International Journal of Comparative Management (5 papers in press)

Regular Issues

• A Systematic Comparison of Sustainability Reporting Standards  
  by Vicky Therrien, Vincent Gagné 
  Abstract: This paper aims to conduct a systematic comparison of the Global Reporting Initiative, International Integrated Reporting Council, and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board guidelines. The authors utilised Rasche's (2009) model to compare these sustainability reporting standards across six issues: specificity of norms, legitimacy, implementability, accountability, geographic scope, and industry focus. Our systematic analytical comparison emphasises differences in legitimacy, accountability processes, and geographic scope while highlighting convergences in specificity, implementability, and industry focus. We argue that stakeholder focus largely explains the observed differences. Our results provide valuable insights for standard-setting organisations and decision makers seeking to understand the most popular sustainability accounting frameworks worldwide.
  Keywords: sustainability reporting; sustainability accounting; reporting standards; social responsibility disclosure framework.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJCM.2023.10061385
   
  
• Efficiency Evaluation of State Co-Operative Banks in India: A Neural Network Model and Data Envelopment Analysis  
  by Triambica Gautam, Amit Srivastava, Shruti Jain 
  Abstract: In India, cooperative banking has long been a crucial component of the banking sector. For the stability of the banking sector and to guarantee financial inclusion in India, these institutions are crucial. A linear programming-based technique called Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) enables efficiency comparisons between a group of decision-making units without the use of predetermined performance benchmarks. The analysis of efficiency in this paper has been done on thirty State Cooperative Banks. The banks have been analysed using three distinct models of DEA (Cost, Profit and Revenue), and overall efficiency using Shannon’s entropy model. It has been observed that Chandigarh exhibit highest efficiency under all of the models. The originality of this study is in the model's validation through the Bayesian Regularization technique-based Neural Network model evaluation of gradients. Overall rank determined using Shannon entropy and rank determined utilizing gradients from neural networks are tested for collinearity using Kendell’s Tau.
  Keywords: Data envelopment analysis; Cooperative banks; Efficiency; Rank; Shannon Entropy.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJCM.2024.10065242
   
  
• A cinematic analysis of quality management: insights from the movie Gung Ho in Japanese and American contexts  
  by Md. Mehedi Hasan 
  Abstract: This study explores cultural conflicts and quality management strategies in the 1986 film Gung Ho, integrating Trompenaars Seven Dimensions of Culture with theories from Deming, Juran, Feigenbaum, Taguchi, Crosby, and Shingo. Using a qualitative case study approach and content analysis, the research investigates how cultural values impact the implementation and effectiveness of quality management. Findings reveal that successful quality management requires more than technical tools; it depends on understanding and adapting to cultural contexts. Cultural differences can hinder or enhance management depending on communication and flexibility. The study underscores the need for organisations in diverse environments to foster cultural awareness, provide targeted training, and promote inclusive practices. It offers practical insights for practitioners and researchers, encouraging future studies to explore cultural dimensions and cross-cultural team dynamics. These insights can help organisations refine their quality practices and strengthen their global competitiveness.
  Keywords: culture; quality management; Japan vs. USA; movie analysis; Gung Ho.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJCM.2025.10072213
   
  
• Exploratory and exploitative leadership compared: evidence from China  
  by John W. Medcof, Lynda J. Song 
  Abstract: Organisational ambidexterity studies are advanced by comparing intra-departmental and extra-departmental leadership and introducing a triage model which explains a previously overlooked process for achieving ambidexterity. Organisations triage significant high uncertainty challenges to ad hoc projects outside the established departmental structure for exploratory management (extra-departmental), and triage lower uncertainty challenges to established departments for exploitative management (intra-departmental). The data support this proposition, and that most managers take on significant amounts of extra-departmental leadership as well as their intra-departmental. The data reveal that exploratory leadership involves more objectives development, communication and legitimisation, than does exploitative. Managers perceive that intra-departmental work is more important for career advancement than extra-departmental. This research extends the scope of ambidexterity research in China with a Chinese sample. It extends our understanding of ambidexterity in several ways and provides theory and results which promise to enrich future research, managerial practice and cross-cultural comparisons.
  Keywords: ambidexterity; exploration; exploitation; intra-departmental leadership; extra-departmental leadership.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJCM.2025.10074557
   
  
• Shift work among nurses in China and India: a comparative test of the unique predictive capacity hypothesis  
  by Vishwanath V. Baba, Akanksha Bedi, Louise Tourigny 
  Abstract: This study investigates the impact of shift work on work attitudes and mental health among hospital nurses in both China and India. It differs from other shift work studies in that, in addition to the well-documented shift effects, it focuses on the discrepancy between the shift a nurse works and the shift she prefers. Based on discrepancy theory, we test the hypothesis that the discrepancy between working and preferred shifts will have a unique predictive capacity over and above the effects of shifts. A field survey in Mandarin and Hindi was used to gather data. The results show that while shift work has a significant impact on the attitudes and mental health of nurses in both China and India, the impact of shift work discrepancy has been relatively modest.
  Keywords: shift work; comparative study; China; India; unique predictive capacity hypothesis.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJCM.2025.10074860