Incentives for Polish higher education institutions to improve real estate efficiency

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 214-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Rymarzak

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the appropriateness of incentives used by governments for Polish public higher education institutions (HEIs) to be more efficient in real estate and how these incentives can be strengthened.Design/methodology/approachA closed-ended questionnaire was sent to all public HEIs in Poland. Of the 132 questionnaires sent, 57 were successfully completed and returned, representing a response rate of 43 per cent.FindingsAnalysis of empirical data demonstrates that when considerable public funds, both national and European, were distributed to extend and upgrade academic infrastructure, Polish HEIs have had no obligation to show how they manage the assets entrusted to them, and the government has not created adequate incentives to encourage efficiency in the use of HEIs real estate. This may have resulted in a significant, yet not always justified, increase in the space at their disposal. In view of a demographic decline, the low level of internalisation of Polish HEIs, the decreasing level of funding from the public purse and the growing operation and maintenance costs of the buildings, an oversupply of space may cause financial distress to some establishments. This may affect the future of the whole system of higher education.Practical implicationsThis paper can be a resource for HEI chancellors, financial directors and campus managers, as well as HEI funding and supervisory institutions.Originality/valueThis paper highlights the need to strengthen incentives for public HEIs in Poland to foster their greater efficiency in resource allocation and utilization. Greater transparency in HEI operations and the improvement of the POL-on system may contribute to more efficient use of university assets.

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arleen Hernández-Díaz ◽  
Theany Calderon-Abreu ◽  
Maria Amador-Dumois ◽  
Mario Córdova-Claudio

Purpose Higher education institutions, particularly in the case of public universities, face the challenge of creating more value in an environment of increasing requirements and limitations. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relation of internal marketing (IM) with employees’ attitudinal outcomes, which aim to stimulate and retain motivated and customer-conscious contact employees. Design/methodology/approach Survey data of 94 customer-contact employees in a public higher education institution were analysed using partial least squares path modelling to explore and predict key target constructs. Findings The results demonstrate the relationship between customer-contact employees’ service empathy (SE), institutional IM initiatives and employees’ attitudinal outcomes in the public sector, specifically higher education institutions. Research limitations/implications The current study relies on self-reported data and a small sample of customer-contact employees working only on enrolment-related areas. Further studies should be designed for theory confirmation and generalizability of the results. Practical implications Top managers in public higher education institutions must encourage organizational identification through IM initiatives, such as well-established internal communication procedures. Academic management should continuously train and retain customer-contact employees that have developed SE and a sense of belonging to the organization. SE must be incorporated in the job descriptions and training of customer-contact employees. Originality/value The study contributes to the limited literature on the use of IM and SE in the public sector, specifically higher education institutions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 555-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niall Corcoran ◽  
Aidan Duane

Purpose The management of organisational knowledge and the promotion of staff knowledge sharing are largely neglected in higher education institutions. The purpose of this study is to examine how enterprise social networks can enable staff knowledge sharing in communities of practice in that context. Design/methodology/approach The study is framed as an Action Research project, covering three cycles over a 12-month period. During the Diagnosing phase, a conceptual model was developed for empirical testing. Data were collected through 30 semi-structured interviews and a number of focus groups. This was supplemented by content analysis and reflective journaling. Findings The findings support the conceptual model and provide insight into the antecedents necessary for the creation of an enterprise social network-enabled knowledge-sharing environment, the motivators for and barriers to participation, and the perceived organisational and individual benefits of increased staff knowledge-sharing activity. Research limitations/implications As the study has a higher education focus, all of the findings may not be generalizable to other types of organisation. Further development of the conceptual model and testing in other contextual settings will yield greater generalizability. Practical implications A number of findings have practical implications for the management of higher education institutions, such as the evidence of a divide between faculty and other staff. In general, the study findings provide an opportunity for educationalists to better understand the scope and impact of employing social media platforms for knowledge sharing. Originality/value This paper adds to the growing body of work on organisational implementations of social media, and should be of interest to practitioners and researchers undertaking similar projects.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Noronha ◽  
Jieqi Guan ◽  
Sandy Hou In Sio

Purpose While the COVID-19 virus has been spreading worldwide, some studies have related the pandemic with various aspects of accounting and therefore emphasized the importance of accounting research in understanding the impact of COVID-19 on society as a whole. Recent studies have looked into such an impact on various industries such as retail and agriculture. The current study aims at applying a sociological framework, sociology of worth (SOW), to the gaming industry in Macau, the largest operator of state-allowed gambling and entertainment in China, which will allow for its development during the COVID-19 pandemic to be charted. Design/methodology/approach The study uses the theory of SOW as a framework and collects data from various sources, such as the government, gaming operators and the public, to create timelines and SOW frameworks to analyze the impact of the virus on the gaming industry and the society as a whole. Findings Detailed content analysis and the creation of different SOW matrices determined that the notion of a “lonely economy” during a time of a critical event may be ameliorated in the long term through compromises of the different worlds and actors of the SOW. Practical implications Though largely theory-based, this study offers a thorough account of the COVID-19 incident for both the government and the gaming industry to reflect on and to consider new ways to fight against degrowth caused by disasters or crises. Social implications The SOW framework divides society into different worlds of different worths. The current study shows how the worths of the different worlds are congruent during normal periods, and how cracks appear between them when a sudden crisis, such as COVID-19, occurs. The article serves as a social account of how these cracks are formed and how could they be resolved through compromise and reconstruction. Originality/value This study is a first attempt to apply SOW to a controversial industry (gaming) while the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are ongoing. It offers a significant contribution to the social accounting literature through its consideration of the combination of unprecedented factors in a well-timed study that pays close attention to analyses and theoretical elaboration.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Elíseo Fernandes Sanches ◽  
Matheus Leite Campos ◽  
Luiz Eduardo Gaio ◽  
Marcio Marcelo Belli

Purpose Higher education institutions (HEIs) should assume their role as leaders in the search for a sustainable future. Consequently, such institutions need to incorporate sustainability into their activities. However, this needs to be done holistically and not with isolated and independent actions. Therefore, this study aims to develop a structure of sustainability action archetypes to help HEIs holistically incorporate sustainability in their strategies. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review of the literature was conducted focusing on the subject of sustainability in HEIs. Findings A structure of sustainability action archetypes for HEIs was proposed. Further, based on scientific literature, examples of actions were presented within each archetype. Practical implications This study provides HEI administrators and other organizations with a practical structure to enable the systemic incorporation of sustainability objectives and actions into institutional activities. Originality/value This study adapts the tool “sustainable business model archetypes” for a new purpose. This tool was initially developed to classify innovations of sustainable business models.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 489-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Hiang Liow ◽  
Shao Yue Angela

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the volatility spectral of five major public real estate markets, namely, the USA, the UK, Japan (JP), Hong Kong (HK), and Singapore (SG), during the pre- and post-global financial crisis (GFC) periods. Design/methodology/approach First, univariate spectral analysis is concerned with discovering price cycles for the respective real estate markets. Second, bivariate cross-spectral analysis seeks to uncover whether any two real estate price series share common cycles with regard to their relative magnitudes and lead-lag patterns of the cyclical variations. Finally, to test the contagion effects, the authors estimate the exact percentage change in co-spectral density (cyclical covariance) due to high frequencies (short run) after the GFC. Findings The authors find that whilst none of the public real estate markets examined are spared from the crisis, the three Asian markets were less severely affected by the GFC and were accompanied by a reversal in volatility increase three years post-global financial crisis. Additionally, the public real estate markets studied have become more cyclically linked in recent years. This is particularly true at longer frequencies. Finally, these increased cyclical co-movements measure the outcomes of contagion and indicate fairly strong contagious effects between the public real estate markets examined due to the crisis. Research limitations/implications The implication of this research is that benefits to investors from international real estate diversification may not be as great during the present time compared to previous periods because national public real estate markets have become more correlated. Nevertheless, the findings do not imply the complete absence of diversification benefits. This is because although cyclical correlations increase in the short run, many of the correlation values are still between low and moderate range, indicating that some diversification benefits may still be realized. Practical implications Given the significant market share and the highest levels of securitization in Asia-Pacific markets including JP, HK/China, and SG, this cyclical research including major public real estate markets has practical implications for ongoing international real estate investment strategies, particularly for the USA/UK and Asian portfolio managers. Originality/value This paper contributes to the limited research on the cyclical return and co-movement dynamics among major public real estate markets during financial/economic crisis in international finance. Moreover, the frequency-domain analysis conducted in this paper adds to better understanding regarding the impact of GFC on the cyclical return volatility and co-movement dynamics of major developed public real estate markets in international investing.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 653-669
Author(s):  
Andriy Kovalenko

Purpose The slogans adopted by higher-education institutions usually target all college stakeholders without differentiation, even though these stakeholders may have quite different connections to the organization. The purpose of this paper is to understand whether there is a relationship between students’ cultural backgrounds and their preferences for slogans of higher-education institutions. Design/methodology/approach The study utilized a survey for data collection. In total, 295 participants answered questions about preferences for slogans appealing to purchase or product involvement, and individualistic or collectivist values. Findings The results suggest that participants from both collectivist and individualistic societies prefer slogans that appeal to the values pertinent to their respective cultures. Representatives of both groups preferred slogans referring to the benefits of education over slogans describing features of particular institutions. Practical implications Slogans with messages appealing to people from collectivist and individualistic messages cultures should be included in promotional materials and distributed among corresponding audiences. Slogans for prospective students should refer to the advantages of studying in a particular institution, while current students should be targeted with slogans that encourage dedicated studying in general. Originality/value The findings contribute to the understanding of factors increasing effectiveness of higher-education slogans. It is also one of the first studies of how students from India (Punjab and Kerala states) and the Philippines process promotional materials from western educational institutions.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Farzaneh Jalali Aliabadi ◽  
Graham Gal ◽  
Bita Mashyekhi

Purpose This study aims to examine the public budgeting process in the higher education and research sectors of Iran. It focuses on the actors’ budgetary roles and uses their perspectives to identify deficiencies in the budgeting process that cause delays in the transition to a performance-based system. Design/methodology/approach This study uses an interpretive research paradigm. It applies the grounded theory methodology to analyze the interviews conducted with those responsible for budgeting at Iranian public universities and research institutes (PURI). The results are interpreted using Wildavsky’s (1964) budgetary roles paradigm. Findings Using Wildavsky’s (1964) paradigm, “spenders” and “guardians” are identified and their perceptions about the public budgeting process are described. The results suggest a decoupling between the actors’ perceptions based on their budgetary roles. Spenders consider budgeting as a negotiation-based process, while guardians’ decisions are largely based on “outputs” and “information.” This study demonstrates that the disagreement over the perceived budget process was due to different budgetary roles. This disagreement leads to delays in the transformation of the budget process in Iranian PURI. Research limitations/implications While efforts are made to obtain a sample of individuals with different roles and responsibilities, the selection is limited by subjects’ willingness and availability. Therefore, sample size and diversity are potential limitations of this study. Practical implications When organizations attempt to transition to performance-based budgeting (PBB), it is critical to understand the current budgeting process to identify potential impediments. Understanding these impediments allows for alternate approaches to be considered. This is particularly important for universities that are mostly funded by the government (such as those in Iran). The results of this study show that the contradictory perceptions among budget actors have a significant impact on budgeting transition and require attention to understand budgeting decisions. Originality/value This study contributes to the budgeting literature in three ways. First, it examines the impact of endogenized shared values among budget participants on the budgeting transition process. Second, by focusing on budgetary roles, it contributes to the literature by examining disagreement on the perceived budgeting process and its implications for transforming the process into PBB. Finally, to the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the public budgeting process in a developing country – Iran.


2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 825-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yehuda Baruch ◽  
A. Uday Bhaskar ◽  
Bijaya Mishra

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a career-orientation and employability-focused model in the Indian context in order to understand: factors influencing employability of graduates factors influencing expected salary gain. Design/methodology/approach The researchers adopted a quantitative method using a two-wave survey with a sample of MBA graduates from two prominent business schools in India. The total sample size for Wave I was 250, while for Wave II it was 161. The model was tested via hierarchical regression with MBA contribution as a moderator. Findings Results indicate the relevance of protean career orientation (PCO) to reaching career outcomes such as employability, with MBA contribution as a moderator. Practical implications The study provides a new perspective that would enhance graduates’ employability. This makes it relevant for both individuals and higher education institutions as it will help both individuals and higher education institutions to attain competitiveness at the national level. Originality/value The career theory was extended to the diverse socio-cultural and economic context of India, representing the BRICS economy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-44
Author(s):  
Ngoc Minh Do

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review the strategic management of Vietnamese higher education institutions. Design/methodology/approach The paper examined the external environment of the country’s education system based on the five forces framework by Michael Porter and inspected the strategies of universities and colleges. Findings It was concluded that lack of environmental analysis from both the government and higher education institutions themselves diminishes the intended effectiveness of the reforms; problems of skill shortage in the labor market, staff insufficiency and poor quality are prevalent; and that strategies developed by the institutions are purely responsive to the State’s direction without considering sustainability. Research limitations/implications Lack of literature on Vietnamese higher education limits timely analysis. Practical implications Strategic planning based on a thorough investigation of the environment is imperative to enhance the performance of the education system generally as well as of academic institutions individually. The government plays a key role in developing initiatives to enhance staff capabilities and improve quality of educational outputs. Originality/value There has not been any paper that approached Vietnam’s higher education management under such an analytical framework.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 250-270
Author(s):  
Loukas N. Anninos ◽  
Alexandra Paraskevi Chytiri ◽  
Leonidas Chytiris

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to examine the level of narcissism and its individual traits in students who study business, in the particular context of a regional country such as Greece; and, second, to test how several demographic variables are related to narcissism levels. Design/methodology/approach The study consists of a theoretical part on narcissism in business education and an empirical part that was based on a survey conducted with the use of a questionnaire. The analysis includes hypothesis testing and basic statistical tests. Findings Findings suggest that sex, study levels, years of business experience and (personal/family) income do impact specific narcissistic dimensions, which may be a cause for concern both for employers and higher education providers. Research limitations/implications The study was conducted in a regional country, the participants were students of public higher education institutions only and the questionnaire was self-reported, which could lead to likely social desirability effects. Practical implications The investigation of narcissism in the Greek business education might be of interest to business education providers (for providing curriculum that help future managers/leaders to deploy the positive characteristics of narcissism and avoid or not to develop the negative ones) and to future employers to apply more effective human resource practices, i.e. selection, training, rewarding. Originality/value The study at hand aimed to investigate the presence of narcissism and its individual (narcissistic) behavioral dimensions in students studying business in Greece.


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