Vol. 3, Issue 1, 2018

Effect of Human Capital Management on Firm Performance via Balanced Scorecard

  • Page: 1
  • Authors: Khadra DAHOU, Ishaq HACINI
  • Abstract: Nowadays, there is an increasing reliance on intangible assets as important determinants of firm value. Research was focused on the influence of human capital as an intangible asset on the organizations’ performance. This paper makes insights by exploring the concept of human capital management HCM and the impact of the balanced scorecard BSC on it and the effect of both on firm performance. The model was developed to include HCM indicators, deducted from resource-based and motivation theories, “competence” and “motivation & commitment”. The model also includes the four areas of the BSC: learning & growth, internal business, customer and financial performance; in addition to firm performance as research dependent variable. Data was collected from the 4 telecommunication organizations in Jordan, using 65 questionnaires. The hypotheses were tested using Amos analysis to determine the impact of using Balanced Scorecard BSC on Human Capital Management HCM, and the impact of both variables on Firm performance. The results revealed that the BSC has significant impact of effective human capital management; and both have positive effect on firm performance. They also revealed the primordial inter-functional strategic role of BSC and how important is the investment on commitment & motivation and competencies that would certainly lead to increase firm performance.
  • JEL Classification: L25, M12, M41
  • Key words: Human Capital Management, Balanced Scorecard, Firm Performance
  • DOI: 10.24818/mer/2018.06-01

The Perspective of Public Institutions on the EU Funds Management System

  • Page: 14
  • Authors: Stefan-Florin CORCODEL
  • Abstract: The scope of this research was to highlight the most important weaknesses of the management system associated with the absorption of EU Funds dedicated to the development of the human capital in Romania, as seen from the perspective of the public institutions that have the most intense direct contact with program and project beneficiaries (the intermediary organisms). In order to achieve this scope, a broad approach in terms of analysing the processes associated with the management system was required – thus, all of the most important processes carried out within the program have been analysed in order to highlight the most significant dysfunctionalities. A specific analysis was carried out for each of the following types of program specific actions: programming, implementation and control and audit actions. The most significant weaknesses were identified within the programming and implementation set of actions, while control and audit actions were appreciated by the research sample to be positively relevant to the scope of the programs they managed. In terms of programming, most programming documents were appreciated to be as average in quality, impacting the whole life cycle of the program. The implementation actions were evaluated from the perspective of relationships between intermediary organism and the Managing Authority and with project beneficiaries. In this field the research was extended and the major factors for the relatively low quality of interactions within the program were identified. Finally, taking into account the results of the research, I have presented a series of recommendations and proposals for improving the management system that will ultimately lead to an improvement in the absorption rate and in the overall success of the program.
  • JEL Classification: F50, F60, H11, H83
  • Key words: public institutions, public administration, EU Funds, European Social Fund
  • DOI: 10.24818/mer/2018.06-02

Authentic Management and Emotionally Intelligent Leaders versus Conjectural Management and Conjectural Leaders

  • Page: 27
  • Authors: Doinița CIOCÎRLAN
  • Abstract: Even though, from a theoretical standpoint, professional management (considered authentic management) is a truism, the economic practice often proves the opposite. We need to admit that, in recent years, we have witnessed an alarming increase in the number of conjectural managers, of conjectural leaders, a phenomenon with negative effects on the economic, financial and managerial performance of the organizations they run, whether they operate in the public or the private sector. The negative effects are certainly not limited to the respective organizations, but propagate at society level. An authentic manager is a person who has managerial competences both in the domain they manage, proven by means of having graduated from specialized educational programs of certain higher education institutions (certified by means of graduation diplomas in compliance with the law, which warrants that their owners acquired the respective program’s general and specialized competences), and, also, by means of the results of their exerting managerial prerogatives in actual practice (managerial performance indicators and implicitly the economic, financial and managerial  performance indicators of the organization/management structure they run, the supporting documentation mainly being the management agreement, the respective manager’s institutional assessments, the management reports, the audit reports and the organization’s financial-accounting documents during the management term/agreement).
  • The objective of the research is to create a tool which makes it possible to quantify managerial performance and to design a new situational management based on correlating result indicators with organizational and managerial competence.
  • JEL Classification: M10, M19
  • Key words: management, leadership, organizational theories, organizational competence, emotional intelligence
  • DOI: 10.24818/mer/2018.06-03

Strategic Orientation and External Environment on Organizational Commitment

  • Page: 39
  • Authors: Basim Abbas Kraidy JASSMY, Cristian-Silviu BANACU, Zaki Muhammad Abbas BHAYA
  • Abstract: Aims of this study is to investigate the impact of the dimensions of strategic orientation (i.e. customer orientation, competitor orientation and interfunctional coordination) and the aspects of external environment (i.e., market turbulence and competitive intensity) on organizational commitment in the agricultural bank in AL-Qadissya governorate in Iraq.
  • Materials and methods -To achieve the aim the data collected through questionnaire survey applied to 54 employees in various departments of the bank. The data analysis performed by using SPSS (version 20) and R program. Results -Statistical findings revealed there is a significant relationship between competitor orientation, interfunctional coordination, competitive intensity and organizational commitment. There is no significant relationship between market turbulence, customer orientation and organizational commitment. Conclusion – These findings introduce useful views and conclusion for the management to take into account for developing organizational commitment among their employees. According to the study, all the dimensions of strategic orientation and influences of external environment to increase organizational commitment could enhance findings. Besides, findings have significant implications for a bank’s strategies to develop organizational commitment and to uncover the influences of market turbulence and competitive intensity. Managers should take interest in the role of strategic orientation besides external environment to improve organizational commitment. Managers should also develop a robust culture which reflects organizational commitment in order to ensure the survival of the bank and its growth when facing competitors and overcoming any challenges.
  • JEL Classification: G32, C15, M15, IT
  • Key words: competitive intensity, strategic orientation, market turbulence, organizational commitment, strategic orientation
  • DOI: 10.24818/mer/2018.06-04

An Empirical Study on the Relationship between Accounting Conservatism and Asset Impairment Recognition: Evidence from Companies in Taiwan

  • Page: 58
  • Authors: Mei-Chu HUANG, CHAN-CHUAN TING, Yu-Jia CHEN
  • Abstract: In this study, we investigate the impact of the conservatism of a company’s financial statements on management’s motivation to recognize asset impairment, and the impact of accounting conservatism on prior period impairment losses and gains on impairment reversal. The empirical results showed that a higher accounting conservatism level can reduce management manipulation for recognized more impairment losses in the prior period and then more gains on impairment reversal. That is, a higher level of accounting conservatism can reduce prior period impairment losses, recognized by managers, to make reserves to facilitate the recognition of gains on impairment reversal in a later period, to apparently ‘improve’ earnings.
  • JEL Classification: M1, M2, M4
  • Key words: asset impairment, gains on impairment reversal, accounting conservatism
  • DOI: 10.24818/mer/2018.06-05

Big Data in Marketing Arena. Big Opportunity, Big Challenge, and Research Trends: An Integrated View

  • Page: 75
  • Authors: Mohammad Saleem ALSHURA, Abdelrahim ZABADI, Mohammad ABUGHAZALEH
  • Abstract: Big Data has earned much attention from the IT industry and academia. Given the research interest on Big Data in the marketing field, thus, authors intend to present an integrated view based on the previous literature with the aim of identifying the major trends in this field. Particularly, the analysis focus on pertinent terms and topics related to three „B’s”: Big Data, Big Opportunities/benefits, Big challenges. A systematic integrated literature review was carried out through a strict search approach that identified. A total of 650 articles published between 2010 and 2018 indexed in EBSCO database were collected and scrutinized. The results of the previous studies on big data and marketing revealed that they were limited to discuss the technical and research fields and did not clearly consistent with sophisticated technologies towards the benefits of marketing, and it has not yet reached the level of marketers’ ambition. Over and above, findings show that research in big data applications and practices to marketing is still in early stages, thus, making it necessary to promote more direct efforts towards the business for big data to thrive in the marketing domain. This paper is specifically relevant to marketing firms and departments concerned in the evolution of marketing activities and abilities to increase customer basis. Furthermore, it is also useful to compare several international studies trend as this study takes a perspective globally. The study provides priceless information and an in-depth integrated view of big data relevant to opportunities and challenges that marketing encountered. Furthermore, it opens new insights into the topic area by emphasizing for further future studies and research directions.
  • JEL Classification: M1, M2, M3
  • Key words: Big data, big Opportunities, big challenges, marketing, systematic literature review
  • DOI: 10.24818/mer/2018.06-06

Determinants of Commercial Banks’ Profitability in Malaysia

  • Page: 85
  • Authors: Ivan D. TROFIMOV, Nazaria MD ARIS,  Jovena Kho YING YING
  • Abstract: This study aims to examine the relationship between non-performing loans (NPLs) and commercial banks’ performance in Malaysia, alongside other factors. It considers the effect of NPLs, cost efficiency and bank size on commercial banks’ profitability by using panel data regression (Pooled OLS model), covering the period of 2010-2015. The findings of the study show that NPLs and cost efficiency have a significant negative relationship with commercial banks’ performances in Malaysia. On the other hand, bank size is found to have a significant positive relation with commercial banks’ performances in Malaysia. Several policy and strategic implications are outlined: the continuing need to manage credit risk, reduction of non-core lending activities, improvement of systems transparency, cost control, and more lenient competition and anti-trust policies.
  • JEL Classification: C23, G21, G28
  • Key words: bank, non-performing loan, profitability
  • DOI: 10.24818/mer/2018.06-07

Empirical Assessment of Foreign Exchange Market Effect on the Nigerian Emerging Economy

  • Page: 102
  • Authors: Sunday Oseiweh OGBEIDE
  • Abstract: This study examined Foreign Exchange Market effect on the Nigerian emerging economy. Specifically, the study considers the significant effect of foreign exchange rate, Balance of payment, Inflation rate and Interest rate on the Nigerian economy using time series data for period 1988 to 2014. The study employs the Augmented Dickey Fuller test to carry out the stationarity test of the variable. The Johnson co-integration and error correction mechanism (ECM) statistical techniques where used to ascertain the short run and long run dynamic relationships between the dependent and independent variables. The findings show among others that five period lag of EXR brings a decrease on the economy of Nigeria; an indication that the foreign exchange market had negatively impacted the Nigerian economy within the period of study. Premised on this, the paper recommends that discipline has to be maintained in the foreign exchange market and the parallel foreign exchange market in order to achieve the objective of having a realistic exchange rate.
  • JEL Classification: M10
  • Key words: foreign exchange rate, balance of payment, inflation rate, interest rate
  • DOI: 10.24818/mer/2018.06-08

Oil Prices and Stock Markets: Further Evidence from Newly Industrialized Countries

  • Page: 110
  • Authors: Feyyaz ZEREN, Hilmi Tunahan AKKUŞ
  • Abstract: In this paper, the relationship between stock prices and global oil prices in newly industrialized countries (Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and Indonesia) has been investigated. Maki Cointegration (2012) and Enders-Jones (2015) Fourier Causality Tests were used in the study including oil prices and stock market data with different start dates. While the empirical findings differ from the country to the country in terms of the cointegration relation, there is a causality mainly from stock market to oil prices.
  • JEL Classification: G15, Q02
  • Key words: Fourier causality, Maki cointegration, oil prices, share prices
  • DOI: 10.24818/mer/2018.06-09