ‘fun at work’ in a large call-centre. It utilises a phenomenological methodology to identify four components of fun at work: (1) ‘doing’ something exciting (2) a light-hearted expression of self (3) positive collegial relationships (4) best balanced with other rewards. The research findings have implications for individuals, human resource practitioners and managers who seek to make the most of a phenomenon that fascinates so many and seems to offer important organisational benefits.
- ItemA precautionary approach to compulsory licensing and tempering the data exclusivity obstacle for access to medicines(University of Liverpool, 2013-04) Lim, PH; Li, PThis article takes up further on a framework developed for a precautionary approach (PA) which developing countries should adopt for granting compulsory licences in a national health emergency. Working within the legal mechanism of the precautionary framework developed from the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) under the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Agreement on Trade-Related Intellectual Property (TRIPS), the PA redefines a framework for compulsory licensing based on an adequate margin of safety when there are reasonable grounds for concern about uncertain risks that significant harm to human life and health may occur. The rationale adopted is based on legitimate differential treatment, precaution and risk management for a prescriptive, moderate and least restrictive measure to trade to enable access to medicines. Compulsory licensing under the TRIPS Agreement was developed as a buffer for tempering patent protection and health to “allow for other use of the subject matter of a patent without the authorisation of the right holder” subject to certain conditions. The August 2003 Doha Declaration and subsequent TRIPS amendments for all member countries to be eligible to import provided a breakthrough for access by poorer countries to cheaper generic drugs. The chilling effect of the waiver is shrouded by obvious reticence on the part of developing countries to adopt the WTO language of “national emergency” and “extreme urgency” as a condition for compulsory licensing. The bold efforts by Thailand and Brazil in issuing compulsory licences in 2007 were adopted on grounds of “public non-commercial use” and “public interest”. An objective mechanism to trigger the grant of compulsory licensing would not leave developing member countries at the mercy of possible trade retaliation and sanctions that results only in price reduction bargains instead of a proper use of the inbuilt flexibilities under Article 31(f) of the TRIPS Agreement. In addition to the patent obstacle, data exclusivity under the ambiguous Article 39.3 of the TRIPS Agreement poses another obstacle for access to medicines and the production of generic drugs even under compulsory licensing. Such regulatory protection of undisclosed pharmaceutical test data and the application of confidentiality to test data submitted by pharmaceutical companies so as to be able to obtain marketing approval of the products creates a data monopoly. It prevents the marketing of generic drugs even though the patent licences may have been granted by the government as generic drug manufacturers are unable to access the data. The authors query the obligation set out under Article 39.3 and consider the question of an implicit data exclusivity exception. The authors further argue holistically from a human rights perspective that a wider application of the precautionary approach to temper data exclusivity as a justification for disclosure in a public health emergency would enhance its prescriptive value. This article contemplates a parallel approach to overcome the issue of data exclusivity in the international trade and intellectual property regimes once a precautionary approach is adopted for compulsory licensing.
- ItemA repertory grid approach in exploring the roles of HR departments in Vietnam(British Academy of Management (BAM), 2013-09-10) Nguyen, TND; Mylett, T; Teo, SThere are few empirical studies which examined the roles of the HR department in an Asian emerging economy context like Vietnam. The present study adopts the repertory grid approach to investigate the roles of HR departments through perceptions of key stakeholders in Vietnamese organisations. The findings found that the framework of HR roles developed in Western economies was significantly present in foreign investment enterprises, but not found in privately owned enterprises in Vietnam. There were some dissimilarities between the perceptions of HR and non-HR specialists about the strategic and value added role of HR divisions in their organisations.
- ItemA typology of service supply chain strategies - pathways between agility and efficiency(Australia New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM), 2012) Wood, LC; Reefke, H; Breidbach, CFVarious service supply chain strategies may provide firms with competitive advantage, providing appropriate pathways between different configurations are identified. Using a case study and a theory building process, we illustrate a configuration and movement in a typology of service supply chains. We explain how the framework aids analysis of current and future positions and the strategic implications for service supply chains. A key principle of the framework is the distinction between novelty, or frequency, of mismatches between information-as-input and service requirements, and the analysability of the challenge, or the level of difficulty in identifying and acquiring appropriate input information.
- ItemA user-centered framework for website evaluation(Association for Information Systems (AIS), 2013-05-22) Karmokar, S; Singh, H; Tan, F. B.The growth of the Internet has encouraged the creation of visually rich and perceptual interfaces on personal computers and mobile devices. Organisations develop websites for various purposes, and over time, the features and functions of websites have evolved significantly. Since website quality affects organisational performance, it is important to be able to assess the efficacy of websites. However, there are two key issues with the literature on website evaluation: a) a focus on specific aspects of website performance, not their overall impact, and b) limited attention on their ability to meet the broader needs of users, beyond usability and functionality, such as their social and emotional concerns. This paper uses design science to develop a theoretically grounded evaluation framework for this purpose. Drawing on Shneiderman (1998) and Brown (1999), the framework proposes that website evaluation should triangulate information from two sources (users and experts) and using different methods (task analysis with users, in-depth interview with users and expert reviews). The framework is applied in a website development project, and the results are discussed.
- ItemA woman’s place in hotel management: upstairs or downstairs?(Emerald, 2009) Mooney, S.; Ryan, I.Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to ask whether it is the notion of choice (a pro-life work/life balance decision) that influences woman's desire to strive for promotion within a hotel organisation or is the choice made for female managers by a system of organisational processes. Design/methodology/approach - This research within an international hotel group in Australia and New Zealand explored what barriers prevent women from reaching the top echelons in hotel management. A qualitative approach used semi-structured interviews to study the intersection of gender, age and time in life with career progression and their combined impact on the glass ceiling phenomenon. Findings - The interviews revealed that the perception of glass ceiling barriers faced by women differed depending on where they were in their career cycle. They were revealed as the "long hours" culture, the old boy's network, hiring practices and geographical mobility. These significantly influenced women's work-life balance, and personal-life choices. Research limitations/implications - Interviews were carried out in three locations across a variety of job positions; therefore, this study has a reasonable degree of validity. Findings could be applied to other large hotel enterprises in Australia and New Zealand. Practical implications - The findings from this study offer implications for management practice. Originality/value - The hospitality industry faces a worldwide shortage of skilled staff. This paper seeks to answer why the hotel sector is struggling to retain talented female employees who wish to take advantage of the managerial career paths offered.
- ItemAccelerated Technology Adoption by Consumers During the COVID-19 Pandemic(Iris Publishers, 2020) De Villiers, RCrisis-driven accelerated technology adoption (CATA) resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic requires marketers and retailers to revisit the marketing playbook and adjust strategies to accommodate rapid changes. From a case-based analysis of three industries, a model of six customercentric and three internal-facing corporate strategies can be derived. This new CATA model can assist manufacturers and retailers to consider strategies and tactics to artificially improve or accelerate the adoption of inventions and innovations by the majority of consumers, before competitors achieve a foothold or can enter the marketplace with their own alternatives, allowing first move advantage for a longer time or a higher share of market. The model provides an agenda for future research into CATA. Crisis-driven accelerated technology adoption (CATA) resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic requires marketers and retailers to revisit the marketing playbook and adjust strategies to accommodate rapid changes. A speedy story: Before COVID-19, my 84-year old mother swore never to have a mobile phone and added “if you want to talk to me, phone me… if you want to see me, come visit me”. As soon as lockdowns and travel bans were put in place, she bought a top-end mobile device and now estimates she spends “half her day” on Zoom, on WhatsApp or browsing the internet. How did this major mind-shift happen? CATA!
- ItemAccess to Information Laws: A Guarantee of Inclusion and Disability Rights(UNESCO, 2021-12-01) Ayoubi, L
- ItemAccounting and tax compliance behaviours of ethnic and indigenous entrepreneurs: a New Zealand perspective(Schulich School of Business, 2014-07-09) Yong, SThe influx of immigrants in most developed nations within the English speaking world has resulted in culturally and linguistically diverse populations in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Despite this, government policies within these developed nations have remained largely Anglo with little regard for the growing cultural diversity and the difficulty ethnic groups have in effectively assimilating into the broader host culture. This paper examines the existing tax policies and tax administration in New Zealand and their effect on ethnic and indigenous entrepreneurs’ accounting and tax behaviours. With sparse accounting and tax research on race and culture, there is much to be gained from an in-depth qualitative study on the tax practices and perceptions of ethnic and indigenous entrepreneurs in New Zealand. The study found that differences in tax practices and perceptions by ethnic and indigenous entrepreneurs are related to differences in their cultural values. The findings warrant further attention from accountants, academics, the business community, policy makers in terms of accounting and tax education, tax administration, tax assistance and tax regulation.
- ItemAccounting for Risk: The Advent of Capped Conveyancing Title Insurance(LexisNexis, 2015) Thomas, R; Griggs, L; Low, RTitle insurance companies originating from America, have, in the past 15 years become part of the Australian conveyancing landscape. However for most residential freehold owners, their activities would be a mystery. A purchaser does not routinely obtain title insurance, with the companies presently focussing on servicing the mortgagee sector. While the lack of penetration in the residential purchaser market may be attributed to the consumer’s lack of knowledge, evidence from Ontario and New Zealand illustrates that title insurance is likely to become an additional cost in the conveyancing process in Australia. In this article we highlight the reasons why, and demonstrate how title insurers have, by working with the legal profession been able to subtly move the risk of responsibility for compensation for loss, (at least in the first instance) from the state to the insurer, but with the added benefit for the state and the conveyancing agents that the cost of the insurance is ultimately borne by the consumer. In New Zealand this development is being accelerated by the introduction of capped conveyancing title insurance. Whether title insurance will become part of the conveyancing process is no longer the relevant question for Australia, (it undoubtedly will), but the unknown issue is just how title insurance companies will work with conveyancing agents to infiltrate the market, and what response this infiltration will have in terms of the state’s view as to their continued role in the provision of assurance. We suggest that developments from New Zealand in relation to capped conveyancing insurance are likely to be replicated in Australia in the near future, and that the state’s role in providing an assurance fund will continue, though the state may seek to expand the areas in which the right to compensation is restricted.
- ItemAchieving accuracy, generalization-to-contexts, and complexity in theories of business-to-business decision processes(Elsevier, 2013) Woodside, AG; Baxter, RThis article describes field research methods that provide advances in developing accurate theories of business-to-business (B2B) decision processes. The article supports and extends prior work by Woodside (2010) that bridging qualitative and quantitative research method is possible to achieve accuracy, complexity, and generality across cases in B2B decision processes. As an aid in doing so, the article argues for the study of a few (n = 5 to 50) cases via case study research (CSR). The article defines CSR, and describes several CSR theories and methods that are useful for describing, explaining, and forecasting processes occurring in business-to-business (B2B) contexts. The discussion includes summaries of six B2B case studies spanning more than 60 years of research. This article advocates embracing the view that isomorphic theory of realities of B2B processes is possible via advances in CSR methods. The discussion advocates rejecting the dominant logic of attempting to describe and explain B2B processes by arms-length fixed-point surveys that usually involve responses from one executive per firm with no data-matching of firms in specific B2B relationships—such surveys lack details and accuracy necessary for understanding, describing, and forecasting B2B processes.