André M. Everett

Advanced Management Accounting Techniques in Manufacturing: Utilization, Benefits, and Barriers to Implementation

Advanced management accounting techniques were developed to provide information appropriate for decision making in changing internal and external environments. However, studies in the US and UK demonstrated that firms are slow to adopt such techniques. To examine whether and why this reluctance exists, manufacturers? adoption and utilization of advanced accounting techniques, plus perceived barriers to adoption, were examined. Data were collected from 165 New Zealand manufacturing sites, selected as representative of organizations facing major structural reform and environmental change, hence likely candidates for accounting system rejuvenation. Adoption, utilization, combinations of techniques, trends, perceived benefits, and barriers to adoption are discussed.

Reconstituting knowledge management

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to improve traditional knowledge management models in light of complexity theory, emphasizing the importance of moving away from hierarchical relationships among data, information, knowledge, and wisdom.Design/methodology/approach – Traditional definitions and models are critically reviewed and their weaknesses highlighted. A transformational perspective of the traditional hierarchies is proposed to highlight the need to develop better perspectives. The paper demonstrates the holistic nature of data, information, knowledge, and wisdom, and how they are all based on an interpretation of existence.Findings – Existing models are logically extended, by adopting a complexity‐based perspective, to propose a new model – the E2E model – which highlights the non‐linear relationships among existence, data, information, knowledge, wisdom, and enlightenment, as well as the nature of understanding as the process that defines the differences among these constructs. The meaning of m...

Antecedents of employee burnout in the hotel industry.

This study explored the degree of association between employee perceptions of the work environment and burnout. Aspects of the job and organisational structures that can be influenced were tested for association with the Maslach and Jackson components of employee burnout in an attempt to understand the stress processes that lead to employees experiencing emotional exhaustion, depersonalising customers and feeling a lack of personal accomplishment. Data from a questionnaire completed by employees of large hotels in New Zealand indicate that although physical aspects of a job are associated with certain aspects of burnout, the stronger relationships are clearly with respondents’ perceptions of the workplace climate.

Brand corrosion: mass‐marketing's threat to luxury automobile brands after merger and acquisition

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to explore the practical implications of brand management decisions, particularly those involving the combination of luxury and mass‐market brands within the same organization through merger or acquisition. The aim of the paper is to expand brand theory by linking it to administrative heritage in the context of the increasingly integrated global automobile industry.Design/methodology/approach – Integrated case studies of Jaguar, Mercedes‐Benz, and Saab illustrate the effects of brand extension and dilution through the lenses of brand development, luxury brands, and administrative heritage theories. The recent history of acquisitions and mergers involving luxury automobile brands provides background to the in‐depth examination of these three specific instances. Conclusions are reached by comparing and contrasting the experiences of these firms relative to their mass‐market siblings.Findings – The blending of luxury and mass‐market automobile brands in one corporate...

Knowledge transfer within Japanese multinationals: building a theory

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to explore the theoretical underpinnings of knowledge transfer within Japanese multinationals. To that end, a conceptual model of knowledge transfer within Japanese multinational companies and their overseas affiliates is proposed.Design/methodology/approach – In the first part, theoretical models of knowledge transfer within multinationals in general are explored through a literature review. Next, related knowledge management practices utilized by Japanese companies, specifically in their overseas subsidiaries, are introduced. The third section develops a conceptual model proposing how knowledge is disseminated within Japanese multinationals. The discussion is based on the assumption that Japanese firms consciously apply the same knowledge management methods abroad as at home only to the extent to which they consider them appropriate for transplanting into a foreign environment.Findings – Distillation of prior research has led to the conceptual model proposed her...

Authentic leadership theory development: theorizing on Chinese philosophy

As an emerging paradigm, authentic leadership has attracted increasing interest. Our study contributes to developing authentic leadership theory, from a sociological and philosophical perspective, using a case study methodology in the Chinese context. Using interviews and observations in eight Chinese organizations, we examine the Western authentic leadership model and develop a theory of authentic leadership in the Chinese context. Chinese authentic leaders concentrate on being authentic to ‘the self’, consistent with the Western literature, but place even greater emphasis on being authentic to ‘the context’ of daily practice. Thus, we propose a new authentic leadership model that dynamically integrates the two categories of authenticity, supported by evidence derived in the Chinese context.

Home alone and often unprepared – intercultural communication training for expatriated partners in German MNCs

This article reports the results of a study of partners who accompany the expatriated representatives of multinational corporations (MNCs) on overseas missions and identifies that they are mostly home alone and often unprepared. Following a review of the literature on issues related to expatriated partners, in particular intercultural communication training (ICT), the article presents the findings of empirical research conducted in Germany on current ICT trends for expatriated partners. The study identifies the ICT methods German MNCs use to support these partners before and during international assignments. The authors surveyed 141 German expatriated partners who went on overseas missions to 36 countries. The results of this research project indicate that traditional ICT is only provided to the minority of partners in German MNCs, follows no predictable time pattern, and is mostly perceived as rather useless by participants. Particular attention is paid, however, to the target culture in the ICT design. Non-traditional ICT methods, such as Look-&-See Trips, are rather generously taken advantage of.

Transforming research case studies into teaching cases

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to encourage consideration of the multiple factors affecting dual use of case studies for both research and teaching, and conversion between the two types; to encourage development of a case transformation protocol to add rigor to this process.Design/methodology/approach – Literature review with discussion.Findings – Noting that insularity diminishes the potential contribution of the research underlying either teaching or research cases, this paper advocates establishment of more formalized conversion approaches.Practical implications – Dual use of case studies can provide economies of scale for academics, conserving time, effort, and funding, but involving greater care and advance consideration of the implications of differences between teaching and research cases.Originality/value – By highlighting key issues and proposing solutions, this paper advances understanding of the potential for transformation of cases and the importance of advance consideration of their p...

Emerging trends in Australian and New Zealand management development practices in the twenty‐first century

Having shaken off the formal mantles of their British forebears, Australians and New Zealanders are eagerly embracing the latest management development (MD) approaches, adopting and adapting North American and European methods. Recent government reports highlight the need for both basic and advanced MD, increasing the receptivity of the business community for fresh, imported MD programs. Successful localisation of overseas offerings depends on an awareness of subtle differences between the two countries as well as between them and other English‐speaking regions. In addition to anecdotal advice for the flying MD consultant, we provide an environmental scan, focusing on cultural distinctions and recent economic developments affecting demand for, and practices in, MD in Australia and New Zealand. Our goal is to maximise your success in prospecting, designing, and conducting MD programs in our countries.

National culture and innovation capability: some observations concerning Chinese‐Americans

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the literature and discuss the relations between national culture, national subcultures and innovation based on three perspectives: divergence, convergence and crossvergence.Design/methodology/approach – Based principally on previous studies in the “culture” and “culture and innovation” literature, this paper reviews two key sets of literature: first, the three perspectives of macro‐level cultural interaction are reviewed; second, the relationship between culture and innovation is reviewed. Hofstedes five dimensions of culture in the workplace are employed when discussing the impact of culture and innovation.Findings – The outcome of the review suggests that the product of crossvergence (Chinese‐American culture in this case) has a high potential to be more innovative than one of the two interacting cultures (Chinese), but does not draw a conclusion regarding relative innovativeness between Chinese‐American and US culture. It is generally found that Wester...