This paper reports on selected findings fr om a study conducted on collaborative-learning in undergraduate and post-graduate management educ ation. Course redesign called for the inclusion of synchronous and asynchronous learning tasks in th e course syllabus. The findings reported here are for the first, second, third and fourth iterations of the course carried out over a two-year period as part of a larger action research project curren tly underway on the use on Web 2.0 in pedagogical innovation. Student collaboration the first instance was limited, with subsequent iterations showing increased success. This paper examines the elements which have most impacted this change and seem to have allowed the use of collaborative tasks to lead to the development of a real collaborative learning community.
This paper presents findings from a mixed-method action research study the objective of which was to examine the use of Web 2.0 technologies in the higher education classroom to promote self-reg ulation, information-seeking and exchange, and collaborative learning. The research was carried out with 1st year (n=85) business degree students. Qualitative analysis, through observation, discussion, student feedback and class evaluation suggests that students, at least at the outset of higher education, are far from ready to shoulder the responsibility for their own learning. Quantitative results, using the Participant Perception Inventory-Internet versus Traditional Learning (PPI-IvT) (Lee & Tsai, 2011), instrument show that statistically there are few d ifferences perceived between th e two classroom situations and significant differences (p<.05) are found only in regard to information-seeking & exchange and, collaborative learning. These findings suggest that today's digital natives are not digital learners and that for them to evolve in education's changing paradigm will call for scaffolding and e ducator accompaniment. Recommendations are made for educators interested in the inclusion of digital technologies in their course design and delivery.
Afin de concilier leur double objectif de rentabilité financière et de performance sociale, les institutions de microfinance ont développé les prêts de groupe, avec caution solidaire. Cette innovation financière vise à remédier aux problèmes d’informations asymétriques auxquels toute activité de crédit est confrontée. L’objet de cet article est d’identifier les facteurs susceptibles d’expliquer le taux de défaillance sur cette catégorie de prêts dans une institution de microfinance au Cameroun (la MUFFA). Notre étude empirique, basée sur une régression logistique, montre que l’auto-sélection des membres des groupes de prêt, leur structure, la surveillance mutuelle et la pression entre les membres de chaque groupe ainsi que le capital social des membres expliquent à 78% le taux d’impayés sur les prêts de groupe. Afin de réduire les impayés sur les prêts de groupe, nous avons formulés un certain nombre de recommandations à l’intention de cette institution et ses groupes de clientes.
This paper explores the mutual links between corpor ate social responsibility (CSR), corporate governan ce (CG), and corporate financial performance (CFP). We aim to in vestigate the extent to which a firm's internal CG structures may influence its CSR practices and the resulting impac t on its financial performances. To take into accou nt the mutual interactions between these variables, we propose a global model, based on the partial least squares pa th modelling (PLS-PM), using a sample of 486 large U.S. and Euro peans firms for the period 2002–2011. Our results h ighlight a positive impact of corporate governance and financi al variables on CSR. The main determinant of CSR is the governance under financial constraints (firm levera ge mainly and size). Firms' leverage allows them to obtain more financial resources and positively affects their CS R practices. The adoption of CSR principles is foun d to increase primarily the firm's accounting performance and sec ondarily its market performance. However, in our mo del, we have a double effect; we underline the direct link betwe en CG and financial performance and identify an ind irect link between these two variables mediated by CSR. This s econd relationship, not explored in the literature, reinforces the impact of good CG on financial performance.
The extant body of literature regularly describes the internationalization pattern of born globals as haphazard, random, chaotic, unstructured or nonlinear at best. Moreover it is said that born globals often venture abroad in an opportunistic fashion and that their internationalization efforts are often triggered by an unsolicited request of a potenti al client. Analyzing a group of eight Swiss born globals and born - again globals and their expansion trajectory into Southeast Asia we argue that the internationalization pattern of these firms is far more sophisticated than previously assumed. By systemati cally building local hubs in ASEAN countries the internationalization behavior of our sample firms contrast s the predictions of the leading literature. The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to this phenomenon and to complement the existing literat ure on the internationalization behaviors of born global and born - again global firms
Scant research has examined the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for team learning across time. Drawing on theories of team learning, group development, and technological affordances, we provide a multi-method case analysis of emails and interviews that explores how and when team learning occurs. We analyze 468 emails and 20 interviews collected from a team in a large Swedish insurance company over the course of a 44-week project, from start to completion. The analysis reveals that the affordances of email (asynchronicity, editability, persistence, and replicability) and perceptions of time (time for face-to-face interaction [FtF] and time management) drive three nonlinear cycles of knowledge sharing, co-construction, and constructive conflict across the 44-week life span of the project. The findings challenge existing framings of team learning grounded in FtF contexts and highlight the increasing importance of team learning through ICTs
This paper aims to identify two di®erent knowledge management (KM) systems and their underlying capabilities by accounting for two contextual factors: organisational structures and type of knowledge. Speci¯cally, it seeks to explore how two di®erent organisational structures (mechanistic and organic) shape the way explicit and tacit knowledge is shared, created, and learned. The paper uses a casebased approach of two sports teams as archetypal contexts to inform management research. Findings suggest that a mechanistic structure (American football) emphasises explicit knowledge for sharing of speci¯c directives, centralised, incremental knowledge creation, and organisational learning through memorisation and repetitious actions. In an organic structure (ice hockey), sharing of tacit knowledge, decentralised novel knowledge creation, and organisational learning through empowered experiential learning episodes are emphasised. Findings illustrate the importance of accounting for organisational structures and knowledge needed for di®erent KM systems geared towards e±ciency and routine work, and °exibility and non-routine work.
We show that conventional hedonic models of commercial real estate prices ignore the utility investors derive from the externality created by extremes in attributes such as building size and height. Analyzing geo-enriched data on nearly 4,800 hotel transactions in the U.S., we detect separating equilibria across trophy commercial properties and others in pricing the extreme attributes. Only conspicuous extremes separate the equilibrium. Presence of nationally largest or tallest assets leads to price premium, although having locally largest or tallest assets discount the prices. When pricing the extremes across top-tier and lower-tier sub-markets, investors exhibit significantly asymmetric behavior. News coverage and high-status locality lead to significant price premium, but we do not observe any separating equilibria in these variables.
