The decline of high streets due to external factors, such as changing consumer trends, the growth of alternative forms of retail, changing economic conditions etc., is a topic that has received a great deal of political and media attention during the last decade. The performance of high streets is influenced by a multitude of complex and conflicting economic, environmental and social factors. However, despite this, existing performance measures continue to place emphasis on the retailing and economic functions of high streets. As consumer needs and expectations shift towards a preference for social and experiential high street features, the need to change the perception of high street success is increasingly important. This study has identified statistically significant differences between importance scores allocated to high street assessment criteria by a range of high street stakeholder groups. These differences reveal the varying priorities of key stakeholders when it comes to high streets, and the subsequent need to account for the varied needs and expectations of stakeholders when it comes to assessing high street performance. This research contributes new and original knowledge through the development and application of a high street sustainability assessment model that incorporates criteria weightings to reflect the needs and expectations of key high street stakeholders. Utilising Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods, the model comprises an all-inclusive set of weighted criteria that reflects a high street's economic, environmental and social functions. The model is applied to a practical example of eight English town centre high streets. The thesis presents the ranking of the high streets in terms of their relative sustainability and provides a step-by-step guide of how key stakeholders can apply the model for their own high street decision making needs. The model can inform national and local high street policy, strategies and decision making, and provides benefits to a range of stakeholders, including national and local government, town centre managers, local businesses and local communities. The model output can inform recommendations and indicate areas of improvement that would be most beneficial to improved high street sustainability.

Despite the growth of studies in contextual strategic human resource management (SHRM) investigating the linkage of competitive strategy (CS) and human resource management practices (HRMp), there have been minimal studies on the phenomenon in emerging economies such as Nigeria. Notably, the applicability of western models of SHRM in Nigeria has shown a lot of difficulties over time due to the peculiarity of the Nigerian context. This study therefore addresses the key question of a context-specific model of CS-HRMp linkage in Nigeria medium-sized enterprises (NMSEs). Due to the dearth of literature on CS-HRMp linkage in Nigeria, this study adopted a sequential exploratory mixed method (SEMM) which involved qualitative and quantitative methods. Exploratory interview was conducted with 10 managers and HR professionals in NMSEs and thematically analysed to contribute to the development of a questionnaire for data collection. Survey data was obtained from 323 top management and HR professionals in NMSEs and tested to achieve the aim of this study. The outcome of this study established the adoption of business-level strategies and people management practices suited to the Nigerian context. This study also examined the linkage between CS and HRMp in NMSEs and identified the direction of the linkage; also the strengths of linkage which ranged from weak, moderate to strong which previous SHRM literature has not emphasised were identified. In SHRM literature, four levels of linkages are associated with business level strategies and HRMp; however, this study found three levels of linkage in NMSEs, which are administrative, one-way and two-way linkages. In addition, contrary to previous SHRM literature suggesting only positive organisational outcomes of CS-HRMp linkage, this study found both positive and negative outcomes in NMSEs. Furthermore, in this study, key contextual factors: culture, religion, language differences, ethnicity, Nigerian economy, currency value, corruption, governmental policies, labour union, family and personal relationships that impact on CS-HRMp linkage in Nigeria were also identified. Most importantly, this study suggests a model of linking CS and HRMp signifying the context of practice in NMSEs. Therefore, this study contributes to the contextual approach to SHRM by providing key information on practice of CS-HRMp linkage in Nigeria, filling the gap created by the dearth of studies on CS-HRMp linkage in an emerging economy context such as Nigeria, and developing a management model of practice in NMSEs.

No description available.

This thesis concerns the field of business-to-consumer electronic commerce. Research on Internet consumer behaviour is still in its infancy, and a quantitative framework to characterize user profiles for e-commerce is not yet established. This study proposes a quantitative framework that uses latent variable analysis to identify the underlying traits of Internet users' opinions. Predictive models are then built to select the factors that are most predictive of the propensity to buy on-line and classify Internet users according to that propensity. This is followed by a segmentation of the online market based on that selection of factors and the deployment of segment-specific graphical models to map the interactions between factors and between these and the propensity to buy online. The novel aspects of this work can be summarised as follows: the definition of a fully quantitative methodology for the segmentation and analysis of large data sets; the description of the latent dimensions underlying consumers' opinions using quantitative methods; the definition of a principled method of marginalisation to the empirical prior, for Bayesian neural networks, to deal with the use of class-unbalanced data sets; a study of the Generative Topographic Mapping (GTM) as a principled method for market segmentation, including some developments of the model, namely: a) an entropy-based measure to compare the class-discriminatory capabilities of maps of equal dimensions; b) a Cumulative Responsibility measure to provide information on the mapping distortion and define data clusters; c) Selective Smoothing as an extended model for the regularization of the GTM training.

Following the lifting of the sanctions imposed on Libya by the UN in 2003, the need for developing cost allocation systems has become necessary. This includes aspects such as privatization, foreign industries, and competition. All these factors should be considered by the cost and management accounting practitioners of the Libyan industrial sector. Based on the findings of a questionnaire survey, supported by semi-structured interviews, this study has examined the state of cost allocation (CA) systems in terms of product costs of large and medium Libyan manufacturing companies (LMLMCs). A contingency theory approach is adopted and a frame-work is developed in order to investigate the accuracy of the product costs. The study revealed that the majority of the LMLMCs are influenced by the financial accounting mentality. Almost all of them are using simplistic traditional CA methods. A few of them have already contracted to develop (up-date or redesign) their CA system. In fact, almost all of them calculate inaccurate product costs when companies produce various products. The full cost-plus pricing method is rejected by almost all the surveyed companies that face high levels of competition. Instead, they traced the mechanism of market price or comparing product cost with the prevailing market prices. On the other hand, almost all the public companies are facing very low competition which enabled them to adopt the cost-plus pricing method. In contrast, almost all privately-owned companies are facing very high or high levels of competition. In terms of preparing cost information on time, some the LMLMCs do not prepare overhead budgets. Most of them prepare cost information annually and the majorities are preparing cost information in irregular periods. According to the important factors that influence the accuracy of product costs, it was found a strong negative relationship with the level of product diversity and accuracy, a strong negative relationship between the level of intensity of competition and the level of use of cost-plus pricing and a strong negative relationship between the level of ownership and the level of use of the cost-plus pricing method. Finally, the factors that constrict the CA development are as follows; absence of any internal leadership; lack of specialist managerial accountants; lack of top management support; lack of active training programs; centralization of decision-making; it is extremely expensive to develop the CA systems; absence of professional cost or managerial accounting bodies in Libya. With regards to the organization's size factor, lack of financial ability; lack of an independent cost accounting department are important. In relation to the organization's ownership factor, it was found only the low level of competition is important. While most previous studies focused on the implementation of ABC in Western developed countries, this study has contributed further evidence to the value of studying CA systems in terms of product costs with a managerial emphasis in the Libyan context. In addition, this research describes the degree of accuracy and preparing cost information on time. However, it determined contingency factors that restrict the cost allocation system development and influenced the accuracy of product costs in the LMLMCs.

Once a Cinderella subject, the employment of people aged 50 and above (often referred to in the literature as 'older workers') has become an issue of major prominence in recent years. This is no more evident than in the passage of the Age Regulations (October 2006) and with it, New Labour's pledge to encourage age diversity in the workplace. Older people are thus being encouraged to re-enter the labour market through schemes such as the New Deal 50 plus and Pathways to Work or to take up volunteering under the rubric of 'active citizenship'. There is now a variety of ways in which people approaching later life would, on the face of it, be able to access work, education and training opportunities. However, past research and current data suggest that there are a number of barriers to the take up of such opportunities. For instance, research has shown that older workers receive lower performance ratings than their younger counterparts (Saks and Waldman, 1998). The suggestion here is that negative stereotypes regarding an individual's chronological age may override employers' appraisal of their older workers. Ageism has been cited as the main barrier to employability and occupational progression for the majority of older workers. Past research in this field has highlighted the discriminatory power of economic myths and stereotypes concerning the work ability of older age groups (for example Taylor and Walker, 1998). The picture to emerge is that older workers are perceived by employers to be less productive, harder to train, and more expensive and difficult to manage than younger workers. It is therefore hoped that policy intervention will have the long term effect of supporting older age groups who have consistently been undervalued and often discarded by employers for simply being 'too old'. Laudable aims, but are employers ready to listen? Moreover are older people (and society at large) ready to refuse to conform to, or accept, negative images of their age group? This research considers the nature and salience of ageism in the UK labour market. It also asks whether ageism alone is enough to explain the extent of the discrimination experienced by older women and men. It looks at these issues through the eyes of older people themselves and the organisations that impact upon their lives in an effort to understand the barriers they face in the realm of work and employment. Qualitative and quantitative evidence is presented from older individuals and employers across the UK. Analysis of the data supports the existence of ageism in the workplace. It also reveals a gender dimension to the ageism experienced, which works to the detriment of older women and, in a qualitatively different way, older men as well. Yet self-reported examples of ageism were often more implicit than explicit, based around wider cultural stereotypes about people of a certain age. These findings are, of course, in accordance with much related past theory and research. Yet in contrast to previous work, consideration is also given to the part played by individual difference and to broader societal and psychological influences (i.e. life satisfaction). Such an approach indicates that older peoples' experiences of employment are more complex than previously assumed. For example, individuals' experiences of gender and age discrimination are not static, nor isolated from wider personal, historical and social contexts in which they had grown up and grown older. It is therefore argued that the study of ageism should be broadened out and linked to a variety of factors that concern how we as individuals and a society view old age.

No description available.

This study aimed to investigate the main impact of adopting the International Financial Report Standards (IFRSs) on the users of financial reports in both the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and the Abu Dhabi stock exchange (ADX). The study has also examined the impact of adopting the ·IFRS on profitability of firms and stock performance in the two stock markets. In addition, the study has investigated the different challenges that adopting the IFRS had in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi markets following the compulsory adoption of IFRS and whether the implementation of IFRS would have different impacts on the DFM from those in the ADX. One of the most important developments in the literature related to accounting and finance at the beginning of this century is concerned with the compulsory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) in Europe. With the introduction of IFRSs, there is the promise of the provision of financial statements that are more accurate and transparent and, therefore, the expectation of more value-relevance to investors when compared to local GAAP. Following the announcement that IFRSs were to be adopted by listed firms in the European Union in 2005, the accounting systems in developing countries have been affected, with countries, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAB), also announcing their desire to adopt the IFRS. However, as the nature of the business environment in the UAE is significantly different from that in western countries, serious argument arose between the users of financial reports in the UAB over whether the adoption of IFRSs was appropriate for their financial statements. The study has used two main methods to collect and analyse the primary data. Firstly, questionnaires were used to gauge how the preparers and users of financial reports view the adoption of IFRSs, in both DFM and ADX, and how this transition to IFRSs has affected their decision making. SPSS was used to analyse the collected data of the questionnaires using different tests such as t-test, ANOV A test, and Correlation test. Secondly, this study used the secondary data analysis to investigate the primary effects of adopting IFRS upon share performance and profitability of listed firms in the two stock exchanges. For the second data collection method, several multiple regression models were used based on the Ohlson and modified Ohlson models. The main findings of the study from the questionnaire indicate that most of users of the financial reports were in favour of the adoption of IFRSs in the UAB, however many of the users argued that the transition to IFRSs ought to be given careful consideration as it had negative effects on the accounting system of companies and raised the issue of lack of readiness and lack of competence of employees who are ill prepared for IFRSs. The findings of the questionnaire have also showed that the preparers at the banking sector were more satisfied with the adoption of IFRSs than was the case in other sectors. The results from the analysis of secondary data showed that the adoption of IFRSs had value-relevance for both the DFM and the ADX, with the greater relative impact being at the former. In addition, the analysis of results showed that the adoption of IFRSs had an impact on some financial indicators and this impact was higher in the ADX than it was in the DFM. The analysis also indicated that the adoption of IFRSs had a great impact on the trading volume of shares in both of the stock markets, with the impact being significantly higher in the ADX. In conclusion, as the main focus of the study was to examine the challenges and the impact of the recent adoption of IFRSs in one of the countries of the Middle East, this study has made a contribution to the literature on value-relevance in terms of stock performance and financial indicators. It has also shed light on an area of research which has been overlooked particularly in the Middle East.

No description available.

No description available.