Rating defence major project success : the role of personal attributes and stakeholder relationships

In this paper we develop and test a model of the associations between major project managers' personal attributes and project success in the context of the Australian Defence industry. In our model, emotional intelligence, cognitive flexibility and systemic thinking were hypothesised to relate to project success, mediated by internal and external stakeholder relationships. The model was tested in an online survey with 373 major project managers. Emotional intelligence and cognitive flexibility were found to be related to the development, quality and effectiveness of major project managers' relationships with both internal and external stakeholders; and these in turn were associated with their ratings of project success. Systemic thinking, however, had no relationship with either stakeholder relationships or project success. Additional research is needed to examine the contribution of a wider range of personal attributes to stakeholder relationships and project success, and to assess whether this model is applicable in other industries and types of projects.

Antecedents of consumer brand loyalty in the Australian wine industry

The wine industry has become fiercely competitive worldwide and as a result, consumers are increasingly exposed to a wider range of wines in retail outlets. This expanding consumer choice means that there is a need for Australian wineries to develop and build consumer loyalty toward their brands. This paper aims to empirically examine the factors influencing consumer loyalty to wine brands. Using data from Australian wine consumers, the authors empirically test a model of antecedents of wine brand loyalty. The model considers wine brand trust, wine brand satisfaction, wine knowledge, and wine experience. Hypotheses were tested with structural equation modeling. The findings of this study show that wine knowledge and wine experience affect wine brand loyalty indirectly through wine brand trust and wine brand satisfaction. In addition, it is demonstrated that consumer satisfaction with a wine brand is the strongest driver of wine brand loyalty. The result of this study has value for Australian wineries, wine retailers, and wine marketers.

Relationships between safety climate and safety performance of building repair, maintenance, minor alteration, and addition (RMAA) works

The importance of repair, maintenance, minor alteration, and addition (RMAA) works is increasing in many built societies. When the volume of RMAA works increases, the occurrence of RMAA accidents also increases. Safety of RMAA works deserves more attention; however, research in this important topic remains limited. Safety climate is considered a key factor that influences safety performance. The present study aims to determine the relationships between safety climate and safety performance of RMAA works, thereby offering recommendations on improving RMAA safety. Questionnaires were dispatched to private property management companies, maintenance sections of quasi-government developers and their subcontractors, RMAA sections of general contractors, small RMAA contractors, building services contractors and trade unions in Hong Kong. In total, data from 396 questionnaires were collected from RMAA workers. The sample was divided into two equal-sized sub-samples. On the first sub-sample SEM was used to test the model, which was validated on the second sub-sample. The model revealed a significant negative relationship between RMAA safety climate and incidence of self-reported near misses and injuries, and significant positive relationships between RMAA safety climate and safety participation and safety compliance respectively. Higher RMAA safety climate was positively associated with a lower incidence of self-reported near misses and injuries and higher levels of safety participation and safety compliance.

Organizational factors impacting on patient satisfaction : a cross sectional examination of service climate and linkages to nurses' effort and performance

Background Patient satisfaction is influenced by the setting in which patients are treated and the employees providing care. However, to date, limited research has explained how health care organizations or nurses influence patient satisfaction. Objectives The purpose of this study was to test the model that service climate would increase the effort and performance of nursing groups and, in turn, increase patient satisfaction. Method This study incorporated data from 156 nurses, 28 supervisors, and 171 patients. A cross-sectional design was utilized to examine the relationship between service climate, nurse effort, nurse performance and patient satisfaction. Structural equation modeling was conducted to test the proposed relationships. Results Service climate was associated with the effort that nurses directed towards technical care and extra-role behaviors. In turn, the effort that nurses exerted predicted their performance, as rated by their supervisors. Finally, task performance was a significant predictor of patient satisfaction. Conclusions This study suggests that both hospital management and nurses play a role in promoting patient satisfaction. By focusing on creating a climate for service, health care managers can improve nursing performance and patient satisfaction with care.

Applying metaethical and normative claims of moral relativism to (shareholder and stakeholder) models of corporate governance

There has, in recent decades, been considerable scholarship regarding the moral aspects of corporate governance,and differences in corporate governance practices around the world have been widely documented and investigated. In such a context, the claims associated with moral relativism are relevant. The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed consideration of how the metaethical and normative claims of moral relativism in particular can be applied to corporate governance. This objective is achieved, firstly, by reviewing what is meant by metaethical moral relativism and identifying two ways in which the metaethical claim can be assessed. The possibility of a single, morally superior model of corporate governance is subsequently considered through an analysis of prominent works justifying the shareholder and stakeholder approaches, together with a consideration of academic agreement in this area. The paper then draws on the work of Wong (Moral relativity, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA, 1984, A companion to ethics, Blackwell, Malden, 1993, Natural moralities: A defense of pluralistic relativism,Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2006), firstly in providing an argument supporting metaethical moral relativism and secondly regarding values of tolerance and/or accommodation that can contribute to the normative claim. The paper concludes by proposing an argument that it is morally wrong to impose a model of corporate governance where there are differences in moral judgements relevant to corporate governance, or to interfere with a model in similar circumstances, and closes with consideration of the argument’s implications.

Young people's uses of music for well-being

The period between 15 and 25 years is characterised by much personal change and is the peak age of onset of mental health problems. This prompts an interest in everyday strategies that young people might use to support their well-being. Music use is the preferred leisure activity among young people yet little is known about how music is linked to well-being in this population. This study aimed to develop and test a model of the relationships between young people’s use of music and their well-being, drawing on theories from the music psychology and clinical psychology fields. A qualitative analysis of transcripts from focus groups with 11 participants aged 15–25 years revealed four ways in which music listening links with well-being: relationship building, modifying emotions, modifying cognitions and emotional immersion. These linking variables were operationalised using questionnaire scores and tested on a new sample of 107 young people. Results of a multiple mediation analysis revealed that music listening was significantly related to all four linking variables, but not directly related to well-being as measured by the Mental Health Continuum. Nevertheless, the four linking variables indirectly mediated the effect of music listening on social wellbeing. The findings are consistent with earlier research on the role of music in emotion regulation and social connection although there are clearly other factors involved in determining young peoples’ well-being. These findings will help inform music-based interventions for young people.

An empirical analysis of the factors and measures of Enterprise Architecture Management success

Enterprise Architecture Management (EAM) is discussed in academia and industry as a vehicle to guide IT implementations, alignment, compliance assessment, or technology management. Still, a lack of knowledge prevails about how EAM can be successfully used, and how positive impact can be realized from EAM. To determine these factors, we identify EAM success factors and measures through literature reviews and exploratory interviews and propose a theoretical model that explains key factors and measures of EAM success. We test our model with data collected from a cross-sectional survey of 133 EAM practitioners. The results confirm the existence of an impact of four distinct EAM success factors, ‘EAM product quality’, ‘EAM infrastructure quality’, ‘EAM service delivery quality’, and ‘EAM organizational anchoring’, and two important EAM success measures, ‘intentions to use EAM’ and ‘Organizational and Project Benefits’ in a confirmatory analysis of the model. We found the construct ‘EAM organizational anchoring’ to be a core focal concept that mediated the effect of success factors such as ‘EAM infrastructure quality’ and ‘EAM service quality’ on the success measures. We also found that ‘EAM satisfaction’ was irrelevant to determining or measuring success. We discuss implications for theory and EAM practice.

Firms’ information system characteristics and management accounting adaptability

This study explores the relationship between the qualities of an information system and management accounting adaptability (MAA) and effectiveness in firms. Design/methodology/approach I develop and empirically test a model where the qualities of the information system and management accounting effectiveness are mediated by MAA. Findings Information system flexibility (ISF) and shared knowledge had a significant and positive correlation with MAA, which in turn had a positive and significant correlation with management accounting effectiveness. There was also a moderation effect of ISF on the correlation betweeen information system integration and MAA. Research implications Information system integration may not lead to management accounting stability, but the lack of flexibility of a system and a lack of cooperation between the stakeholders might lead to its stagnation. Practical implications Organizations are advised to implement solutions that are relatively flexible and modular, as well as encourage cooperation between stakeholders to fully leverage and improve the existing and future systems. Originality/value The study extends the discourse on the interaction between management accounting and information systems by exploring the role of a number of factors that drive MAA.

Posters versus lurkers: Improving participation in enterprise social networks through promotional messages

Enterprise social networks (ESNs) often fail if there are few or no contributors of content. Promotional messages are among the common interventions used to improve participation. While most users only read others’ content (i.e. lurk), contributors who create content (i.e. post) account for only 1% of the users. Research on interventions to improve participation across dissimilar groups is scarce especially in work settings. We develop a model that examines four key motivations of posting and lurking. We employ the elaboration likelihood model to understand how promotional messages influence lurkers’ and posters’ beliefs and participation. We test our model with data collected from 366 members in two corporate Google⁺ communities in a large Australian retail organization. We find that posters and lurkers are motivated and hindered by different factors. Promotional messages do not – always – yield the hoped-for results among lurkers; however, they do make posters more enthusiastic to participate.

Organisational belongingness mediates the relationship between sources of stress and post-trauma outcomes in fire-fighters

Previous research with emergency service workers has examined the relationship between operational and organisational stress and negative indicators of mental health, and generally found that organisational stress is more strongly related to pathology than operational stress. The current study aimed to create and test a model predicting both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and posttraumatic growth (PTG) simultaneously in a sample of fire-fighters (N = 250). The results found that the model demonstrated good fit for the data. In contrast to previous research operational stress was directly related to PTSD symptoms, while organisational stress was not. Organisational stress was indirectly related to PTG, through the mediating role of organisational belongingness. This research identified organisational belongingness as a good target for psychosocial interventions aimed at promoting positive adaptation following the experience of trauma in emergency services.

Sexual harassment and the corporation in Australia and Japan: The potential for corporate governance of human rights

The authors explore the legal and social undercurrents in Australia and Japan which are encouraging corporations to embrace broader social responsibilities. They consider a case study of sexual harassment and its regulation within Australian corporations, uncovering the legal and social conditions that have led to the adoption of sexual harassment policies. The authors propose a model for determining when corporate governance of sexual harassment is likely to be effective and test the model by reference to the experience of sexual harassment in Japan. They draw some conclusions about what the experience of corporate implementation of management of sexual harassment might mean for other areas of human rights.

SME international performance in Latin America: The role of entrepreneurial and technological capabilities

SMEs from emerging markets in Latin America are increasingly engaging in internationalization. Nevertheless, there is limited research into how these firms achieve international performance. This study proposes and tests a conceptual model that considers managerial and technology-related capabilities and their impact on international performance of SMEs. The model uses confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to develop the underlying multi-item constructs and structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the model with data from 233 Chilean SMEs. Specifically, the model considers the role of international entrepreneurial orientation and Internet capabilities on international market performance, taking into account the mediating effect of international entrepreneurial opportunity recognition and technology-related international networks. Results show that international entrepreneurial opportunity recognition and international networks mediate the relationship between international entrepreneurial orientation and Internet marketing capabilities on SME international performance.

Antecedents of SME export intensity in a Latin American market

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from emerging markets in Latin America are increasingly engaging in export-related activities. Nevertheless, limited research exists into the export behavior of such firms. This study proposes and tests a conceptual model that includes the main drivers and inhibitors of export intensity for SMEs from Chile. The model uses confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to develop the underlying multi-item constructs and structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the model. Results show that manager’s export commitment as well as managerial and organizational resources and capabilities are drivers of export intensity. In addition, the results show that managerial perceptions of internal barriers, such as a manager’s lack of international experience and knowledge, act as significant barriers to developing exports. However, unlike previous findings from developed countries no evidence exists of external cost barriers having a significant impact on export intensity, which is possibly an indication of a competitive business environment in Chile.

Posters versus lurkers. Improving participation in enterprise social networks through management interventions

This thesis investigated the phenomenon of underutilised Enterprise social networks (ESNs). Guided by established theories, we identified key reasons that drive ESN members to either post (i.e., create content) or lurk (i.e., read others' content) and examined the influence of three management interventions - aim to boost participation - on lurkers' and posters' beliefs and participation. We test our model with data collected from 366 members in Google⁺ communities in a large Australian retail organization. We find that posters and lurkers are motivated and hindered by different factors. Moreover, management interventions do not – always – yield the hoped-for results among lurkers.

Unraveling the “passion orchestra” in academia

This paper disentangles how organization members' “passion orchestra” is related to their entrepreneurial intentions in the particularly relevant context of academia. Drawing on passion literature and identity theory, we propose and test a model linking two central parts of researchers' “passion orchestra”, namely entrepreneurial and obsessive scientific passion, directly and indirectly, to spin-off and start-up intentions. While spin-off intentions refer to intentions to found a firm based upon research results, start-up intentions denote intentions to start any type of company. Using a sample of 2308 researchers from 24 European universities, our findings reveal that higher levels of entrepreneurial passion are associated with both stronger spin-off and start-up intentions. Further, obsessive scientific passion is positively associated with researchers' intentions to create a spin-off, and negatively with their propensity to establish a start-up. Entrepreneurial self-efficacy and affective organizational commitment mediate these effects. Finally, the two types of passion show characteristic interactions. Obsessive scientific passion moderates the entrepreneurial passion–intentions relationship such that it strengthens spin-off intentions. Our results highlight that recasting the individual driven by a singular passion to one with a “passion orchestra” provides a more holistic understanding of the new venture creation process. Implications for research and practice are discussed.