This section contains information about articles under review and waiting for publication in next issues of the journal.

The mix of research methods in the leading tourism journals: 2000-2009

Alison Dunn, Dr., School of Management, University of Tasmania, Australia
Mark Wickham, Dr., Ph.D, MBA Coordinator, School of Management, University of Tasmania, Australia

Abstract. The issue of method is central to tourism research; over the past two decades, the call for greater quality tourism research has turned its focus on to the methods adopted by researchers - and the need to redress a perceived imbalance between the amount of quantitative research published and that based on qualitative, mixed method and theoretical approaches The purpose of this article is to determine the mix of research methods published in the three leading tourism journals. This study involved a content analysis of 1617 articles published between 2000 and 2009 in three most prominent tourism journals (i.e. Tourism Management, Annals of Tourism Research and Journal of Travel Research). It was found that 53.9 per cent of articles employed purely quantitative methods, 19 per cent of articles used purely qualitative methods, 11.2 per cent employed a mixed qualitative/quantitative method, and 15.9 per cent were conceptual in nature. An increase was observed in the amount of qualitative research published over this period; however there was a continued dominance of quantitative research. This paper offers guidance to both tourism researchers and leading tourism journals about their role in answering the call for more, and better quality articles based on qualitative and mixed method research.

The mechanism of organizational synergetic learning and empirical study in China

Xue-guo Xu, School of Management, Shanghai University, China
Steven Si, School of Management, Shanghai University, China

Abstract. The elements in an organization and its harmonious effects are critical for a successful organizational learning. Ta Therefore a study on the mechanism of organizational harmonious learning is an important research issue. By analysing the relative study of organizational learning and the elements of organizational harmonious learning are given as individual learning, team learning, organizational learning and learning between organizations, which is based on learning entity - human, then the organizational harmonious learning model and the evaluation index based on system dynamics is built, further the model to measure the degree of harmony about organizational learning are designed according to harmonious theory and feed-back mechanism. Finally, the harmonious mechanism is discussed through case study, the result illustrates that the effect of organizational harmonious learning can reflect the result of organizational learning well, the harmony of every element can effect the result of organizational learning directly, enterprise can find the main problem according to the data and the tacits are suggested in order to improve the organizational learning capacity and its knowledge competitiveness.

Investigation of cooperative versus competitive dilemmas in entrepreneurship culture of Lebanon

Philippe W. Zgheib, American University of Beirut, Lebanon

Abstract. Socio-cultural characteristics as defined by Hofstede lay out the basis for understanding entrepreneurial characteristics within a given society. Masculinity, collectivism, and uncertainty avoidance are related to competitive behavior, then cooperative versus competitive dilemmas are analyzed in the cultural setting of Lebanon's entrepreneurial activity.
The purpose of this study is to study the concepts of masculinity, individualism, and uncertainty avoidance with respect to cooperation, safeguards, and commonality trust, in order to prove that a relationship exists between culture, and entrepreneurial attitudes.
Lebanon is found to go against generally acceptable relationships between cooperation and entrepreneurial autonomy. Furthermore, risk avoidance in Lebanon presents a major discrepancy factor with entrepreneurial culture in general.

The contribution of stakeholder theory and resource-based view of the firm in explaining employee job satisfaction

Thadeus F. Mkamwa, Lecturer, Archbishop Mihayo University College of Tabora, A Constituent College of St. Augustine University of Tanzania, East Africa
Nicas Athanas Nibengo, Assistant Lecturer, Faculty of Business Administration, St. Augustine University of Tanzania, East Africa
Joan Itanisa, Assistant Lecturer, Faculty of Business Administration, St. Augustine University of Tanzania, East Africa

Abstract. This study sets out to examine the contribution of Resource-Based View of the Firm (RBV) and Stakeholder Theory in explaining an organisation's employee-performance outcomes. We suggest in this study that when employees have a feeling that they are ‘stakeholders' and that are ‘valuable resources' to the organisation, the organisation will realise value creation in its various performance outcomes. In particular, we examine the relationship between employee attitudes towards various employment conditions and their job satisfaction. Data for employee attitudinal outcomes were collected by soliciting employee surveys from five different centres of financial and higher education institutions in Tanzania. Overall, the findings suggest that there is a positive relationship between positive employee attitudes towards various employment conditions and job satisfaction. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

The DBA in German speaking European countries: new perspectives in the old continent

Bert Wolfs, Dr., Ph.D, Academic Dean, SBS Swiss Business School, Switzerland
Vladimir Ermakov, MSc., MBA, Research Assistant to the Dean, SBS Swiss Business School, Switzerland
Alessandra Oglino, M.A., SBS Swiss Business School Switzerland

Abstract. This article investigates the current of the DBA program in German speaking European countries, such as Germany and the German speaking part of Switzerland. It analyzes the current offers in terms of programs delivered, costs and new perspective of an emerging new trend in the graduate academic education. 

The Predictive power of comprehensive income and its individual components under IFRS

Paul Pronobis, Dr., Professor, Department of Economics, Free University of Berlin, Germany
Henning Zülch, Professor, Chair of Accounting and Auditing, HHL - Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Germany

Abstract. This study examines the predictive power of comprehensive income and its individual components within the homogenous institutional setting of German IFRS firms. First of all, the predictive power of income numbers is an attribute of high relevance for analysts as it reduces their forecast risks. Second, the standard setters are prominently referring to the importance of financial statements to assist their users in predicting the entity's future cash flows and, in particular, their timing and certainty. Third, the examination of predictive power provides direct evidence on the relation between accounting information and future firm operating performance. We find no evidence that comprehensive income has a superior predictive power for future firm operating performance than net income. Further, we fail to find significant incremental predictive power of aggregated or individual components of other comprehensive income for subsequent period's firm operating performance. The actuarial gains and losses on defined benefit pension obligations seem to merely add noise for the prediction of subsequent period's net income and comprehensive income. In contrast, our analyses indicate that other comprehensive income components seem to have incremental predictive power beyond one period. Finally, we find that the predictive power of net income and comprehensive income for future firm operating performance has deteriorated as a consequence of the IASB's recent initiatives and actions.

Determinant factors for High Performance in the temping industry

André de Waal, Associate Professor, Maastricht School of Management; Academic Director of the Center for Organizational Performance, the Netherlands
Alex Meingast, Operational Director at the Center for Organizational Performance; former management team member at Temping Agency Netherlands, the Netherlands

Abstract. The temporary staffing industry could be characterized as a measure of the economy: if turnover increases the economy is picking up; if turnover decreases the economy is slowing down. As the industry is highly influenced by economic cycles, it shows erratic financial results and a traditionally high employee turnover. Managers of temping agencies are therefore looking for ways to stabilize and increase their performances. One of the concepts they are increasingly interested in is the High Performance Organizations (HPO) Framework. This study aims to identify the determinant factors of high performance in the temping industry by applying the HPO Framework at a temporary staffing company. The research results show there are ten characteristics of a sustainable successful temporary staffing company. The practical implication of this study is that by showing the determinants of high performance in the temping industry it helps managers to add focus to their efforts to create more stable, high-performing organizations.

The disappearing ‘Deutschland AG’ - An analysis of blockholdings in German large caps

Kerstin Fehre, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Institute of Management, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany
Marc Steffen Rapp, Professor, Head of the Institute of Management Accounting, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany
Bernhard Schwetzler, Professor, Chairholder of the Chair of Financial Management, HHL - Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Germany
Marco O. Sperling, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Chair of Financial Management, HHL - Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Germany

Abstract. The German corporate governance system changed substantially over the last ten years. Meanwhile, ownership structures of German firms changed significantly. We examine the phenomenon of changing ownership structures by studying blockholdings of German large caps between 1997 and 2006. We examine the dynamics of blockholdings by analyzing the evolution of free float and block trades, where at least 5% of voting rights change hands. Two findings emerge: First, we find that free float increases from 65% in 1997 to 75% in 2006, mainly caused by German financials and German government entities. Simultaneously, we observe a surprisingly high number of block trades: on average 1.6 block trades per firm from 1997 to 2006. Second, we find that particularly individuals and German industrials are guarantors for a stable ownership structure. German financials or German government entities as blockowners increase the free float and the likelihood of block trades. Moreover, block trades are more likely to occur in firms having foreign investors as owners. Our findings are of interest with respect to the evolution of the so-called ‘Deutschland AG' but also with respect to the current anchor shareholder discussion.

Using activity based costing to manage private universities in South Africa

Moonsamy Naidoo, Lecturer, School of Accounting and Finance, Victoria University, Australia

Abstract. To measure the success of any organization requires evaluating various aspects of their operations, such as the quality of their product and services, operational efficiency and the way in which costs are managed, to name a few. South African private universities do not receive any government funding like their public counterparts and hence need to depend on student fees as their main source of funding. This limited source of funding makes it difficult to compete with the State funded universities, as the cost of their courses is far more expensive than those of public universities. It is not possible to manage the income side of their budget and therefore private universities need to manage the cost side of their budget. A survey was carried out in 2005, to examine the costing systems of forty-five registered private universities in South Africa. The study revealed that these institutions were still relying on traditional costing systems. In 2010, a paper by this author indicated that the cost to implement a new system far exceeds the benefits. However, since then many private universities have merged and established partnerships which enabled them to compete against the public universities. This paper suggests a new approach to managing costs at private universities using an activity based costing approach.