Work-family interface in Iranian women : the roles of religiosity and gender-role ideology / Arezou Elliyoon

viii, 89 leaves ; 29 cmThis research assessed the effect of religious orientation on experiences of Iranian women in balancing their work and family roles. Based on the proposed relationships among main variables of this study which are religiosity, gender-role ideology, work-family conflict and work-family facilitation, it was also hypothesized that gender-role ideology would mediate the relationships between religiosity and work-family conflict/facilitation. The participants of this study were 221 Iranian female employees working in the Wood and Glue Industry. The results supported some of the developed hypotheses. For instance, they showed that women with stronger religious beliefs felt the extra time spent on work responsibilities would have been better devoted to family roles. Further, the women who indicated that the role of religion is highly significant in their lives experienced less conflict between the behaviors performed at home and those performed at work. The results did not support the hypothesized mediating role of gender-role ideology

Partnerships between nonprofit organizations and businesses : legitimacy for sale, but at what cost?

ix, 105 leaves ; 29 cmThis study explores partnerships between nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and businesses. In particular, it focuses on the motivations of the NPOs in such partnerships as they relate to the legitimacy concerns of organizations when viewed through the lens of neoinstitutional theory. The data were collected via semi-structured phone interviews with managers of nonprofit organizations from the United States. The transcripts were analyzed iteratively using a thematic analysis. Results indicate that NPOs may be trying to recapture eroded moral legitimacy with the public through partnerships with businesses. However their bargain to seek gains in their pragmatic legitimacy with their business partner by increasing the business’ social legitimacy appears to be potentially at the expense of losing cognitive legitimacy with their clients

Profitability of Islamic banks in Malaysia

This thesis analyzes the effect of internal and external factors on the profitability of all full-fledged Islamic banks in Malaysia. Additionally, this study examines the robustness of results by using the financial crisis of 2008-2009 as a control variable. The study uses regression analysis to examine the data from 16 Islamic banks in Malaysia for the period from 2008 to 2012. The results suggest that a high equity-to-asset ratio significantly increases the profitability of Islamic banks, while negatively affecting the return on equities. Simultaneously, an increase in total expenses leads to high returns on assets and return on equities. However, an increase in deposit-to-asset and loan-to-asset ratios does not significantly affect the profitability of Islamic banks. The taxes imposed on banks significantly decrease their profits. Additionally, the results indicate a positive and significant relationship between the concentration and the profitability of the banks. Moreover, an increase in the inflation rate negatively affects the profitability of Islamic banks. Finally, the results are robust with respect to the financial crisis of 2008-2009

Corporate blogs : what factors influence blog readers and comment providers to continue using blogs

vii, 113 leaves ; 29 cmAs blogs have become a new and significant way of distributing information, businesses and organizations have started looking for ways to exploit corporate blogs. With their recent evolution, little research has been conducted on the factors that influence blog readers and comment providers to continue engaging in corporate blogging activities. In this study, we analyze IT corporate blog users' motivations to continue using blogs based on an integrated technology acceptance model (TAM) and expectation confirmation model for the information technology domain (ECM-IT). Our findings suggest that confirmation, perceived usefulness, information quality and social norms are the main determinants of satisfaction, attitude and continued blog usage intention. Moreover, results indicate that some of the factors that influence users to continue using personal blogs do not apply to corporate blog visitors. Overall, our model explains 71% of the variance of continued blog usage intention

The role of the S&P/TSX Composite Index constituents in tracking the Canadian equity market

In this study, we examine whether flexibility in stocks addition to and deletion from the S&P/TSX Composite Index enhanced its ability to act as a performance benchmark and represent the Canadian equity market. In May 2002, the first major change happened to the TSE 300 Index and the TSE 300 Index was converted to S&P/TSX Composite Index. Consequently, along with the new inclusion criteria the number of Index’s constituents were not forced to be exactly 300. To compare the Index’s two functions before and after the change, this study utilizes data from the 1992-2011 sample period. Our results suggest that the Index’s returns better replicates the equity market’s returns after May 2002 because the committee were able to add higher performing stocks and delete the poor performing ones. Furthermore, the Index represents the equity market better after the change mainly due to the higher capitalization of the survived stocks

Near or far : psychological distance construal and its role in ethical

viii, 103 leaves ; 29 cmA focus group and experiment were conducted to test the effects of psychological distance on participant affect, intentions, and behaviours in the realm of ethical consumption. Construal Level Theory (Liberman and Trope, 1998) posits that psychologically-near concepts are viewed differently than their psychologically-far counterparts, and this framework was used to guide the development of predictions relating to four dimensions of distance: temporal, spatial, social, and hypothetical. The study revealed that participants exhibit significantly higher levels of affect and intention when presented stimuli involve psychologically near impacts rather than psychologically-far impacts. This finding did not carry over into actual behaviour, however. Subject disposition toward psychological distance was measured but was found to not impact affect, intentions, or behaviour. Perceived Consumer Effectiveness (Kinnear, Taylor, & Ahmed, 1974) was found to be an important predictor of behaviour

A multi-criteria decision support system for selecting cell phone services

ix, 64 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm.An increasing number of companies now provide cell phones for their employees. However, these organizations find selecting cell phone services to be complex with literally hundreds of rate plans, coverage areas and other factors to consider. A cell phone service vendor selection decision support system is designed and developed to determine the most cost-effective vendor and plans. Current business plans including pooling plans, designed for business users in the local market are incorporated into this system. A Search Decision Rule (SDR)-based algorithm, written in VB.NET, determines the most cost-effective vendor and plans. Critical non-cost factors which affect the selection process are determined from a survey conducted in the local community. Finally, an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)-based decision model is adopted to facilitate this decision-making process

Board effectiveness : the evidence from firm performance & risk

In this study I study the effect of board effectiveness, measured by Board Shareholder Confidence Index (BSCI) on firm performance and risk. I find that there is modest positive relationship between BSCI total scores and firm performance, which is similar to the earlier findings. More importantly, I show a strong relationship between board effectiveness ratings and firm risk. This relationship is tested using a panel regression, a two stage least square and simultaneous equation modelling. The findings are robust to all three econometric techniques. I further explore the relationship between individual sub-scores and find similar results in sub-score analyses. The relationship holds using multiple measures of risk and return, giving us a comprehensive picture of the hypothesized relationship

The effects of cultural differences on consumer perceptions of celebrity athlete endorsement : a comparative study between Canada and China

viii, 129 leaves ; 29 cmCelebrity endorsement has long been examined in advertising research due to its effectiveness in persuading consumers. Cultural difference is an important topic with regards to celebrity endorsement. This study was a two stage design which investigated: (1) the impact of sports dimension as it relates to cultural meanings in individualistic and collectivistic societies; (2) the impact of cultural differences on the perceptions toward an Asian endorser; and (3) the impact of athlete endorser’s characteristics on purchase intention in Canada and China. Data were collected from 398 subjects via an online survey and revealed three primary findings. First, the sports dimension did not significantly influence the respondents’ level of perceptions with regards to identification. Second, Chinese subjects had more favorable perceptions toward the Asian athlete endorser. Third, differences between the Chinese and Canadian samples were found with regards to the celebrity endorsers’ characteristics and consumer’s purchase intention

Institutional and learning effects in a newly opening economy : an analysis of foreign entry mode choices as Canadian universities and colleges go to China

xi, 112 leaves ; 29 cm.The study applies institutional theory and organizational learning theory to the study of foreign market entry in newly opening economies. It is proposed that as these markets open they experience three main stages: Stage (I) Prescriptive, Stage (II) Partly Open / High Uncertainty and, Stage (III) Fully Open / Low Uncertainty. In stage one, foreign organizations are expected to have little choice but to conform to indigenous regulations regarding entry mode which are often very limiting. At this stage, entry mode choice will depend heavily on the coercive isomorphism of the state. Later, in stage two, regulations ease and more entry modes are made available, but little is yet known about the country and the extreme uncertainty of the environment is expected to greatly influence the entry mode decision. At this stage, entry mode choice will depend heavily on mimetic isomorphism as new entrants imitate each other for mutual support but without any real insight into the nature of successful strategies. Finally, in stage three, as potential entrants develop a degree of comfort with the new market, foreign entry choice will depend on two potentially competing influences: success stories from previous entries by other organizations into the country (vicarious learning) and success stories from their own organization’s entry into other countries (experiential learning). By looking at the internationalization process of Canadian post-secondary institutions in mainland China, the paper reconceptualizes standard entry mode choices for the education services sector while presenting a comprehensive picture of the internationalization of higher education of Canadian schools using survey data. Research findings indicate the following: In Stage (I), the hypothesis that coercive adaptation would drive entry mode choice could not be tested with the limited data available from that period. In Stage (II), results were dispersed across the various means of access without a clear indication that external mimicry was the dominant influence. In Stage (III), while the study could only say conclusively that learning effects were stronger than coercive or mimetic influences, vicarious learning appeared to be the strongest influence on the entry mode decisions made by Canadian colleges, while universities favoured experiential learning