Subject:
All Disciplines Arts & Humanities Biology & Life Sciences Business & Economics Chemistry & Materials Science Computer Science & Mathematics Engineering Environmental & Earth Sciences Medicine & Pharmacology Physical Sciences Public Health & Healthcare Social Sciences
Sort:
Hottest Latest Alphabetical (A-Z) Alphabetical (Z-A)
Type:
All Topic Review Biography
Topic Review
Serendipity
Serendipity is defined as an ability to notice, evaluate, and take advantage of unexpected information for survival purposes (both natural and social). The concept has been discussed for centuries. Still, it has only caught the attention of academia quite recently due to its strategic advantage in all aspects of life, such as daily life activities, science and technology, business and entrepreneurship, politics and economics, education administration, career choice and development, etc.
  • 4.3K
  • 01 Sep 2022
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Tourism Destination Marketing: Academic Knowledge
A holistic, multi-organization view of marketing or destination management organizations (DMOs) who must muster the best efforts of many partner organizations and individuals (stakeholders) to have the greatest success. Destination marketing is described as “a continuous, sequential process through which a DMO plans, researches, implements, controls and evaluates programs aimed at satisfying tourists’ needs and wants as well as the destination’s and DMO’s visions, goals and objectives”. The effectiveness of marketing activities depends on the efforts and plans of tourism suppliers and other entities. This definition posits that marketing is a managerial function/domain that should be performed in a systematic manner adopting and implementing the appropriate approaches, as well as suitable tools and methods. In doing so, it is believed that a tourism destination (through the organizational structure of a DMO) can attain the expected outputs beneficial to all stakeholders, i.e., the tourism industry, hosting communities/populations, and tourists/visitors. The effective implementation of tourism destination marketing principles and methods constitutes an efficient and smart pillar, a cornerstone to attain a balance/equilibrium between the perceptions and interests, sometimes conflicting, of stakeholders by minimizing the negative impacts and maximizing the benefits resulting from tourism. All the same, it is worth noting that marketing is not a panacea, nor a kind of magic stick. 
  • 3.9K
  • 13 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Russian Financial Crisis (2014–2017)
The financial crisis in Russia in 2014–2015 was the result of the sharp devaluation of the Russian ruble beginning in the second half of 2014. A decline in confidence in the Russian economy caused investors to sell off their Russian assets, which led to a decline in the value of the Russian ruble and sparked fears of a Russian financial crisis. The lack of confidence in the Russian economy stemmed from at least two major sources. The first is the fall in the price of oil in 2014. Crude oil, a major export of Russia, declined in price by nearly 50% between its yearly high in June 2014 and 16 December 2014. The second is the result of international economic sanctions imposed on Russia following Russia's annexation of Crimea and the Russian military intervention in Ukraine. The crisis has affected the Russian economy, both consumers and companies, and regional financial markets, as well as Putin's ambitions regarding the Eurasian Economic Union. The Russian stock market in particular has experienced large declines, with a 30% drop in the RTS Index from the beginning of December through 16 December 2014. During the financial crisis, the economy turned to prevalent state ownership, with 60% of productive assets in the hands of the government. By 2016, the Russian economy rebounded with 0.3% GDP growth and was officially out of the recession. In January 2017, Russia had foreign currency reserves of around $391 billion, an inflation rate of 5.0% and interest rate of 10.0%.
  • 4.0K
  • 09 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Online Auction
An online auction is an auction which is held over the internet. Online auctions come in many different formats, but most popularly they are ascending English auctions, descending Dutch auctions, first-price sealed-bid, Vickrey auctions, or sometimes even a combination of multiple auctions, taking elements of one and forging them with another. The scope and reach of these auctions have been propelled by the Internet to a level beyond what the initial purveyors had anticipated. This is mainly because online auctions break down and remove the physical limitations of traditional auctions such as geography, presence, time, space, and a small target audience. This influx in reachability has also made it easier to commit unlawful actions within an auction. In 2002, online auctions were projected to account for 30% of all online e-commerce due to the rapid expansion of the popularity of the form of electronic commerce. Online auctions include business to business (B2B), business to consumer (B2C), and consumer to consumer (C2C) auctions. The largest online auction site is eBay, which was the first to support person-to-person transactions. Other popular examples of online auction sites include WebStore, OnlineAuction and Overstock.
  • 3.8K
  • 06 Dec 2022
Topic Review
IBIDA
A company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (commonly abbreviated EBITDA, pronounced /iːbɪtˈdɑː/, /əˈbɪtdɑː/, or /ˈɛbɪtdɑː/) is an accounting measure calculated using a company's earnings, before interest expenses, taxes, depreciation, and amortization are subtracted, as a proxy for a company's current operating profitability (i.e., how much profit it makes with its present assets and its operations on the products it produces and sells, as well as providing a proxy for cash flow). Though often shown on an income statement, it is not considered part of the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) by the SEC.
  • 3.7K
  • 08 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Performance Evaluation of the Board of Directors
Abstract:   Purpose: The objectives of this paper are to analyse both individual and overall performance evaluations of the Board of Directors as carried out by Maltese Listed Companies (MLCs) and to assess the importance of such board evaluations to small shareholders. Design/Approach/Methodology: The study was designed around semi-structured interviews with fifteen MLC representatives and seven stockbrokers, as well as questionnaires administered to twenty-nine small shareholders. Findings: The findings indicate that, while Boards of Director evaluations are carried out in MLCs, they lack the necessary formal structures that specify critical evaluation measures. Thus one may infer that those charged with the responsibility of conducting evaluations are not being well determined. By departing from the recommendations of the Maltese Corporate Governance Code on performance evaluations, MLCs have generally opted to resort to an inward and more restricted style of evaluation, doing away with external or independent parties in the process.   Practical Implications: Recommendations include the promotion of shareholder interest by enhancing their awareness of the benefits they will stand to gain from the process and by involving them more in the process. Originality/Value: The paper considers possible evaluation measures that may be aimed to enhance both shareholder and public confidence in the exercise and also other ways by which it may be improved. It thus contributes to the literature, as yet scarce, which relates to corporate governance in small states.   Keywords: Performance evaluation, corporate governance, board of directors, MLCs.   JEL code: G34. Paper type: Research article.
  • 3.7K
  • 28 May 2020
Topic Review
Sustainability Accounting
Sustainability accounting is expanding in the academic context and business practice. It has different meanings but few definitions, and this demonstrates a lack of conceptualization in this regard. The concept is often used as a synonymous of environmental accounting, social accounting, or non-financial accounting. According to Zvezdov and Schaltegger (2013), it “entails systems, methods, and processes of creating sustainability information for transparency, accountability, and decision-making purposes. This includes the identification of relevant sustainability issues of the company, the definition of indicators and measures, data collection, overall performance tracking and measurement, as well as the communication with […] internal and external information recipients.
  • 3.6K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Dot-Com Bubble
The dot-com bubble (also known as the dot-com boom, the tech bubble, and the Internet bubble) was a historic economic bubble and period of excessive speculation that occurred roughly from 1995 to 2000, a period of extreme growth in the usage and adaptation of the Internet. The Nasdaq Composite stock market index, which included many Internet-based companies, peaked in value on March 10, 2000 before crashing. The burst of the bubble, known as the dot-com crash, lasted from March 11, 2000 to October 9, 2002. During the crash, many online shopping companies, such as Pets.com, Webvan, and Boo.com, as well as communication companies, such as Worldcom, NorthPoint Communications and Global Crossing failed and shut down. Others, such as Cisco, whose stock declined by 86%, and Qualcomm, lost a large portion of their market capitalization but survived, and some companies, such as eBay and Amazon.com, declined in value but recovered quickly.
  • 3.6K
  • 01 Nov 2022
Topic Review
An Analysis of the Board of Directors Composition
Abstract:   Purpose: The objectives of this study were to analyse certain aspects of the Board composition of Maltese listed companies (MLCs), namely Board size, independence, expertise, gender diversity and the chairperson/CEO links, and  how these may be improved. Design/Approach/Methodology: The study was designed around a qualitative approach of data collection. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seventeen participants, consisting of fourteen company secretaries of MLCs, a representative of the Maltese regulator, a corporate advisor and a corporate lawyer. Findings: The nomination and appointment process of directors in MLCs relies mainly on networking, with a tendency to continuously appoint the same tried network of directors. This creates a barrier towards new talent being introduced into boardrooms. A general disagreement also persists as to what constitutes a truly independent Board member. Practical Implications: Practical experience often supplants academic qualifications when nominating and appointing directors. Moreover, female representation on the Boards of MLCs is still lacking. Notwithstanding the fact that the importance of having separate chairperson/CEO roles is acknowledged, there is likely to be strong resistance to any law rendering this mandatory.   Originality/Value: Studies relating to the composition of the Board of Directors in smaller states such as the island state of Malta are infrequent. This paper provides information that is of particular value to listed companies in smaller states and their stakeholders, including regulators and sheds more light on the priniciple of proportionailty when dealing with requirements imposed by the authorities.
  • 3.5K
  • 13 Apr 2021
Topic Review
German Gold Mark
Goldmark (officially just Mark, sign: ℳ) was the gold standard-based currency of the German Empire from 1873 to 1914. Papiermark was the Mark after the gold standard was given up in August 1914, and gold and silver coins ceased to circulate.
  • 3.5K
  • 08 Oct 2022
  • Page
  • of
  • 30
Featured Entry Collections
>>

Featured Books

>>
Encyclopedia of Social Sciences
Encyclopedia of COVID-19
Encyclopedia of Fungi
Encyclopedia of Digital Society, Industry 5.0 and Smart City
Feedback