Volume 08 Number 01
The Australian Executive Work Culture
James C. Sarros and Joseph C. Santora
The purpose of this study is to explore the Australian work culture through an examination of the written comments and interview responses of executives in our sample. We identify differences in the leadership styles of Australian executives compared with their executive colleagues in other Western-based economies, and explain the attitudes of Australian executives in terms of historical events and cultural conditions.
Negative Country Of Origin Events: The Case Of The French Nuclear Tests
Ron Edwards and Simon Moss
In 1995 the French Government conducted a series of nuclear tests at Mururoa Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Reactions from governments and the public in Australia and New Zealand were intensely negative. Various consumer groups organised boycotts of French goods and the offices of many French subsidiaries were picketed. This paper examines the commercial effects on subsidiaries of French firms in Australia and New Zealand. It also considers the strategies adopted by management to minimise the threat. The results show that the majority of French subsidiaries were affected but the effects were of short duration. Many firms reacted inappropriately by taking steps that altered their long term structure and strategy.
The Effects Of Investment Opportunities And Managerial Ownership On Audit Fees: Evidence From An Emerging Market
Kamran Ahmed and Mahmud Hossain
Drawing on the contracting costs literature this study empirically tests the incremental explanatory power of managerial ownership and firms' growth opportunities on the cost of audit services in Bangladesh. Using data from 61 firms listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) for the year 1994-95, the results provide support for a significant association between audit fees and growth opportunities, and managerial ownership. Among the four control variables: leverage, auditee size, auditee complexity, and size of audit firm, only auditee size is found to significantly related to audit fees. The results of this study provide useful insights into the role of agency costs variables and auditor's billing practices in an emerging economy, such as Bangladesh.
Income And Energy In The East Indian Ocean Basin
Ronald D. Ripple
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the relationship between energy consumption at the household (residential) level and measures of income for the eight countries of the East Indian Ocean Basin. The ultimate goal is to establish a measure for standard of living or quality of life comparisons based on residential energy consumption, as opposed to traditional measures of income. Toward that end, a preliminary benchmark is established for household-level electricity consumption, and the region's eight countries are assessed against the benchmark. The general conclusion of the analysis of the countries of this region is that electricity consumption may provide a useful and policy-relevant measure of relative standards of living and of changes in the standard of living over time. One question that must be addressed, and this paper only just lays the foundation for, is whether or not the examination of a measure of residential energy consumption can provide policy makers with information that differs with that observed from traditional measures. Suggested further analysis is discussed at the close of the paper.
East Asia's Financial Crisis: Lessons For South Asia
A. Mansur M Masih and Rumi Masih
The recent and on-going East Asian financial crisis originating in Thailand engulfed not only the South-East Asian region and Australasia but also many other regions across the globe as far away as Russia and Latin America. The financial crisis also resulted in a serious social and political crisis in many parts of the region. An analysis of this ongoing financial crisis, therefore, is of crucial global significance. This study makes an attempt to identify the roots of the crisis by dividing them into firstly, the cumulative factors and secondly, the trigger factors. The cumulative factors boil down to the vulnerabilities of the domestic financial and corporate system as well as those of the external sector of the economies in the context of globalisation when the global liquidity conditions were accommodative. The trigger factors, however, were the 'contagion' accompanied by a massive reversal of private capital, particularly short term and unhedged (which was many times more than their regular trade flows) prompted by the sudden realisation by the market that a number of Asian economies had vulnerabilities similar to those in Thailand.
Enhancing Private Investment In The Natural Gas Industry In The Asian-Indian Ocean Region
Samuel A. Van Vactor
This paper examines the development of the natural gas industry in the Asian-Indian Ocean Region, comparing the levels of progress of individual countries against others both within and outside of the region. The level of resource availabilities and costs vary enormously across the region making the formulation of an overall regional policy difficult, however one common need highlighted by APEC's activities is the need for greater private investment in the market. Newcomers to the industry could avoid many of the past inefficiencies of well established gas markets such as North America, if Asian governments are clear about their ultimate goals and the process by which these objectives can best be achieved. Well-designed multilateral and unilateral government policies and planning taking into account issues such as investment incentives, land use, resource integration, governance and usage, are required to ensure the development of an efficient Asian gas pipeline grid.
Developments And Issues In Smart Card Based Electronic Commerce
Raj Gururajan and Dieter Fink
Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is attracting much attention since it opens up new ways of doing business. E-commerce can be based on Internet or on smart card technology. The paper discusses the latter approach to e-commerce as it may be suitable for developing countries lacking the necessary telecommunications infrastructure required by the Internet. It identifies types of smart cards in use and discusses trading issues from the consumer's and the merchant's point of views. Recent smart card based e-commerce developments in the Asian region are outlined. Finally, the paper develops a number of research propositions and a model for the adoption and diffusion of smart card based e-commerce.