Narrow Results

This paper uses Theory of Constraints (TOC) improvement questions to measure how employees' demographics influence their adoption of various Information Technology Equipments (ITEs) in organisations. Survey questions in the form of a Likert scale are prepared to address these possible effects. The number of total participants was 216 and they were from two universities: Argosy University, Atlanta campus; and Brigham Young University, Provo campus. The research question for this study asked how the factors of age, gender, race, and education level positively or negatively influence employees' attitudes toward ITE adoption at their place of employment. A Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was computed to assess the relationships and the Kruskal–Wallis and the Mann–Whitney U tests were used to compare the independent groups. The results suggested that there was a correlation among age, race and education level and indicated that age negatively correlates with employees' level of comfort with ITE use. There was a statistically significant difference at the 0.01 level between White and Black participants.

In this paper we argue that employee stock options should be expensed on the grant date and then marked to market on subsequent reporting dates. One of the advantages of our approach is that the cumulative amount expensed for a stock option over the whole of its life does not depend on the option pricing model used. The option pricing model influences only the way in which expenses are allocated to time periods. Our paper proposes an option pricing model appropriate for employee stock options. The model explicitly considers the vesting period, the possibility that employees will leave the company during the life of the option, the inability of employees to trade their options, and dilution issues.

This paper analyzes the current state of non-executive employee stock option (ESO) issuance in Japan. First, I find that the main determinant of ESO issuance for individual firms is the extent of their corporate flexibility, although other hypotheses may be applicable depending on the industrial sector; second, the impact on the macro-economy is still quite small at the aggregate level. However, taking account of the fair cost of issuing ESOs could have a substantial effect on the profits of individual firms. Furthermore, I find that issuing ESOs tends to have a somewhat negative effect on stock prices.

This paper describes a growing but under-documented entrepreneurial phenomenon called entremployees. This is a hybrid form of entrepreneurship, whereby an individual simultaneously pursues a dual career in both formal employment and, based on that employment, entrepreneurship. Typically, in the mainstream literature, entrepreneurship and formal employment are understood as being mutually exclusive phenomena — one either gets a job or engages in entrepreneurship. However, Zimbabwe’s economic downturn in the last two decades has catalysed the growth of entremployeeism. The paper first outlines the characteristics of entremployeeism. Motivating factors including the external environment as push factors are discussed. The theories that beckon entremployeeism as a distinct form of entrepreneurship are presented. Finally, implications for theory and future research conclude the paper.

One of the most prominent features that has emerged in many economies over the past decades is the role of small and medium-sized enterprises. The companies, which are the main driver of the economies in the process of industrialisation and the origin of evolution and innovation and pioneer of the emergence of new technologies, are essential for developing economies such as Iran. Nevertheless, researches and studies show that many small and medium-sized enterprises, with significant investment in research and development, have problems in human resource innovation. At the moment, there are several intelligible forces that can facilitate the process of innovation and provide a solution for SMEs. Many dynamic forces are based on open innovation and crowdsourcing. In fact, crowdsourcing is a new internet-based business model that can be used to provide innovative solutions to problems or to produce a product, and its wide range of applications in various industries are increasingly extracted and used. Therefore, the main objective of this chapter is identifying, classifying, and prioritising the applications of crowdsourcing in SMEs human resources. In this regard, this chapter has been structured in four main sections. First, small and medium-sized enterprises are generally reviewed. Second, the concept of crowdsourcing, its framework and applications are explained. Third, the role of crowdsourcing in small and medium-sized enterprises’ human resource innovation and problem solving is categorised and summarised. Finally, in conclusion and further research, attempts are made to provide solutions to develop human resources innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises through crowdsourcing and providing agenda for further researches in this field.

There is an established policy discourse associated with the role of higher education (HE) in supporting the development of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) but far less attention tends to be given to the needs of small family businesses. Given their unique socio-cultural context and the sizeable contribution that family businesses make to society and the economy, this is perhaps surprising. The heterogeneity of family businesses and their preferences for entrepreneurial learning present significant challenges to education providers offering formal courses of study to SMEs. Very few UK university programmes address the knowledge and skills required to start and sustain family businesses and this may be seen to represent a significant market failure in the provision of higher-level learning services to this important sector of the economy. This paper adopts Miller and Seller’s (1990) framework that identifies three general educational orientations (transmission, transaction, and transformation) as a theoretical construct to explore the nature of university curriculum and the extent to which it connects with small family firm learning and development interests. This chapter introduces a framework to guide curriculum design influenced by the interests of small family businesses and considers some associated challenges and avenues for further investigation.

Purpose – The reason for writing the paper is to cast doubt on the claim that the informational asymmetries uncovered by Bernhardt and Scoones constitute a market failure.

Design/methodology/approach – The main method used is to quote these authors, and then critically comment upon their views. The theoretical scope of the paper is the premise that markets are efficient, effective and ethical.

Findings – It was found in the course of the work that Bernhardt and Scoones were in error in their contentions.

Research limitations/implications – Suggestions for future research; this paper is but the tip of the iceberg in terms of claims that markets perform badly, and are hence in need of governmental rectification. This entire literature cries out for more critical analysis.

Practical implications – The public policy and practical implications emanating from this paper is that laissez-faire capitalism is the best way to organize an economy.

Originality/value – What is new in the paper is that the work of Bernhardt and Scoones on informational asymmetries has not before been subject to critical analysis from the perspective of advocates of the free enterprise system. This is valuable, in that, when claims are subject to critique, they become more reliable. It is only through dialogue and debate of this sort that one can get that in closer to the truth.