Vol. 5, Issue 2, 2020

The Determinants of Cash Conversion Cycle and Firm Performance: An Empirical Research for Borsa Istanbul Turkey

  • Page: 197
  • Authors: Mesut DOĞAN, Mustafa KEVSER
  • Abstract: The ultimate goal of firms is to make a profit and to achieve this ultimate goal, firms execute various functions. Finance is one of the basic functions of firms and firms need financial instruments such as cash reserve and outsource to carry out their activities. Cash management within the finance function is an important issue that needs to be carefully considered, especially in the short and medium term financial planning stage. Presently, the high competition among firms forces companies to manage their cash in the most effective way. The conceptual studies on the subject are quite old and date back to Keynes. According to Keynes, firms demand cash for transaction, prudence and speculation. As a result of analysis, it has been determined that cash conversion cycle has an impact on return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). There is a statistically significant and negative relationship between cash conversion cycle (CCC) return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). In addition, there is a positive relationship between return on assets (ROA) and firm size while there is a negative and statistically significant relationship between debt ratio (DEBT) and return on assets (ROA).
  • JEL Classification: L10, M21
  • Keywords: cash flow, cash conversion cycle, firm performance, industrial index
  • DOI: 10.24818/mer/2020.12-01

Influence of Tourism on Economic Development in Asian Countries

  • Page: 207
  • Authors: Wen-Chuan FU, Chia-Jui PENG, Tzu-Yi YANG
  • Abstract: Although the tourism industry has recorded the lowest pollution, it significantly contributes to the global economy. Therefore, many countries have spent great efforts in promoting their tourism industry to support their entire economic development. This article considers factors related to the relationship between national economic growth and international entry tourism for 11 Asian countries to investigate the existence of the cross sectional difference between these countries.
    Results show that exchange rate fluctuation is an alternative factor affecting economic growth risk, and common slope exists between countries. Moreover, international entry tourist
    headcount and income show differential slope in some countries, implying that these factors
    affect the economies of different Asian countries differently.
  • JEL Classification: L83, Z32, F63
  • Keywords: tourism receipts, GDP, e xchange rates, tourist arrivals
  • DOI: 10.24818/mer/2020.12-02

The Influence of Social-Media on Audiences of the TV Channels in Romania

  • Page: 217
  • Authors: Alina DINU, Raluca MAREI, Ion TUDOR, Lorian-Ovidiu VINTILA, Raluca-Elena GHINEA
  • Abstract: Social-media influences people’s lives including organizational activity. At the organizational level, social-media has changed the way employees communicate, multinational companies developing social-media platforms especially for their employees. The influence of social-media on mass media is a widely researched subject, and, we focused our attention on the way in which the activity on social-media of different TV stations in Romania influences their audiences. This study examines the influence of social-media on the audiences of ten TV stations in Romania. Through a questionnaire, we determined the rating of the TV stations without the influence of social-media and these audiences were compared to the official ones. The results of the study showed that there is an economic effect of the social-media influence in the case of the analysed TV stations.
  • JEL Classification: C12, C29, L82, M19, M39
  • Keywords: social-media, mass-media, audience, social television
  • DOI: 10.24818/mer/2020.12-03

The Journey of Adopting Lean Six Sigma – from the Implementation Team’s Perspective: A Case Study

  • Page: 232
  • Authors: Nicoleta Dorina RACOLȚA-PAINA, Nicolae Sebastian BUNEA
  • Abstract: This paper proposes a case study undertaken within a Romanian company which adopted Lean Six Sigma (LSS) Methodology. The research objectives pursued are the identification of the way in which this process has proceeded, from the implementation team’s perspective. The primary data collected while interviewing them target both the positive and the negative aspects, as well as the benefits and the elements that still need improvement as part of the process of LSS implementation. The conclusions of our research indicate some of the positive aspects of Company A’s “journey” towards LSS namely: a totally committed management, well trained employees, openness to change from the implementation team and from part of the employees, and also the external consultant’s involvement when this was needed. The less positive aspects of the researched process were given by the need to get some of the instruments adjusted (these being specific to the field of production, as the researched team provides products, solutions and electro-technical and mechanical services), the lack of experience regarding LSS from the large majority of the members of the implementation team, and also the long duration of the Analysis stage as part of the D.M.A.I.C. Methodology (Defining, Measurement, Analysis, Implementation, Control) given the large quantity of data. One essential aspect identified is that, in the case of Company A, LSS implementation led to the desired results that is to the change of the organizational culture, to the reducing of operational costs and to performance improvement, and also to improving customer service.
  • JEL Classification: L10, L20, M10, M20, O30
  • Keywords: Lean Six Sigma, qualitative research, case study
  • DOI: 10.24818/mer/2020.12-04

The Impact of the Epidemic Generated by the SARS-COV-2 Virus in the Context of the VUCA World

  • Page: 246
  • Authors: Mihaela MINCIU, Răzvan Cătălin DOBREA, Camelia STĂICULESCU, Bogdan Ștefan STOICA
  • Abstract: In a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous business environment (VUCA environment) organizations often face changes, being forced to update their strategy in order to maintain or increase their competitive advantage. In the context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, all organizations regardless of their area of activity had to devise a fast-track action plan so that they could continue their work even in a new world – an uncertain world with many changes, from one hour to another.
    Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to reveal the connection between the VUCA business environment and the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic context, respectively the way in which organizational change analyzed through the VUCA world could influence the activity of organizations in the pandemic context.
    In order to achieve these objectives, a systematic review was conducted. Starting from the present studies and researches, this paper aims to present the main components of the VUCA world and how they influence organizational change, the implications that the pandemic context had on the activity organizations, changes in the style of coordination and leadership of organizations caused by SARS-CoV-2, as well as the new skills and competencies that employees of organizations must acquire in order to cope with an insecure and complex business environment. The results showed that taking into account the aspects characteristic of the VUCA world can play a decisive role when a crisis situation arises, such as that created by SARS – CoV-2.
  • JEL Classification: G32, H12, J53
  • Keywords: organizational change, transformation, SARS–CoV–2, VUCA
  • DOI: 10.24818/mer/2020.12-05

Applying MAC-F Method for Causes Analysis of the Proven Medication Error in a Moroccan Hospital

  • Page: 255
  • Authors: Souad FILALI EL GHORFI
  • Abstract: Medication error (ME) is a serious problem of public health. Difficulties related to the management of this error are numerous. Each stage of this process suffers from several flaws: identification, root causes analysis and improvement.
    This paper focuses on root cause analysis of medication error. We developed an original semi-quantitative method named “MAC-F (Méthode d’Analyse des Causes basée sur la Fiabilité globale, in French). It’s specific to the hospital context and constitutes a decision-making tool for professional of care. It based on a rigorous theoretical and conceptual framework (human reliability theory and high reliability organization theory).
    We used our method MAC F to analyze serious proven medication errors. They have been collected over the past six months (from January to June 2020) in Moroccan hospital. The reliability matrix shows that the overall reliability index is very low (Ω= 0,07). Moroccan hospital is therefore unreliable. The failure of the organizational system (Ω CF= 0,03) and the absence of preventive strategies (ΩIF= 0) don’t help practitioners to recover the medication errors (ΩSF= 0,23).
    Root cause analysis is the most critical step in managing medication errors. Our aim is to provide healthcare professionals with a decision support tool “MAC-F” that we believe will help them to prevent Medication Errors and to achieve overall reliability (reliable organization and practitioner).
    Our method was tested in a Belgian hospital before and Moroccan hospital recently.
  • JEL Classification: I18; I19
  • Keywords: analysis method, medication error, overall reliability, risk management
  • DOI: 10.24818/mer/2020.12-06

Entry Mode Strategy, Firm-Level Capability, Environmental Turbulence, and Organisational Performance: A Moderated Analysis

  • Page: 278
  • Authors: Abiodun B. ONAMUSI, Grace O. MAKINDE, Babatunde H. AKINLABI
  • Abstract: This study examined the effect of entry mode strategy and firm-level capability on organisational performance of selected Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) manufacturer in Lagos State, Nigeria; more so, it investigated the moderating effect of environmental turbulence on the interaction between entry mode strategy and firm-level capability, and organisational performance. The cross-sectional survey research design was adopted with a sample of 452 employees of twelve selected FMCGs manufacturers in Lagos State, Nigeria. A hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to substantiate the moderation-effect hypotheses formulated. Findings showed that entry mode strategy and firm-level capability have a positive and significant effect on organisational performance. Further analysis showed that the interaction term of environmental turbulence, firm-level capability, and entry mode strategy explained the increase in organisational performance with the introduction of environmental turbulence as a moderator. Beyond the performance-effect of entry mode strategy and firm-level capability, management needs to keep abreast of issues happening in the external environment and proactively position their organisation to take advantage of the environment’s opportunities while reducing exposure to negative consequences.
  • JEL Classification: F23, L25, L66, M16
  • Keywords: dynamic capability theory, eclectic theory, entry-mode strategy, firm-level capability, organisational performance
  • DOI: 10.24818/mer/2020.12-07