Business Clients Research Articles

Matching global service standards—the role of intermediaries in economic upgrading of support-service firms in global production networks

Abstract Economic upgrading of local firms in developing countries is a central theme in research on global value chains/production networks. Within this literature, few studies have concentrated on upgrading in non-tradable services. Even when serving international business clients these tend to be understood as locally rendered, peripheral activities that offer limited upgrading opportunities. Using the facilities management sector in Mumbai as a case in point, this article argues that such a view overlooks how: (1) more sophisticated demands from advanced international business service firms lead to enhanced standards and economic upgrading in low-end, non-tradable services, and (2) the emergence of global support-service providers acting as intermediaries in global production networks (GPNs) has contributed to enhanced operational standards in low-end support services. At the conceptual level, this article aims to elucidate the capital and labor dimensions of economic upgrading. This allows for a better understanding of the variations in economic upgrading across sectors and the ripple effects of economic upgrading in places where GPNs are grounded.

Starting a new life in the South? Swiss, Dutch and Flemish ageing in Morocco: a lifecourse perspective

AbstractThis article focuses on European migrants living in Morocco and now near retirement or retired. Using a lifecourse approach we are interested in whether their timing of migration to Morocco made a difference in terms of their motivations to settle there and subsequently with the social relationships at the destination. To this end, we conducted 36 biographical interviews with Swiss, Dutch and Belgian Flemish migrants aged 50 and older. Findings show the relevance of a lifecourse perspective for international migration studies. Early adulthood migrants to Morocco had no strong obligations in their home country and were ready to explore new affective or professional experiences in a new country. They had the time to discover and find a place in Moroccan society and to develop long-lasting social relationships with kin and non-kin. Middle-adulthood migrants moved with the intention of rapidly accessing a higher standard of living thanks to the tourism economy, with hedonistic perspectives in a setting with a better climate. Their social life is limited to interaction with business clients and a few like-minded migrants from Europe, and their communication with personnel is a daily challenge. Most late-in-life migrants experienced disruptive life events before migrating, and expected to find in Morocco a second chance to build a better life. They generally move in select circles of European expatriates.

Evaluating intra-project knowledge growth and its effect on co-located software team output

Knowledge of the team members of a co-located software project grows with increasing interaction with the business client. It also grows with the subsequent intra-project knowledge transfer among the team members. The challenge lies in forming a project team in such a manner that it helps the team members to enhance their individual knowledge as well as improve the overall team output during the project execution. In this paper, a quantitative model is formulated to quantify the intra-project knowledge growth and the overall team output in a co-located software project team. The model is developed with the help of a set of focus group studies and previous literature. Six different policies or scenarios are then formulated with the help of the model to assess the impact of team composition on knowledge growth and team output by using case-data from 3 different real-world co-located software teams. The model is validated by comparing the model results with the estimated results in terms of team output. An insight obtained from the model results is that the initial project set up and the team composition act as key inputs towards the increased knowledge growth and improved team output. The team composition should stress upon the initial knowledge level and the knowledge processing ability of the team members. We recommend that the model may act as a decision support system to the software project managers during the initial project set up to improve the knowledge level and to reach the desired team output within the specified time.

CUSTOMER DOMINANT LOGIC (CDL): FEATURES OF SUPPLIER INVOLVEMENT IN CUSTOMER ECOSYSTEMS IN E-COMMERCE

In the conditions of the active development of the digital economy and the emergence of new marketing approaches, the determination of the features of the involvement of suppliers in consumer ecosystems based on the customer dominant logic (CDL) is the starting point for the use of this logic in e-commerce and an actual direction of scientific, theoretical and practical research. The purpose of this study is to determine the features of the involvement of suppliers in customer ecosystems in e-commerce based on CDL. The theoretical and methodological basis of the research is modern scientific concepts, theoretical developments of leading domestic and foreign scientists regarding their essence, possibilities and features of their use in electronic commerce. The method of theoretical generalization, and logical analysis and the graphic method were used. The conducted research made it possible to obtain the following results: firstly, the author substantiated the use by companies of indicators characterizing thoughts, emotions, experience and possible models of customer relationships while auditing content and promoting products in social networks. Unlike the existing approach, which is based on the traditional account analysis metrics, this one will enable companies to gain real-time information about how, where and when a customer orders a product, what they want and who they are, and become an element of their ecosystem. Considering the fact that different companies use different types of logic (goods dominant logic (GDL), maintenance dominant logic (SL) and service dominant logic (SDL)), this work offers to distinguish two groups of indicators of content audit and promotion - specific and general - which will give companies a reason to focus on indicators that are more significant for them. Secondly, the article proposes the involvement of suppliers in customer ecosystems based on the assessment of business clients using the methodology of auditing the activities of the main competitors in social networks, which will make it possible to significantly simplify the company’s entry into client ecosystems. The results of the given research can be useful for companies seeking to establish long-term and effective relationships with customers based on the introduction of new marketing approaches and technologies.

Random Perturbation Order Preserving Distribution Encryption

Cloud computing services have to gain fast awareness by many organizations because of their cost-effectiveness, but they are faced with many security issues in protecting client business data in the current technological generation. Order-preserving encryption (OPE) is a very important technique for databases, and cloud storage encryption executes range queries efficiently, but regrettably, limited systems have stood to accomplish confirmable security. However, these schemes leak the distribution of repeated plaintext values. This paper presents a random perturbation distribution scheme (RPDS), which is secure and does not leak the distribution of repeated plaintext values. Our technology is based on Popa’s mutable order preserving encoding (mOPE) and storage-aware order-preserving encoding (stOPE). We supported RPDS with an insertion algorithm in which we added a random bit value to handle a repeated plaintext value that stops the server from recognizing repeated values, and we developed a proof to show the correctness of its syntax. This paper suggests that the arbitrary collision probability and proof show that collisions can only occur with a lower probability in the RPDS. This paper presents proof of the safety of the RPDS and its applicability, usability, and functionalities. Finally, we compared the RPDS with existing OPE schemes and provided an experimental result for the practicality of the RPDS.

How Foreign and Domestic Firms Differ in Leveraging IT-Enabled Supply Chain Information Integration in BOP Markets: The Role of Supplier and Client Business Collaboration

Although attractive to foreign and domestic firms, bottom-of-pyramid (BOP) markets pose unique challenges. Research suggests that IT-enabled supply chain information integration (IT-SCII) helps firms collaborate with suppliers and clients in broad business activities, operate in a unique context, and overcome salient challenges in BOP markets. Anecdotal evidence and research suggest that foreign and domestic firms have differing advantages: While foreign firms have considerable global experience, domestic firms have substantial local market knowledge. We draw on the ownership-location-internalization (OLI) framework to theorize that domestic and foreign firms leverage IT-SCII differently because of their differing ownership-based advantages in BOP markets. We hypothesize that the influence of IT-SCII on client business collaboration and the influence of client business collaboration on firm performance are stronger for domestic firms than for foreign firms. Conversely, we hypothesize that the influence of IT-SCII on supplier business collaboration and the influence of supplier business collaboration on firm performance are stronger for foreign firms than for domestic firms. We test our hypotheses in the automotive parts manufacturing BOP market comprising foreign and domestic firms in India. Partial least squares and econometric analyses of 172 firms reveal broad support for our hypotheses. By incorporating the OLI framework into IT-enabled supply chain literature, our study contributes to theory and practice by highlighting that IT-SCII has differing implications for foreign and domestic firms in BOP markets.

Generalist CEOs and Audit Pricing

We analyze the consequences of a firm hiring a generalist CEO in terms of the audit fees paid by the firm. We find that audit fees of clients with generalist CEOs are higher than those of clients with specialist CEOs. This relation is robust to considering managerial ability, other CEO characteristics, various fixed effects, instrumental variables, and change analyses. We further show that fee differences are larger for firms with weaker monitoring and higher corporate litigation risks. Through path analysis, we find that both client business risk and misreporting risk contribute to the fee difference. Finally, we find that auditors are more likely to issue going-concern opinions to clients with generalist CEOs. Our study should be of interest to auditing standard setters who link management operating styles to audit risk. We shed light on how management operating styles associated with the CEOs’ general or specialized skills affect audit pricing.

ПРАКТИКА ПРИМЕНЕНИЯ ФИНАНСОВЫХ ИНСТРУМЕНТОВ ДЛЯ ОБЕСПЕЧЕНИЯ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОЙ СТАБИЛЬНОСТИ СЕЛЬСКОХОЗЯЙСТВЕННЫХ ПРЕДПРИЯТИЙ

In the current conditions of development of the Russian economy, the most relevant are the prospects for choosing methods and tools for financing various investments of economic entities. When choosing a financing source between a loan, leasing, or purchase, many companies choose leasing. The effectiveness of leasing is confirmed by numerous financial and economic calculations. When it is necessary to compare leasing, credit or purchase, practical economists pay attention to the assessment of tax benefits provided in accordance with Russian legislation for the development of financial leases and many other factors. In modern conditions, the need to study the prospects of leasing as the optimal form of financing the company's investments becomes particularly relevant. Many economic entities seek to save financial resources through proper planning of debt obligations. Leasing has many advantages. Today, leasing is interesting for both small and medium-sized business clients, as well as large companies and corporations, due to the availability of various economic benefits.

Consolidation of Cargos in the Road Transport as a Key Method to Success

The problem of consolidation of goods for the provider of logistic services, which is a third part that delivers goods from many suppliers to one business client in time horizon was analysed in this article. Every parcel has a fixed date of reception in the source and delivery schedule in a destination. In the age of highly developed economy, time pressure and costs, outsourcing is a condition necessary to improve the functioning of enterprises. New logistic chains, networks of terminals and intermodal connections are built every year to reduce the transport costs and improve the whole process. In this article, the authors presented the benefits resulting from consolidation of cargos in the road transport. Special emphasis was put on determination of the role of the transport costs reduction using the cargo consolidation services.

The Accounting Education, Between Digitalisation and the COVID-19 Crisis

The present article represents an analysis regarding the effects of the current challenges posed mainly by digitalisation, but also by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, on professional bodies and the continuing professional development of their members. In the constant fight for adaptation and survival carried out both in their own interest and in that of their business clients, professional accountants must find solutions to make the best decisions and to optimize their activity in order to meet the current market requirements. There is a need for a long-term vision that focuses on the accounting education, based on the development of new accounting skills that go beyond the traditional ones and that may result in the transition from retrospection to forecasting.

Accounting Education – Between Digitalisation and the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis

The present article represents an analysis regarding the effects of the current challenges posed mainly by digitalisation, but also by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, on professional bodies and the continuing professional development of their members. In the constant fight for adaptation and survival carried out both in their own interest and in that of their business clients, professional accountants must find solutions to make the best decisions and to optimize their activity in order to meet the current market requirements. There is a need for a long-term vision that focuses on the accounting education, based on the development of new accounting skills that go beyond the traditional ones and that may result in the transition from retrospection to forecasting.

Challenges Experienced by Behavioral Health Organizations in New York Resulting from COVID-19: A Qualitative Analysis.

This paper presents a qualitative content analysis of survey data collected from behavioral health care providers from throughout New York regarding the challenges faced as a result of COVID-19. Survey responses from 295 agency and program administrators and staff, representing 238 organizations, were analyzed. Ten themes were identified: business operations, service provision, telehealth, safety, client concerns, staff concerns, supplies, technology, illness/grief/loss, and communication. These themes represent concerns that arose from the rapid transition to widespread use of telehealth, limited technology accessibility for both staff and clients, reduced revenue and billing changes, impact of COVID-19 infection itself and subsequent deaths of clients and staff, and necessary modifications for organizational communication both internally and externally. The implications of these challenges and the need for further research to identify how to best address them are discussed.

The National Council of Acoustical Consultants—A community held to high standards with gratitude to Bill Cavanaugh

The National Council of Acoustical Consultants (NCAC), founded in 1962, is an international organization of professional firms that specialize in acoustical consulting based upon education, references, and proven experience. All members must adhere to a strong Canon of Ethics supporting the highest standards of business practice, technical consulting, and client service. This presentation will quickly explore some of its history, discuss its recent activities supporting and promoting the profession, and share its outlook. Bill Cavanaugh was vital to its founding, growth, and prestige. His contributions will be discussed.

Tracing Design’s Value in Distributed Manufacturing

Today, much of “innovative” design tackles purely digital products or physical products extended by digital functionalities or connectivity. Meanwhile, the digital environment of the web deeply impacts the marketing—and increasingly the design process—of purely physical objects that surround our everyday life. The increasing technological maturity of digital fabrication tools has already established the conditions for a wider diffusion of distributed manufacturing, an ever more valid alternative to conventional manufacturing in many product categories. Distributed manufacturing promises a more direct connection between designer and consumer/maker. On the other hand, new challenges emerge around the management and monetization of the work done for an unforeseeable mass of consumers rather than a single business client. Observing recent trends in other creative industries, this paper outlines three possible scenarios for a stimulating compensation of designers: free, pay‐per‐download, and subscription‐based distribution of creative works. Beyond simple economic concepts, each of these scenarios operates on a different metaphor, requires a different kind of digital infrastructure, and offers a different kind of incentive to attract designers and their efforts. The contribution hopes to help identify possible strategies that might lead to sustainable business models of design for distributed manufacturing.

Determinantes do grau de penalização contra auditores independentes no Brasil

A importância da auditoria no mercado de capitais, pela sua confiança e credibilidade, elevou-se com o desenvolvimento dos negócios. Destarte, esta pesquisa objetivou identificar os determinantes do grau de penalidades aplicadas aos auditores independentes, baseando-se nos Processos Administrativos Sancionadores autuados pela Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM) no período de 2000 a 2017. O estudo contribui para a ciência sendo o primeiro a buscar variáveis que expliquem quantitativamente essas sanções. A amostra de 76 processos foi captada do sítio da CVM e da B3. Os modelos de regressão propostos mostram que as penalidades contra auditores são: (i) positiva e significantemente relacionadas às infrações ocorridas na aceitação do cliente, execução e comunicação dos trabalhos, aos acusados reincidentes e às empresas clientes listadas na bolsa; (ii) negativa e significantemente relacionada à ocorrência de infrações no planejamento da auditoria, à existência de governança corporativa nos clientes auditados, às firmas big four e aos tempos processuais.

Client Engineering of XVA in Crisis and Normality: Restructuring, Mandatory Breaks and Resets

Crises challenge client XVA management because the prices of derivatives contain the XVA hedges that the provider requires, as well as the functional hedge the client requires. By functional hedge we mean the hedge linked to the client's business, e.g. FX, inflation, interest rate. By XVA hedge we mean the hedge linked to the client's credit risk and the provider's funding risk. The issue is that a derivative locks in the client credit level and the provider's funding level on the trade date, for the life of the trade. During a crisis both levels may be elevated. The standard methods for separating XVA hedges from the functional hedge is to use a Mandatory Break at inception, limiting the lock in, or to restructure post-trade assuming XVA can be rebated. Alternatively, in normal times resets can be used and are better because the client pays XVA on the continuation after the reset using the provider's view of client survival probability from original trade inception. We quantify these strategies from the client point of view to find where a Mandatory Break, or equivalently restructuring, is a better client strategy and where a reset is better. This quantification combines risk-neutral and risk-neutral conditional on physical measures. We provide numerical examples using Mandatory Breaks/restructuring and resets, informed by credit shocks and recovery from past crises. In normal times a reset can be twice as effective as a Mandatory Break or restructuring, whereas provided there is at least a 1/3 recovery from a CDS shock a Mandatory Break is better in our examples.

Using a Social Capital Framework to Explore a Broker's Role in Small Employer Wellness Program Uptake and Implementation.

Small employers, while motivated to implement wellness programs, often lack knowledge and resources to do so. As a result, these firms rely on external decision-making support from insurance brokers. The objective of this study was to analyze brokers' familiarity with wellness programs and to characterize their role and interactions with small employers. Using a newly developed common interview guide (20 questions), protocol and analysis plan, 20 interviews were conducted with health insurance brokers in Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina and Washington in 2016 and 2017. In addition to exploring patterns of broker interactions and familiarity by segment, we propose a framework to conceptualize the broker-client relationship using social capital theory and the RE-AIM model. Interviews were transcribed, summarized and a common codebook was established using DeDoose. Themes were identified following multi-rater coding and structured within the framework. Participating brokers reported having a high to moderate familiarity with wellness programs (65%) and a majority (80%) indicated that they have previously advised their small business clients on the availability and features of them. Further, we find that brokers may help eliminate barriers to resources and act as a connector to wellness opportunities within their professional network. New initiatives to promote small employer wellness programs can benefit from examining the influence of brokers on the decision-making process. When engaged and supported with resources, brokers may be effective champions for employer wellness programs.

Continuous Risk Monitoring and Assessment: New Component of Continuous Assurance

ABSTRACTWe propose a methodology for Continuous Risk Monitoring and Assessment (CRMA). As a new component of Continuous Assurance (CA), CRMA converts static CA systems into dynamic and adaptable systems that respond to changes in audit risks from client business risks, thereby improving the relevance and robustness of CA systems to changes in client business risks and possible business failures. The present methodology proposes to develop relevant leading and lagging indicators to monitor and assess a client's business risks and recognize emerging business risks or harmful impacts of materialized business risks in near real time. To illustrate, we develop a lagging indicator of reputational damage measured from real time postings published in social media websites. We present two cases where the present lagging indicator is measured using public Twitter messages (“tweets”) and used to assess the potential reputational damage to two large corporations.

A Classroom Exercise on Building Auditors' Interview Skills

ABSTRACT This instructional resource describes a classroom exercise that assists students to understand the importance of performing interviews for auditors. The exercise allows students to practice their interview skills in the context of a business continuity problem. Students are assigned to groups of two and are randomly chosen to play the role of either an auditor or a director of information technology in a client corporation. In this setting, the auditor needs to understand the audit client's business continuity strategies and practices from the director's perspective without being able to observe or obtain detailed information. This exercise contributes to the development of students' ability to interview, which is an important soft skill in the audit process. In addition, this exercise can be administered at different levels of auditing or accounting information systems courses to bring more hands-on learning activities to the classroom.

Towny: a new business model for a mobile economy

Research methodology This case was developed from interviews the author held with Nathan Baumeister, the protagonist in the case and Towny CEO; Hannah Franzen, a Towny marketing employee discussed in the case; and Mallory Franzen, Hannah’s sister-in-law and the company representative for Boomn, the digital marketing agency discussed in the case. In addition, secondary research on the USA retail industry was performed by the author. The case was class-tested four times by the author, with Hannah Franzen and Mallory Franzen initially visiting as case protagonists. This resulted in the case of refinements based on student discussion. Case overview/synopsis Towny: A new business model for a mobile economy shares the context and issues surrounding CEO Nathan Baumeister in the spring of 2018 at Towny, a unique business helping local businesses connect with their consumers over mobile devices. The company began going to market based on the vision of its owner and Nathan’s boss, Don Shafer. It had quickly approached local business clients and consumers in five key markets. The purpose of the case is to allow students the opportunity to discuss key new venture creation concepts and scenarios such as customer value proposition, competitive advantage and digital marketing. Complexity academic level This case was developed to be used in an undergraduate course in entrepreneurship. The particular course, new venture finance: the entrepreneur’s perspective, teaches the general subject of entrepreneurial finance through financial models such as free cash flow and valuation, case discussions with entrepreneurs visiting as facilitators and protagonists and business concept planning and forecasting. This case helps train students on how to incorporate online marketing costs into their business concept plans. Relevant courses and topics also include small business management and entrepreneurial financial management.