Purpose: It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the importance of the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector in the economic and social development of a country. In view of their identified importance, this present study aims to develop a clearer understanding of the factors that influence success of small and medium enterprises in Tangier, as perceived by local owner-managers. Design: The initial research framework, which emanated from a systematic literature review, was empirically investigated using a two-stage design, which incorporated both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The rationale behind the two-stage methodology was firstly to avoid common-method bias; and, secondly, to seek to illuminate findings arising from the survey by providing individual insights. Approaches were employed in succession with the findings from the quantitative phase informing the qualitative phase. Initially, a paper and online survey questionnaire was administered to a population of 365 industrial SMEs, identified from the official website of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and New Technologies, the 2010 directory of the Association of the Industrial Zone of Tangier as well as its official website, and the website of the Tangier free zone. This survey was used in order to validate the initial conceptual framework and gain some insights on the perceptions of owner-managers of the factors influencing the performance of SMEs. Following the quantitative phase, fifteen in-depth face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with selected owner-managers of SMEs, forming a judgmental sample, to explore their experiences, beliefs, and attitudes with respect to the drivers of success. Findings & conclusions: The study found that there are three generalized influences on the success of SMEs based on the Tangier entrepreneurs' perceptions: the 'owner-manager attributes' with an emphasis on the language skills factor; partnership working with an emphasis on the financial and networking partnership; and business characteristics with a focus on the location factor, which was mainly associated with the ‘free zones’. The existence of these ‘free zones’ was a key factor in selecting Tangier as a location for this study.

Agency theory predicts that ownership structure monitoring mechanisms can effectively align the interests of managers with those of the shareholders. In additions, it views external audit as a function that lends credibility to the information disclosed in financial reports. Prior research sustains these predictions in developed markets such as in the US. However, institutional settings such as ownership structure and regulatory oversight bodies differ around the world and accordingly, the sustainability of agency theory predictions might also differ. Further, little research differentiates between accruals and real activities earnings management in contexts such as the Jordanian where ownership is concentrated, investors’ protection is weak and capital market is still evolving. Therefore, this study addresses these issues and investigates the validity of agency theory predictions concerning the effectiveness of ownership structure and external audit monitoring mechanisms in mitigating both accruals and real activities earnings management in Jordan. In this study, four measures of earnings management are estimated through the models of Kothari et al. (2005) and Roychowdhury (2006). Magnitudes of abnormal accruals are obtained from the former model and magnitudes of abnormal cash flow from operating activities, abnormal production costs and abnormal discretionary expenses are obtained from the latter model. As a result, four empirical models are constructed in which the estimated earnings management measures represent the dependent variables. Independent variables in each empirical model are the same and are classified into three categories: first, ownership structure variables include ownership concentration, controlling shareholders, institutional ownership and foreign ownership. The second category includes external audit quality measured by auditor size. Third, a set of control variables include board size, leverage, growth and firm size. These models are tested using the population of all manufacturing firms listed on Amman Stock Exchange over the period 2005 – 2008. The results reveal that controlling shareholders appear effective in constraining accruals manipulations, sales manipulations and production costs manipulations. As for manipulations in discretionary expenses, the results show that only high levels of institutional ownership can effectively deter abnormal discretionary expenses. Moreover, contrary to the popular convention, the results suggest that non-big 5 auditors in Jordan who in fact mitigate abnormal accruals not big 5 auditors. Finally, no evidence is found supportive of the substitutive effect. That is, firms that are prevented from managing their earnings through accruals due to the enhanced scrutiny of non-big 5 auditors, do not resort to sales manipulations, production costs manipulations or discretionary expenses manipulations as substitutes to achieve desired levels of reported earnings. Given these findings, the present study provides understanding and extension for agency theory literature that focuses on earnings management in general and in emerging markets in particular. It highlights challenges to applicability of agency theory in emerging markets where corporate governance mechanisms are supposed to mitigate the practice of earnings management. As such, these findings could be helpful to investors and other stakeholders in making rational contractual decisions, especially when such decisions involve non-owner-controlled firms. Finally, Amman Stock Exchange could impose the corporate governance codes that actively promote internal corporate governance mechanisms to restrain accruals and real activities earnings management.

The development of small businesses and the increasing role they are playing as engines of economic growth, employment generation and social change is making them a subject of major strategic importance to governments, and growing interest to researchers. Small businesses are increasingly regarded as both indicators of the economic dynamism of an economy, and agents of economic growth: in the developing economies small businesses are also regarded as being capable of improving standards in areas such as training. technical expertise and management throughout an economy. Of particular concern in many economies, especially those such as Libya which are in transition to a free-market model, is the contribution small businesses can make to employment growth outside of the public sector. The broad aim of the research discussed here was to enhance understanding of the factors influencing the growth of Libyan small manufacturing firms from the perspective of owner-managers and to develop an explanatory conceptual framework that aids this understanding. As secondary aims, it also seeks to inform government policy and to contribute to the success and growth of the sector overall. Informed by a comprehensive literature review, the research approach was to investigate and interpret the opinions, experience, attitudes and ideas of a sample of owner-managers with respect to the factors that they considered to be of the greatest influence on the growth of small manufacturing firms. Because of the lack of prior research, the study was exploratory in nature and a qualitative methodology was employed, employing a grounded approach with qualitative content analysis, Following a pilot study, the researcher conducted twenty-eight semi-structured interviews with the owner-managers of small manufacturing businesses: the sample consisted of owner-managers located in two Libyan cities, Tripoli and Misurata. Tripoli is Libya's capital, economic centre and overwhelmingly the area with most manufacturing output, while Misurata is the second largest manufacturing centre and the focus of much investment in infrastructure by the Libyan state. The interviews were designed to explore four sets of factors that may influence the growth of small manufacturing firms in Libya: the characteristics of the owner manager, the characteristics of the firm, the business's strategy and factors in the external environment. The interviews generated a substantial amount of rich data and this was interpreted and analysed on a cross-case basis and the findings were organised according to these four sets of factors. The research produced a range of interesting findings, many of which confirmed those of other studies in developed countries, such as the importance of ownermanager growth aspirations, education, experience and networks, the firm's age and location and aspects of its strategy such as marketing, innovation and training. Other findings retlected relatively widespread issues in developing economies, such as shortages of skills and finance, infrastructural inadequacies, bureaucracy and corruption. However, the research also highlighted a number of issues that are specific to Libya, or whose impact is different or more extreme because of the combination of political, economic and socia-cultural circumstances. It is concluded that Libya's combination of a bloated public sector with widespread corruption, slow transition from a socialist economy, frequent changes in economic policy, large informal sector, weak legal enforcement and predominance of family and personal relationships has created a particularly challenging environment for small businesses. As the research demonstrates, some owner-managers have found ways to overcome these problems and achieve high levels of growth but many others find their growth severely constrained by these environmental issues. The research is exploratory in nature and many of the issues discussed merit further research, in particular to inform future policy and support. Key areas for future research are outlined and tentative recommendations are made for future government policy with respect to the Libyan small firm sector. Note: the fieldwork for this thesis was carried out prior to the popular uprising in Libya, which began in February 20 II and resulted in a change of government. References to government policy throughout the thesis refer to the previous government, with the exception of the policy recommendations in Chapter 6, which refer to the new government of Libya.

The objective of this thesis is to provide advice on how to establish a reliable system of financial accountability in Serbia, as a condition for EU membership. The creation of a functional financial accountability system in Serbia is important not only for further Serbian development, but also to secure efficient and effective use of the EU/Member States’ monies, which are already being used in Serbia. This thesis analyses financial accountability systems of two EU Member States: UK and France and a supranational EU system, which are then compared with the Serbian system. The legal frameworks of these systems of financial accountability are analysed against their socio-historical backgrounds, focusing on the key challenges they face in both their strategic developments and everyday work. The conclusion is that Serbia has still not met the financial accountability conditions for EU membership outlined in the acquis communitaure. The comparative socio-legal analysis has demonstrated that the application of pure, more advanced Western European models of financial accountability would not be possible in the transitional Serbian environment. However, specific elements of these systems, exemplified in the emerging European system of financial accountability, could be well applied in the Serbian context.

An assessment into administrative and other forms of supervisory training evaluation in the Omani Civil Service was the direct object of this thesis. As it were, and in less developing countries characterised with acute, even chronic shortage of qualified indigenous labour force as well as other general forms of deformities in the national labour market, the public sector is seen more and more whether properly prepared or otherwise, to be spearheading and undertaking as well as supervising the massive developmental efforts amidst an overall state of resource limitations. Particularly, managerial and supervisory skills. Management and other forms of supervisory training were regarded more often than not as one way out so as to bridge the existing gap in managerial capabilities and to enable the government employees to upgrade their performance and sharpen their skills so as to dwell upon the very challenges posed by massive developmental efforts with the efficiency and effectiveness expected by the public at large as well as by policy makers. The research hence, sought to unveil government administrative and managerial training policies and practices at large so as to capture the full weight and scale of the problem as well as the boundaries of the area of expedition and investigation. Once the policy issues and practices were fully highlighted, a quota sample of government sponsored supervisory and management training in almost every civilian function in the executive branch of the government were evaluated. Training evaluation was duly conducted into some twenty, off-the-job, government sponsored, supervisory courses implemented along an entire calendar year. Those twenty courses were divided into eight programme groups who represented the following: Personnel, Local Government, Finance, Organisation and Methods, Clerical, Hospital Administration, Auditing and finally Social workers. (Now unrestricted)

Cross-cultural communication has acquired particular significance in contemporary societies, where the world-wide traffic of people, goods and ideas, which has impacted upon social and cultural values, raises debates over globalisation issues. Translation plays a crucial role in these interchanges, by mediating the socio-cultural contacts between different language communities. The present study aims to look into the translation of advertisements that cross borders, and that are part of the cross-cultural flow. It will attempt to describe and discuss the translation strategies employed in the translation of perfume and cosmetics print advertisements in to Portuguese.F or this purpose, a selection of English and Portuguese advertisements of the major brands of these products has been made, so as to (a) outline the main translation approaches adopted in the translation into Portuguese, (b) compare them to the major approaches adopted in English advertisements of the same type, (c) discuss major issues in translation studies raised by the specificity of international advertising, and (d) infer some of the (cultural) factors conditioning these options. This analysis will consider the different constitutive dimensions of these multimodal messages, namely pictorial and verbal elements, the combination of which is believed to influence the translational approaches and processes. This study also seeks to demonstrate that discursive features and translation strategies a re-connected with the societies they are part of and hence both affect and reflect the existing cultural conditions and power relations. This view of discursive practices, particularly translation, as part of the wide cultural system, has required an approach that draws on different disciplines, namely discourse and serniotic analysis, media studies in advertising and international marketing, as well as studies in translation.

Purpose – The research on trust, and specifically on trust measurement, has increased significantly over recent years. Although the importance of trust has reached theoreticians, as well as practitioners, the conceptualization, and particularly the measurement, of trust is underexplored within the field of management science. In addition, most trust measurement instruments were designed to suit a specific purpose or situation and therefore are too narrow in focus. Thus, the aim of this study is to conceptualize an appropriate measurement approach for customer trust that improves the practicability of trust measurement for various organizational settings. The focus is therefore to develop an instrument relevant for practitioners, as well as for theoreticians. Design/methodology/approach – After a literature review on relationship management, customer retention and customer trust, this research identifies current shortcomings in trust measurement: chiefly that current trust measurements are not flexible enough to be applied to various customer situations. Following a pragmatist research philosophy, this research first integrates two well established models of trust measurement and secondly expands this to create a more flexible and nuanced framework and instrument of customer trust measurement. The instrument is designed to measure the current and expected level of customer trust, as well as the economic intention and intra-personal level of trust. Three large scale test are conducted in cooperation with three German-based companies, covering non-durable, durable goods and services categories. Various segmentation criteria are applied. With the help of statistical analysis the various level of trust are linked to the intra-personal level of trust, as well as the economic-intent of the customer. Findings – The results from the three large scale studies indicate that the customer trust measurement instrument produces robust results. The instrument can be adjusted to each company‘s needs to measure the current and expected levels of customer (and non-customer) trust. Furthermore the current and expected levels of trust can be measured on a factor-, dimensional- and overall basis. Various segmentation criteria related to target groups can be applied. The overall level of trust can be linked to the economic intention of a customer group, but the indications are too weak to link trust to the intra-personal level of customer trust. Originality/value – To the best of my knowledge, there is no customer trust measurement that combines the measurement of trust in an trust object (trust dimension) and trust characteristics (trust building factor) to provide one trust measurement scale. However, by combining these two entities a trust measurement instrument gains the necessary flexibility and nuance to be used in various situations to measure customer trust. This step seems to be adequate because recent research concluded that this would be the “conditio sine qua non” for a useful measurement in trust research. Furthermore, all previous models and instruments only measure the current level of customer trust and do not link the level of customer trust to economic intention.

The thesis sets out the political, economic and social forces and the parallel institutional and technical factors that shaped the development of the ferry sector between 1948 and 1987. It provides as full an account as the available record permits of an important shipping industry sector that previously has received little serious historical consideration. Most of the ferry industry, dominated by its railway industry parent and ravaged by war losses, came into public ownership in 1948 as a consequence of railway nationalisation followed by a decade of under-investment. The period ended with a loss of supremacy for the railway-owned shipping sector, privatisation, increased competition, the 1987 Herald of Free Enterprise disaster – in no small part exacerbated by the drive through vehicle deck which had done so much to facilitate the ease of passenger car and freight movement - and the certainty of the Channel Tunnel, which spelt the end of sea transport primacy on its most important routes. The era saw ferries transformed in terms of design and capability from being largely tied to rail-connected passenger traffic, there came the innovation of roll-on, roll-off and the hovercraft, with ports undergoing change scarcely less extensive. The thesis examines the basic structural changes that affected the industry, specifically the process that resulted in the establishment of privately-owned firms in situ, the bureaucratic problems that beset British Railways and which hampered its formulation of a coherent response to the varied challenges it faced in the Fifties and Sixties. It shows how the growth in private motor car ownership proved a catalyst for change in a conservative industry and explores the way in which the introduction of newcomers and the hovercraft drove the development of competition, transforming the ferry business but ultimately leading to the government decision to construct a fixed link between the United Kingdom and France. The thesis concludes that the drive and entrepreneurial flair of three private ferry operators, Townsend, Bustard and Thoresen, was largely responsible for the transformation of the industry and argues that the new and growing market created by motor transport would not have been exploited at such a rate or with the same degree of forethought and innovation without their involvement.

Studies investigating the career progression of BME teachers identify institutionalised discrimination, social inequality and unfavourable school practices as forces militating against the realisation of their school leadership aspirations. This study adds to this discourse by exploring some mediating forces, shaped by life history, beliefs, values, and workplace reactions, in the realisation of school leadership aspirations. In this regard, this research explores issues relating to the leadership roles a group of BME teachers conceive for themselves and their perceptions of success; the balance of personal, professional and situational factors, and the dynamics between personal agency and workplace structure, all in relation to leadership success. Since this study concerns aspect of life histories, values, beliefs, and workplace reactions, recognition of the utility of qualitative approach was given, and as such the semi-structured interviewing as the method to gain an authentic understanding to these research issues was employed. What emerged from the study is that conception of leadership roles underpin personal judgements about what leadership or career success means. Real or perceived success is shaped by mediating dimensions of a personal, professional and situated nature, such that when in balance, agency exercised directly at a conceived leadership role reinforces the self-perception of school leadership success, whereas when dimensions are negatively imbalanced, the ability to pursue conceived leadership roles is inhibited, thus creating a sense of career stagnation. The sense of progression or stagnation is reinforced further with the mediating extent to which agency is exercised in concert with or against prevailing structures. These findings result in implications for both research and practice.

The aim of this thesis is to deepen understanding of how agency conflict arises in the governance of family businesses. The constructs were proposed arising from empirical research, involving four case studies of different Brazilian family-owned companies, which were analysed inductively. Next, data from the literature was used to validate those constructs, which became part of the proposed Family Business Agency Conflict Model and to suggest articulated hypotheses. This model identifies factors that can potentially increase, and those which can mitigate, tensions between the actors involved representing family, ownership and management within family-owned firms. It was subsequently tested through a survey of 152 family-owned firms of varying size, which belonged to different economic sectors and regions of Brazil. Structural equation modelling was used to test the empirical validity of the model, with reference to hypotheses concerning the variables which influence agency conflict. The model was found to predict 38 per cent of the variance in agency conflict. Four variables were found which explain directly the agency conflict in family businesses: strategic alignment, social alignment, trust and impartiality. Therefore, the findings of this research besides focusing on the usual procedural aspects of governance, such as disclosure and control, include behavioural elements which constitute a step ahead in the study of corporate governance in family business.