text: DSpace Collection: http://hdl.handle.net/2381/394 2016-07-29T04:03:17Z Worlding Politics: Justice, Commons and Technoscience http://hdl.handle.net/2381/37833 Title: Worlding Politics: Justice, Commons and Technoscience Authors: Ghelfi, Andrea Abstract: The commons' movements are often interpreted in social theory as political subjectivities aiming to address justice via struggles for social power. Rather than conceiving the commons' movement inside the framework of the 'autonomy of the social' and instead of conceiving politics as a purely human affair, this thesis explores the emergence of a form of activism that is radically renewing our understanding of the commons. This is a form of activism grounded and enacted in the middle of hybrid compositions of the social, the technical and the material that characterise our technoscientific era. This thesis investigates the constituent practices of 'material activism' through analysing and discussing heterogeneous materials (e.g. practices, stories, artefacts, ethics and modes of thinking and relating) collected during a multi-sited ethnography. The research seeks to describe the emergence of a form of politics that attempts to make a difference in the ontological configuration of the world through exploring the ecological culture of permaculture, the practices of hardware hacking, the technopolitics of the 15M movement and the knowledge practices of the Science and Justice research centre. The politics of worlding which emerges is treated as the outcome of experimental processes of interaction, materialisation and mattering, which directly involves the active presence and participation of 'significant' human and non-human entities. The thesis asks how to think justice when politics comes to matter and offers an invitation for thinking about commoning and the worlding of justice as 'a power to act with' starting from the activity of crafting matter in situated ecologies. In the middle of the many technoscientific metamorphoses that characterise our contemporaneity, this politics of worlding is oriented to craft ecologies of living that are thick enough, rich enough and responsible enough for cultivating modest flourishing and justice. 2016-07-13T14:54:55Z Postcolonial Organising: An Oral History of the Eritrean Community in Milan http://hdl.handle.net/2381/37730 Title: Postcolonial Organising: An Oral History of the Eritrean Community in Milan Authors: Martignoni, Martina Abstract: This thesis explores the politics of self-organising of the Eritrean community in Milan and investigates the interconnections between postcoloniality, migration, difference and organising. Postcoloniality is seen as a crucial time-space for contemporary forms of organising. I employ a postcolonial approach not only to understand the historical environment in which my research is placed but also to imagine new forms of organising that involve migrants in Europe. I approach the problem of organising by engaging with literature on diversity management and multiculturalism. Moving from a critique of these practices I look for alternative forms of organising – specifically inside social movements – and ask what the effects of bringing postcolonial critique to bear organisational practices are and what does it mean to organise in a postcolonial way. Oral history, the methodology I use, shares with postcolonial studies the attempt of deconstructing a homogenous approach to history, giving value instead to subjectivity and to radical conflicts around heterogeneity. I examine the history of the Eritrean community in Milan from the vantage point of the lives of Eritrean migrants and second generations and I argue that two interrelated activities shaped their politics: practices of self-organisation in everyday life and the diasporic organization when dealing with politics concerning Eritrea. An analysis of this interrelation brings me to discuss what self-organising looks like in postcoloniality and what is the role of difference in it. While difference has often been connected to identities, I argue that the experience of the Eritreans in Milan suggests looking at difference as defined by practices. Difference comes to be a constituent divergence that rejects relativism and comparison. By thinking the relationship between postcoloniality and organization the thesis aims to contribute to the imagination of new forms of organising among differences. 2016-06-10T12:17:55Z Anarchist Cybernetics: Control and Communication in Radical Left Social Movements http://hdl.handle.net/2381/37597 Title: Anarchist Cybernetics: Control and Communication in Radical Left Social Movements Authors: Swann, Thomas Robert Abstract: This thesis develops the concept of anarchist cybernetics in an attempt to elaborate an understanding of the participatory and democratic forms of organisation that have characterised radical left-wing social movements in recent years. Bringing together Stafford Beer's organisational cybernetics and the organisational approaches of both classical and contemporary anarchism, an argument is made for the value of an anarchist cybernetic perspective that goes beyond the managerialism cybernetics has long been associated with. Drawing on theoretical reflection and an empirical strategy of participatory political philosophy, the thesis examines contemporary social movement organisational practices through two lenses: control and communication. Articulating control as self-organisation, in line with cybernetic thought, an argument is made for finding a balance between, on the one hand, strategic identity and cohesion and, on the other, tactical autonomy. While anarchist and radical left activism often privileges individual autonomy, it is suggested here that too much autonomy or tactical flexibility can be as damaging to a social movement organisation as over-centralisation. Turning to communication, the thesis looks at social media, the focus of another kind of hype in recent activism, and identifies both the potentials and the problems of using social media platforms in anarchist and radical left organisation. Importantly, the thesis takes social media as information management systems and speculates on several core aspects of alternative social media that might be more suited to the kind of activism anarchist cybernetics helps elucidate. By introducing and expanding on the idea of anarchist cybernetics, the thesis provides an account of what anarchist organisations have been, what they are and what they could be. 2016-05-18T13:24:40Z The impact of workplace learning on academic career path development in tertiary education http://hdl.handle.net/2381/37466 Title: The impact of workplace learning on academic career path development in tertiary education Authors: Lokhtina, Irina Abstract: This research addresses the situated learning experiences of academics in workplaces by gaining insights into how communities of practice influence career development of academics in Cypriot public universities. The study set out to explore academics' lived experiences of community relations by taking into consideration the impact of power inequalities, access to resources, and their legitimate peripheral participation through the lens of Situated Learning Theory (Lave and Wenger 1991; Wenger 1998). To understand how academics develop their careers in Cypriot public universities, it was important to comprehend how they adapt to their disciplinary communities, engage with their peers, and perceive the existing support for learning and its outcomes. The research was informed by an interpretive paradigm. A single case study approach was used to bring to the fore academics' narratives about their participatory practices. The data were generated through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with twenty academics chosen through a combination of convenience and snowball sampling strategies. The research has been conducted during five and a half months (December 2012-May 2013). Academics' experiences in CoPs were thematically analysed. The findings revealed that academics' career development cannot be properly understood without looking into social relations among scholars and the contextual factors within and across their CoPs. Even though this study challenged Lave and Wenger's (1991) and Wenger's (1998) theorisation, the research findings confirm the significance they placed on the mutual engagement of participants in practice, since task mastery on its own cannot be perceived as a prerequisite for academics' full membership in CoPs. That is why the recommendations highlight the importance of an ongoing involvement of newcomers, who may face diverse forms of participation at the boundaries of CoPs, within the academic life of departmental communities. This is how they construct their academic identities and further develop their membership of the disciplinary CoPs. 2016-04-29T13:08:27Z Selected aspects of price formation in commodity markets http://hdl.handle.net/2381/37174 Title: Selected aspects of price formation in commodity markets Authors: Omar, Ayman M. A. A. Abstract: The thesis is driven by the strategic importance of crude oil, and aims to contribute to the knowledge on crude oil pricing and markets by conducting three investigative undertakings. The first examines the ability of crude petroleum to act as a safe haven asset for investors in equity markets around the start of international violent conflicts and wars. The second investigates the price differentials between US domestic benchmark crudes and the global marker Brent around the start of upstream production disruptions. The third empirical examination explores the presence of abnormal behaviour in the vicinity of the start dates of US sanctions on net exporting and importing nations, and builds on these findings to estimate gains accrued to, and losses inflicted on, the US economy. The thesis reports a number of findings. First, it shows that crude oil prices register a significant abnormal rise around the start of violent conflicts and wars. The significant portion of this abnormal increase accumulates well before the outbreak of crises. The thesis also reports a significant abnormal decline in the valuations of US and international equities around the start of these events. Secondly, the thesis builds on these findings, and demonstrates that crude oil possesses the ability to act as a safe haven from stock markets around the start of these events. Third, the thesis reports significant tightening in the price spreads around the start of unscheduled production outages. These findings are shown to be robust even after accounting for extreme weather conditions, changes in petroleum stocks, and costs of logistics. Fourth, the thesis reports significant abnormal changes in the valuations of crude oil around the start of US sanctions. The direction and magnitude of these changes depend on whether the targeted nation is a net exporter or importer. Fifth, the thesis builds on these findings, and reports gains and losses to the US economy due to the imposition of sanctions. These findings contribute to the academic literature, and highlight a number of implications for equity investors, insurance companies, oil traders, and policy makers in the US and other net importing and exporting nations. These implications concern the energy security of the US and other nations, the use of oil in hedging and diversification, the role of benchmarks in pricing, and the economic consequences of the US foreign policy. 2016-04-06T15:32:18Z The Rural Community through the Eyes of the Land Agent on the Marquis of Anglesey's Dorset and Somerset Estate: William Castleman and His Sons c1812-1854 http://hdl.handle.net/2381/36702 Title: The Rural Community through the Eyes of the Land Agent on the Marquis of Anglesey's Dorset and Somerset Estate: William Castleman and His Sons c1812-1854 Authors: Beardmore, Carol Abstract: This thesis explores the socio-economic and political history of the rural community on the Marquis of Anglesey's Dorset and Somerset estate through the correspondence, rental accounts and estate vouchers of the Castleman family. Existing historiography which relates to both the role of the land agent and the rural community remains sparse. The research for this study has taken a new and unique approach which challenges many of the existing theories. Through close textual analysis it has examined six broadly defined themes which relate to all aspects of the rural society. Firstly an in depth and detailed survey of how the rural community was organised, worked and changed over time was undertaken. Secondly it investigates the tripartite relationship between landowner, agent and tenant rather than the more traditional affiliation of landowner, tenant and labourer. Using this new configuration the archive explains how this association worked in practice with regard to estate improvement, repairs and functional schemes to relieve tenant distress. Thirdly this thesis surveyed the political landscape of Milborne Port and in particular it sought to define the role of the election agent in pre-reformed England. Fourthly it analyses the labouring poor, with particular attention to the issue of low wages, under- and un-employment and the role of the landed estate in the economy of makeshifts. The plight of the poor culminated in the Swing riots of 1830 and this archive provides new and important information in the on-going debate of this phenomenon. Fifthly the estate vouchers which contain the minutiae of estate life have never been examined and yet in the absence of recognisable accounts these contain essential quantitative information. Finally this thesis assesses the ways and means that large estates sought to exert social control, through the creation of a deference community, education and the accruing of rental arrears. Significantly this study illustrates the pivotal role played by the land agent in maintaining the equilibrium within the rural community. 2016-02-11T16:51:08Z Land Management: Welbeck and Holkham in the Long Nineteenth Century http://hdl.handle.net/2381/36701 Title: Land Management: Welbeck and Holkham in the Long Nineteenth Century Authors: Monks, Geoffrey Leonard Abstract: The intention of this thesis is to explore the professionalisation of the management of the country house estate during the long nineteenth century through a meticulous examination of the archives at Welbeck Abbey and Holkham Hall. It uniquely surveys the impact of these changing dynamics of management through four broadly defined themes. Firstly it examines the concept of the patriotic landowner and the ways in which this affected farming practice. Secondly it investigates the characteristics of the expanding agricultural press and questions whether this corpus of knowledge contributed to professionalisation. Thirdly it considers the factors which contributed to the changing face of land management including: mechanisation, scientific farming, and agricultural experimentation, the dissemination of knowledge through agricultural shows and societies and increasing legislation. Fourthly it studies how changes within the landscape impacted on estate management and the ways in which this changed the characteristics of estate management. This is the first detailed micro-study relating to the changing dynamics of professionalisation. Previous studies have lacked detail or depth. The diary of William Gould and the correspondence of William Cripwell both agents at Welbeck form the basis of this study and create a historical perspective which is missing from the limited amount of previous research into this subject. Despite the lack of formalised training, by the beginning of the twentieth century the land agent was classed as a professional and this thesis for the first time starts to provide the answers as to why and how this change occurred. 2016-02-11T16:46:13Z The fast food consumption experiences and identity construction of British Muslims: a phenomenological study http://hdl.handle.net/2381/36231 Title: The fast food consumption experiences and identity construction of British Muslims: a phenomenological study Authors: Ibrahim, Adham Abstract: Engaging with new literature on Islamic Marketing as well as general theoretical work in consumer research, this study, adopting an approach modelled on Consumer Culture Theory (CCT), explores the dynamics of fast food consumption and identity construction of British Muslim consumers. The focus revolves around the growth of halal fast food choices and, using that, understands how British Muslims negotiate their process of identity construction within the context of religious, social, and cultural forces. Phenomenological interviews were conducted to facilitate the capturing of the participants' own understandings of key terms, like halal and fast food, and to explore their experiences of their religion, their communities, and the larger social context within which they consume food. The analysis revealed participants mostly identified a multiple or double identity around their sense of themselves as Muslims and as British citizens. For the most part, the participants expressed that their identity as Muslims as a more central or stable identity. However, each of the participants described their interpretation of Islam as accommodating their participation in, and adoption of, many British customs, behaviours, values, and other cultural attributes. Some of the participants viewed their Muslim identity as being dominant or primary, while others saw being Muslim as just another identity that they maintain and as the same as any other socio-cultural factor. The analysis also highlighted a striking diversity in the understanding not only of halal, but also of larger questions relating to Islam as well as the orientation of the participants towards fast food in general. The active differentiation the participants offered between themselves and other Muslims shows that, instead of halal being a means of constructing an identity as a British Muslim, they used their particular interpretation of halal to construct their identities as individuals, distinguishing them both from non-Muslim Britons and from other Muslims in their community. The analysis also revealed a limited sense of the symbolic nature of fast food among the participants. The participants saw fast food as a way of satisfying their physiological urges, rather than as a way of forging social bonds, identifying themselves through their choices, or reinforcing their cultural identities. Fast food consumption was seen as solitary and individual. This does not, by itself, mean that the individual who consumes fast food is an independent agent, but it does undermine the social aspect of fast food consumption. 2016-01-08T16:02:42Z CEO pay: the role of performance, governance and political connection http://hdl.handle.net/2381/36206 Title: CEO pay: the role of performance, governance and political connection Authors: Alregab, Hend Abdullah Abstract: CEO pay has attracted substantial public attention since its introduction as one of the remedies to the agency conflict. This is driven by the extensive and sustained rise in executive pay in most of the developed countries. Two questions arise from increased executive pay. First, does rising executive pay reflect top management contribution to firm performance or it is just following patterns from past years? Second, what is the role that is played by corporate governance practices to control this rising pattern in CEO pay? This thesis has two main objectives, first to investigate whether CEO pay contributes to enhanced corporate performance by differentiating between the impacts of short- and longterm compensation on short- and long-term performance indicators respectively. Second, the study further investigates the role of corporate governance and political connections on the CEO pay. The thesis uses the System GMM method to analyse a sample of 777 nonfinancial UK firms during the period 2000-2012. This method allows counting for endogeneity and unobserved heterogeneity that are likely to emerge in the models. The findings show that CEO bonuses are positively associated with short-term performance measures, while they have a negative impact on the total shareholder return. Evidence also suggests that long-term compensation has a positive impact on long-term performance, supporting the main claim of the Agency Theory. The results also show that the required role of corporate governance practices is passive in UK companies, reflecting a source of managerial power for the executive officers. The thesis is the first to show that politically connected CEOs are paid higher compensation compared to their peers. However, evidence suggests that those highly powerful managers are well governed as a way to hedge against future uncertainty comes from being politically connected. 2016-01-07T14:07:52Z Yin and Yang and the representation of the financial crisis in Korea http://hdl.handle.net/2381/36023 Title: Yin and Yang and the representation of the financial crisis in Korea Authors: Kim, Amee Abstract: In the current globalised economic world, South Korea has maintained a more peripheral role. However, the country has produced some multinational corporations, and is considered a large player in the financial market. The miraculous growth of the Korean economy since the Korean War has been induced by the implementation of Western business philosophies. Strong conflicts with traditional values have however concluded in a multitude of (local) financial crises, most notably the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997. It has become clear to Korean companies that an optimal business environment can only be established by maintaining Korean identity in a globalised world. The current thesis investigates the maintenance of Korean self-identity, focusing in particular on the period of the current financial crisis. It provides a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the front covers of Korean economic magazines over this period in order to provide an indication of how traditional values have become intertwined with Western perspectives. As Yin-Yang is one of the most important traditional perspectives on life on the Korean peninsula, the thesis provides a semiotic analysis of each front cover's background colour, text colour and vowel structure based on Yin-Yang principles and interprets these results in the light of events throughout the global crisis. Further examples of incorporation of traditional values will be discussed based on the history of South Korea, with specific focus on the economic history since the end of the Japanese colonisation. Results will show that, although Western-based business ideas were instrumental in restarting the Korean economy, it could only flourish by maintaining Korean self-identity, which remains part of every-day life. The thesis provides further insight for Western-based managers and businesses hoping to develop up long-lasting relationships with Eastern (especially Korean) institutions by taking into account traditional values; it also provides alternatives from Eastern philosophy which could be included in the Western ideas of social management within a community or a company. More generally, the thesis provides an understanding that people still value their self-identity in a globalised world, which could be included in product design philosophies to adapt products towards local traditions and values. 2015-12-08T15:06:33Z Investigating the Impact of Sequential Cross - Cultural Training on the Level of Sociocultural and Psychological Adjustment of Expatriate Managers http://hdl.handle.net/2381/36020 Title: Investigating the Impact of Sequential Cross - Cultural Training on the Level of Sociocultural and Psychological Adjustment of Expatriate Managers Authors: Papademetriou, Christos Abstract: Recent research argues that sequential forms of Cross-Cultural Training (CCT), offered pre-departure CCT as well as post-arrival CCT are more advantageous than non-sequential CCT. This study examines the impact of sequential CCT upon the level of sociocultural and psychological adjustment of expatriate managers. This thesis also targets to fill the gap in the literature about the effectiveness of sequential CCT. A mixed methods methodology was adopted, more specifically an Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Design which included a quantitative survey followed by qualitative interviews of Greek expatriate managers assigned in overseas assignments. The quantitative data and their analysis gave a general understanding of the impact of sequential CCT upon the levels of sociocultural and psychological adjustment while the qualitative data, by exploring expatriates' assessments, offered more depth to the research and explained the quantitative results. Unexpectedly but significantly, both quantitative and qualitative results showed that sequential CCT has no any significant impact upon the sociocultural and psychological adjustment of the expatriate managers. However, the qualitative findings indicated that CCT has helped the expatriate managers in their sociocultural and psychological adjustment, regardless of whether it was sequential or not. Furthermore, the findings underline the importance of the timing of CCT and not its sequentiality. Overall, the findings of the research suggest that the effectiveness of the CCT depends both on its content and on its delivery time. Propositions refer to the delivery time and the appropriate content of CCT in enhancing sociocultural and psychological adjustment of the expatriate managers. 2015-12-08T14:43:09Z Team Learning and Collaboration: The Central Common Ground of Organisational Culture and Learning Culture. The Case of the Greek Postal Public and Private Sector http://hdl.handle.net/2381/35984 Title: Team Learning and Collaboration: The Central Common Ground of Organisational Culture and Learning Culture. The Case of the Greek Postal Public and Private Sector Authors: Thanasouras, Athanasios Abstract: The crucial and vital objective of this thesis is to assess the extent to which team learning and collaboration are promoted or hindered by the organisational culture of public and private organisations. To this end, the thesis explores the literature overlaps between the concepts of organisational and learning culture and finds that the central common denominator of these concepts is the "team learning and collaboration" characteristic. Two Greek organisations in the postal sector, one public and one private, were involved in this research. The selection of this sector was defined by the liberalisation of the postal market, which took place on 1st January 2013. A key research question is how the organisations under investigation use their "team learning and collaboration" characteristic to prepare for the open market. This implies an uncertainty in terms of distinguishing the extent to which such learning and collaboration takes place. The adopted research methodology consists of mixed methods research including a quantitative questionnaire and qualitative semi-structured interviews. This study provides an insight into the understanding of organisational culture and learning culture. It concludes by arguing that the bureaucratic organisational culture of the public organisation hinders team learning and collaboration, whilst the supportive organisational culture of the private organisation promotes them. This study also demonstrates the individual and organisation-level factors that promote or inhibit team learning and collaboration. In effect, these findings indicate whether or not organisational learning is achieved in the public and private organisation. This study is unique in the sense that no previous research has yet to employ the "team learning and collaboration" characteristic to the postal industry. One can also generalise beyond the organisations investigated. Thus, theoretical and practical inferences can be drawn from this research. 2015-12-02T16:39:44Z Visualising cooperation and conflict in large scale projects through the mathematisation and depiction of project conversations http://hdl.handle.net/2381/35983 Title: Visualising cooperation and conflict in large scale projects through the mathematisation and depiction of project conversations Authors: Peters, Guy Matthew Abstract: Effective communication between different specialisms within complex or large scale projects is critical to keep such expensive and time consuming projects on time and on budget. Considerable literature exists in the field of project management concerned with the importance of effective communication in complex projects however relatively little research into establishing new ways of communicating across discourse community boundaries exisis. Social scientists such as Latour and Callon have underpinned the use of Actor Network Theory as a means to identify actors and networks and have outlined how aspects of quantification could be applied to what are often considered as purely qualitative elements of a project. Other social scientists such as Henry, MacEachren and Corrigan have identified the potential ability of 'the visual' to allow information to be transmitted across discourse boundaries and how this use of 'the visual' may permit greater levels of investigation into social phenomena through the development of an 'emergent semantic'. Through an investigation of meetings undertaken as part of a complex project within the UK Space Science sector, this thesis investigates the use of 'the visual' as a means to more effectively communicate across discourse community boundaries and pays greater heed to the 'softer' emotions which are involved during the communication process but which are often treated differently or not considered as important by members from a different community. 2015-12-02T16:32:50Z Economic foundations of strategic management on the economic conceptualisation of the nature and sustainability of profit differentials among firms. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/34911 Title: Economic foundations of strategic management on the economic conceptualisation of the nature and sustainability of profit differentials among firms. Authors: Barcadurmus, Mehmet. Abstract: One of the enduring problems facing researchers of strategic management is the lack of theoretical foundations available to describe, explain and predict the behaviour of firms and markets. Strategic management theory seems to be strongly focused on empirical issues rather than theoretical and methodological ones. By contrast, economics, which, like strategic management theory, is interested in firm and market behaviour, may be particularly strong at theoretical and methodological issues. The present study develops the thesis that economic conceptualisations of the firm and of the market can help to further the development of strategic management theory. The study constructs theoretical linkages between basic propositions and assumptions of strategic management theory and those of economic theories of the market and of the firm. The study builds such conceptual bridges between strategic management theory and economics by assessing (1) neoclassical economics, economics of industrial organisation, evolutionary economics, institutional economics, behavioural economics, and (2) the strategic management theories, namely, the positioning approach (Porter) and resource-based approach (Wernerfelt, Rumelt, Barney). By examining research problem orientation and hard core assumptions, as suggested by Kuhn and Lakatos, the study found that apart from neoclassical economics, other economic theories allow to substantiate strategic management theory in economic terms. In specific, the study explicated that there is a large overlap between economics and strategic management theory for explaining and predicting issues concerning (1) the sources of profit differentials (competitive advantage), (2) the reasons how differentials are sustained despite competition, and (3) the conceptualisation of differentials as outcome of strategy following behaviour of firms under conditions of uncertainty. 2015-11-19T09:01:48Z Investment, valuation, and the managerial theory of the firm. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/34910 Title: Investment, valuation, and the managerial theory of the firm. Authors: Baker, A. J. Abstract: Common to both parts of this study is an acceptance of management's discretionary behaviour in product markets, comparative security against takeover, self-financing potential and interest in defining a top level of strategy choice. The study first explores the "managerial" content of orthodox valuation and cost of capital theory, then modifies that theory to represent management's framework for strategy choice under realistic conditions. Part I develops the orthodox valuation and cost of capital theory applicable to "safe" investments. Management's continuing objective is the constrained maximisation of equity investors' wealth: dividend risk policy --- not minimisation of the cost of capital --- takes priority, and the constancy of cost of capital is only achieved through continuous control over investment financing aimed at maintaining the target level of dividend risk. In Part II investment profitability is assumed subject to ex ante risk, and this necessitates a further retreat from a market-determined investment criterion. Given management's (largely) discretionary criteria for investment --- its investment strategy --- performance through time is generated by repeated interactions of probabilistic investment demand and profitability functions, and can be described ex ante in terms of a probability distribution of growth-paths of earnings and investment. With appropriate conditional planning of investment financing, management can picture any strategy as a probability distribution of growth-paths of constant-risk dividend expectations. A minimal extension of the orthodox valuation model yields an interpretation of share valuation under multiple growth-path conditions and allows management to identify the equity value prospects of alternative strategies. The resulting model of decision making and managerial utility permits a full range of realistically interpreted motivations --- from investor-oriented to "mangerial" --- and contrasts strongly with certain implications of models depicting strategy choice in terms of a choice between steady-state growth-paths. 2015-11-19T09:01:48Z A neutron diffraction study of the structure and structural modification of molten zinc halides and nickel halides. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/34909 Title: A neutron diffraction study of the structure and structural modification of molten zinc halides and nickel halides. Authors: Allen, Dennis A. Abstract: The structures of molten ZnCl2, ZnBr2 and ZnI2 have been determined by pulsed neutron diffraction. A tetrahedral configuration of anions around each cation was found for all three salts, which was extremely well defined for ZnCl2 and ZnBr2. Intermediate range ordering was also observed for all three salts and was seen to increase through the series from ZnCl2 to ZnI2. These observations are discussed with reference to previous studies of molten 2:1 salts, ion polarization effects and directional dependence of interionic forces. The effect of temperature upon the structure of molten ZnCl2 has also been investigated. In addition to this study of pure molten salts, the effect of structural modification of the 'network liquid' ZnCl2 by the addition of 'structure breaking' KCl has been studied. Pulsed neutron diffraction patterns were obtained from molten mixtures across the composition range. Upon addition of KCl, the local tetrahedral structure around each zinc ion was found to be very stable, even up to high KCl concentrations, and the intermediate range ordering in ZnCl2 not only persists, but was seen to increase, and to still be present even at 81% KCl concentration. Possible explanations of this behaviour are discussed and suggestions for further work are made. The structural modification of molten nickel halides by the addition of nickel metal has also been studied. A solution of NiI2 + 9 molar% Ni has been investigated by pulsed neutron diffraction from two isotopically enriched samples, and a solution of NiBr2 + 9 molar% Ni has been investigated by steady-state neutron diffraction from three isotopic samples. There was no evidence for subhalide complex ion formation involving more than one metal atom. The results suggest that nickel is ionising according to the equation Ni ? Ni2+ + 2e, with nickel ions occupying existing sites within the liquid structure and electrons acting so as to screen the interionic potentials. The maximum entropy method has been discussed and applied to the problem of structure factor data analysis. This method proved to be useful in the interpretation of some of the data presented in this thesis. 2015-11-19T09:01:42Z Total Quality Management in the Saudi manufacturing sector: Prospects and difficulties. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/34908 Title: Total Quality Management in the Saudi manufacturing sector: Prospects and difficulties. Authors: Alamri, Hani Abdul Rahman. Abstract: Total Quality Management is considered in this study within the context of Saudi Arabia's industrial diversification strategy and the efforts of the Kingdom to reduce its dependence on oil as the main source of its income. The private sector is expected to play a major role in bringing this about through the development of a sound manufacturing base, capable of satisfying local demand and, in the long run, of gaining access to export markets. However, the success of this policy will, to a large extent, depend on the ability of the private sector to deliver quality products which meet the requirements of local consumers and, more generally, of the present day market. Against this background, we attempt to examine the extent of TQM awareness in Saudi manufacturing and the prospects and difficulties facing its implementation in this industry. The research is based on data obtained through a questionnaire distributed to 282 manufacturing companies established in or around the city of Jeddah and representing seven industrial categories. Analysis of the data revealed that major difficulties remain to be overcome before Saudi manufacturing can be said to have reached the degree of maturity necessary for TQM implementation. These difficulties include a general lack of awareness as to the strategic importance of quality, lack of technical and management know-how, inadequate provision for training and human resource development as well as shortcomings in the organisational systems in place. The policy implications of this situation are then discussed in relation to the Kingdom's overall economic development, highlighting the need for long-term solutions to be provided through the concerted efforts of both the government and the Saudi producers and for greater cooperation between them. Available data on Saudi Arabia relate almost exclusively to the Kingdom's role as an oil exporting giant and to the associated problems of its situation as a single commodity economy. This study can be seen as a modest attempt to redress the balance by concentrating on the non-oil manufacturing sector and on the prospects for its future development. 2015-11-19T09:01:41Z Capital structure in Europe: determinants, market timing and speed of adjustment http://hdl.handle.net/2381/33020 Title: Capital structure in Europe: determinants, market timing and speed of adjustment Authors: Zhu, Ting Ting Abstract: In broad terms, the aim of this thesis is to investigate the determinants of capital structure in European-listed firms. More specifically, it examines the existence of market timing effects in European firms and the speed of adjustment towards optimal capital structure as well as its determinants. Over the last two decades, Europe has undergone an intriguing experience involving changes in the political geography, financial liberalization, financial integration, a financial crisis and, most recently, financial reform. These exogenous shocks have taken their toll on European capital markets and banking sectors. In particular, the recent financial crisis has unveiled a number of inefficiencies in the incomplete financial integration process in terms of weak governance and ineffective regulations. The crisis period witnessed an increase in the following: the probability of bankruptcy; the number of banks and firms failing; illiquidity; and a significant loss in firms' values. This in turn affected the flow of funds into firms either from bank lending channels or from capital markets. Indeed, such financial turmoil calls for further investigation into the determinants of firms' capital structure in the European markets. This thesis contributes to the literature in two ways. First, this is the first study that empirically tests the market timing theory in 15 European countries. Second, it adds to the scant literature on comparative studies that examine the target capital speed of adjustment and its determinants. The thesis employs various econometric models to analyse the unbalanced panel data collected from 15 European countries. The generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator (among other panel data techniques) is deemed appropriate to estimate the models. It is designed to accommodate the unbalanced panels, multiple endogeneity and the autoregressive properties in the dependent variable. The new evidence provided by the findings of this study will be of great interest to the literature and policy-makers. The results confirm the effect of market valuation. However, it is negative in Europe, rather than positive as theory suggests. The results provide evidence that partially supports both pecking order and trade-off theories. For European firms, the annual speed of adjustment towards target capital is, on average, one quarter for book leverage and one half for market leverage. Firms in the Netherlands and Finland are the fastest to adjust their capital while firms in France and Spain are the slowest. The driving forces of the adjustment speed reveal that firms adjust more rapidly in wealthier and healthier environments such as those which involve a stable economy, a concentrated banking system and a promising future. Description: The file associated with this record is under embargo for 12 months 2015-09-03T14:42:17Z Changing work and employment institutions in Mauritius: Challenges for workers, companies and education and training institutions http://hdl.handle.net/2381/32938 Title: Changing work and employment institutions in Mauritius: Challenges for workers, companies and education and training institutions Authors: Emilien, Stephanie Blandine Abstract: This thesis critically explores how changing work and employment institutions have brought about challenges for workers, companies and Education and Training institutions in Mauritius. The study uses a historical institutionalist approach as well as additional concepts to examine how Work and Employment as well as Education and Training institutions of Mauritius, have adjusted to contemporary economic conditions. Recently, Mauritius, a former French and British colony, has diversified its economy and launched its Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector. The sector has developed in parallel with the government's endeavour to turn Mauritius into a knowledge economy over time. In order to facilitate the setting up of numerous multinational companies, the country has adopted more flexible employment legislation. As a result, companies have been able to take advantage of the island-nation's cheap, multi-lingual and youthful labour market. The thesis identifies challenges that have been triggered by the requirement for new skill capacities, and further challenges in the form of risks experienced by young Mauritian workers in their employment relationships. Through a qualitative empirical approach, 75 semi-structured interviews were undertaken with workers, managers, educationists and experts in Mauritius. The study argues that current and forthcoming Education and Training (E&T) Policies face several tensions that the Mauritian government did not anticipate and cannot adequately deal with. Findings show disparities between employers' expectations of workers' level of employability and skill capacities on the one hand and actual skill capacities on the other. Tensions also lie between the government and private employers in regard to who is to provide which form of training. Further contradictions are found in the government's one-sided efforts towards building a 'high-skill' workforce while new pillars of the economy, here illustrated by the BPO sector, can be comparatively low-skill. Considering the absence of union organisation and the generally low level of agency among workers, these tensions can have damaging impact upon young Mauritian workers at work and beyond. In conclusion, the study highlights the importance of considering context-specificity in the formulation of E& T policies. It suggests that there is much scope for institutional change in which education systems and policies can be more carefully designed to address new economic and social needs in Mauritius. 2015-08-12T15:07:07Z Management of design as a translation process http://hdl.handle.net/2381/32930 Title: Management of design as a translation process Authors: Gasparin, Marta Abstract: This dissertation proposes a new perspective on management of design by regarding it as a translation process, using a framework based on Actor- Network Theory. Within the field of management of design, design has been defined as a problem-solving activity, a tool for either improving the decisionmaking process or for fostering radical innovation by making sense of things. Designers have generally been considered individuals with a different sensibility, able to make a difference by producing interesting and intriguing products which can deliver value to the customers and create value for the firm. Actor-Network Theory is a methodology for the socio-technical analysis that treats the actors as enacted and relational, and explores the network creation through an analysis based on a flat ontology, in which there is symmetry between human- and non-human actors. There is no a priori size, power or complexity of the actors, as these elements are built through the relations and understood by following them. The study is based on an ethnographic investigation of three design objects: the Serie7, the Egg (designed respectively in 1955 and 1958) and the Ice (designed in 2002), manufactured by Fritz Hansen. Based on the analysis, a new interpretation of the design, the design process, the role of the managers and designers, the value creation process, and the role of technologies of managing is presented. Design is defined as an outcome of the construction process of things made by mobilising and enrolling actors through the translations of goals. The design process is the process of enrolling, mobilising, and translating goals, creating the design in a heterogeneous network of allies. It is a chaotic practice, muddled and contingent, with the inevitable risk of unintended consequences. This process is guided by the managers, who act as spokespersons, while the designers are macro-actors, representing all the actors involved in the creation process, in the multitude making or agreeing on the final decisions concerning the design and its development during the life cycle of the object. The individual qualities of insight, intuition, vision, and creativity are reinterpreted and assembled in the language of the design. These qualities are no longer the properties of an individual, but collective virtues in relation to which governing and managing have a fundamental role. The managers are spokespersons, actors who translate the needs, the expectations, the demands and the desires from different actors. They work towards sharing the goals by encouraging the other actors to adhere to the programme of actions. The value is constituted and forged through the relationships, it is not something that is proper or embedded in the product, but is adopted and adapted by the allies in the network. The technologies of managing are not simple tools for fostering creativity, as described in the previous literature, they are actors mediating the process and conveying information that managers can use to make decisions. The technologies of managing are identified as black boxes and leaky black boxes. A black box is totally closed, a leaky black box is something the managers are working and acting on, stimulating the translations and actions that are shaping the network, including or cutting off the network actors and features, as well as mobilising actors. Description: Thesis deposited on request of the author, current staff at UOL School of Management. 2015-08-11T14:27:12Z Firm size inequality: industry dynamics, entrepreneurship and welfare http://hdl.handle.net/2381/32902 Title: Firm size inequality: industry dynamics, entrepreneurship and welfare Authors: Puntaier, Elmar Abstract: This thesis analyses the dynamics and determinants of the size distribution of firms and examines its implications on welfare. It draws on Schumacher's proposition of a 'balanced' size distribution of firms as a precondition for sustainable economic development, which conflicts with models predicting an increase in firm size inequality in the long run. For the said dynamism to be understood, the historical development from the First Industrial Revolution is reproduced and emerging patterns set in relation to the evolutionary approach to economic development. This leads to the central argument of this thesis, which is the need for a fair share of medium-sized firms in order to maximise innovative capacity, economic resilience, net job creation and sustainability. To identify the forces driving firm size inequality and the extent to which rebalancing is possible, this thesis consolidates the streams Gibrat's Law initiated. The industry-level analysis of the UK, Italy and Germany from 2001 to 2010 demonstrates that the size distribution of firms converges to a lognormal distribution. For technology-rich firms, firm size inequality is inversely U-shaped and the systemic erosion of diversity reduces the options to rebalance. In service industries, industry dynamics are more intense and cause a faster increase in firm size inequality. The resulting co-existence of small and large firms reduces spill-over effects and the ability to recover from macro-economic shocks, but these, paradoxically, increase firm size inequality. To delay the process of increasing firm size inequality, small and medium-sized firms need to engage with export activities and accumulate intangible assets. As the owner-managed firm commercialises on uncertainty and the large firm escapes from it, preserving the 'middle' is rewarded with a higher degree of innovative capacity and contributes to sustainable growth. There are also windows of opportunity where rebalancing is possible and from these openings new industries emerge. Description: This file associated with this record is under embargo for 12 months at the request of the author. 2015-08-05T14:58:59Z Resisting Financialisation with Deleuze and Guattari http://hdl.handle.net/2381/32895 Title: Resisting Financialisation with Deleuze and Guattari Authors: Barthold, Charles Abstract: This thesis wanted to operate two tasks. First, this thesis sought to perform a description of the contemporary functioning of the economy, that is to say of capitalism. This entailed an analysis of the current financialisation of world capitalism. Second, this thesis wanted to identify a revolutionary resistant subjectivity to financialisation. This implied to look for a subjectivity which could successfully resist the power of finance. The first task, that is to say the description of the contemporary economy, was performed through an engagement with an interdisciplinary and Marxian literature that problematised financialisation as a process related not only to the economy and production, but also to the State, social reproduction and even subjectivity. Marxism allowed me to understand the dynamics of capitalism and the current centrality of finance, which was expressed by the concept of financialisation. However, Marxism was unable to provide a sophisticated political strategy which would be based on a specific revolutionary subjectivity. Marx's oeuvre never provided very effective political strategies. Therefore, the political economy of Marx was often complemented by Leninism as a form of political strategy, based on party politics and the vanguard of the proletariat. However, Leninism was connected to Fordist capitalism. Therefore, a new political strategy was needed in the context of financialisation. The work of Deleuze and Guattari provided a novel conceptualisation of subjectivity which could articulate a revolutionary resistance to financialisation. My revolutionary understanding of the oeuvre of Deleuze and Guattari was situated by an analysis of their reception by political philosophy because alternative interpretations existed. Therefore, this thesis sought to operate a fruitful dialogue, that is to say a resonance between Marx and Deleuze and Guattari. 2015-08-05T13:39:56Z Architecture as profession: the construction of workplace practice http://hdl.handle.net/2381/32526 Title: Architecture as profession: the construction of workplace practice Authors: Yip, Shing Lam Abstract: With reference to Jean Lave's and Etienne Wenger's (1991) learning theory and its later development in advocating Communities of Practice (CoPs), this research aimed to explore how architects learn through participation in CoPs in the construction of workplace practice. It is has been identified that the Development and Construction Division of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) characterizes a social practice, in which the situated nature of architects' learning is realized through accomplishments amongst professional stakeholders who engage jointly in an enterprise with shared repertoire (Wenger 1998, p. 36) where the Project Development Process is central. Architects' minds develop, reflect and interact mutually in social situations in which groups of professionals share their concerns or passions for knowledge of architecture and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly (Wenger 2007) in multiple CoPs. A qualitative methodological approach was adopted, involving semi‐structured interviews using a purposeful sample of architects. Saturation analysis was used to identify patterns in the data. Based on the findings, it is evident that architects participate in various CoPs to learn and, through multi‐membership, they negotiate their individual meanings of professional practice. As well, the dynamism coupled with different modes of belonging under CoPs (Wenger 2000) form the major structuring elements of architect's social learning system in the HA. This research makes the original contribution of a lens, based on the social practice theory of Lave and Wenger (1991) and Wenger's CoP (1998) concept to understand how architects learn in the workplace practice for knowledge generation and management. 2015-07-09T09:19:14Z The trend of foreign direct investment movement under legal-families consideration http://hdl.handle.net/2381/32525 Title: The trend of foreign direct investment movement under legal-families consideration Authors: Kam, Oi Yan Abstract: This thesis investigates the relationship between legal families and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in both developing and developed countries. Recent statistics report that developing countries absorb nearly half of the global FDI inflows and repeatedly generate record levels of FDI outflows in 2010 and 2011 (UNCTAD 2010 and 2011). This thesis finds empirical support for the hypothesis that 'institutional quality' matters, with the metrics developed for institutional quality influenced by the activities of the former colonial powers of the past, during the colonial era, and currently in the post-colonial period. During the colonial era, nearly all the major colonisers exploited benefits from most of their colonies, in particular in the regions of Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. They had no intention to educate the inhabitants to become skillful workers, there was limited infrastructure to support communication and transport and there was an absence of the 'rule of law' to protect the investors' property related assets. These countries had low development and thus became economically lagging. In the post-colonial period, the colonisers have maintained strong ties to the former colonies under a sense of on-going solidarity and responsibility, providing their corresponding ex-colonies with substantial support, often through economic subsidies. They also played an essential role in the colonies' political and institutional reforms. A coding of legal and colonial history is developed by which all the nations are categorised in groups of 'legal families', a proxy variable representing the manner in which the colonial powers treated the colonies. A framework is provided which includes both 'legal origins' and 'colonial powers' as instrumental variables alongside other independent variables including non-legal institutional, economic and financial variables for the empirical analysis. Our regression analysis indicates an increasing trend of FDI flowing to the developing countries, particularly those in Latin America and the Caribbean. This suggests that the institutional quality is a likely determinant of FDI. It illustrates that once these nations are able to provide a solid grounding in education, improved infrastructure and a legal system which enforces the protection of the investors' knowledge-based assets, then whilst formerly economically lagging, they will be able to attract foreign investment and catch up. The findings provide a possible explanation as regards the recent trend in FDI activities and give an indication as to future key FDI movements. The evidence from regression analysis further suggests that legal families as classified under Klerman et al. (2011) more fully explain the levels of FDI movements than methods of classification adopted under La Porta et al.'s (1997, 1998, 2008) legal origins theory. 2015-07-09T09:07:34Z Determinants of capital structure in Asian firms: new evidence on the role of firm level factors, industry characteristics, and institutions http://hdl.handle.net/2381/32340 Title: Determinants of capital structure in Asian firms: new evidence on the role of firm level factors, industry characteristics, and institutions Authors: Cheng, Hang Abstract: This thesis investigates the determinants of capital structure in Asian countries. The aim is to provide new evidence on the role of firm's specific factors, industry characteristics and institutions on firms' capital structure decision. The Asian markets have significantly benefitted from economic expansion and have experienced a series of financial system reforms in the recent decades. The rapid growth attained by the Asian economies, was also accompanied by periods of financial turmoil. These factors collectively call for investigating the factors affecting the decision of capital structure particularly in the last decade. The study thus provides new empirical evidence on the determinants of capital structure in Asia during the period 2006-2011. The result reveals that financing patterns of firms can be driven by their own firm characteristics, industry nature, general economic condition and institutional attributes. Firstly, profitability, administration expenses, firm size, firm liquidity, market-to-book ratio have shown significant association to firm's capital structure decision in Asia. There empirical evidence supports the existence of dynamic capital structure, which is in line with trade-off theory. During the recent financial crisis (2008-2009), the results show no evidence of adjustment to target capital by Asian firms. In general, the firm-specific factors have a more powerful explanation on firm's financing decisions in mature industries compared to growing industries. In particular, firms from technology or healthcare sectors, most of these types of firms are still young and at start-up stage in Asia and they hardly rely on debt finance with lesser credit record, higher R&D expenses, higher risk and more future uncertainties. The institutional and macroeconomic factors have a more significant impact on a firm's long-term financing decision compared short-term financial decision. In Asia, the firms tend to excessively rely on short-term debt to meet long-term financing requirement under a weaker institutional environment. 2015-06-02T13:19:43Z Lone No More: The Sociable Ethical Consumer http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31988 Title: Lone No More: The Sociable Ethical Consumer Authors: Lee, Min-Hye Abstract: The growth of ethical consumerism has produced numerous ethical consumption studies in the field of management. However previous studies are often criticised for assuming that ethical consumers are rational decision-makers and that ethical consumption is narrowly understood in an individualistic, rational, and free-choice context. This thesis argues that consumers are essentially meaning-making beings whose identities are symbolically presented in society and culture. Increasing attention in consumption studies of identity is now being paid to the role of expression and the socio-cultural aspects of consumption. This thesis builds on this to explore the socio-cultural aspects of ethical consumption. It takes an ethnographic approach, using multifaceted qualitative research methods, participant observation and semi-structured interviews to investigate ethical consumption in a self-defined ethically conscious consumer group, the BORA in South Korea. The empirical data indicate that the notion of ethical consumption is much more complex than purchasing ethical products. It is understood and presented by various activities and meanings which are located in a socially constructed world. The notion of a perfect form or type of ethical consumption is rejected as unattainable and participants adopt the notion of always becoming ethically conscious. Ethical consumption is found to operate in the micro-practices of the everyday. Ethical consumption is revealed to work 'quietly' as a subtle and inconspicuous kind of activism embedded in a group context. Ethically conscious consumers are found to generate a form of collective identity through socialisation within a voluntary organisation. This thesis contributes to establishing an understanding of the complex dynamics of ethical consumption by looking at how ethical consumption is conceived and performed. This thesis also offers a method-in-practice contribution as it reports on the influence linguistic and cultural characteristics play on the way qualitative research is conducted in a different culture context, South Korea. 2015-04-15T13:28:29Z Local government, local legislation: municipal initiative in parliament from 1858 to 1872 http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31847 Title: Local government, local legislation: municipal initiative in parliament from 1858 to 1872 Authors: Morris, Roger John Bowring Abstract: The years between the first Local Government Act 1858 and the establishment of the Local Government Board in 1872 saw great changes in England and Wales: growing populations brought growing problems in crowded living conditions, but there were also increasing wealth, manufacturing and intellectual resources in a context of major international influence and self-confidence, and rapidly expanding countrywide infrastructure. Against this backdrop, the municipal authorities of this period had few general law powers to regulate local conditions, or to provide services. While Parliament was still – at least at the outset – broadly antagonistic to centralisation and the enactment of common standards, it was willing to grant private Acts – special local Act powers – to those places that sought, and could justify and pay for, the means to improve and invest in their localities. This thesis identifies and analyses for the first time the 335 local Parliamentary Bills, and from them the 278 resulting Acts, that municipalities promoted in the years 1858 to 1872 inclusive. Three things stand out from the huge mass of local statute-book material which these 278 Acts comprise – themselves only a small fraction of the total of private Acts passed in the era of railway mania, and of much else besides. The first is that, far from being an unco-ordinated mass of inconsistent, quixotic provisions as private Acts are sometimes thought or assumed to be, these Acts have a substantial degree of cohesion as a body of material. Secondly, the towns and cities of northern England secured more than half of them. Thirdly, the costs of promotions (and the vested interests involved in them) represented a huge and often wasteful outlay that a more pragmatic and forwardlooking Parliamentary attitude could have greatly reduced. These and other matters are examined in detail across the whole spectrum of local legislation for the first time. There are no acknowledgements requiring to be listed. 2015-03-10T16:38:31Z Bank efficiency and lending propensity: evidence from commercial banks in Indonesia http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31807 Title: Bank efficiency and lending propensity: evidence from commercial banks in Indonesia Authors: Anwar, Mokhamad Abstract: Indonesia is one of the emerging economies, which has been adopting a bank-based system in the economy. It is very important to investigate the Indonesian commercial banks' performance given their substantial contribution to the development of the country. This thesis aims to measure and analyse the performance of Indonesian banks in terms of their efficiency and lending propensity over the period 2002-2010. The period testifies the recovery phase after the turmoil caused by the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-98 as well as the revocation of the regulation of minimum threshold on commercial banks' small business loans (finance) in 2001. This thesis employs frontier methods in estimating bank efficiency where both parametric and non-parametric linear programming approaches are used, namely Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA). The former is used to estimate the technical efficiencies and the latter is used to estimate the cost efficiencies of Indonesian banks over the period 2002-2010. This thesis also examines the lending propensity of Indonesian banks reflected by the tendency of their total loans and small business loans over the study period. The findings suggest that the technical efficiency of Indonesian banks tends to decrease whilst the opposite tendency is associated with their cost efficiency during the period. The downward trend of their technical efficiency stems from the fact that the period was the post-crisis of 1997-98 where banks were still unsteady to maintain high level of outputs over inputs. While the upward trend of their cost efficiency reflects their intensity to operate more economically in employing their resources during the period. The latter result testifies that Indonesian bank management took lessons learnt from the failure of their previous operations during the crisis. In addition, their total lending propensity is prone to increase over time during the period albeit they have not reached yet the optimum proportions. In contrast, their lending propensity to small businesses witnessed a diminishing pattern over the period. A regulatory change in 2001 seems to discourage Indonesian banks to lend to small businesses. Loans to deposits or lending proportions emerges to be the most important factor enhancing bank efficiency, whilst bank size and bank deposits are the foremost factors influencing the lending propensity of Indonesian banks over the study period. 2015-03-06T16:07:55Z Three essays in Turkish banking: development banks, Islamic banks and commercial banks http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31399 Title: Three essays in Turkish banking: development banks, Islamic banks and commercial banks Authors: Ozturk, Huseyin Abstract: This thesis is composed of three empirical chapters each of which examines separate segments of Turkish banking system from different perspectives. First empirical chapter investigates regional loan distribution of development banks. The findings in this chapter suggest that political connection has played a significant role in development lending. There is also geographical bias which leads to higher volumes of loans in the regions close to the capital city. Second empirical chapter examines Islamic banks and compares them with conventional banks in terms of profitability and competition grounds. The results reveal that Islamic banks earn more returns with respect to conventional banks. The results also suggest that the regulatory changes of the last decade improve market power of these banks. The last empirical chapter investigates micro structure of Repo and Reverse Repo Market of Turkey in which only commercial banks can transact. This chapter initially presents the network topologies of this market that helps one to understand the characteristics of complex network in this market. This chapter then computes a connectivity measure and investigates the drivers of connectivity out of domestic and external factors. Although results provide very rich insights, external factors dominate the behaviour of network in this market. 2015-01-08T15:34:52Z Study of Chinese constancy and contingency management http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31131 Title: Study of Chinese constancy and contingency management Authors: Tseng, Shih-Chiang. Abstract: As we rush headlong into the 21st century, with science and technology making new and almost daily shocks, how do we deal with making decisions How will we manage the future Is the past of any use to us any more This thesis puts managerial techniques into a historical perspective and investigates methods created by Chinese people. Most importantly it shows how the economic future can be confidently addressed by reference to one of the oldest of Chinese classic texts, I-Ching, the Book of Changes. Combining the two apparently conflicting concepts of "Change" and "No Change" I-Ching is shown by the author to have manifold and vital applications in the real world of organisational management. This thesis illustrates the way that any institution can be divided into three levels of management and Jiow these levels can combine with the three basic concepts of Heaven, Humanity and Earth (life) in a way that, in coordination with the "change, no change" awareness of I-Ching, can resolve the problems of any organisation. According to the theory of Change and No Change, "No Change" is to represent the unchanged basic principle. In Chinese style management "No Change" means "to settle other people down", "Change" must be made according to the principles and be regulated. All managerial activities such as planning, organising, leading, control, and training, are considered in detail in the theories of "Change" and "No Change". This thesis posits a managerial approach and understanding that will bring success to an organisation, not only for today but also for tomorrow that awaits us. 2014-12-15T10:45:15Z Exchange rate exposure : an industry and firm level analysis http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31130 Title: Exchange rate exposure : an industry and firm level analysis Authors: Cukur, Sadik. Abstract: This thesis aims to establish the relationship between Real Exchange Rate (RER) changes and Firm value changes. It is a well-known reality that RER changes may affect the value of the company through competition, cash flow, and profit margin.;Theoretically, this study investigates exchange rates, efficiency, and exposure. Empirically, it tests the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) at disaggregated level by using cointegration analysis. The results confirm the requirement of disaggregate analysis among industries and/or countries. The exchange rate exposure is tested by using OLS technique. We try to modify the explanatory variables, exchange rate, in order to find the exact relationship between RER changes and Firm value changes.;Several Issues are evaluated in empirical parts. Industry portfolio results tend not to show a significant relationship possibly because of aggregation. Therefore, individual regressions are carried on. The results, clearly, exhibit that exposure is present for British Companies but exposure depends on several factors such as the firm, the industry, the size of the company, and the deviation from PPP. 2014-12-15T10:45:15Z A cultural kaleidoscope : managing the European company http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31129 Title: A cultural kaleidoscope : managing the European company Authors: Communal, Christine Chantal Emilie. Abstract: This thesis provides a comparative study of managerial practices in Europe. Patterns of behaviour and preferred modes of organisations are identified in four countries, based on an in-depth case study of a chosen-specific European company.;While the corporate culture and industry remain constant, national context manifests itself as the essential variable between the different operations. The thesis proposes/argues that this factor - national context - is a powerful variable which frames the activity of the management.;Europe is a continent of diversity; each nation has unique traditions, particular historical and cultural roots as well as its own institution framework. This diversity means that managers learn to operate in the manner that suits their particular context. The thesis documents such national divergence in terms of managerial practices and behaviour.;The process of integration of European Union member of States and of globalisation also contribute towards the shaping of management. The case study company, as a leading provider of Information Technology services, is among the affecting managers across the board - and thus regardless of national context - are also identified: these include the pressure to achieve profit and efficiency. In addition, a degree of convergence between human resource management policies and practices also makes itself visible.;The thesis demonstrates, above all, the influence of national culture and national environment vis-a-vis management; an argument which may be reaffirmed given the context of globalisation. In brief, a European company is a cultural kaleidoscope. 2014-12-15T10:45:14Z Emotions and other related issues affecting purchase http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31127 Title: Emotions and other related issues affecting purchase Authors: Lau, Lorett Bo Ying. Abstract: The purpose of this research was to assess the effects of Emotion and related issues: Cognition and the Subjective Norm on Purchase, and whether the Degree of Chineseness affects Emotion, Cognition and the Subjective Norm. An attempt was made to test a proposed model incorporating the above concepts.;The methodology employed was through person-to-person interviews via public intercepts at the exits of Giordano and Bossini to people who were eighteen and above and had just visited one of these casual wear chain stores. Casual wear was just an "object" chosen as the item selected for "purchase" had to fulfil the criteria that both samples (Hong Kong and the China coastal city of Guangzhou) were familiar about and had an identical meaning. The systematic sampling technique was employed. The overall usable sample size was 563 (280 from Hong Kong and 283 from Guangzhou).;On findings of the relationships between the dependent variable purchase and the independent ones of emotion, cognition, the subjective norm and the degree of Chineseness, hypothesis testing was performed by Regression analysis with t test significant at 0.05. On emotion, it was found that good mood significantly affected purchase in a positive way whereas bad mood resulted in the negative direction for both samples, with greater variations for Guangzhou. On cognition, there appeared to be no correlation with purchase. On the subjective norm, the variation very significantly accounted for the variation of purchase, especially so for Guangzhou people. These findings were consistent with the findings on the aspects of Chineseness relating to the influences of significant others. On the degree of Chineseness (DFC), as the author wanted to obtain a preliminary understanding of the interrelationships between the DFC and emotion, cognition and the subjective norm, the Pearson's Correlation Coefficient Matrix was performed. The results revealed that DFC was positively correlated with cognition, the subjective norm, but not with emotion (both good and bad moods). 2014-12-15T10:45:14Z International marketing : managerial and organisational factors associated with export success ; the case of Saudi Arabian exporters of non-oil products http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31128 Title: International marketing : managerial and organisational factors associated with export success ; the case of Saudi Arabian exporters of non-oil products Authors: Al-Obaidi, Mansour Abdulaziz. Abstract: Empirical investigations on firms' export performance have concentrated on firms from developed countries. However, in developing countries generally, and in Saudi Arabia particularly, little is known about this issue among their firms. Therefore, this study explored the export behaviour and performance of manufacturing firms in Saudi Arabia.;The main objective of this thesis was to compare firm-level characteristics of successful and less successful exporters together with other factors associated with their export success. Additionally, the obstacles facing Saudi exporters were identified.;The sampling frame comprised of 411 firms which have been involved in exporting for at least two years identified by the Saudi Export Development Center. A postal questionnaire was used as the main research instrument to collect the data from exporting manufacturers, and the total number of usable questionnaires received was 99, a response rate of 24.1 percent. This sample was divided in two groups: successful and less successful exporters, according to their export performance (export ratio and export growth) in international markets over a three-year period (1993 to 1995).;On the basis of existing literature, hypotheses were formulated and tested, to see if there are differences in the relationships between the two groups in their firm characteristics (size, age, export experience and export market strategy) and in other factors associated with export success (export market planning, market research, export department, management strength and adaptation of their marketing mix to the export market).;The findings of this study suggested that there is no correlation between the size, age and export experience of the firm and its export success. However, regarding export strategy, a significant positive correlation was found between the success of exporters and export strategy (number of export markets). Those firms adopting a market diversification strategy were more successful than firms adopting a market concentration strategy. 2014-12-15T10:45:14Z The embedment of process consultation in strategy formulation http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31126 Title: The embedment of process consultation in strategy formulation Authors: Nachman, Ben. Abstract: The main goal of this research is focused on increasing the probability that strategic decisions will be implemented.;The dissertation describes the strategic decision-making process followed by the top executive teams of two organisations, within a consultation framework employing the Process Consultation approach. A particular form of SWOT analysis (SWOT Positioning) was performed as a platform for interventions. It also comprised a basis for the employment of other analytical and creative tools. In constructing this research, it was hoped that the combination of Process Consultation with SWOT Positioning in this manner would prove helpful in achieving the research goal.;This research found that the likelihood of implementation of decisions seemed greater following the current consultation process than in the two organisations' previous experience with 'expert' and 'doctor' consultants. Indeed, by-product decision implementation had already begun. The preparation for general implementation of strategic decisions and the declaration of commitment on the part of team members exceeded that of the same organisations in the past. The research cannot definitively show actual implementation, as that stage was not within its scope. However, both teams indicated a sense of ownership of and responsibility for the decisions, which had been formed gradually during the process.;Creativity was nurtured in the construction of strategic action alternatives, which were then organised in a Level of Innovation Matrix. The Matrix is a tool which improves the participants' understanding of the degree of complexity and difficulty involved in the implementation of new strategies.;Indeed, the quandaries which promoted this research have been somewhat diminished. This is not to claim a single conclusive solution has been discovered to all the questions asked. Rather, the statement made here is that the particular process proposed might be helpful in answering these questions in appropriate situations. 2014-12-15T10:45:13Z Export marketing support activity : a study on supporting export promotion programmes (EPPs) in Pakistan http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31125 Title: Export marketing support activity : a study on supporting export promotion programmes (EPPs) in Pakistan Authors: Malik, Mohammed Ehsan. Abstract: Export marketing support services offered by the government and other agencies, particularly in developing countries, seem well-suited to exporting firms for their involvement in foreign markets. The effects of governmental export marketing support on firms' exporting activity is found a limited researched issue in international marketing, particularly the measurement of the effects of export promotion programmes (EPPs). Such programmes specifically are directed at assisting exporters' export market entry.;The study addresses the role and effectiveness of export marketing support as the acquisition of such support is influenced by management's orientation and information search and use behaviour (Reid, 1984; Katiskeas and Piercy, 1993). The analysis involves:;1- A comparison of the sample groups of programmes' users (UEP) and programmes' non-users (NUEP).;2- A detailed investigation of the export promotion programmes (EPPs) in export market entry.;Overall, the thesis findings suggest that certain behavioural differences exist between firms using export promotion programmes (EPPs) in their export market entry and the firms not using EPPs. But no difference was found as far as export performance of both sample groups is concerned. However, users of programmes seem more organised and proactive in export marketing activity.;Measurement of the effectiveness of export promotion programmes (EPPs), however, appears complicated by a variety of factors which could not be clearly attributed to the use of EPPs. Such programmes are seen as having a lasting effect on the exporting firms' export market involvement.;Although the role of export promotion programmes must be seen as complementary to firms' export marketing efforts in general, these are accorded importance in export market entry. 2014-12-15T10:45:13Z Corporate social responsibility in the petroleum industry : an ethnographically-grounded analysis of ascriptions of responsibility amongst various stakeholders in the Nigerian oil industry http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31124 Title: Corporate social responsibility in the petroleum industry : an ethnographically-grounded analysis of ascriptions of responsibility amongst various stakeholders in the Nigerian oil industry Authors: Umar, Ibrahim Abstract: This thesis examines the nature of the ascribed responsibilities of corporations in the petroleum industry with a focus on Shell and its stakeholders in Nigeria. It proposes and enacts an empirical approach to exploring the concept via an 'ethnographic' prism through respondents' representational accounts based on a field work interviews and observations. It seeks to demonstrate that rich empirical data on the perceptions of stakeholders can offer fresh insights into the issue. This is significant bearing in mind that most of the literature on CSR is largely based on limited descriptive and extensive prescriptive theoretical expositions.;The thesis argues that making philosophical representational claims is not the exclusive domain of academic theorists and philosophers. Ordinary people also make philosophical representational claims in their day-to-day utterance. The thesis captures this using theories of representation deployed in action in analyzing the ascribed responsibilities of corporations within the realm of the debate between and among Shell and its numerous stakeholders in Nigeria.;It uses refining as a central metaphor in demonstrating that all representational claims that portray any version of any account are a result of refining through a process of blocking, summarizing, simplifying, and deleting claims and counter claims. Most importantly, the thesis offers a mouthpiece to the different categories of stakeholders, not on a judgmental basis as to who is right or wrong, but as an array of rich voices each articulating its own version based on its orientation, circumstances and motives. The thesis concludes that responsibility is a contested concept that can best be interpreted in many different ways, without necessarily privileging one view or voice over the others. 2014-12-15T10:45:12Z Productivity decomposition in European banking with accession economies : an application of parametric and nonparametric Malmquist techniques http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31123 Title: Productivity decomposition in European banking with accession economies : an application of parametric and nonparametric Malmquist techniques Authors: Olgu, Ozlem Abstract: This thesis analyzes the performance levels of 22 euro zone banking industries on a panel data of commercial and savings banks. The analysis is achieved by grouping the sample as euro zone developed (EU-12) and accession (EU-10) countries. The main objective is to identify the efficiency and productivity disparities between the two groups of countries during 1997--2001. Furthermore, this thesis investigates the impact of the single currency and the recent EU enlargement on the parametric and nonparametric findings. The empirical analysis is based on the comparison of a time-varying stochastic parametric distance function, with conventional DEA. Distance functions are used to generate a parametric stochastic estimate of generalised Malmquist productivity index as suggested by Orea (2002). Further, both of the generalised Malmquist and DEA-Malmquist productivity indices are decomposed into technical efficiency change, technological change and economies of scale change components. The aim is to investigate how the relevant components affect the productivity scores and how the results vary with different measurement techniques.;The empirical findings suggest that, in general, EU-12 commercial banks are performing better than EU-12 savings banks. There is evidence of an inverse relationship between bank size and the total factor productivity scores of all groups of banks under analysis. In contrast, there is no evidence of a relationship between bank size and technical efficiency estimates. A slight positive impact of the launch of the euro in 1999 is identified, though just a short term effect. Nearly all of the figures experienced a recession over the post-euro period, i.e. 2000--2001. Moreover, the positive effects of the euro are suggested to be more significant in euro zone commercial banks than their savings counterparts. Economies of scale factors are identified as significant on the overall productivity scores. However, technological change is suggested as the main reason of accession countries not catching-up with their developed counterparts. 2014-12-15T10:45:12Z A bi-paradigmatic analysis of organisational culture http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31120 Title: A bi-paradigmatic analysis of organisational culture Authors: Price, Deborah Abstract: Despite culture being a core focus of the study of organisations for over 30 years, the concept is marked by disagreement. The literature on culture tends to present a series of dualisms with each side displaying different meta-theoretical assumptions. Notwithstanding these differences the characterisations of culture are fundamentally the same. For those who view culture as corporate, culture is a shared set of values, beliefs and attitudes devise and disseminated by management. For those who view culture as organisational, culture is a more or less shared set of values, beliefs and attitudes produced through social construction. The production of these discrete sets of values implies that, from either perspective, culture is a normative structure. The only difference being in the derivation of that structure. This normative structure means that, from the perspective of corporate culture, the ways in which people think and act are guided by the meta-theoretical assumptions which found the functional paradigm. In contrast, from the perspective of organisational culture, the ways in which people think and act are guided by the meta-theoretical assumptions which found the interpretive paradigm. This thesis argues that the framing effect of these meta-theoretical assumptions strongly influences research outcomes. This is demonstrated through a bi-paradigmatic analysis of a single organisation's culture. The bi-paradigmatic approach is produced by sets of research methods consistent with the functionalist and the interpretive paradigms. The analysis generates two distinctive contributions. First a deeper understanding of how research outcomes are shaped by paradigmatic assumptions. Second a re-conceptualisation of organisational culture. Here the move away from a mono-method approach reveals contradictory views of culture. Rather than a unitary set of values, attitudes and beliefs culture is seen as consistent of disparate value sets in need of reconciliation. Culture is re-conceptualised as the rubric which guides that reconciliation. 2014-12-15T10:45:10Z Asking the question - 'what is organization?' http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31121 Title: Asking the question - 'what is organization?' Authors: Spoelstra, Sverre Abstract: Philosophy plays an increasingly important role in organisation studies. This is particularly true for the recent sub-discipline in organisation studies known as critical management studies. In this thesis I am concerned with the relations between philosophy, organization and organization studies. I argue that philosophy performs two radically different roles in organization studies. The first role corresponds to the under-labourer conception of philosophy. According to this conception, philosophy is important for organization studies because it performs functions for organisations studies. Most notably, it is considered to provide different methods, paradigms, or ontological and epistemological frameworks in which one can perform organisational research. Within this approach, which I identify as the dominant conception of philosophy in organisation studies, philosophy remains an outside force: philosophy does itself not belong to organisation studies. The second, contrasting, role of philosophy in organisation studies is immanent to organisation studies itself: philosophy as the creation of concepts of organisation. In this conception, which I present on the basis of a reading of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, philosophy is understood to have a positive dimension which is lost when it is understood in terms of its usefulness for the social sciences. Philosophy of organisation, in this sense, means asking the question "What is organization?" philosophically, i.e. by creating concepts of organisation. It is this second role of philosophy that is further elaborated in this thesis; by asking what it is (part I) and also by exploring the philosophy of organization in the works of theorists such as Spinoza, Robert Cooper and Michel Foucault (part II). Taken together, the two parts argue for a more important role of philosophy of organisation in organisation studies, as distinguished from a philosophy for organisation studies. 2014-12-15T10:45:10Z Overcoming unboundedness in malmquist productivity measures : emprical tests of the mamquist total factor productivity index http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31122 Title: Overcoming unboundedness in malmquist productivity measures : emprical tests of the mamquist total factor productivity index Authors: Adesokan, Muhideen Bolaji Abstract: The widely applied non-parametric Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) is beset by Unboundedness under variable returns to scale technology assumptions. Potentially, this leads to inaccurate productivity measurements. The Malmquist Total Factor Productivity Index (MTFP) has been proposed as an alternative index for overcoming Unboundedness and has seen applications at the firm level. I extend the body of knowledge on these two indexes by applying them both to aggregate level data to examine the extent to which they are beset by Unboundedness and furthermore by decomposing the MTFP. Furthermore I address the pervasive gap in the literature on the relative performance of global regions. This level of study has received little attention while much work has been done on the relative performance of individual nations.;I find that the MTFP completely overcomes Unboundedness whereas the 5% of distance functions computed with the MPI are subject to the problem. In addition there is a statistically significant difference between the variable returns to scale (VRS) MTFP and MPI. There is a similarly significant difference between the variable returns to scale MTFP and the constant returns to scale MPI that has been widely used as its proxy. Thus I conclude advocating the use of the MTFP where the production relation being examined is best characterised by variable returns to scale technology assumptions. The Far East region was found to have achieved best performance in the 1980 -- 1999 period. There is an indication, albeit tenuous, that the regions with organised economic blocs achieve relatively high levels of performance. 2014-12-15T10:45:10Z A study of Taiwanese civil service reform from 1993 to 2003 : with reference to the UK experience http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31119 Title: A study of Taiwanese civil service reform from 1993 to 2003 : with reference to the UK experience Authors: Lee, Chung-Cheng Abstract: During the period from 1993 to 2003, the Taiwanese government has taken a series of measures to reform its own civil service. Some ideas have been introduced for the reform such as "Effectiveness", "downsizing", "consumer orientation", "contracting out", "privatisation", "introducing entrepreneurial spirit"...etc, which are similar to that of the UK. After a critical evaluation, we found that Taiwanese civil service reform has accomplished some progress. At the same time it has some defects as well. We also found two specific phenomena bothering the reform. These are firstly placing too much emphasis on organisational reform and secondly political factors firmly affecting the due process of the reform. In addition, the Taiwanese civil service has many positive proposals to help raise its capacity. From the aspect of accountability, it should gear up to match this democratic value. Most importantly, this service has to find a better way to reshape its reform objectives and goals, according to the global trends and its own national needs. With reference to the UK experience, we have concluded that there are some feasible ways, which could be adopted as a future approach for Taiwanese civil service reform. First of all, the transplantation of a Best Value model would be a useful framework to handle overall reform thoroughly and systematically. Secondly, the establishment of a Change Management System could deal with the possible challenges. Thirdly, the strengthening of the strategy concept should be well developed. Lastly, the pursuit of political impartiality is important, as the Taiwanese civil service system needs more space to develop in advance. 2014-12-15T10:45:09Z Co-operative discourse : a multi-level analysis http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31118 Title: Co-operative discourse : a multi-level analysis Authors: Karalak, Suparade Abstract: This research investigates the discourse of co-operative management and leadership. It explores the social construction of the concept of the 'co-operative' and the philosophy that underpins co-operative ideology, culture and values. The research employs a discursive research methodology. More specifically, discourse analysis is applied to a sample of speeches (n=23) given by prominent co-operative figures between 1823 and 1997. These texts are analysed using three discursive methods, namely: content analysis, narrative analysis and intertextuality analysis. These approaches are utilised to explore different levels of discourse, i.e.: the micro-level (the interrogation of words and sentences using content analysis); the meso-level (the examination of embedded stories and plots within texts using narrative analysis) and; the macro-level (the exploration of underlying patterns and recurring themes across texts using intertextual analysis). There are two main findings of this research. First, there is an emphasis on the notion of 'heroic/ideal' leadership within the texts which runs contrary to the espoused core values of shared responsibility and democratic member-based control within co-operatives. Second, and somewhat paradoxically, the discourse of co-operatives is becoming more business like and entrepreneurial in nature while the rhetoric of profit-making organisation is generally becoming more inclusionary, participative and democratic. The research highlights that there is an inherent tension within the co-operative movement between wanting to retain traditional values and the need to incorporate contemporary business practices (e.g. hierarchical leadership) and business values (i.e. capitalistic ideals). Given that co-operatives are caught between traditional commitments and adjusting to external requirements of being profitable, there are implications for identity and there is an need to rethink some of the assumptions, concepts and values which underpin co-operative discourse. Beyond the substantive contribution, this research also offers insights into the scope for, and benefits of, applying a multi-method, multi-level approach to discursive study of organisational phenomena. 2014-12-15T10:45:09Z The effectiveness of teacher recruitment and selection in Oman : an analysis of stakeholder perceptions http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31116 Title: The effectiveness of teacher recruitment and selection in Oman : an analysis of stakeholder perceptions Authors: Al Tobi, Khamis Saud. Abstract: Oman's public education system has expanded rapidly, with the number of teachers employed rising from 32 in 1970 to more than 36,000 in 2006. Widespread educational reform is currently underway and a number of stakeholders have voiced concerns about the quality of the novice teachers being appointed. This thesis responds to these concerns through an exploration of the practices and processes used to recruit and select primary and secondary teachers for Oman's public schools. A review of related literature, exploratory analyses and field observations gave rise to a number of research and practical aims. These focuses on assessing the extent to which teacher recruitment and selection (R&S) in Oman corresponded, in theory and in practice, with the normative prescriptions found in the best practice literature; exploring the conflicting perceptions of different stakeholders about the effectiveness of these processes, and contributing to the development of theory-based educational policy in Oman. The empirical study employed both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analyses. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with recruiters, head teachers and school district officials. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to cluster samples of newly recruited teachers. 496 completed questionnaires were analysed representing about 8% of the total population. The study produced two major findings. First, many of the techniques and processes employed in the R&S of teachers in Oman deviate significantly from those that have been shown to be effective elsewhere. Second, there is a widespread feeling amongst novice teachers that their psychological contracts with their employer have been violated and almost half of all teachers surveyed wish to leave the profession. The findings challenge the widespread community assumption that there is a problem with the quality of new teachers and highlight the importance of managing the expectations and perceptions of appointees throughout the selection and recruitment process. 2014-12-15T10:45:08Z Banking sector distress in the North Cyprus economy http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31117 Title: Banking sector distress in the North Cyprus economy Authors: Gunsel, Nil Abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to empirically investigate the micro and the macro determinants of bank fragility in the North Cyprus economy over the period 1984-2002 using a multivariate logit model and logistic survival analysis. The empirical methodology employed in this analysis allows for the distinction between the determinants of the likelihood of bank failure and the survival time. Firstly, the model links the probability and the timing of banking problems to a set of bank-specific factors, then following the identification of bank-specific variables, the approach proceeds by combining these banklevel factors with the macro-environment that may have exacerbated the internal troubles of the financial institutions. The macro factors considered in the analysis are macroeconomic characteristics, financial and structural weaknesses, external shocks and potential contagion effect from Turkey.;The empirical findings suggest that capital inadequacy, low asset quality, low profitability, low liquidity, small asset size, a fall in the real GDP growth, high inflation, rising real interest rates, high credit expansion to public and private sector, a sharp increase in the real exchange rates, adverse trade shocks and high budget deficit, the ratio of M2 to foreign exchange reserves, implicit/explicit deposit insurance, financial liberalization, weak regulation and supervision and external shocks and exchange rate pressure on Turkish Lira played an important role in the escalation of the 2000-2002 banking distress in North Cyprus. Moreover, an empirical examination of the results for survival analysis reveals that low leverage, low liquidity and high credit that extended to the private sector are the main determinants of the time to banks failure in North Cyprus.;Keywords: North Cyprus economy, banking sector, bank fragility, logit, survival. 2014-12-15T10:45:08Z Becoming et al http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31115 Title: Becoming et al Authors: Sen, Arko Abstract: The thesis repeats a becoming of difference and Otherness. It seeks to fold, refold and unfold an Otherness of representation. Attention is given to the core process of becoming. A disrupted pattern is maintained throughout and, sometimes, this takes the form of a labyrinth produced by an assemblage of inversions and pseudonymous writings. In this way, linear and hierarchical ordering and organization is strongly contested. A textual multiplicity is affirmed, which challenges orthodox organizational thought and conventional philosophy based on the repetition of the same, similar and identity. Experientially, immanence is made material for form an image of thought with fragments, fluctuating speeds and intensities. These folds produce four middles of thought. These arrangements of multiplicities and singularities explicate, implicate and attend to the participation of the Other. The movement is productive of inclusive Heterotopic spaces that are, at once, hospitable to the arrivante, nomads and the repetition of difference. Other theoretical developments are accommodated that address the Eternal Return, autonomy, chance, multitudes, hospitality and the folds of the inside and the outside. The Otherness of Art and Eastern thought are brought forth within the poesis of the thesis. A paradox addressed, amongst others, concerns alterity and the manner in which the thesis has and can be presented, and/or re-presented, to make clear an immanence and socially productive image of thought, which seeks only a repetition of difference. 2014-12-15T10:45:07Z An empirical examination of the factors influencing the implementation of information technology systems in the Saudi private organisations http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31112 Title: An empirical examination of the factors influencing the implementation of information technology systems in the Saudi private organisations Authors: Al-Turki, Saleh M. Abstract: This study was conducted in Saudi Arabia (SA) to identify and examine the main factors that entice private organisations in SA to implement Information Technology (IT) Systems. The study started by conducting an exploratory study using interviews, focus groups meetings to meet some IT academics and professionals in SA to find out about their opinions about the current IT environment in SA. Two mini-case studies were used to discuss the experience of two Saudi private organisations with implementation. The findings of this study were used to guide the direction and contents of the research. It was decided after the exploratory study that the research focus on the experience of Saudi private organisations with IT.;Questionnaires were distributed to 500 private organisations in the Saudi private sector in the Eastern Province in SA. 170 organisations completed and returned the instrument making the response rate to reach 34%. An analysis of the received data revealed that 89.4% of the respondent organisations are using IT systems with differing degrees of success as proposed by this study. This leaves 10.6% of the responding organisations being classified as unsuccessful (did not adopt IT systems at all); however 77% of these organisations stated that they will adopt IT systems in the near future.;The main reasons that entice Saudi private organisations to implement IT systems as revealed by this study include: to replace manual operations, to improve and facilitate decision-making, to improve the quality of the products and services, to overcome competition, to improve communication between the organisation and its clients/suppliers. Organisations which did not implement IT systems stated the main reasons include high costs, current way of doing business is sufficient, business is too small, lack of qualified IT staff. In addition, the study found significant relationship between IT implementation and senior manager age, his nationality, his education level and his IT knowledge. 2014-12-15T10:45:07Z Impact of oil and other economic forces on the Saudi stock market http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31113 Title: Impact of oil and other economic forces on the Saudi stock market Authors: Altoyan, Abdulaziz S. Abstract: The Saudi Arabian Stock Market went through several changes since the substantial increase of oil prices in 1973. This study firstly analyses the impact of oil revenue in developing the market and shaping its major characteristics. Secondly, it examines the effect of oil prices fluctuation and other macroeconomic variables as a determinant of stock return over the period between 1991 and 2000.;The main empirical findings indicate that the market risk premium is the most important factor in determining stock return. The influence of oil prices fluctuation over and above the market premium was explicit in firms belonging to subsidised sectors such as electricity and agriculture.;The impact of other economic variables varies among different firms listed in the market. Exchange rate has a significant effect on the banking firms while other variables have limited impact over and above the market on various companies, indicating that the effect of these variables are captured by market index. The results of empirical analysis become more explicit when replacing the market premium factor with market timing risk. In general, study suggests that under the current circumstances, the market premium is the most appropriate measure in determining the return in the Saudi Stock Market. 2014-12-15T10:45:07Z The weak-form efficiency of the Saudi stock market http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31114 Title: The weak-form efficiency of the Saudi stock market Authors: Al-Razeen, Abdullah Mohamed. Abstract: This study has examined the efficiency of the Saudi stock market by applying the weak-form test of the efficient market hypothesis, because the only information available is the prices of past years. To test for weak-form efficiency of SSM, the prices over a four-years period from 1992 to 1995 have been statistically analysed.;This thesis is divided into nine chapters. Chapter one is an introduction to this thesis. Chapters two and three briefly outline the structure of the Saudi Arabian economy and the financial system. The following two chapters review the classification of financial markets in general and the structure and regulation of the Saudi stock market.;Chapter six reviews literature concerning the efficient market theory and its implications in many studies.;Chapter seven discusses research methodologies used for market efficiency tests at the weak-form level in this study. In addition, data transformation and description are discussed.;Chapter eight contains the empirical examination included tests for empirical distribution of log price changes, auto-correlation tests, runs test and filter rules. The results are summarised in chapter nine.;However, this weak-form evidence indicates that the Saudi stock market has a lower level of efficiency than other large markets. The findings of this study are following the many researchers suggestions that small markets tend to have lower levels of efficiency than large well-traded markets. 2014-12-15T10:45:07Z The internationalisation of the small-to-medium sized enterprise (SME) : a critical realist approach http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31111 Title: The internationalisation of the small-to-medium sized enterprise (SME) : a critical realist approach Authors: Lashley, Jonathan Graham. Abstract: The Small- to Medium- Sized Enterprise (SME) has attracted the attention of researchers and governments because of the increasingly important role it is playing in national and international economies. The current research is directed towards understanding the internationalisation of this important economic unit, specifically the internationalisation of SMEs in the East Midlands region of the United Kingdom.;The research adopts a critical realist philosophy, used by researchers to explain the decision-making process, and applies it in a different context to provide insights into the internationalisation process of the SME. A critical realist approach is used as it enables an understanding of the roles of structures and the contingent environment in facilitating differing levels of SME internationalisation. These are factors that are believed to operate at a level below that of the observable.;The study adopts a mixed methodology (a questionnaire survey and two company case studies) that identifies three main issues, including, the international orientation of the industry, previous international experience of management, and the age of the firm. The survey also identified two other issues, perceptions of competition levels, and technology. All of these factors heavily influenced the differing internationalisation levels seen.;The two case study companies were used to illustrate the issues at a real level, highlighting the effect of the structures of the capitalist mode of production and the supply chain. The roles of these structures were shown as not deterministic, as the affect of structure was only exhibited under particular contingent conditions in the external and internal environments. 2014-12-15T10:45:06Z