Beyond statistics: a new rhetoric for investment theory

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 722-731 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Pistorius
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Rhetorical Analysis ◽  
Practical Relevance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Wealth ◽  
New Rhetoric ◽  
Investment Theory ◽  
Rational Behaviour ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the current rhetoric of predictability in investment theory. After making the case for unpredictability, a new rhetoric for investment theory is proposed. Design/methodology/approach – McCloskey's project of the rhetoric of economics provides the background and approach for the author's investigation. In particular the author will use the notions of metaphor, prediction, discourse analysis, and virtue ethics. Findings – The current rhetoric equals the original rhetoric in the seminal work of Markowitz. The current rhetoric is based on predictability and rational behaviour. The proposed new rhetoric for investment theory denies predictability. The new rhetoric aims to cope with statistics by stressing that statistics is supportive but not decisive: handling investment theory is about judgements, combining virtues with historical and theoretical insights. Practical implications – The investigation of the rhetoric of investment theory has practical relevance because the theory constitutes investment practice, and can put financial wealth at risk. The new rhetoric for investment theory invites practitioners and researchers to reflect on the epistemology of investment theory, and its consequences for the field. Originality/value – The rhetoric of investment theory is to the author's knowledge not yet analysed in the literature. The rhetorical analysis of the current rhetoric and the proposal of a new rhetoric aim to contribute to the literature on the rhetoric of investment theory.

Motivations, barriers and readiness factors for Quality 4.0 implementation: an exploratory study

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Sony ◽  
Jiju Antony ◽  
Jacqueline Ann Douglas ◽  
Olivia McDermott
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Practical Relevance ◽  
Theoretical Base ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeQuality 4.0 is the new buzzword among quality professionals. There has been no empirical study of Quality 4.0 yet. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to investigate what are the motivations, barriers and readiness factors for Quality 4.0 implementation.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses an online survey on senior quality professionals working in leading companies in Europe and America. In total, 50 participants participated in this study.FindingsThis study finds the top five motivating, barriers and readiness factors for Quality 4.0 implementation. These factors are ranked in terms of the order of importance as perceived by senior quality professionals.Research limitations/implicationsThis is the first empirical study on Quality 4.0 that investigates the motivation, barriers and readiness factors of Quality 4.0. This study provides a theoretical base of Quality 4.0 body of knowledge in terms of its practical relevance and adoption in modern-day organizations.Practical implicationsOrganizations can use this study to understand what the motivation and barriers for implementing Quality 4.0. In addition, before implementation of Quality 4.0, the readiness factor for Quality 4.0 can be used by organizations to evaluate their preparedness before the actual implementation of the initiative.Originality/valueThis is the first empirical study on Quality 4.0 that captures the viewpoints of senior quality professionals on the motivation, barriers and readiness factors of Quality 4.0.

Strategy to motivate and facilitate compromise in Chinese mediation

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiheng Deng ◽  
Kaibin Xu
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Chinese Society ◽  
Chinese People ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Common Goals ◽  
Language Strategies ◽  
Contemporary Chinese ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
External Reasons

Purpose – This paper aims to explore language strategies and techniques in Chinese mediation that are adopted by mediators to motivate and facilitate compromise among disputants. Design/methodology/approach – Ten cases were audio-recorded on the spot, transcribed for analysis in their Chinese form, and then translated into English for English readers. The translation of excerpts used in this paper to demonstrate points was double checked to ensure accuracy. Discourse analysis was adopted to explore the meanings and functions of the utterances in these excerpts. Findings – It is found that power is embedded in the mediator's position and in his/her role in the mediation. Furthermore, neutrality is less of a concern as compared to justice in the mediator's terms. Finally, socio-cultural indications of the language strategies and techniques were drawn about contemporary Chinese society. Practical implications – When dealing with Chinese people in conflict, one may emphasize common goals and bring in external reasons such as seniority, face, and status to motivate and facilitate compromise. Originality/value – Studying transcripts of cases that were recorded in real time and recently is rare in studies of Chinese mediation. Studying what people actually say provides us data in reality, in contrast to the ideals as well as what they say they do in mediation.

Analysis of readiness factors for Industry 4.0 implementation in SMEs using COPRAS

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
R.M. Sriram ◽  
S. Vinodh
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Multi Criteria Decision Making ◽  
Practical Relevance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Original Contribution ◽  
Manufacturing Competitiveness ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the readiness factors for Industry 4.0 deployment in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using complex proportionality assessment (COPRAS) methodology.Design/methodology/approachIndustry 4.0 is vital for ensuring manufacturing competitiveness of SMEs. In order to facilitate Industry 4.0 adoption in SMEs, readiness factors need to be analysed. In this viewpoint, this article presents the analysis of readiness factors using multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) tool COPRAS.FindingsThe priority of ranking of 15 readiness factors is obtained. The prioritized readiness factors would enable the smooth adoption of Industry 4.0 in SMEs.Practical implicationsThe study has been done based on inputs from industry practitioners and hence the results have practical relevance.Originality/valueThe analysis of readiness factors for Industry 4.0 in SMEs using COPRAS is the original contribution of authors.

Asymmetric relationships in networked agricultural innovation processes

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (7) ◽  
pp. 1810-1825 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelien Lambrecht ◽  
Bianka Kühne ◽  
Xavier Gellynck
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Innovation Networks ◽  
Practical Relevance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Innovation Processes ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Asymmetric Relationships

Purpose – In innovation networks, asymmetric relationships are both considered as an opportunity and a threat for the enhancement of innovation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how much asymmetry Flemish farmers perceive in their relationships for innovation with colleagues, suppliers and buyers. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 86 farmers active in four different agricultural subsectors in Flanders were consulted, of which 38 via in-depth interviews and 48 in seven focus groups. Data were analysed using NVivo. Findings – The authors found that across subsectors, different players in innovation networks play different roles. Furthermore, the authors observed that the majority of farmers see their relationships more as a necessity for the farm to be able to function, than as an opportunity for innovation. If they collaborate for innovation, they often prefer symmetric relationships with similar companies on horizontal level. Vertical collaboration for innovation is not very popular in the sample. Practical implications – The findings suggest that farmers should take more actions to gain power in the chain and improve their skills with regards to negotiating with their suppliers or buyers. Furthermore, the authors found which characteristics of asymmetric relationships would foster the development of innovation processes. Originality/value – Empirical work studying the effects and impacts of asymmetric relationships for innovation from the SME’s perspective are still limited, especially in the agricultural sector. Furthermore, this sector is of practical relevance to study because the need for networking and innovation is very real.

Shari’ah-compliant benchmark and Shari’ah-based “raf’ al-haraj” benchmark on prohibition of riba

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasushi Suzuki ◽  
Mohammad Dulal Miah
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Institutional Economics ◽  
Islamic Finance ◽  
Practical Relevance ◽  
Islamic Banks ◽  
Procedural Rationality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Transaction ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to propose two benchmarks “Shari’ah-compliant” benchmark and “Shari’ah-based” “raf’ al-haraj” (the removal of hardship) benchmark. The former benchmark can be applied to ensure that a transaction brings “profits on sales” and not “profits on loan”, and the latter benchmark should be addressed to ensure that a transaction does not exploit the customers of Islamic banks. Design/methodology/approach The authors draw upon the theory of institutional economics, in particular, instrumental and procedural rationality, to argue that the believers can pay their best effort as an exercise of ijtihad to understand and incarnate the logic and rationales implicit in the Qur’anic text. Findings Currently, there is no benchmark that determines the profit ceiling on murabaha. The authors suggest two types of “gray-zones” – the “Shari’ah-compliant but less contributing to the removal of hardship” and the “controversial on compliance but contributing to the removal of hardship in borrowers” to use as a benchmark in endorsing less shariah-compliant Islamic products. Practical implications There is no benchmark or a clear-cut demarcation that can be used to endorse less Shari’ah-compliant Islamic finance. Thus, Shari’ah-compliant’ benchmark and “Shari’ah-based” “raf’ al- haraj” benchmarks can be used to guide whether a financial transaction is acceptable or not. This guideline can be of huge practical relevance for Islamic finance. Originality/value There is no sensible study that offers such guidelines that can be used to demarcate whether a particular financial transaction, which has no clear-cut fatwa, is acceptable or not. Hence, the current research is novel and contributes to the existing literature of Islamic finance.

A discursive textscape of workplace spirituality

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 948-969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brad S. Long ◽  
Cathy Driscoll
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Workplace Spirituality ◽  
Organizational Studies ◽  
Discursive Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Societal Level ◽  
Conditions Of Possibility ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – Based on themes the authors observed in workplace spirituality texts, the purpose of this paper is to highlight the historicity of these texts and induce a model to help them understand how this discourse of workplace spirituality came into being. Design/methodology/approach – The authors perform intertextual analysis to show how authors draw upon concepts available in the broader discursive context, from which the authors produced a textscape of the workplace spirituality discourse to depict these layers of discursive interconnections. Findings – The expressed novelty and recency of workplace spirituality as a form of management knowledge, the authors argue, is made ambiguous by its heavy borrowing from other discourses. The authors show how existent spiritual, organizational and societal-level discourses create the conditions of possibility for the discourse of workplace spirituality to emerge. Most of the authors within the corpus engaged the same theories in organizational studies that created the kind of workplaces they now seek to change. Practical implications – The power of the workplace spirituality discourse to improve the state of workers and work and achieve the expressed desire for change may be diminished through the discursive practices of its authors. Originality/value – The authors offer a visual “textscape” in which the findings are framed and hence operationalize this idea in a novel manner that contributes to the methods of discourse analysis. The findings also call for more critical reflection into whether workplace spirituality represents a solution to organizational problems when neither the workers nor work it constructs are particularly new.

Research on innovation in family businesses: are we building an ivory tower?

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Fuetsch ◽  
Julia Suess-Reyes
Keyword(s):  
Family Business ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Recent Criticism ◽  
Practical Relevance ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Business Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Innovation Research ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose One of the central requirements of research is that the knowledge acquired should not only be academically rigorous, but also socially useful. If an article fails to address practical relevance, the audience will question its value and respond with “so what?”. Due to recent criticism regarding the practical relevance of innovation research, the purpose of this paper is to examine whether a similar “ivory divide” prevails in research on innovation in family businesses. More specifically, this paper investigates to what extent and at what depth researchers generate practical implications for innovation in family businesses. Furthermore, different strategies to bridge the “ivory divide” are discussed. Design/methodology/approach This literature review systematically analyses the findings of 50 journal articles focusing on innovation in family businesses published between 2004 and 2015. Based on this, the articles are classified according to their degree of practical relevance. Findings Although the findings unanimously show the relevance of innovation for strengthening business’s performance, only a minority of articles offer in-depth implications for practitioners in terms of practical guidance for action and application-oriented recommendations. A number of reasons for the development of this “ivory divide” are discussed and suggestions for how the connection between research and practice could be strengthened are provided. Originality/value This paper attempts to provide an impulse toward more practically oriented family business research in order to increase its interestingness to academics and its value to practitioners.

scholarly journals Biodiversity accounting: uncover environmental destruction in Indonesia

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 809-825
Author(s):  
Syarifuddin Syarifuddin ◽  
Ratna Ayu Damayanti
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Community Participation ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Environmental Destruction ◽  
South Sulawesi ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This study aims to reveal the impression which is delivered in the biodiversity report of local governments in South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. It is crucial since the region has biodiversity that seems to get no specific attention in preserving its sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Discourse analysis was used as a method to reveal fact and developing discourse. Analysis method to be developed was Eder cognitive discourse analysis, which was conducted by observing the narration in the biodiversity report. Findings The findings of this study indicate that the informant's impression of the biodiversity report was made to attract investors by showing information related to local natural resources, thus allowing investors to exploit nature as needed. Nature and humans in the view of policymakers cannot be separated. Research limitations/implications The implication of this research for further research is to focus more on the neutralization motives of the biodiversity reports preparers and the implications of community participation to save the environment. Practical implications This study shows practice and policy of accounting in the organizational biodiversity as written in its report. Discourse and impression which are stated to the stakeholders need to be changed to show the seriousness of the region in biodiversity conservation. Originality/value Many types of research studies have been conducted related to biodiversity accounting so far, but this paper views it from a different aspect. This paper discusses the intention and purpose of the report to show its spirit.

Practical relevance of theory-driven supply chain management research

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohong Liu ◽  
Alan C. McKinnon
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Practical Relevance ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Critical Components ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Leading Journals

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which theory-driven supply chain management (SCM) research is of practical relevance. It does this on the basis of empirical research in China.Design/methodology/approachA two-pronged approach was adopted. First, 57 theory-driven SCM studies based in China published in ten leading journals between 2006 and 2015 were surveyed. Second, a questionnaire survey of Chinese managers identified their practical concerns and assessed their alignment with the content of the academic papers.FindingsSome academic research on SCM does probe industry-relevant problems. From an academic perspective, this confirms that theory-driven SCM research can be of practical value. Overall, however, the survey found that much of the SCM research works do not translate into actionable knowledge for practitioners. Academic research in this field could pursue a more pragmatic path and enhance its practical utility. Two critical components of this path, “practical observation” and “practical verification,” are highlighted.Research limitations/implicationsAs the literature review was confined to ten leading journals, relevant papers in other journals were possibly excluded. The research was confined to China and so the results are not necessarily generalizable to other countries.Practical implicationsChinese academics and practitioners could collaborate in defining research agendas and directions. This would help researchers direct their theory building to issues of relevance to business.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the relevance of theory-driven SCM research from academic and practitioner perspectives in China. It shows how this research might have greater impact on business practice.

The fallacy of impact without relevance – reclaiming relevance and rigor

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ram Narasimhan
Keyword(s):  
Applied Field ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Practical Importance ◽  
Inductive Reasoning ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Practical Relevance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Conceptual Paper ◽  
Reflective Essay ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to underscore the fundamental importance of relevance to an applied field such as supply chain management (SCM). It is argued that simultaneity of research rigor and relevance is necessary to assert claims of impact. Design/methodology/approach This paper acts as a reflective essay, inductive reasoning and prescriptive framework. Findings Impact needs to be evaluated based on both rigor and relevance, and not exclusively based on whether a paper is published in a “top-tier” journal. Without relevance, academic research in SCM will cease to be of practical importance. Research limitations/implications The primary limitation is that this is a conceptual paper relying on logical arguments. Practical implications The paper exhorts academics in SCM to recognize and insure practical relevance in their research. It develops strong arguments for why such a combined focus is needed and should be encouraged by journals. Originality/value Thought provoking paper intended to change how the field evaluates research for its impact. General strategies for increasing relevance in academic research are offered.

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