Australian Enterprises Research Articles

The impact of unions on the Australian enterprise bargaining framework

AbstractThis paper explores the effects of union involvement in enterprise bargaining agreements (EBAs) on non‐wage outcomes. My research is carried out through using a dataset of all federal EBAs in Australia from 1997 to 2021 and utilises fixed effects regressions. An index was constructed of 10 variables to capture a comprehensive overview of non‐wage outcomes. This paper finds that union involvement in an EBA, on average, is associated with a 0.494 unit increase in the index, or a 13.5% increase on the average index score. Overall, these results provide further insight into union impacts on the labour market within the enterprise bargaining framework.

Examining Work Practices in the ICT Sector: Reinforcing Frameworks for Intellectual Property, Ethics and Privacy By IJISRT

The safety of people's data is crucial given the rise in the use of digital gadgets. The paper examines a business case study that mostly provides information and communication technology services to Australian enterprises. By examining Australian laws and norms pertaining to intellectual property, ethics, and privacy in the ICT sector, the analysis aims to find any gaps in the work practices. Relevant questions are formulated to identify particular problems with current work practices in order to facilitate the study. This will enable the ICT industry to identify any weaknesses and help improve the laws and policies relating to privacy, ethics, and intellectual property.

Evaluating the impact of environmental, social, and governance factors on firm performance and value: An empirical analysis of selected Australian corporations

In the contemporary business landscape, the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) has gained prominence, considering their role in enhancing the corporate reputation through their ethical and sustainable operations. The primary purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of ESG on the financial performance (FP) and value of the companies through an empirical research methodology (Ahmad et al., 2021). The sample size consisted of 44 Australian enterprises selected through a purposive sampling technique for five fiscal years, i.e., 2018 to 2022. The performance and value were measured by return on assets (ROA) and Tobin’s Q, whereas the size of the companies (SIZE) was considered as a moderator and leverage (LEVERAGE) was the control variable. The fixed-effects modelling indicated that ESG did not influence the ROA but had an adverse effect on Tobin’s Q. However, while the moderation of the ESG metric by SIZE provided the same results, the individual ESG metrics had a positive impact on the value (Whelan et al., 2021). Practically, the ESG plays a crucial role in influencing the market value of the companies but overdoing might not create a positive mindset in the market, and the share prices might decline.

Mitigating the consequences of electronic health record data breaches for patients and healthcare workers.

Electronic health records (EHRs) have been widely adopted in Australian public sector healthcare and will remain an ongoing, essential data system. However, recent substantial data breaches from hacked business data systems in Australian enterprises, as well as international healthcare providers, mean that EHR data breaches are increasingly likely in Australia. Risks include medical identity theft and extortion attempts based on threats to release sensitive patient information. Hacking is now a foreseeable additional risk of medical treatment. Risk mitigation for the consequences of data breaches needs to be considered, as well as support for patients (and families) and healthcare workers. This includes identity theft protection services, cybersecurity insurance, and psychological support.

Reading Chinese Australian enterprise through insolvency and bankruptcy files, 1857–1926

Historical scholarship on Chinese diasporic enterprise has largely rejected culturalist paradigms in favour of structuralist ones, but the question of culture remains contentious. It has also been addressed primarily via case studies of Southeast Asia’s largest and most prominent Chinese firms. Through examining the collection of 101 Chinese insolvency and bankruptcy files created in Sydney between 1857 and 1926, this paper presents an unseen view of Chinese diasporic enterprise. It argues that Chinese entrepreneurs employed strategies common across business in Australia, coined and used distinctive methods of their own and applied cultural resources imported from China within complex and dynamic Chinese Australian entrepreneurial approaches. That these were so nuanced, I suggest, reveals the considerable scope for balancing different practices in Chinese business overseas that existed beyond the most familiar examples.

The Effect of HRM Practices on Employment Outcomes in Indigenous Social Enterprises

Indigenous economic development is a critical area of focus for many communities globally. Indigenous social enterprises play an important role in enhancing economic development by providing employment opportunities for Indigenous community members. Thus, understanding the factors that impact employment of Indigenous staff by Indigenous enterprises has important social and economic implications. This study examines the relationship between high commitment human resource management (HC-HRM) practices of Australian Indigenous social enterprises and their employment of Indigenous staff. Specifically, the paper contends with the research question how does the utilisation of HC-HRM by Indigenous enterprises shape the Indigenous employment outcomes of enterprises? Working with research partner Supply Nation, Australia’s Indigenous Minority Supplier Diversity Council, a survey of Indigenous social enterprises was conducted about their HRM practices in relationship to leader risk propensity and business strategy pertaining to cultural product/services. A key result of the study is that the use of HC-HRM practices helps increase Indigenous employment outcomes. In addition, the relationship between HC-HRM and Indigenous employment outcomes is moderated by both the enterprise’s business strategy and the leaders’ risk propensity. These findings provide important insight into how Indigenous social enterprises can be best managed to create social and economic benefits in Indigenous communities.

Entrepreneurial navigation of the Australian screen industries: The case of Dr D Studios

This article analyses the case of the short-lived Australian visual effects and animation enterprise Dr D Studios, which was co-founded by Australian film director, George Miller. Although Miller is an important figure in the history of the contemporary Australian screen industries, he has only rarely been the focus of significant scholarly analysis. Using the emerging scholarly concept of creative entrepreneurship, I analyse Dr D Studios as an instrument for Miller's navigation of the Australian screen industries, and as a strategy for adapting his filmmaking career to emerging industrial conditions and thereby manage and enhance his artistic practice, generate social value for the Australian creative sector, and secure economic value for his filmmaking operation. My analysis develops a new understanding of the career and practice of this significant Australian media figure and demonstrates the effectiveness of the creative entrepreneurship rubric for the future study of Australian screen producers.

The mapping of information and communication technologies, and knowledge management processes, with company innovation

Purpose National and organizational innovation is currently at the forefront of media discussion and is viewed as critical to economic development. While the argument for investment is universal, how it should be orchestrated is uncertain. The purpose of this paper is to bring together the three major related components of information and communication technology (ICT), knowledge management processes (KMP) and innovation, to explore empirically the constituents of ICT and KMP that improve innovation within Australian enterprises. Design/methodology/approach The method is a quantitative survey of 148 industry managers. The data was refined through confirmatory factor analysis. The hypotheses were evaluated by regression equations and parameter estimates. The findings were identified by the magnitude of the effect sizes. Findings The study’s evidence illuminated how specific components of ICT and KMP impact on particular aspects of innovation. The findings indicate key emerging relationships and then propose a conceptual model validated by the analysis of the survey evidence. The study identifies that investment in ICT and KMP has a positive impact on innovation performance. A particular finding is that information or data capture technologies have the most significant positive consequence for innovation. Practical implications The modeling can be used by managers as a guide to mapping ICT and KMP to specific innovation outcomes. In a modified form, it could be applied as a self-assessment instrument for managers in organizations. Originality/value This is a valuable addition to current literature, as it is unique in bringing these three key components together, confirming their instrumental impact, and indicating the differentiated investment strategies that can be implemented to achieve specific and unique innovation agendas. In addition, some refined constructs, which were developed as part of this study, provide a pre-tested, validated survey instrument for further research.

Commentary: on the under-valuing of Australia’s expertise in drylands research and practice globally

Global drylands are a significant driver of earth system processes that affect the world’s common resources such as the climate. Their peoples are also among the first to be widely affected by global changes such as land degradation and climate change. Yet drylands are a source of many social and technical innovations, globally, as well as in Australia. As a major developed dryland nation, Australia has previously played a major role in extending these innovations to the rest of the world. The nation has reaped reputational and commercial benefits through major research and practice contributions to dryland agriculture, water management and governance, remote area services, indigenous partnerships, dryland monitoring systems, and ‘desert knowledge’ innovation. Australian researchers continue to contribute to various relevant international processes, yet recognition and support for this within Australia has dropped off markedly in recent years. We analyse the Australian government’s investment in research and in overseas aid for drylands over the last two decades, and explore trends in government’s active involvement in major international processes related to land. These trends are short-sighted, overlooking potential economic benefits for Australian enterprises, and undermining Australia’s stance and scientific leadership in dryland systems globally. In this commentary, we argue that it is time for the trends to be reversed, as this is an area of comparative advantage for Australian diplomacy with significant returns on investment for Australia, both direct and indirect, especially when most emerging economies contain substantial drylands. We identify four major pathways to obtaining benefits from science diplomacy, and four interrelated actions within Australia to enable these – to place a higher emphasis on science diplomacy, to re-forge a bipartisan recognition of Australian drylands expertise, to establish a dedicated Dryland Information Hub, and to create a network of relevant science and technology advisors.

Unanticipated Change in Organisational Leadership: An Employees’ Perspective in Australian SMEs

This study uses phenomenography as a qualitative methodology within a sensemaking approach to investigate how employees experience unanticipated organisational leadership change in small firms, and it is applied in an empirical study of change management in Australian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). In-depth interviews of 24 employees across 8 different Australian SMEs elicited employees’ varied experiences and aspects of unanticipated leadership change such as transparency, supportive communication, affective responses and self-identity. In particular, the findings reveal common affective reactions and experiences but four different ways in which employees experience unanticipated leadership change. Based on our findings, implications and future direction for research are discussed.

Subject to qualification: Weakening links between job roles and qualifications in Australian manufacturing enterprise agreements

This article examines job classifications in enterprise agreements from the Australian manufacturing industry, focusing on the recognition of formal qualifications. It follows earlier research that found the strength and frequency of references to qualifications vary considerably between modern awards, with manufacturing industry awards having some of the strongest connections. A representative sample of 350 agreements (13.5% of the total) made under the Fair Work Act between 2010 and 2013 was analysed. Analysis revealed that linkages between formal qualifications and job classification structures are less common in enterprise agreements than in relevant modern awards. However, the overall effects of enterprise bargaining on recognition of employees' qualifications are complex. We find that, one way or another, the award classification structure continues to apply in 47.1% of enterprise agreements. Through logistic regression, we explore factors influencing the use of formal qualifications as part of job classifications, with a particular focus on whether this extends beyond the licensing requirements of tradespeople (Certificate III). Our finding that three factors – workplace size, award coverage and union coverage – significantly affect enterprise bargaining outcomes is likely to be generalisable beyond this study's focus on job classifications to many other important terms in enterprise agreements.

China Came, China Built, China Left?: The Sarawakian Experience with Chinese Dam Building

This paper uses a political ecology approach to unpack the experience of local governments and displaced communities in Sarawak, Malaysia, with Chinese dam construction at the Bakun Hydroelectric Dam. Data for the study was collected over 32 months from 2014 to 2016. The field site offered a unique insight into how recipient countries of aid are also often at the receiving end of domestic politics of donor countries. The paper finds that Chinese and Australian enterprises involved in the dam construction and resettlement of indigenous communities displayed different understandings with regards to social and environmental safeguards, resulting in a dysfunctional handover of the project from Australian to Chinese leadership. Consequently, indigenous communities were dispossessed from their land, affecting their ability to successfully reconstruct their livelihoods, with their attempts to do so causing further damage to the environment around the reservoir of the dam.

Nature and extent of on-the-job training for employees with an intellectual disability: a pilot study

ABSTRACTProblems have been identified in the provision of on-the-job training for people with disabilities. The aim of this study was to investigate staff knowledge and use of appropriate training strategies, and the perceptions of employees with intellectual disabilities of the on-the-job training. Three staff and four employees with intellectual disabilities working in one Australian Disability Enterprise participated in the study. Questionnaires, interviews, and examination of training documentation were used to examine the provision of on-the-job training to employees with intellectual disabilities. Staff reported on their knowledge and use of 15 empirically validated training and support strategies. Of these 15 strategies, only 2 were reported to have been used consistently by staff. Employees with intellectual disabilities reported that they were eager to learn new work skills but were not receiving the necessary training to assist them in learning such skills. The minimal utilisation of available training strategies to teach employees with intellectual disabilities workplace skills may indicate a lack of knowledge or confidence, or both, by staff in using the various training strategies. Further research is needed into the skills needed by staff whose job requires provision of on-the-job training to people with intellectual disabilities.

Understanding the Central Tension of Indigenous Entrepreneurship: Purpose, Profit and Leadership

At the heart of Australian Indigenous enterprise sits a central tension - the pursuit of profit (individual) versus the pursuit of independent Indigenous economic development (collective purpose). ...

Internationalization strategy and the home-regionalization hypothesis: The case of Australian multinational enterprises

In this study, we set out to, first, replicate the classification of multinational enterprise (MNE) types proposed by Rugman and Verbeke in the Australian context. Second, we explore how a firm’s international experience influences the degree of its home regionalization and how industry affects the international experience–home regionalization relationship. We find that while home regionalization is still a dominant regionalization strategy for Australian MNEs, the proportions are different from those of Rugman and Verbeke. In particular, the share of home-regional firms is less pronounced and the share of host-regional firms is higher than Rugman and Verbeke’s findings. We also find that a firm’s international experience is negatively related to home regionalization, and that this relationship is further moderated by the firm’s industry. Our findings suggest that more attention be devoted to uncovering both home-country effects and the differential impact of international experience on home regionalization across industries.

Searching for the Land of the Golden Cocoa-Nut: Australian Travel Writing about Commercial Enterprise in the Pacific Islands

ABSTRACTPacific Island trade and commerce was a prominent theme in travel writing produced within Australia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This reflected the long history of European commercial exchange between the Australian continent and the Pacific Islands, and a European literary legacy that idealised the region’s economic potential. This article explores popular perceptions of commercial enterprise in the Pacific Islands as expressed in travel writing, focusing on authors with a significant connection, by birth or affiliation, to either the Australian colonies or the Australian nation. The formation of a distinctively ‘Australian’ vision of the Pacific that evolved since European exploration is traced. The voice that took shape in literary form in the Australian colonies during the late 19th century contributed to a national narrative in the early 20th century that imagined the Pacific Islands as a region for Australian investment, profit and colonial enterprise.

The Problem of Uncertainty: An Empirical Analysis of Indeterminate Language and Ambiguous Provisions in Enterprise Agreements

Australian enterprise agreements are intended to be simple documents that are easy for workers to understand and straightforward for businesses to apply. This article argues that simplicity is undermined when agreements contain indeterminate language and ambiguous provisions, since these features make it difficult to pin down the precise meaning of agreements. It presents findings from an empirical study that examines two forms of uncertainty in enterprise agreements: first, the use of vague, open-textured terms such as ‘reasonable’ and ‘practicable’; and, second, the inclusion of particular types of poorly drafted provisions that are difficult to interpret. The findings show that while the use of indeterminate terms increased over time, there was a substantial decline in the use of particular types of ambiguous provisions. The study also suggests that these outcomes have been influenced by two factors, legislative change and union involvement in bargaining. The findings add to our understanding of the nature of legal complexity and will provide the basis for a nuanced analysis of future proposals to reform the legislative framework for agreement-making.

Australia's Leading Co-Operative and Mutual Enterprises in 2015

This paper reports on a research study that aims to map the size and structure of the Co-operative and Mutual enterprise (CME) sector in Australia. Its purpose is to provide a better understanding of these Australian Cooperative and Mutual businesses and their contribution to the national economy. Despite representing some of the largest businesses in their sectors and being found across a wide-range of industries the overall size, structure and contribution of the CME sector in Australia are relatively poorly understood. This is due to a paucity of reliable data, difficulties in definition and vagueness over which firms should be identified as CME. To address these issues the development of an Australian Co-operative and Mutual Enterprise Index (ACMEI) has commenced. This aims to provide data and analysis of the size and shape of the CME sector. In 2015 it has focused on the identification of the Top 100 Co-operative and Mutual enterprises in Australia to inform the peak body representing the sector, the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM).

Barriers to market orientation in Australian vertically-integrated horticultural enterprises

Market orientation contributes to organisational performance and employee morale. Given the scarcity of research in the Australian horticultural industry, this study was conducted to determine why vertically integrated horticultural enterprises establish the degree of market orientation that they do, and to identify the beliefs of founders and owners that prevent them from striving for and achieving higher levels. The study employed a qualitative approach involving four Australian verticallyintegrated value-adding enterprises in south east Queensland and northern New South Wales. Two firms with annual incomes of AUD 30-40m and two with less than AUD 2m were selected as the case study firms. Senior managers from each organisation were interviewed three times resulting in a total of 52 semi-structured interviews. At the commencement of the final interview, interviewees received a short presentation about market orientation, the benefits of organisations being market oriented and evidence to support the relationship between market orientation and superior performance. Based on observations and data collected through interviews, all four organisations were less than fully market oriented. The results indicate that a limited understanding of contemporary marketing principles, a mistrust of marketing as an organisational discipline and resistance by founders and owners to allow others to make important management decisions were the principle reasons why higher levels of market orientation were not achieved.

Complexity and Simplicity in Australian Enterprise Agreements: Coding Framework, List of Agreements and Chi Square Tables

This is a background paper for a project that maps the evolution of enterprise agreements in Australia through the lens of complexity/simplicity. Drawing on Peter Schuck’s four features of complexity - technicality, density, differentiation and uncertainty - the project develops a multi-dimensional framework to categorise the complexity of enterprise agreements. The empirical study uses content analysis techniques to assess enterprise agreements made within the federal workplace relations system between 1993 and 2011 in the higher education and fast food sectors. To allow other researchers to replicate or build on this work, this background paper includes the coding framework, list of agreements and cross-tabulation tables for the project.