Department of Financial and Business Systems
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Recent Submissions
Item The relationship between team structure and technological advancement in Formula One : A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Commerce and Management at Lincoln University(Lincoln University, 2023) Thomas, Anisha AndrewFormula One is renowned for its global reach, technological advancements, and the skill required to compete at the highest level. While the sport has historically been associated with innovation and the evolution of technology, there is a growing concern that Formula One has become more conservative and risk-averse in recent years, with regulations limiting true innovation. Additionally, financial pressures have shifted the focus towards incremental evolution rather than groundbreaking innovations, leading to a lack of diversity in engine manufacturers and a concentration of power among a few dominant teams. This thesis aims to investigate the role of team structure in determining the level of technological innovation or evolution pursued by Formula One teams. It explores the hypothesis that Entrepreneurial teams are more likely to drive Innovation, while corporate teams tend to focus on evolutionary changes within the sport. By analysing secondary data and conducting statistical analysis, the study examines the historical progression of Formula One, ownership structures within the sport, and the evaluation of technological development encompassing both innovation and evolution. The analysis of the data reveals that radical innovations in Formula One were predominantly driven by Entrepreneurial teams in the early years of the sport. However, as corporate participation increased, revolutionary innovation diminished over time. This contradicts the conventional theory that suggests larger firms with greater capital investments are more successful. Corporate interests, risk aversion, cost control, and profitability concerns have led to stringent rules and regulations that restrict teams' ability to innovate. To reclaim its status as the pinnacle of motorsports, Formula One must shift its focus towards nurturing and supporting entrepreneurial organisations that drive innovation. By fostering an environment that empowers these entities, the sport can rejuvenate its reputation as a breeding ground for groundbreaking technological advancements. While this study provides valuable insights into the relationship between team structure and technological development in Formula One, further research using primary data collection methods and updated information is needed to explore additional linkages and relationships.Item Three essays on CEO expertise power and bank strategic decisions : A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Lincoln University(Lincoln University, 2023) Ali, MaisamA CEO's expertise power is a combination of a CEO’s educational background, career path and experience, which influences the critical components of the bank task environment, e.g., bank diversification, bank lending and other financial services, thus, needing a close attention to investigate the CEO’s expertise power and bank key decisions. This thesis comprises three essays on a chief executive officer’s (CEO’s) expertise power and bank strategic decisions using US commercial banks data from 1990-2020. The first essay examines the effect of a CEO’s expertise power on bank diversification. The results show that a CEO's expertise power is positively associated with bank diversification. Market competition and board composition (size and independence) positively moderate this relationship. The results also show that CEO delta and vega are the underlying mechanisms through which expertise power leads to higher diversification. I address endogeneity concerns using the two-stage least squares, Heckman estimation and the Differences-in-Differences approaches and check robustness in several ways. The second essay examines the effect of a CEO’s expertise power on bank lending growth. The result reveals that a CEO's expertise power is positively associated with bank loan growth. Further, the result shows that GDP growth, board size and gender diversity positively and financial crises negatively affect this relationship. In channel analyses, I find that bank opacity (information asymmetry) and CEO delta (CEO pay-performance sensitivity) are the underlying mechanisms through which the CEO’s expertise power is associated with loan growth. I address endogeneity concerns using the fixed effects, generalized method of moments (GMM) and Heckman's two-stage approaches. The third and final essay examines the effect of CEO expertise power on bank tax avoidance. The result shows that a CEO's expertise power is positively associated with bank tax avoidance. The result also finds that diversification and gender diversity negatively and board size and financial crises positively affect this relationship. In channel analyses, the result reveals that CEO delta and vega are the underlying mechanisms through which the CEO’s expertise power is associated with bank tax avoidance. I address endogeneity concerns using the fixed effects, generalized method of moments (GMM), Differences-in-Differences (DID) and Heckman's two-stage approaches. This study enhances the scope of upper echelon theory by examining the implications of CEO characteristics (expertise power) for bank diversification, loan growth and tax avoidance decisions. This study provides a new explanation for bank diversification, loan growth and tax avoidance that will be useful for policymakers in developing bank strategy for CEO appointment that affects bank decisions. This study has several managerial and practical implications. The findings show that expert CEOs are highly skilled managers who can efficiently manage bank risk and other challenges, such as financial crises, reduce bank information asymmetry that improves bank lending, improve bank risk management and performance that generate more cash flows. Thus, CEO expertise contributes to bank stability by making value enhancing decisions.Item Enhancing students’ employability skills and experiential learning through integration of Xero software(University of New England, Armidale, 2021-11) Jones, G; Jones, H; Pensiero, D; Beattie, Claire; Gregory, S; Warburton, S; Schier, MIntroducing XERO Accounting software into a core accounting unit can have many benefits for students, including improving their professional skills and enhancing their employability. However, it is important that students gain knowledge and skills in all aspects of the software as well as understanding the accounting processes that underlie the software’s operations. This paper presents an overview of implementation of Xero software, in a core accounting course, at a regional university in Australia. Student numbers ranged from 24-63 across the semesters studied. We highlight and discuss the processes adopted to appropriately scaffold students’ learning and assessment. We assess the effectiveness of the intervention by observing student engagement with specially developed videos and measuring student results in associated assessment tasks over three offerings of the course. The provision of a suite of learning opportunities, (training and use of excel and Xero accounting software) translated to improved student outcomes on the technologyrelated assessment items. Few students who viewed the learning videos contacted the course teaching team for further assistance, suggesting the videos were an effective resource that provided enhanced learning opportunities for students. These findings provide advice and information regarding the issues associated with integrating accounting software for other teaching teams or institutions considering similar applications in their courses or programs.Item Farmers' perception of and adaptation to climate change: An investigation in Northeast Vietnam(Economic Research Institute of Chung-Ang University, 2021) Nong, TT; Gan, Christopher; Hu, BaidingThis study investigates farmers’ perception of and adaptation to climate change in Thai Nguyen province in the Northeast region of Vietnam. Using a structured survey questionnaire, personal interviews were conducted with 534 farmers in the study province. A multivariate probit model was utilized to examine factors affecting farmers’ choices of adaptation to climate change. The results show that climate change has threatened farmers’ livelihood and agricultural cultivation. Gender, education, farming experience, land, perceived temperature, perceived precipitation, income source, climate information, agricultural training, membership and credit access significantly affect farmers’ choices of different adaptation methods. The results suggest that government should integrate climate change adaptation activities into local development plans. In addition, climate information, agricultural training, and community-based networks should be made available and accessible to all farmersItem A sustainable business model for commercial banks: An empirical study of APEC banks : A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Lincoln University(Lincoln University, 2023) Van, Binh CongSustainable banking is a topic that has recently attracted the increasing interest of researchers, practitioners, consultants, non-governmental organisations, social bodies and policymakers. This attraction has grown intensively since 1987 when the United Nations officially defined the sustainability concept. It is evident that sustainable business models for banks and sustainable bank performance are two dominant areas in the current sustainable banking research. However, the results of such studies are diverse. For example, there is no consensus on banks' main dimensions of a sustainable business model. More importantly, how bank regulations, such as the Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR), affect sustainability performance is still debatable and subject to future research. This study endeavours to partly fill the gap of the dearth of sustainable banking literature by examining banks in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries. First, we propose a new sustainable business model for the banking sector based on a comprehensive sustainable banking literature review and analyse the operational content of two banks, Triodos and Westpac, as role models in sustainable banking practice. The proposed model called TIMESe comprises six dimensions: technological, institutional, management, economic, social and environmental. We use the TIMESe model to explore the sustainable banking practices of banks in APEC countries. This includes measuring, ranking and tracking the sustainability performance and investigating the impact of the new regulations from the Basel Committee, the NSFR, on bank sustainability performance. Using the TOPSIS method, we measure and rank the sustainability performance of 81 banks in 17 APEC countries from 2015 to 2020. The Bank Sustainability Index (BSI) is used to complete this objective. The index based on the TIMESe model comprises 28 quantitative indicators. The application of the BSI indicator in this study differs from sustainability indexes in previous research because we use the industry standard value as the threshold to conduct sustainability tests to check whether banks are sustainable; almost 56% of our sample banks are unsustainable. Next, we use the Relative Comparison Indicator (RCI) to track the sustainability standing of banks over time. The RCI identifies a bank’s sustainability level as stable, high, or low. From this RCI status, a bank can decide which sustainability policy to apply to maintain or improve its future sustainability performance. Finally, we investigate the impact of the NSFR on bank sustainability performance by exploring data from 40 banks in 11 APEC countries from 2018-2020. The results show that NSFR significantly improved the sustainability performance of 82.5% of the sample banks, especially the 100% sustainable banks. Thus, we recommend applying the NSFR for a more resilient banking system nationally, regionally and globally. This study applies the TIMESe model, the BSI, the sustainability test, the sustainable threshold and the RCI for sustainable banking management practice. These concepts and their applications can be reference points for other production and services industries.