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Price promotions: examining the buyer mix and subsequent changes in purchase loyalty	[ "Consumer behaviour", "Brand loyalty", "Price promotions", "In-store marketing" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Price-related promotions are rife in consumer goods categories. Reports say between 50 and 60 per cent of the total marketing budget of CPG firms are spent on temporary price promotions (Nielsen, 2009; Bolton et al., 2010).\nData and analysis: To address the hypotheses, the study uses consumer panel data from two countries, comprising 18 diverse categories and 181 brands. Using multiple categories and countries helps generate generalizable results. US data on 11 categories are from the IRI academic panel data set (Kruger, 2016) comprising approximately 4,000 households in two mid-sized cities. UK data for seven categories are from Kantar Worldpanel, covering over 20,000 households. The panel records cover purchases made at all supermarkets (and where relevant, pharmacy or drug store chains) in the UK in the case of Kantar, and in the two cities in the case of IRI. The IRI data are for a 156-week period, and the Kantar data are for a 78-week period. Brands were included in the analysis if they had at least 200 promotion purchases in the panel data set, so as to ensure accurate results.\nDiscussion and implications: Discussion\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the extent to which temporary price promotions attract people who do not normally buy a brand, and whether buyers change their propensity to buy the promoted brand afterwards.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study analyses promotions in 18 consumer goods categories in the UK and USA. It calculates the proportion of promotion purchasers that have bought a brand at least once in their last five purchases and the Share of Category Requirements of those purchasers. These figures are then compared to normal-price purchasers.\nFindings: The study finds the majority of price-promotion buyers already bought the brand at least once in their last five category purchases (average = 77 per cent). This figure is similar to that for normal-price purchases (average = 81 per cent). Average Household SCR to the brand is also very similar for price-promotion purchases compared to normal price purchases. Therefore, promotions do not attract a markedly different mix of buyers. Furthermore, buyer propensity to buy the brand is the same after a promotion purchase as it was before.\nResearch limitations/implications: A contribution of the paper is that it supports a theory of consumers as cognitive misers, who screen out promotion information about unfamiliar brands. The paper also highlights that in packaged-goods markets, consumers can be generally seen as experienced buyers, who do not learn new information from buying brands they have previously purchased.\nPractical implications: The managerial implication is that price promotions must be judged on their immediate profitability. There seems little recourse to the idea they can result in \"try it, like it, buy it again later\" effects.\nOriginality/value: While many studies have examined the effects of price promotions, this is the first to explicitly compare the mix of buyers attracted from a price promotion to that which occurs when a brand is sold at normal price.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Communicative management of tensions by MSIs for water resilience	[ "Stakeholders", "Resilience", "Tensions", "Water" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The effective management of scarce or at-risk natural resources, like water, constitutes a key \"wicked problem\" (Rittel and Webber, 1973) worldwide, demanding creative collaborations, such as multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs), which are composed of different local and global organizations united on a common theme (Backstrand, 2006; Rasche, 2012). Building resilience - defined as the ability to withstand, recover, or repair from disaster or crisis situations (Folke, 2006; Lizarralde et al., 2015) - in resource systems is a key concern for such MSIs, especially as climate change provokes unforeseen shifts in the natural and built environments. However, mobilizing multiple organizations and resources is not easy for MSIs, which often face complex mission and task conflicts, so that it becomes crucial to examine how they negotiate such tensions even as they seek to build resilient systems.\nResource resilience and managing tensions: In this section, I review some key literature on resilience (in the context of natural resources), before adopting an approach informed by the communicative practices at stake. I then describe some key tensions that require management to accomplish systemic resilience, and suggest how communicative framing might shape this process.\nComparative case study: A comparative case study approach was used for this paper, because case studies enable situated, context-specific understandings about social phenomena (May, 2012). Stake (2006) further argued that comparative case studies allow researchers to contrast how issues may evolve in different situations. Approval for the study was obtained through the Institutional Review Board, and pseudonyms have been used for all individuals and organizations to minimize potential risks faced by participants.\nFindings: Owing to the different modes of communication emphasized by each MSI (i.e. Glacier prioritized discussion and deliberation, whereas Delta stressed networking and connections), the MSI tensions revealed vary, despite the underlying goal of water system resilience.\nDiscussion: This comparative case study examined the tensions faced by MSIs enacting systemic resilience in the context of water resources. Specifically, it argued that MSI members' communicative framing of these tensions shapes the strategies to manage them. I examined two MSIs, Glacier and Delta, which worked to accomplish water system resilience, demonstrating how different tensions were framed as dialectics, contradictions, and double binds. In this section, I consider some key theoretical and practical implications that follow.\nLimitations: While comparative case studies enable a holistic understanding of social phenomena, by simultaneously studying multiple contexts, a key limitation is that they may preclude details into any one of the cases in favor of the \"bird's eye\" view (Stake, 2006). Thus, this paper has not delved into minute contextual elements, such as conversation sequences or thick description, because this would have distracted from the thread connecting these cases - namely, how tensions are inherent in resource-based MSI work, and how they are framed and thereby managed in similar (but not the same) situations. Another limitation of this study is its absence of longitudinal or quantitative data. Future research should thus include both quantitative and qualitative, and single and multiple case study methodologies, to further unpack the findings reported by this study. Finally, while the tension-framing approach adopted here generally takes the communicative frames employed as constituting management strategies, scholars might consider using alternative theoretical perspectives, such as sense-making or structuration, to probe how the reverse may or may not be true - that is, whether (and how) particular routines and actions might reiterate communicative frames for MSIs. Nevertheless, in tracing how MSIs manage various tensions to accomplish resource resilience, and noting the interplay of power relations across these strategies, this paper has made an important contribution to the communicative study of resilience.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to undertake a comparative case study (Stake, 2006) of two multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) building resilient water systems to address how they communicatively frame and manage key tensions. \"Glacier\" is the North American convener of an MSI focused on developing reliable and measurable standards of water stewardship in catchment areas around the world. \"Delta\" convenes a MSI centered on the water economy, with the goal to connect and help diverse organizations around \"the business of water.\"\nDesign/methodology/approach: Qualitative data were analyzed using Tracy's (2013) pragmatic-iterative method, which envisions ongoing cycles of theme generation and refinement, and draws on both induction and deduction to identity and sort themes. The \"reflexive circular process\" it involves helped trace how tensional poles were framed and managed.\nFindings: For Glacier, the key tensions were: creating new and distinct standards while reiterating extant measures; collective decision making although privileging corporate interests; and fixed impact performance that is nevertheless fluid. Delta also displayed three tensions: focus on the ecological issue connecting the MSI or partner benefits; broader ethics of water stewardship vis-a-vis local considerations; and avowing a bipartisan agenda although politics remained central to its everyday work.\nResearch limitations/implications: The paper underlines how communicative framing and management of tensions are key to developing resilience for socioecological systems. It highlights how traditional organizational boundaries and collectives are disrupted in seeking resource system resilience, and suggests that texts and conversations might emphasize tensions differently.\nPractical implications: First, MSI conveners and members working for resource system resilience should use visioning exercises to see how tensional poles might be dialectical, rather than focus on stark differences. Second, ongoing dialogue and evaluation can help trace alternative tension frames. Third, since context and MSI purpose matter in framing tensions, practitioners should be careful while transferring lessons learned across MSIs.\nOriginality/value: This paper contributes to resilience scholarship by underlining how the communicative management of tensions is vital to developing adaptive complexity and learning capabilities within broader socioecological systems - especially with MSIs working on complex wicked problems.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The evaluation of a brand association density metric	[ "Brand associations", "Brand equity", "Brand image", "Measurement", "Brand performance", "Brand choice" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) is a key concept in marketing (Hoeffler and Keller, 2003) and has been linked to several positive business outcomes, including: brand extension potential (Aaker and Keller, 1990), willingness to pay a premium (Yoo and Donthu, 2001), Word-of-mouth (WOM) recommendation (Vazquez et al., 2002), slower advertising wear-out effects (Campbell and Keller, 2003), reduced firm risk (Rego et al., 2009), usage and purchase intention (Cobb-Walgren et al., 1995; Vriens and Martins Alves, 2017), sales (Attaman and Ulengin, 2003) and positive stock returns (Madden et al., 2006; Mitzik and Jacobson, 2008). Several brand equity conceptualizations have been proposed: e.g. using scanner data (Kamakura and Russell, 1993), using conjoint (Cobb-Walgren et al., 1995; Ferjani et al., 2009) and several derived from Aaker's (1991) or Keller's (1993) conceptualizations (Yoo and Donthu, 2001; Netemeyer et al., 2004; Pappu et al., 2005; Baalbaki and Guzman, 2016; Christodoulides et al., 2015). In these latter frameworks, brand equity is seen as multi-dimensional; the dimensions include brand image [associations that can differ in terms of favorability, strength and uniqueness (Keller, 1993)] and perceived product quality and unaided awareness, both which can be viewed as associations as well. Hence, brand managers need to understand the role of brand associations.\nThe spreading activation theory: Neuroscientific findings have suggested that many brand decisions are memory-based (Walvis, 2008) and likely driven by long-term memory (McClure et al., 2004). An early but still influential theory, the SAT, was proposed by Quillian (1967), and later refined by Collins and Loftus (1975). Other memory theories exist but are more difficult to translate into practical brand metrics while the SAT remains very powerful in explaining data (McNamara, 1992). The SAT has several key elements:\nPrevious research on Brand associations: Previous studies have examined the impact of the number and type of brand associations on brand recall, brand equity and future purchase intentions. These previous studies along with some summary features of the study design are shown in Table I.\nA brand association density metric: In most previous studies, the number of associations is calculated at the individual respondent level and then averaged when comparisons are made between groups. For example, strong versus weak brands or users versus non-users, etc. We propose a new aggregate-level brand association metric that we believe better captures the true number of different associations a brand has multiplied (weighted) by the inter-connectedness (Figure 1). Hence, our metric is based on two components:\nHypotheses: Brands that are recalled first are more likely to be considered and chosen (Duncan, 2006; Nedungadi, 1990; Walvis, 2008). The empirical evidence to date indicates that a higher number of different brand associations should lead to better recall, consideration, higher attitudinal brand equity (Krishnan, 1996; Chen, 2001; Romaniuk and Sharp, 2003; Koll and von Wallpach, 2013; Rahman and Areni, 2015) and should have higher market shares though no evidence has been published. Based on theoretical (Collins and Loftus, 1975), neurological (Eichenbaum, 2017; Walvis, 2008), and the empirical research summarized in Table I, we aim to test the following hypotheses:\nDiscussion: We evaluated two brand association metrics: the number of associations across respondents and an aggregate-level brand association density metric across two commonly used data collection methods. All metrics were found to have good split-sample reliability. In terms of their correlation with first mention, brand consideration, brand equity and market share, our brand association density metric showed the highest correlations. In all cases, the brand association density metric derived from open free associations fares best. The simple count of the number of associations metric, when calculated from pre-defined attributes, fails in two of our three product categories. Our brand association density metric fares reasonably with pre-defined attributes, except for beer where it fails.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose a new brand association density metric and evaluate its performance in terms of correlations with recall, consideration, brand equity and market share and to compare different data collection methodologies to identify brand associations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors present results from two studies covering three product categories. The authors use an open free association question and associations to a set of pre-defined brand attributes. The responses to the open free format question are text-mined prior to further analysis.\nFindings: The authors find that the brand association density metric performs better than a metric that only uses the number of distinct associations. The authors also find that these metrics work best when derived from open free association data.\nPractical implications: First, in addition to focusing on trying to build specific brand associations in consumers' minds, it may be equally important, if not more important, to manage the number and inter-connectedness of the brand's associations. Second, firms should complement their existing survey approaches with open-ended free association questions.\nOriginality/value: The brand association density concept presented is believed to be new. The empirical comparison between the use of free association to pre-defined attributes is also new.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The effect of environmental information on professional purchasers ' preference for food products	[ "Food products", "Consumer behaviour", "Information management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Consumers\nPrevious research: In a review paper Gonzalez-Benito and Gonzalez-Benito (2006) argued that two \"extreme\" environmental strategies can be identified among purchasing companies. One strategy could be termed environmental reactivity. This implies minimal changes in the purchasing policy, solely to meet regulations. The other strategy is characterized by environmental proactivity. Here, companies voluntarily take measures to reduce their negative impact on the natural environment.\nHypotheses: As reviewed above, a company\nMethod: Participants\nResults: Of the 99 purchase managers asked to participate in the study 41 agreed, that is a response rate of 41 per cent. Table II displays mean product preference for the four subgroups. The significance level was set at 5 per cent for all tests.\nDiscussion: As hypothesized, goal framing, here to choose environmentally friendly alternatives instead of a goal to minimize economic costs resulted in an increased preference for environmentally benign alternatives. This implies that purchasers may attent to, and in their choice be influenced by environmental considerations. However, in order to do so they have to be \"activated\" mentally, for example by emphasizing a company policy on environmental issues. Otherwise, they rely on standard criteria that are applied more or less by routine (e.g. Gilbert et al., 1995).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how variation in product information about environmental consequences could make professional food purchasers inclined to choose more environmentally friendly alternatives.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In an internet-based experiment, the paper systematically varies environmental and price information about food products and measures the effects on product choice. In addition, the paper varies the condition of choice.\nFindings: More complex and detailed environmental information, compared with simpler and less detailed information, was paired with a stronger preference for environmentally benign products. This effect was accentuated when the task was to minimize costs compared with that to promote the environment. Negative information, which is bad for the environment, had a stronger effect than positive information.\nOriginality/value: The research shows that detailed information emphasising potentially destructive environmental consequences may promote the choice of environmentally sustainable products among professional purchasers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Knowledge transfer, controls, and performance of MNE subsidiaries in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia	[ "Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)", "Controls", "Multinational enterprises", "Subsidiaries", "Knowledge flows", "Control", "Multinational companies" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) are playing a key role in the world economy, and are now widely considered market-making firms, investment bridges between economies, agents of change, and the elevation of globalisation (Levy, 2007). Such effects can be seen as complementary to the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): that of developing a global partnership for development, defined, in part, by promoting a rule-based, open, and predictable financial and trading system; and promoting the availability and transfer of new technologies. There is now an urgent need for national governments to commit themselves to MDGs. These goals might not be the panacea to wholly remedy the negative effects globalisation, but nevertheless have been launched by world leaders and thus deserve their continuing attention (Levy, 2007). This is particularly true when patterns of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) respond to policy changes amongst developing countries in the direction of growing business opportunities within such countries. International business (IB) research has increasingly moved towards viewing MNEs as an inter-organisational network of geographically dispersed and differentiated units (Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1995), whose raison d'etre lies in the ability to exploit resources - especially knowledge - more efficiently internally than would be possible through external market mechanisms (Kogut and Zander, 1996). According to this view, MNEs' competitive advantages are primarily based on how efficiently they share resources - particularly knowledge - across units (Porter, 1986; Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1995; Zander and Kogut, 1995; Drogendijk and Holm, 2012). Understanding the ways in which this process can be optimised is therefore a matter of central interest for scholars and practitioners within government organisations in developing countries alike.1.1 MDGs, Middle East and KSA context\n2. Theory, literature reference and hypotheses: 2.1 Knowledge flows\n3. Data source, variables, and methodology: A survey research design involving the use of a questionnaire as the primary data source was adopted. The questionnaire was distributed in major cities of KSA - Riyadh, Jeddah, and Jubail. Subsidiaries were selected from the Directory of Foreign Companies in KSA, published by the KSA Investment Authority (SAGIA). A total of 350 subsidiaries were initially contacted by person, phone, or e-mail, with 147 agreeing to respond to the survey (42 per cent response rate).The survey instrument contained questions on basic information (size, number of years in operation, etc.) about the company, HQ-subsidiary relationship, performance, knowledge flows, and intra-company transactions. The perceived success of the subsidiary was assessed through the posing of Likert scale questions, which asked respondents to measure how well the subsidiary was doing on various metrics, such as sales growth, market share, innovations, and employee retention. This variable was then used to calculate an overall score of success. As stated, the question on knowledge flows was measured through seven Likert-scales, with the average of the relevant questions making up the score for each item. The questions had a fine internal consistency, as Cronbach's a=0.6. The coordination mechanisms used by HQ over subsidiaries were also measured through ten Likert-scale questions, with the average of the relevant questions making up the score for each coordination mechanism. Here, the questions also had a high degree of internal consistency, as Cronbach's a=0.78.The statistical methodology used to analyse data comprises descriptive statistics, zero-order correlations, and multiple OLS regressions. Dichotomous control variables were also compared with individual performance indicators and performance in general using t-tests and comparisons of means.\n4. Results: 4.1 Sample characteristics\n5. Conclusions, discussion, and implications: International investment practices and the economic and social behaviour of MNEs are at the heart of the current debate of globalisation. This paper has addressed the problem of developing a global partnership for development as the eighth goal of the United Nations MDGs through enlisting the MNEs in the process. Being powerful actors in the world and having the financial and organisational resources to produce positive outcomes, MNEs have a major role to play in solving various problems, some of which they have contributed to in the first place. In the positive role the MNEs can play, the influence of the structural, relational and cognitive dimensions of knowledge-sharing and co-operation with the private sector to make available the benefits of new technologies in host countries is of paramount importance. In this paper, we examined this facet in the context of KSA with the help of primary data collected from a cross-section of firms operating within different industries.An examination of the basic results showed that over half of all subsidiaries operating within SA were from Anglo-Saxon countries, with the largest number from the US. Swiss subsidiaries were the second largest contingent. The primary function of these subsidiaries was evenly split between physical operations (assembly, manufacturing, etc.) and service-oriented functions. The majority of subsidiaries were between 11 and 20 years old, with two-thirds of the subsidiaries employing less than 1,000 workers. Management positions were roughly split equally between SA nationals, HQ country personnel, and third-country nationals, thus reflecting a high level of internationalisation amongst such subsidiaries. A quarter of all respondents stated that over 50 per cent of R&D was done by the subsidiaries themselves. Results showed that formal control mechanisms were more widely used than informal channels of control. Results on performance showed that older firms (over 10 years old) had a marked improvement in increasing their market share, although other performance indicators showed no significant difference between the older and new group. A major result in relation to HQ expectations was that non-joint venture subsidiaries perceived themselves to be performing better than subsidiaries established as joint ventures.With regard to the analysis on knowledge flows and perceived performance, the literature review on the subject led us to the formation of four hypotheses. For the first hypothesis, we found that knowledge flows were not associated with personalised (PCC) or bureaucratic controls (BFC), but rather were moderately positively associated with output controls, and were strongly correlated with social and informal control mechanisms. Therefore, the first hypothesis was supported. For the second and third hypotheses, we found, as expected, that PCC and BFC mechanisms were negatively associated with performance, whilst output control and informal coordination were positively associated. The direction of these relationships did not change through each model; rather, they became stronger and more pronounced with the exception of informal/socialisation controls, which became weaker but remained significant. This was particularly pronounced for output controls, where in the final model this was the strongest predictor of performance in the entire model. Hence, these hypotheses were supported. Finally, the fourth hypothesis proposed that increased local presence and subsidiary R&D would be positively associated with performance, as these subsidiaries would be creating ceteris paribus higher value products and services. The variable measuring extent of local R&D and responsiveness was indeed significantly and positively associated, lending support to this hypothesis.The study has some important implications for future academic research and policy makers. Being the first study of this nature with regard to MNE subsidiaries in the Middle East and conducted in the context of a large all-important country of KSA, it has paved the way for similar studies in this direction. The methodology can be employed to conduct similar empirical studies with larger data bases. Such an empirical exercise would lend credence to theoretical debate on HQ-subsidiary relationships found in the literature. The central question in the operation of MNE subsidiaries in host countries such as SA delineated by the MDGs is the enhancement of domestic knowledge pool of domestic firms, which can only come about if the knowledge is shared and diffused freely within the host countries in which MNEs operate. We found this to be true as the presence of R&D in MNE operating in host countries and output controls - as opposed to PCC and BFC - along with gentler informal controls lending themselves to greater autonomy were found to be better predictors of perceived performance. Future research in this direction can be undertaken in an attempt to understand and elaborate this finding. One direction could be to understand in which sectors this works better and the ways in which this attribute can be fine-tuned further for it to perform even better, for example. The HQ executives who have a variety of control mechanisms at their disposal may review their control approaches in order to achieve better performances in subsidiaries. The policy makers in host countries in which MNE subsidiaries operate may see this finding as an important leverage to negotiate with MNEs in order for R&D to be conducted in their countries. Possible spill-overs and the diffusion effects of such R&D could then benefit domestic firms as well.Finally, this study has some limitations, which also point to areas of further inquiry. Findings are limited to the research setting of KSA, so may not be generalizable internationally, but reflect the situation within the Middle East (possibly other similar host nation as well where MNEs operate). Data was also collected only for a one-time period. In addition to taking into consideration multiple time periods, future studies could also account for both the real and perceived performance, which would go some way to illuminating the results even further.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of the structural, relational, and cognitive dimensions of knowledge-sharing in subsidiaries of multinational enterprises (MNEs) located within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and the impact of knowledge flows on the performance of such subsidiaries.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A cross-sectional survey research design, involving the use of a questionnaire to acquire the primary data, is adopted. The analysis is based on 147 completed questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analysis are used in the analysis of the data.\nFindings: - Formal control mechanisms are widely used as opposed to informal channels of control. Knowledge flows are associated with personalised or bureaucratic controls. Both mechanisms are negatively associated with performance, whilst output control and informal coordination are positively associated. Increased local presence and subsidiary R&D is positively associated with performance.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The methodology adopted for this study can be extended for similar studies in the Middle East or in GCC countries. Policy makers in host countries in which MNE subsidiaries operate may find the results an important leverage for negotiating with MNEs for R&D to be conducted in their countries. Possible spill-overs and diffusion effects of such R&D could then also benefit domestic firms.\nOriginality/value: - This is one of few studies of this nature conducted in the Middle East, and the only one in the context of KSA, which has explicitly investigated the connection between knowledge flows, controls, and performance.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Macroprudential measures in the housing markets - a note on the empirical literature	[ "Debt", "Financial crisis", "Systemic risk", "Housing markets", "Macroprudential policies", "Housing-related tax policies", "E58", "G28" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Increased household leverage and the associated dramatic house-price boom in the beginning of the century are widely regarded as having been important in the build-up of the recent financial crisis and subsequent global recession. These experiences have been followed by increased attention on household behavior in the housing market[1]. This note reviews the recent empirical literature on the measures targeted on households in the housing markets.\nA sketch of the main mechanisms: Kuttner and Shim (2016) used a simple two-period model with housing and non-durable consumption to highlight the effects of different types of demand-side credit policies. The effects of these policies operate through two different channels: first, they have a direct impact on the demand for housing through the decision-making of the borrowing-constrained households; second, they may shape house price expectations and thereby influence the demand for housing among households that are not borrowing-constrained. These measures often include different types of loan-to-value (LTV), debt-service-to-income (DSTI) and debt-to-income (DTI) rules, and sometimes even maturity caps and amortization requirements[5].\nDemand-side credit measures: Most studies looking into the effects of the demand-side credit measures do it as part of a broader setting where several different types of measures are studied across different countries. All studies discussed below considered LTV and DTI rules. While interpreting the results, caution is warranted as both categories include a wide range of different types of measures.\nHousing-related tax changes: The key challenge for empirical studies on transaction taxes, mortgage interest deductibility and capital gains taxation is the absence of exogenous variation in the tax rates. Most tax policies feature very few changes over time. In addition, when reforms are implemented, implementation typically happens at a national level so that all households are affected in the same manner. However, there exist some studies that relied on reforms which created exogenous variation in the tax treatment, or exploited different types of discontinuities in the tax schedules.\nConclusion and directions for future research: In principle, the rationale behind the macroprudential measures aiming at reducing household leverage is simple: other things being equal, the lower the household leverage, the greater the drop needed in house prices to push the household into negative equity. In addition, if house-price cycles are driven by excessive household borrowing, the measures may help mitigate the cycles.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The global financial crisis has led to increased attention on the relationship of household indebtedness and systemic risks. As a result, macroprudential measures aimed at reducing the risks have been introduced in many countries. The purpose of this paper is to review the recent empirical literature on the measures targeted at households in the housing markets.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This note reviews and discusses the recent empirical literature on macroprudential measures targeted at households in the housing market as well as housing-related tax policy measures.\nFindings: To date, the literature mostly consists of cross-country studies using aggregate data and looking at a large set of different measures. The studies typically report associations between the measures and the outcome variables of interest (often credit growth and house price appreciation), but do not assess the causal effects of the different measures or the underlying mechanisms.\nOriginality/value: Exploiting household data together with policy reforms should be a useful step forward in understanding the effects of the measures and uncovering the mechanisms through which they operate. This would also allow studying the distributional effects of the measures. Understanding the distributional effects is important in its own right, but it is also required because the ultimate goals of the macroprudential policies are related not only to the aggregate level of credit but also to the distribution of leverage.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
I see, and I hunt: The link between gastronomy online reviews, involvement and behavioural intention towards ethnic food	[ "Involvement", "Behavioural intention", "Ethnic food", "Gen-Y", "Gastronomy online reviews", "Variety seeking" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In recent years, gastronomy tourism has evolved as a unique form of tourism helping to drive the growth of the hospitality and tourism industry globally (Li et al., 2018; Kivela, 2017). The term \"gastronomy\" is derived from the Greek word, \"gastros\" which refers to the \"stomach\", whereas \"nomos\" refers to rules or regulation (Scarpato, 2002; Santich, 2004). Gastronomy tourism refers to a trip that is inspired by the tourist's interest in exploring foods and drinks available at the host destination (Hjalager and Richards, 2003). Numerous studies have reported that ethnic food serves as a significant factor in framing the identity of a particular destination (Ting et al., 2019; Burgess, 2014). Therefore, the search for ethnic foods has become one of the most important itineraries and drawcards for tourists while travelling, with almost half of their budget spent on exploring and searching for exotic foods (Boyne et al., 2002). As a consequence, gastronomy can become a prime selling point in reinforcing a country's tourism image and promoting its cultural heritage. Gastronomy tourism is quickly gaining popularity within the Asian region particularly in Thailand, Vietnam, Korea and Japan where they have consistently integrated and promoted their unique blend of ethnic foods as a means to attract tourists (Henderson, 2009).\n2. Theoretical background and hypotheses: 2.1 Theory of involvement\n3. Research method: 3.1 Sampling method and respondent profile\n4. Data analysis and results: The SEM technique was selected to test the proposed model. Among that partial least squares (PLS) approach, which emphasises prediction in estimating statistical models (Wold, 1982; Sarstedt et al., 2017), was selected for data analysis. The measurement model was evaluated for reliability and validity of the constructs, followed by utilising structural model to examine the theoretical explanatory power of the model as well as the significance levels of the hypothesised relationships (Figure 1).\n5. Discussions and implications: Assessing gastronomy online reviews from the perspective of Gen-Y tourists can provide significant insights for both academicians and practitioners. This study has extended the knowledge and provided additional value to the ethnic food literature through the aspect of gastronomy online reviews, similar to Wang (2011). Of the seven gastronomy online review factors in this study, four antecedents were found to directly influence behavioural intention, which supports Wang's (2011) work, that online reviews directly lead to behavioural intention. However, different from Wang (2011), this study broadens the comprehension of the connection between online reviews and behavioural intention by using involvement as a mediator. This significant linkage provides added support to the Involvement Theory (Andrews et al., 1990), thus extending Wang's (2011) research work by providing more in depth understanding and insight on the process in how gastronomy online reviews link to behavioural intention. Furthermore, this study found that high variety seeking can strengthen the involvement-behavioural intention link. Indeed, this information supports the Arousal Theory (Berlyne, 1960) in that individuals seek a different level of novelty in the context of ethnic food.\n6. Conclusion, limitations and future research: It is anticipated that this study will greatly assist researchers in justifying the effectiveness of online reviews in the context of gastronomy tourism as well as comprehending the factors that drive tourists' behavioural intention to taste ethnic food. Additionally, this study is further beneficial for tourism authorities and ethnic food eateries to better manage and administer gastronomy online reviews as a key element of their business and marketing strategies when promoting ethnic food and gastronomy tourism.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Despite the growth of social networking websites as hybrid promotional tools, the empirical research that is currently available in explaining the consequences of gastronomy online reviews on ethnic food behavioural intention is limited. The purpose of this paper is to adopt a novel approach to explore Gen-Y tourists' behavioural intention by proposing \"involvement\" as a mediator in improvising Wang et al.'s model. In other words, the more tourists enjoy reading gastronomy online reviews and gain benefits like inspiring taste desire, forming taste awareness and facilitating interpersonal interaction, the more they will become actively involved in searching gastronomy online reviews for ethnic food, subsequently manifesting in higher behavioural intention.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To test the research model, a questionnaire was developed and distributed to Gen-Y tourists in Malaysia using the purposive sampling technique. Partial least squares-structural equation modelling was applied to analyse the data collected from a sample of 748 responses.\nFindings: This study provides empirical findings based on the direct relationship between gastronomy online review dimensions and the behavioural intention towards ethnic food. In addition, the indirect influence of the constructs for behavioural intention through involvement and the moderating effect of variety seeking were found. Indeed, when involvement increases as a result of reading online reviews, behavioural intention is enhanced. In fact, if the individual is a variety seeker, the behavioural intention could likewise be enhanced.\nPractical implications: This paper provides suggestions and valuable insight for tourism authorities and ethnic food eateries in using gastronomy online reviews for promoting ethnic food and gastronomy tourism. For example, food eateries can motivate reviewers to include attractive and useful content by facilitating how the gastronomy reviewer retrieves information (e.g. ingredients, price, and food health value and food tradition) concerning the eatery. Additionally, rewards and incentives such as offering vouchers to reviewers in order to gain attractive and interesting reviews could be considered. Finally, the variety-seeking goal of tourists can be attained by relocating ethnic food restaurants or stalls at centralised or designated areas, where a variety of ethnic foods are conveniently accessible to tourists.\nOriginality/value: This paper systematically discusses how gastronomy online reviews influence the behavioural intention of tourists to taste ethnic food in the context of Malaysia. The inclusion of the mediator (involvement) and moderator (variety seeking) added a significant increment to the total variance explained in behavioural intention.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
"Green" company or "green" consumers: a Kantian retrospective	[ "Corporate social responsibility", "Ethics" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Arguably in today's world, consumers are more aware of ethical standards and expect higher standards from public and private organisations. One of the more important aspects of any organisation is its sense of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its emphasis on ethical behaviour across the organisation. It is the interaction between a company's principles and its commercial objectives that ultimately shapes a company's ethics. The key premise initially behind CSR was that by \"doing the right thing\" internally and externally, businesses created a good working atmosphere, while also benefiting society and the environment. Ethical statements became an exercise in public relations. The point under discussion in this brief paper is that many ethical issues such as \"greenness\" are not only subjective and based on one's values and beliefs but also time variant. As a result, they are often difficult to enforce and easy to neglect. The result of this is that \"when the costs are added up, the social balance sheet contains enormous debts to society\" (McEwan, 2001). But where does the boundary of responsibility lie? Once a random consumer leaves a store and proceeds to discard the packaging on the public street, is it necessarily the responsibility of the store owner to collect the packaging? Is the parent no longer responsible for their child's diet? Our self-sufficient grandfathers were \"green\" in an earlier era when they only bought local and seasonal produce - they were green before an ethical badge of \"greenness\" was assigned and before companies were obligated to adopt a new ethical standard of \"greenness\".\n1 Debt to society: CSR: Time is critical in understanding the emergence of new ethical standards. CSR has only increased in importance over the last 20 years, as globalization has led to increased pressure to meet society's new ethical demands and expectations. This pressure is a result of an increased number of stakeholders who \"can affect or are affected by the achievement of the organisation's objectives\" (Beauchamp and Bowie, 2004), as well as the increasing influence and power of the mass media, which is able to pick up on even the smallest issues and represent them globally. We are also more affluent and can afford to adopt new ethical standards. As a result, \"in a technological age, where news spreads fast and everyone is expected to do his/her part to take care of the world, corporate responsibility is a business necessity\" (Allen, 2004). For example, a \"soft code\" that is proving popular is that of the UN's Global Compact Initiative. To sign up, public companies need only commit themselves to the broad principles - such as promoting environmental responsibility and working against corruption - and report on progress once a year, vide, (The) Economist, Special Report on CSR, January 19, 2008.\n2 Kantian CSR: Historically, it is the notion of an organisation's \"debts to society\", which led to the branch of business ethics known as \"CSR\". This refers to \"the economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic expectations placed on organisations by society at a given point in time\" (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2000). This theory of responsibility to society is based on around two headings, namely social responsibility dealing with \"the purposes for which companies should act\" and corporate responsibility in terms of the \"liability attached to a company for actions done in its name\" (Wells, 1998).Responsibility from a Kantian perspective, however, is about fulfilling one's duty. If everyone fulfils one's duty, then no one is to be held accountable - and no ethical dilemma arises. A soft code only provides a cover for companies who may not be behaving responsibly ala Kant. As well as social and ethical issues, corporations today must also consider environmental ethics, which means treating natural resources not just as commodities but as part of the ecological whole in \"the kingdom of ends\". The emphasis on environmental issues is important because it affects the image of a company and consumer's perceptions of that company. For example, many years ago, \"a Wall Street Journal poll in 1991 claimed that 53 percent of people avoided purchasing a product because of environmental concerns about a product or manufacturer\" (Hawken, 2002). But, it took time for a new ethical standard to be defined.\n3 Relevance of Kantian ethics: To identify the unethical behaviour of \"not being green\", one would have to define the ethical dilemma. This short paper is not a review of the McLibel case per se - vide the web site: www.McSpotlight.org: The McLibel Trial). The case was in the public domain. It was reported by the media as a litmus test for the emerging standard of greenness. The case, however, offers an opportunity to comment on the time variance of ethical standards facing public companies and organisations. Within a Kantian, dialectic ethical standards are time invariant - in other words, the environment should always have been an issue, now, yesterday and in our grandfather's time. This short paper identifies an ethical dilemma faced by a company at a particular time and comments how it had to respond to the challenge of becoming a \"green\" company when consumers at a critical juncture had become \"green\" consumers.3.1 Ethical dilemma\n4 \"Greenness\" by McDonald's: CSR initiatives: In 2004, McDonald's published its Social Responsibility Report in 2004 - it is a source of ethical information for stakeholders, which \"introduces a new accountability structure\". The section on the environment is substantial, with a variety of figures on packaging and waste. For example, \"McDonald's achieved a 3.2 percent reduction in packaging during 2003\" (McDonald's Worldwide, 2004). This is combined with a section, which shows McDonald's commitment to improving the environmental performance of suppliers. This includes a statement that \"McDonald's will not purchase beef from rainforests or recently deforested rainforest land\" (McDonald's Worldwide, 2004), acknowledging one of the specific ethical criticisms aimed at McDonald's. McDonald's also shows its commitment to reducing animal cruelty from suppliers by increasing supplier accountability and \"conducting nearly 500 audits at beef, pork and chicken processing facilities around the world\" (McDonald's Worldwide, 2004).The report is supported by a code of business conduct, which has been in place and updated regularly over the last 35 years. This is the main framework for employee ethics and it is used to ensure that the internal ethical requirements are met, such as a safe working environment, equal opportunities and employee rights. There is also a code of conduct for the board of directors, which shows \"their commitment to ethical practices\" (McDonald's Worldwide, 2004).The 2004 report had some statistics, but there may be an obligation for more, particularly when looking at improved performance. The employee section is dominated by claims of diversity, but little is said about how conditions have been improved or about pay structure and age breakdown of staff. \"As noted in the Lampe-Finn model, it is little more than a means to maintain the status quo while creating images of ethical behaviour\" (Lampe and Finn, 1992). But McDonald's have responded to the green ethical challenge as defined by an emerging green consumer, and they have fulfilled their duty as codified in a code of ethics. However, the responsibility of a parent to control diet or the responsibility of a customer not to litter cannot be relegated and subsumed within a company's boundary of responsibility. The parent and the customer must fulfil their Kantian duties and respect the duty fulfilled by the company.\n5 Recommendations and conclusions: For all companies in the public domain, there is a greater need for full transparency so that the public can be assured that the company is behaving in an ethical manner and fulfilling its duties as a corporate citizen. But it takes time to adopt and adapt. McDonald's have adapted to the green label and have adopted new green initiatives. There is some evidence to suggest that CSR in McDonald's goes deeper than a public relations exercise; however, for McDonald's to pass the Kantian test of responsibility, CSR would have to be embedded in the business, influencing decisions on everything from sourcing to strategy. Therein remains the challenge for all companies. There is a need for all companies to become responsible ala Kant with the appointment of a chief ethical officer and creation of an ethics department - independent of the finance or audit departments - in an attempt to find a judicious balance between the pursuit of short-term profit and the long-term pursuit of Kantian responsibility by fulfilling one's duty so that an ethical dilemma does not arise.Over the last ten years, McDonald's appears to have successfully met its social and ethical responsibilities by extending its boundary of responsibility. Their menus have been enhanced with healthy options, which reinforce McDonald's public aim to increase the healthiness of its customers. The company has increased recycling and reduced waste in stores across the world, while attempts have been made to improve the standards of its suppliers and in many locations across the world litter bins are provided within walking distance from the store. This has led to McDonald's regularly taking top position in Golin Harris' annual citizenship survey.There will be a new standard in time and another public company or organisation will be challenged to adopt or adapt the new standard. McNutt (2010, pp. 9-11) has argued that \"if an organisation acts honestly with the intention of gaining a good reputation then this is not a genuinely moral act\" in Kant's view. It is only a truly moral act if the organisation acts honestly because honesty is right - in other words, it is the organisation's duty to be green, and it is the organisation's duty to have adopted a standard before that standard becomes commoditised. Acting honestly enables a company to best achieve \"greenness\" as a time-invariant ethical standard.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this short paper is to re-examine corporate social responsibility (CSR) in terms of the ethical criterion of \"greenness\" through an assessment of one company's response to green consumers during the past number of years.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The ethical evaluation proceeds along the lines of a case study analysis of the significance of \"green\" as a value and the likely implications for a company.\nFindings: - There is a need for all companies to shift to Kantian responsibility with the appointment of a chief ethical officer and creation of an ethics department in an attempt to balance the short-term profit-oriented pursuit and the long-term pursuit of fulfilling one's duty.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The paper addresses the ethical issue of \"greenness\" from a Kantian perspective of fulfilling one's duty.\nPractical implications: - Public companies should adopt full transparency on CSR so that the public can be assured that the company is ethical and acting in an ethical manner.\nOriginality/value: - The paper provides a brief application of a Kantian time-variant responsibility in terms of fulfilment of one's duty now to be a green company. It asks: how can a company best achieve \"greenness\" as a time-invariant ethical standard?\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
TEFL/TESOL teachers on the move: mobility and culture	[ "Cosmopolitanism", "Culture", "Mobility", "Home", "Openness", "Global academics" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Based on part of a research concerning native English-speaking teachers working in Hong Kong (Lam, 2013), this paper focuses on mobility vs home and the development of cultural dispositions of mobile teachers. In order to adequately understand the cultural dispositions of mobile teachers, and people of mobility for that matter, this discussion suggests the use of two concepts: forms of mobility and nature of mobility. They are further divided into two sub-categories as follows:\nThe research[1], methodology and sampling: The original aim of the research was to understand the TEFL/TESOL English teachers' choice of staying away from home, in other words, their mobility. Semi-structured interviews were conducted on 15 expatriate native English-speaking language teachers working in a university in Hong Kong. There were three third culture kids (TCKs)[2] in the cluster. The 15 teachers held either TEFL or TESOL qualifications besides others, and all were from English-speaking societies. Interviewees had been staying in Hong Kong for 4 to 29 years, and had been staying away from home for 6-40 years at the time of the interview. Most stayed in many other parts of the world before Hong Kong. All names are pseudonyms.\nThe Hong Kong context: This section introduces the readers to the social context of Hong Kong where TEFL/TESOL teachers live. In 1997, the ex-colony was returned to China. It was agreed between the two governments that Hong Kong will become a Special Administrative Region within China and that Hong Kong's capitalist economy and lifestyle will not be changed for 50 years. The population of over 7m consists of about 95 percent ethnic Chinese, and about 5 percent minority groups. Among the latter are British, Americans, Australians, 0.5, 0.2, 0.2 percent, respectively (Hong Kong Government Population Census, 2011). Many place and street names are English in origin and are either translated or transliterated into Chinese. Over half of the Hong Kong population has an English name (Bacon-Stone and Bolton, 1998). The diglossic situation in Hong Kong with English as the \"high\" language, and Cantonese the \"low,\" is the result of its colonial past and sustained by globalization processes, not least with the rapid globalization of English. In his \"Cultural Politics of English as an International Language,\" Pennycook (1994) correctly pointed out the kind of political and cultural inequalities that exist in places like Hong Kong where \"English plays a disproportionately large role\" (p. 23). English speakers can practically get by without Cantonese.\nThe stories of mobile teachers told through the theoretical lens of the researcher: The findings suggest mobility to be a crucial element in the provision of the contexts and conditions for the nurturing and development of cultural dispositions of research interviewees. In this analysis, mobility is perceived as a multi-faceted force manifesting in different forms and natures.\nHome: When it comes to home, it is never a simple matter for geographically mobile people. None of the interviewees in this research were sure of home. Most had different degrees of difficulty communicating to others what home really means. Out of the reservoir of home elaborations can be found four aspects to which perceptions of home relate. For analytical purposes, each of the four aspects is presented as a continuum (Table I):\nOpenness: How open are ELT teachers in this research? Interviews revealed their openness to be limited. While interviewees are open in many mundane/unreflexive forms of cultural consumption, they are fairly insulated from the mainstream. Most encounters with their cultural others are superficial. Openness is found to be selective, functional and transient. Similar to most minority groups, interviewees selectively interact more with people who speak/can speak their own language, in this case, the English language, and who share the same culture/can understand English-speaking cultures. Sophie, for example, revealed that her interaction was limited to people with an English-speaking background, which for her, extended to Hong Kong mothers with a British background who sent their children to the same international school her sons went to. Just like some others in this research, Sophie's repeated acknowledgment of her privileged position in the Hong Kong context reminds one of the cultural politics involved in interactions which makes significant impacts on developing openness, and other cultural traits for that matter. Unlike globals of the South living in the North, openness in the Hong Kong context is stunted from the start because of a comparative context in that engagements with the locals, if any, are carried out under special conditions and on special terms, involving different incentives/disincentives, intensities and degrees of a systemic kind. In Hong Kong, openness is usually mediated through the English language, and if globals are considered cosmopolitans at all, a significant part of that status is gained discursively through the openness of the Hong Kong locals who speak the English language. Being able to communicate in English as an L2/L3 involves, incidentally, issues of social background, wealth and education. This means, generally speaking, the socially betters in society.\nGlobal quality: Through the eyes and interpretation of the 15 interviewees who talked about their lives and others' like them living in an insulated community of globals, the researcher observed several distinctive cultural features. A term which sums up these characteristics, marking non-home-based globals off from the locals as well as home-based globals, may be global quality. Global quality is a way life that sustains the self-perpetuating character of this group of non-home-based globals who spend their lives drifting outside \"home.\"\nTwo illustrative cases: So far, this paper discussed the lives and cultural dispositions of a group of non-home-based teachers living in Hong Kong at the time of the research. It stresses mobility as an important force in the development of cultural traits. Though cultural traits are manifested through the individual, it is systemic in nature. This study proposes and applies the theoretical constructs of the form of mobility (home based and non-home based) and nature of mobility (purpose and comparative contexts) in the understanding of the cultural dispositions of the globally mobile. It is further argued that home notions, openness and transience are closely inter-related and dynamic. The consideration of two cases below demonstrates the point.\nThe case of Rex: A process of change regarding home can be traced to Rex's long absence from his original home: \"[...] in the past, I probably deliberately wanted to go back [...].\" It was the combination of employment consideration, diminishing human network, estrangement and all sorts of alienation at \"home\" on the one hand, and his global engagement into a transnational community, the establishment of hypo-roots in Hong Kong like the starting of a family with two daughters on the other hand that created an effective push-pull effect, so finally he said \"I don't have any friends in [original home] because I've been away so long [...] even in terms of relatives [...] they don't really [...] relate to your experience [...] very quickly after going back, I felt kind of very dissatisfied [...].\" Home was \"probably more distant now [...] I'm not going to go back [...] it would have mattered to me may be ten, fifteen years ago [...].\" The time-locality link, the fading home process, the push-pull effect of disengaging there and engaging Hong Kong, all suggest the close and dynamic relation between mobility, its form (non-home-based staying overseas indefinitely), the comparative contexts (of the transition from a first world to Hong Kong with all the influences of cultural-political elements and objective conditions) and the purpose of mobility. Just like Amit-Talai's (1998, p. 48) Cayman expats who find the high and tax-free (low tax in the case of Hong Kong) salaries, the perks and privileges enjoyed as expats in an ex-colony attractive and difficult to forgo, many of the interviewees felt stranded under a combination of objective factors. These include the marketization of education, the promotion of world English when native speakers are no longer regarded as the \"best model,\" worsening financial and employment situations. When Rex was asked whether Hong Kong was his home, he explained: \"yes, it's basically home. It's where my kids grew up [...].\" There was an air of uneasiness and unwillingness and that \"I don't love my country, I don't love Hong Kong [...].\"\nThe case of Ian: Ian is a victim of clannishness because of a mixed accent relating to his global past. His purpose in Hong Kong \"was to make a fair amount of money.\" It stands to reason that Ian has no motivation to learn Cantonese. The kind of openness, it follows, must be very functional and limited, perhaps only enough for him to get by with the locals. Over the years, Ian has become homeless. He felt being treated as an outsider at \"home\" where he came from, and in Hong Kong where he did not want to make his home, for \"I like gardening, but there was no garden. I find the climate difficult [...].\" Most of all, Ian could not be part of the transnational community in that \"English people with their English accent intact seems to stick together [...] but I'm not part of that [...].\" One other main worry was finance. He was put off by the price of properties in the UK (at the time of the interview) and was very concerned about Hong Kong's employment situation and the ability to save enough before retirement age when he said \"if you're going to ask me where are you going to go after this, I mean I just don't know [...].\" Hong Kong becomes a niche for \"stay-putting.\" Ian has a \"sinking feeling [...]\" and said \"that's the way I look at my life [...] the repercussions of moving [...].\" Ian said it all, the inextricably intertwining elements of homelessness, under/undeveloped openness, objective constraints at both ends, purpose of mobility, comparative contexts all work together in a long process when one drifts outside home indefinitely as a non-home-based global.\nDiscussion and conclusion: While openness, home perceptions and transience are mutually influencing, what that experience means for Rex, Ian and people like them is that they are participating in a self-perpetuating culture which sustains a way of life. Global quality, though in some ways overlaps with cosmopolitanism, does not equate it. For one, membership is restricted to the English-speaking globally mobile who can share, understand and appreciate the life of mobility. The community of globals is not the same with global community which has an apparently much relaxed membership requirement, a topic in its own right.\nPractical implications: Practical implications coming out of the theoretical implications have to be linked to the global mobility trend which is condensed, thick, fast, aggressive and in transient fashions. Mobile people often need to have good ability to adapt to their somewhat vulnerable situations. This, they are able to do fairly well outside home, however, not so well when they become \"fixed\" at a place or at their somewhat alien home. Human network seems extremely important in all situations, both inside and outside home. For Hong Kong mobile people, it is the community of the globals which offers help and functions well. Human resource departments, government departments and education institutions should perhaps take these issues into better understanding and considerable.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the story of 15 TEFL/TESOL English language teachers who spend their lives working globally.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Interviews from the research based on the grounded approach generated, among others, three inter-related themes, namely, the global drift, distinctive cultural dispositions and the concept of global quality.\nFindings: The global drift symbolizes interviewees' mobility pattern and captures their Hong Kong experience in four states - adaptation, drifting in global comfort, drifting in global discomfort and bitter/sweet home, each representing a different quality of mobility which contributes to the development of cultural dispositions. Findings of cultural disposition home and openness are considered in relation to studies of its kind. Four aspects of home perceptions in the data are identified. While interviewees developed complex and varied notions of home, it is argued that the geographical home remains a significant resource in the making of home. Data also suggest that most interviewees' openness is limited - it is selective, functional and transient. Global quality, a concept emerged from the research, summarizes the distinctive cultural traits of the community of the globals. It overlaps with, but does not necessarily equate with, cosmopolitanism.\nOriginality/value: The conclusion relates the study, including the concepts generated from this research, to cosmopolitanism. Two theoretical constructs are employed in the analysis: form of mobility and nature of mobility.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Factors influencing evidence-based practice by Iranian general practitioners	[ "Evidence-based medicine", "General practice", "Barriers", "Iran", "Doctors", "Organizational change" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Primary health care has been the focus of attention from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Iranian Government, which has resulted in health outcomes that are among the best in the region. However, new global trends toward clinical excellence, ever growing consumer expectations and changing patterns of disease and health compel the need for reform and quality improvement projects to be considered by the MOH to address the changing situation. Only recently has the concept of the family physician been articulated by health politicians and implemented in rural areas of the country. Hence, little is known about the patterns of practice of Iranian practitioners, even though they are the very first point of contact in the health care system, especially among patients from lower and middle-income classes.\nMaterials and methods: Using a questionnaire and a descriptive design, data were obtained from general practitioners (GPs) working in health care centers (HCCs) of the East Azerbaijan Province (EAP) of Iran. EAP currently has 19 counties (consisting of 60 cities) with 420 GPs working in EAP at the time of survey. We intended to study the whole study population (i.e. 420 GPs) but because of feasibility and financial barriers we performed our study on a sample of the population. Considering feasibility and affordability, seven counties were selected including Marand, Sarab, Oskou, Bostan-abad, Mianeh, Azar-Shahr and Maragheh, accounting for 280 physicians. Questionnaires were sent to those GPs by mail. Only 146 GPs received the questionnaire because of access limitations including unavailability of physicians at the time the questionnaire was delivered; temporary relocation to another HCC (as a part of the family practice program requisite to visit more remote Health Houses in the area); or a lack of resources to deliver the questionnaire at the required time (this was mostly due to a lack of arrangements for timely delivery of the questionnaires and not related to a lack of facilities or manpower in that HCC relative to other HCCs). We eventually achieved a 77 percent response rate (n=113). We used a modified version of the research utilization questionnaire developed by the Knowledge Utilization Studies Program (KUSP) (Estabrooks, 1999b). The questionnaire was designed to assess nurse educators\nConclusion and limitations: General practice is a field that greatly affects a populations\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to fill the knowledge gap regarding general practitioners\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors modified the research utilization questionnaire developed by Estabrooks et al., to address physicians\nFindings: Respondents were generally positive concerning research evidence use. Respondents\nPractical implications: The borderline 77 percent response rate was reached despite sending questionnaires to non-responders two times. Considering the non-probability sampling used in this study, generalizing the results should be considered cautiously.\nOriginality/value: Research utilization programs are new in Iran and there is little evidence to inform policies. This study focused attitudes concerning RU and GPs\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A relationship between corporate sustainability and organizational change (part three)	[ "Transformation", "Corporate sustainability", "Corporate social responsibility", "Change management", "Business culture" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: During the past several decades, firms have seen an increasing need to manage an ever rougher sea of challenges such as technology, economic, industry growth and decline, competition, market, and environment (Rosenberg and Mosca, 2011). Firms that fail to adapt to these factors, at best, risk losing business and, at worst, gamble obsolescence (Self and Schraeder, 2009, cited in Rosenberg and Mosca, 2011). Increasingly, there has been greater attention given to \"strategic implications of corporate social responsibility (CSR)\" (McWilliams et al., 2005, p. 4). This seems logical given that the more frequent corporate collapses and greater market and economic volatility have called into question some of the fundamental aspects of companies' relationships with society; specifically questions of long-term sustainability (Robinson and Boulle, 2012).\nLinkage themes and individual identity: These linkage themes - strategic, paradigm shift, and stakeholders - can be matched with corporate and employee identities. It has become increasingly common to place a frame around organization and employee identity (Albert et al., 2000; Albert and Whetten, 1985; Corley et al., 2006; DeConinck, 2011; Goldberg, 2003; Golden-Biddle and Rao, 1997, cited in Cherrier et al., 2012). Addressing the question of \"self\" within a business helps one to interpret behavior (Ashforth et al., 2008, cited in Cherrier et al., 2012).\nConsiderations and models for sustainable change: Ryan et al. (2012) used a markets-as-networks (systemic) perspective in order to evaluate how the interaction between companies and other organizations (such as non-profit institutions, governmental bodies, civic societies, etc.) impact the overall sustainability mindset of an organization. \"From this perspective then, the network should be viewed as a source of value creation, whereby the firm accesses important resources and capabilities through the interaction with network partners\" (Ryan et al., 2012, p. 581). Some firms are acquiring or merging with other more sustainable companies, among other reasons, in an attempt to create an overall more sustainable organization. For example, Cadbury's (now Kraft Foods) acquisition of Green\nSensemaking: When Jones (2012) discusses the issue of sustainable change at higher education institutions, he argues that the \"People\nConclusion: With the backdrop of an ever more rapidly shifting business landscape of the past several decades, this paper sought to analyze the concepts behind corporate sustainability, how this affects their relationship with society, and how business leaders can and do interpret and articulate these change to their organizations (Rosenberg and Mosca, 2011; Self and Schraeder, 2009, cited in Rosenberg and Mosca, 2011; McWilliams et al., 2005; Heijden et al., 2012; Millar et al., 2012).\nFurther research: It's also important to note that sustainable change may not only come from companies, but also from university. \"Institutions of higher education have a particularly interesting potential in society to facilitate societal responses to the plethora of sustainability challenges facing communities around the world\" (Jones, 2012, p. 630). However, as the authors affirms, this is a brand new area of research that needs further attention.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: In the present kaleidoscopic business landscape the concepts of corporate sustainability are increasingly affecting corporations' relationships with society and shaping how business leaders interpret changes to their organizations. The path to sustainability is best viewed as an organizational change initiative for which the \"how\" and \"why\" must be considered. Broadly, change initiatives have a notably poor success rate, which is likely related to discord between an initiative and the people undertaking it. Corporate sustainability is a transformational change that impacts business culture and a firm's relationship with its community. The purpose of this paper is to better understand implications of undertaking sustainability change initiatives in today's global environment the corporate-societal relationship needs to be examined in this three part paper in terms of value creation, for whom, and how sustainability is becoming an increasingly significant portion of this equation. First, a basis for corporate sustainability and the concepts surrounding who the stakeholders need to be examined, after which the reasons for attempting sustainability, in terms of value creation, and considerations for the implementation (culture, identity, attachment) of said change initiative will be explored.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Empirical and practitioner research papers were reviewed to illustrate the meaning and approaches to corporate sustainability and analyze how organizational change initiatives can best be used to facilitate organizational transformation.\nFindings: There is no consensus on the meaning of corporate sustainability, rather there continues to be an evolution of ideas and theories shaping the evolution of corporate sustainability. To implement any form of corporate sustainability requires that managers understand their objective and the cultural and psychological barriers of organizational change. Better engagement with those undertaking organizational change and clear articulation of the change's purpose can better lend themselves to an initiative's success. However, there is no panacea and managers must recognize that approaches may need to be altered.\nResearch limitations/implications: Research tends to occupy one of two spheres, either corporate sustainability or change initiatives. More linkage between these two concepts and empirical research of the effectiveness of organizational change practices for corporate sustainability is needed.\nPractical implications: A better understanding of organizational change theories, practices, and procedures may benefit managers and organizations that endeavor to realize corporate sustainability.\nSocial implications: Given the implications of recent corporate collapses and their perceived malice, there is now greater thought about the role these organizations have in society. Concepts regarding shared value and mutual benefit to society and corporations can be expected to remain at the forefront of the public decorum.\nOriginality/value: This paper sought to draw stronger ties between corporate sustainability and organizational change, highlighting that the two are codependent.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Consumer adoption of mobile banking in Jordan: Examining the role of usefulness, ease of use, perceived risk and self-efficacy	[ "Jordan", "TAM", "Adoption", "Behavioural intention", "Mobile banking" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Increasingly, mobile banking (MB) has been growing phenomenally over the banking sector and has become an integral banking channel alongside internet banking, telebanking, and ATM (Lee et al., 2007). As an innovative banking channel, MB enables customers to carry out financial transactions (i.e. balance enquiries, fund transfers, payment of bills) using mobile devices, smartphones, or Personal Digital Assistants 24 hours a day, seven days a week (Zhou et al., 2010). The prevalence in MB could be attributed to the ability of such technology to launch a variety of financial services over a wider geographical area, especially where there is a problem regarding internet connections, or where setting up branches is difficult and not feasible (Cruz et al., 2010; Wessels and Drennan, 2010). Moreover, by introducing MB services, banks aim to provide customers with a better service by means of more friendly and cost-effective channels, thereby enhancing their satisfaction and loyalty (Alalwan et al., 2015; Gu et al., 2009; Lee et al., 2014; Lin, 2013; Wessels and Drennan, 2010).\n2. Literature review: The MB-related issues have recently been the focus of attention for many researchers (i.e. Hanafizadeh et al., 2014; Lee et al., 2014; Lin, 2011; Purwanegara et al., 2014; Zhou et al., 2010). However, examination of the usage patterns of MB (i.e. behavioural intention (BI), usage behaviour, adoption, and continued intention to use) has received considerable interest over prior literature of MB (e.g. Lin, 2011; Mishra and Bisht, 2013; Purwanegara et al., 2014; Zhou et al., 2010; Zhou, 2011, 2012). Theoretically, in their endeavours to provide an in-depth understanding of customer intention and adoption of MB, researchers have formulated and integrated many theories and models from information systems (ISs), information technologies, and disciplines relating to human behaviour (Dwivedi and Irani, 2009). For instance, the Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) (Rogers, 2003) has been employed by along with perceived ease of use (PEOU) and trust (i.e. Lin, 2011; Hanafizadeh et al., 2014), and customer experience with cell-phone technology, self-efficacy (SE), and facilitating conditions as proposed by Brown et al. (2003). The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis et al., 1989) has also been proposed bedside system quality and social influences by Gu et al. (2009), Hanafizadeh et al. (2014), and Akturan and Tezcan (2012) to predict the customer intention and acceptance of MB. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) was formulated by Luarn and Lin (2005) accompanied by perceived credibility in one single model. Puschel et al. (2010) modified their model based on factors extracted from the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour and the IDT. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) (Venkatesh et al., 2003) has been used by Zhou et al. (2010) in the company of trust to predict the actual adoption of MB as well.\n3. Conceptual model and research hypotheses: The TAM was considered as an appropriate theoretical foundation for developing the conceptual model utilised in this study. Indeed, the TAM has been considered as one of the most popular and acceptable models within the IS field (Rana et al., 2013; Venkatesh et al., 2003). For instance, according to a Google scholar report, 7,714 citations have been recorded for the original study of Davis et al. (1989) by the end of June 2010 (Bradley, 2012). Further, as reported by Rana et al. (2013), Venkatesh and Davis (2000), and Irani et al. (2009), the TAM is one of the strongest and rational models to predict the individual's intention and acceptance over the last two decades. It is worthwhile to note that the TAM has been the most adopted theory to explain the customers' intention and usage of different kinds of electronic banking channels such as internet banking (i.e. Al-Somali et al., 2009; Curran and Meuter, 2005) and telebanking (Sundarraj and Wu, 2005; Curran and Meuter, 2007). By the same token, the TAM has successfully been used by different MB studies to predict the customer intention and adoption towards this technology (i.e. Gu et al., 2009; Lee et al., 2007). Furthermore, this study aims to propose a parsimonious model which is able to capture the most important aspects that could shape the Jordanian customers' intention and adoption of MB. Therefore, the TAM was found by the current study to be more suitable theoretical foundation to propose the conceptual model rather than the TAM2.\n4. Research methodology: A self-administered questionnaire was employed to collect data using a convenience sample of 500 Jordanian banking customers from two main cities: Amman and Al-Balqa'. In total, 28 scale items were adapted from prior IS literature (Compeau and Higgins, 1995; Davis et al., 1989; Featherman and Pavlou, 2003) to measure the main underlying constructs encompassed in the conceptual model (see Table AI). The main constructs of the TAM (PU and PEOU) were measured by items adapted from Davis et al. (1989) while items for PR were drawn from Featherman and Pavlou (2003). Featherman and Pavlou's (2003) scale covered the main dimensions of PR (i.e. performance risk, financial risk, privacy risk, and social risk). Five items of SE were selected from Compeau and Higgins' (1995) scale. All of these items were measured using the seven-point Likert scale ranging from \"strongly disagree (1)\" to \"strongly agree (7)\" (Dwivedi et al., 2006). As seen in Table AI, five of the most common banking transactions were also selected to measure the adoption behaviour of MB. The seven-point time scale was adopted to measure the adoption behaviour towards these services with anchors including: never, once a year, several times a year, once a month, several times a month, several times a week, several times a day (Venkatesh et al., 2012). The questionnaire also included six closed-ended questions to represent the respondents' demographic characteristics.\n5. Results: 5.1. Respondents' profile and characteristics\n6. Discussion: This study was conducted with the intention of providing further understanding regarding the main factors that could shape the clients' intention and adoption of MB in Jordan. Therefore, to achieve this aim, a parsimonious model comprising factors taken from TAM (PU and PEOU) along with PR and SE was proposed. As shown in Figure 2, the statistical results supported the predictive power of the conceptual model in explaining adequate variance in BI. Specifically, all values of R2 (BI (58 per cent), PU (51 per cent), PEOU (38 per cent), PR (30 per cent), and adoption (33 per cent)) were observed within an acceptable level of 30 per cent as suggested by Arambewela and Hall (2009), Holmes-Smith et al. (2006), and Kline (2011). In addition, such values of R2 in the current study are fairly close to those accounted for by other IS and MB studies that have been formulated using TAM (Akturan and Tezcan, 2012; Kim et al., 2009; Venkatesh and Davis, 2000). This, in turn, provided further evidence supporting the conceptual model proposed in the current study to explain the Jordanian customers' intention and adoption of MB.\n7. Conclusion: The purpose of this study was to test the key factors influencing the BI to adopt MB in Jordan. Therefore, an integrated model was proposed based on the TAM factors, SE and PR. Particularly, three factors: PU, PEOU, and PR were all formulated as key factors predicting BI. Another causal path was also proposed between PEOU and PU in the same model. SE was proposed as key antecedent of three predictors of BI: PU, PEOU, and PR. The SEM using AMOS21 was conducted to analyse data that was obtained from a convenience sample of 343 Jordanian banking customers. The proposed model was found to adequately fit the data as well as being able to account for 58 and 33 per cent of variance in BI and adoption, respectively. In addition, all the causal paths proposed were found to be statistically significant.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose and examine a conceptual model that best explains the key factors influencing Jordanian customers\nDesign/methodology/approach: The proposed conceptual model was based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). This was extended by adding perceived risk and self-efficacy as an external factors. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was conducted to analyse the data collected from the field survey questionnaires administered to a convenience sample of Jordanian banking customers.\nFindings: The results showed that behavioural intention is significantly influenced by perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and perceived risk.\nResearch limitations/implications: Practical and theoretical implications for both Jordanian banks and researchers in the MB context are also discussed in the concluding section.\nOriginality/value: MB-related issues are yet to be examined empirically in the Jordanian context. This submission has attempted to fill this gap by empirically examining some of the important factors influencing the adoption of MB from the Jordanian customers' perspective.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Inflation, interest rate and output gap in the US economy: a vine copula modeling	[ "Monetary policy", "Conditional expectation", "Interest rate rule", "Vine copulas" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The study of monetary policy rules has long called attention of macroeconomists around the world. Usually, as argued by Asso and Leeson (2012), the policy rules are set to stabilize inflation around a target level and keep current output as close as possible to potential output. The instruments used to achieve those objectives, however, might vary along time and across countries. In the case of the US monetary policy, the simple rule proposed by Taylor (1993) is agreed to represent quite well the behavior of the Federal Reserve (Fed) for the most part of the period beginning in post Second World War. Other fully optimal rules might be formally derived from optimization problems that involve general equilibrium, rational expectations, price stickiness, and other ingredients, as proposed by Clarida et al. (1999), Svensson (2000), Woodford (2001, 2003) among others. However, as noticed by Levin and Williams (2003) and Taylor and Williams (2010), the gain in performance in terms of welfare improvement from the more complex rules is relatively small when compared to simple rules under the same monetary policy objective.\n2. Methodology: Copula theory\n3. Results: Data and unit root tests\n4. Concluding remarks: The objective of this paper was to investigate the relationship among interest rate, inflation, and output gap in the US economy during the post Second World War period. To do this, we modeled the joint distribution of those variables using the vine copulas framework. The parameters that characterize that joint distribution were allowed to be static and time-varying, evolving according to a stochastic autoregressive equation.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between inflation, interest rate, and output gap in the US economy in the post Second World War period, without assuming any structure nor imposing any restriction on that relationship.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors apply vine copula modeling to investigate asymmetry and tail behavior on both conditional and unconditional dependence among those variables. The dependence parameter is allowed to evolve over time according to a stochastic autoregressive processes. Additionally, a conditional expectation based on vine copula is used to analyze the conditional expectation of interest rate.\nFindings: The results suggest that the joint distribution, both conditional and unconditional, of the interest rate and inflation is asymmetric to the left, while the pair interest rate and output gap have symmetrical distributions coupled with low persistence and high volatility. Besides the unquestionable evidence that the US monetary policy has been mostly focused on inflation stabilization, there is also indication of nonlinearity in the conditional expected interest rate and asymmetric behavior by the Federal Reserve in the long run.\nOriginality/value: The vine copula modeling allows for several forms of asymmetries and tail dependence, which is a flexible modeling strategy for multivariate distributions. Moreover, the conditional expectation implied by vine copulas is suitable to account for nonlinearity in the interest rate conditional on inflation and output gap.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Public leadership in the United Arab Emirates: towards a research agenda	[ "United Arab Emirates", "Qualitative", "Leadership practices", "Leadership arenas", "Public leadership" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has achieved significant policy goals in the 45 years since it was formed. As GDP has grown to AED 1.4 trillion (over US$38 bn), life expectancy, education standards, healthcare and infrastructure have all seen significant improvements (Masudi and Trasu, 2010; Shihab, 2001). Today, the UAE holds the 10th highest Gross National Income per capita in the world by purchasing power parity (World Bank, 2017), and stands 40th in the UN Human Development Index (Malik, 2014). The UAE government is no less ambitious for the future: in a context of significant economic and security instability, its \"Vision 2021\" statement sets out key performance indicators that aim to place the UAE in the top echelons of a variety of international indices. The UAE's stability and economic success in particular have placed it as a regional model to follow (Al Saleh, 2016). The pace, scale and complexity of change occurring is captured by Samier (2014) who describes the UAE today as:[...] an intense microcosm of globalisation, nationalisation, modernisation, democratisation, industrialisation, urbanisation, technologisation, secularisation and multiculturalisation(Samier, 2014, p. 223).\nThe institutional context for UAE public leadership: The UAE is a federal monarchy of seven Emirates, formed in 1971, with a population today of nine million. The federal government is responsible for collective matters such as foreign affairs, security and defence, nationality and immigration policy, education and public health; all other matters are reserved to the local governments of each Emirate. The ruling families of each Emirate hold power centrally, appointing all key government positions. Government departments at federal and local levels are structured according to standard policy responsibilities, such as health, education and municipalities.\nPublic leadership: In recent years, literature has begun to emerge on public leadership that roots the concept in its specific, bounded context. This literature grapples with questions about the nature of public leadership and what makes it different to broader organisational leadership, and leadership in the private sector. The current fragmented state of this field is illustrated by the lack of consensus on terminology, with authors variously discussing public leadership, public sector leadership and administrative leadership, amongst other permutations (Van Wart, 2013). Despite these differences, a sufficient body of evidence and argument on the distinctiveness of public leadership has emerged for some to declare it a significant field in its own right (Getha-Taylor et al., 2011).\nLeadership in the Arab world: The nature of leadership the Arab world has received relatively sparse attention in the (English-medium) public policy, administration, organisational studies and leadership literatures. Public leadership is typically not addressed; some insights can be gleaned from biographical accounts of national leaders or their own publications (Al Maktoum, 2006) but these shed little light on leadership below the ruler. Some evidence on culturally situated perceptions of leadership in the Arab region can, however, be garnered from scholarly interpretations of the GLOBE study (House et al., 2004), and the earlier work of Hofstede (1980).\nMethod: This study explores leadership by senior executives and first-rung government ministers in the UAE. In particular, it explores how people in these very senior roles in the UAE frame the purpose of public leadership, the practices they engage in, and the arenas in which leadership is performed. Methodological choices are exposed here so that readers can evaluate each for themselves (Ketokivi and Mantere, 2010).\nFindings: The findings below fall into two categories. First, perspectives are explored - on the purposes, challenges and underlying conceptions of public leadership; then, interviewees' activities are examined in terms of the arenas in which they take place and the practices they engage in.\nDiscussion: towards a research agenda: The intention of this paper is to reflect upon the findings of this preliminary study in order to suggest a forward research agenda. The overarching findings are that leadership is considered immensely important by senior post-holders in the federal, Abu Dhabi and Dubai governments of the UAE, and that \"public leadership\" is present as a distinct but managerially framed concept amongst those who might be considered some of its foremost practitioners. As is inevitable for a preliminary study, the conceptualisation of public leadership that emerges is partial; here I discuss the contribution made by these findings and propose three points of departure for a forward research agenda that hold potential to penetrate beyond managerial presentations of UAE public leadership: scope for discretion, values and trust.\nLimitations and methodological choices for future research: Public leadership in the UAE as uncovered by this study is a fuzzy concept with its characteristics, and the balance between them, only just beginning to unfold. Some fuzziness is a result of the novelty and scale of this study, and the limited array of literature on which it has been possible to draw. The study population, while representative of an influential elite, is small. So, while some tentative explanations about public leadership as engaged in by senior UAE government leaders have been made, the paper has focussed on stimulating a research agenda. The limitations of the findings are acknowledged and academy colleagues are encouraged both to test these findings and expand upon them.\nConclusion: This study has afforded a first, partial conceptualisation of UAE public leadership and suggested three points of departure for a future research agenda. It has found some similarities to Western conceptions of public leadership consistent with Getha-Taylor et al.'s (2011) assertion of public leadership as a distinct field, \"leadership for the public good, where challenges are complex, stakeholders are many, values are conflicting, and resources are limited\" (p. i83), and has begun to identify how the institution of monarchy and the Arab-Muslim culture shape public leadership within that broad field. But in summary, we need to improve both our conceptual frameworks and empirical knowledge of public leadership in the UAE (and indeed across the wider Gulf). Three points of departure for further research stimulated by this study have been posited: UAE public leaders' scope for discretion, values and trust. The hope is that research into these questions will yield new explanations of the nature and influence of public leadership in the UAE.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: To date, public leadership has been conceptualised for Western systems while leadership discourse has spread across governments globally. The purpose of this paper is to begin the task of conceptualising public leadership in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a federal monarchy in the Arabian Gulf, and proposes a forward research agenda.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper employs a qualitative, interview-based design to elicit top government officials' personal interpretations of the purpose and challenges of public leadership, the practices they engage in, and the arenas across which leadership is performed.\nFindings: The study finds that whilst notions of public leadership as conceptualised to date are present, cultural and institutional differences result in distinct localised characteristics that belie the managerial presentation of public leadership. Stimulated by these initial findings, three points of departure for future research are suggested: public leaders' scope for discretion, values and trust.\nResearch limitations/implications: The research relies on a relatively small, though elite, sample; findings are therefore preliminary, informing ideas for a forward research agenda.\nOriginality/value: The paper presents a first conceptualisation of public leadership in the UAE, an Arab-Muslim federal monarchy.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Linking social network analysis with the analytic hierarchy process for knowledge mapping in organizations	[ "Social networks", "Analytical hierarchy process", "Auditing" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Why are organizations so enamored with knowledge management? One important reason is that organizations are hoping that knowledge management processes will allow the creation of knowledge to take place for increasing innovation in the organization (Chauvel and Despres, 2002; Earl, 2001). Innovation may be in the form of improved organizational business processes, new products or services, or better ways for customer relationship management. For example, JD Edwards applied knowledge management to their customer relationship management by developing knowledge management for internal sales support first, taking the lessons learned and successes into a second stage, and extending \"the knowledge garden\" to its business partners and integrators (Harris et al., 2003).Knowledge management can be in the form of idea management systems that allow employee ideas and suggestions to be captured and shared online. These idea management systems, such as Imaginatik's Idea Central (Pluskowski, 2002), allow the capture and sharing of ideas across the organization, and provides an efficient review process to evaluate the ideas. Increased socialization encouraged by this approach can lead to the impromptu formation of communities of practitioners who discover people with similar interests from the ideas and the ensuring interactions (Pluskowski, 2002). These interactions can hopefully lead to innovations in the organization.To enhance the knowledge flows between people to stimulate innovative thinking, organizations should first conduct a knowledge audit and develop a knowledge map of the sources, sinks, and flows of knowledge in the organization. In other words, whom do people go to in the organization for answers to questions or how are departments in the organization interacting within and between each other? To help develop the knowledge map, social network analysis (SNA) and associated visualization tools can be used to aid in the analysis of this information. One way to improve the current state-of-the-art in SNA is to develop new ways to produce interval/ratio measures of relations between the various individuals in the organization to determine the strength of their ties. This paper discusses a novel approach in applying the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to generate the ratio scores for the valued graphs to be used in SNA in order to develop a knowledge map of the organization.This paper will first discuss knowledge mapping and then describe SNA. Then, the AHP will be explained and linked with SNA to produce valued graphs used for knowledge mapping.\n2. Knowledge mapping: A key part of knowledge management (KM) is performing a knowledge audit to determine knowledge flows within an organization. Specifically, the knowledge audit process involves (Liebowitz et al., 2000):1. Identify what knowledge currently exists in the targeted area (typically select a core competency that is cross-departmental/functional):* determine existing and potential sinks, sources, flows, and constraints in the targeted area, including environmental factors that could influence the targeted area;* identify and locate explicit and tacit knowledge in the targeted area; and* build a knowledge map of the taxonomy and flow of knowledge in the organization in the targeted area. The knowledge map relates topics, people, documents, ideas, and links to external resources, in respective densities, in ways that allow individuals to find the knowledge they need quickly.1. Identify what knowledge is missing in the targeted area:* perform a gap analysis to determine what knowledge is missing to achieve the business goals; and* determine who needs the missing knowledge.1. Provide recommendations from the knowledge audit to management regarding the status quo and possible improvements to the knowledge management activities in the targeted area.An essential output of the knowledge audit process is the knowledge map for providing insight for improving business and organizational processes. A knowledge map portrays the sources, flows, constraints, and sinks (losses or stopping points) of knowledge within an organization. Well-developed knowledge maps help identify intellectual capital (Liebowitz, 2003), socialize new members, and enhance organizational learning (Wexler, 2001). Knowledge maps have been used for a variety of applications, even for developing a knowledge map of knowledge management software tools (Noll et al., 2002). An organization should map its knowledge to (Grey, 1999):* encourage re-use and prevent re-invention, saving search time and acquisition costs;* highlight islands of expertise and suggest ways to build bridges to increase knowledge sharing;* discover effective and emergent communities of practice where learning is happening;* provide a baseline for measuring progress with KM projects; and* reduce the burden on experts by helping staff find critical information/knowledge quickly.Some of the key principles in knowledge mapping are establish boundaries and respect personal disclosures, recognize and locate knowledge in a wide variety of forms, and locate knowledge in processes, relationships, policies, people, documents, conversations, suppliers, competitors, and customers. The types of questions asked to develop a knowledge map include (Grey, 1999):* What type of knowledge is needed to do your work?* Who provides it, where do you get it, how does it arrive?* What do you do, how do you add value, what are the critical issues?* What happens when you are finished?* How can the knowledge flow be improved, what is preventing you doing more, better, faster?* What would make your work easier?* Who do you go to when there is a problem?Typically, information is collected for the knowledge map by using the following methods (Grey, 1999):* conduct surveys, interviews, and focus groups;* observe the work in progress;* obtain network traffic logs, policy documents, org charts, process documentation;* explore the common and individual file structures;* concentrate on formal and informal gatherings, communications, and activities;* gather from internal/external sources; and* move across multiple levels (individual, team, department, organization).To help develop a knowledge map, SNA can be used. The next section will address SNA techniques and tools.\n3. Social network analysis techniques and tools: According to Hanneman (2002), SNA is the mapping and measuring of relationships and flows between people, groups, organizations, computers or other information/knowledge processing entities. SNA involves actors (seeing how actors are located or \"embedded\" in the overall network) and relations (seeing how the whole pattern of individual choices gives rise to more holistic patterns). SNA has been used in sociology, anthropology, information systems, organizational behavior, and many other disciplines. For example, Cross et al. (2001) used SNA to partly determine if employees of the acquired firm are socializing and seeking answers to questions from those of the acquiring firm. Related link analysis has also been used in such applications as developing socio-spatial knowledge networks for chronic disease prevention (Cravey et al., 2001) and developing academic networks and expertise in British higher education (Eldridge and Wilson, 2003).The basic idea of SNA is that individual people are nested within networks of face-to-face relations with other persons. Families, neighborhoods, school districts, communities, and even societies are, to varying degrees, social entities in and of themselves (Hanneman, 2002). The social network analyst is interested in how the individual is embedded within a structure and how the structure emerges from the micro-relations between individual parts (Hanneman, 2002). This could then be applied at an organizational level to see how the \"actors\" (e.g. employees, departments, etc.) relate to each other via their interactions. Through SNA, a knowledge map could be generated to aid in the knowledge audit process.Within SNA, there are a variety of strategies used to collect measurements on the relations among the set of actors. One method is called \"full network methods\" whereby information about each actor's ties with all other actors is collected. One major limitation of this technique is that it may be costly and difficult to collect full network data. A second group of methods is called the \"snowball methods\" whereby the analyst begins with a focal actor or set of actors. Then, each of these actors is asked to name some or all of their ties to other actors. Then, these \"other actors\" are asked for some or all of their ties, and the snowball effect continues until no new actors are identified (or until some stopping rule is determined). The limitations with this method are that those who are \"isolated\" may not be identified and it may be unclear as to where to start the snowball rolling. The third major strategy used in SNA is the use of egocentric networks. With this approach, one would begin with a selection of focal nodes (egos) and identify the nodes to which they are connected. Then, one would determine which of the nodes identified in the first stage are connected to one another. Egocentric methods focus on the individual, rather than on the network, as a whole (Hanneman, 2002).In order to measure the information collected about ties between actors, there are nominal, ordinal, and interval/ratio levels of measurement. The zero-one binary scale is an example of a nominal scale and would show if ties are absent (zero) or present (one). The multiple-category nominal measures of relations is similar to multiple choice versus the true-false binary representation. The ordinal measures of relations are similar to a Likert scale and can determine the \"strength\" of ties. However, the third class of measures of relations, namely the interval/ratio method, is the most advanced level of measurement that allows the actors to discriminate among relations (e.g. this tie is three times as strong as that tie) (Hanneman, 2002).Examples of social networks are shown in Figures 1-3.3.1 Social network analysis tools\n4. The analytic hierarchy process: An important part of SNA is being able to provide the measures of relations (i.e. strengths of the ties) between the actors. We previously indicated that the interval/ratio method is preferred for determining the measures of relations. One technique that has not been applied to SNA to calculate the interval/ratio measures is the AHP.AHP was developed by Thomas Saaty (1980) at the University of Pittsburgh to aid decision makers in the evaluation process. It quantifies subjective judgments used in decision-making, and has been applied in numerous applications throughout the world (Saaty, 1982). AHP uses pairwise comparisons in order to determine relative levels of importance or preference. Expert Choice is a software package that automates the use of AHP on a PC.Let us take an example using AHP for use in SNA. The first step is to construct a tree hierarchy to show the goal at the top, then criteria in the next level, and then alternatives at the lowest level. If we are trying to develop a knowledge map using SNA, then we would like to determine knowledge flows between individuals in the organizations. Thus, we might want to ask Jay (an employee in the organization) the question \"who do you ask when you have a question involving ... \" to be the goal at the top of the hierarchy, as shown in Figure 4.The criteria might be: office politics, institutional knowledge, general advice, and content knowledge. The alternatives might be Bill, Bob, Mary, and June (of course, you should include all the necessary individuals as pertinent to the application). Then, Jay can start to enter his verbal judgments to weight the criteria and then weight the alternatives versus each criterion, using AHP/Expert Choice, as follows: With respect to the goal, are \"office politics\" more important than \"institutional knowledge\", and if so, how much more important? A scale of relative importance developed by Saaty is applied to translate the verbal judgments into numeric values:(1) Equal importance.\n5. Summary: This paper introduces the integrated use of the AHP with SNA to produce interval/ratio measures for use in an organization's knowledge map. This approach has wider implications in the knowledge management field than just knowledge mapping. For example, Weber and Aha (2002) indicate that about 70 percent of the lessons learned systems are ineffective. A major reason given is the lack of an active or \"push\" feature for analysis and dissemination of the lessons. In order to determine what lessons would be appropriate to \"push\" to users, a user profile could be developed. Here, AHP could be applied in building the profile to determine the relative preferences on which topics of interest are relatively more important than others to the user in order to receive lessons learned in these areas. SNA could then be used to develop the valued graphs used in a knowledge map for depicting, for example, the different types of lessons received.Developing AHP weightings on nodes should enhance the typical SNA algorithms for things like centrality, betweenness, and others. We could also use the weightings to do a more fine-grained filtering of the maps (e.g. remove weak links). Additionally, SNA maps may be used to annotate an AHP decision hierarchy. For example, when traversing the decision hierarchy, we might be able to understand how a particular weighting was achieved by referencing across to the people making the judgments to see how they might be related in a social network sense (e.g. tightly clustered or quite disparate).This paper hopefully encourages others to apply AHP or other methods to determine the ratio measures of relations used in SNA for knowledge mapping. In this manner, knowledge maps could become more meaningful in depicting the strength of relationships for organizational business process improvement.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - To provide an interesting approach for determining interval measures, through the analytic hierarchy process, for integration with social network analysis for knowledge mapping in organizations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - In order to develop improved organizational and business processes through knowledge management, a knowledge audit should be conducted to better understand the knowledge flows in the organization. An important technique to visualize these knowledge flows is the use of a knowledge map. Social network analysis can be applied to develop this knowledge map. Interval measures should be used in the social network analysis in order to determine the strength of the connections between individuals or departments in the organization. This paper applies the analytic hierarchy process to develop these interval measures, and integrates the values within the social network analysis to produce a meaningful knowledge map.\nFindings: - The analytic hierarchy process, when coupled with social network analysis, can be a useful technique for developing interval measures for knowledge-mapping purposes.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The analytic hierarchy process may become tedious and arduous for use in large social network maps. More research needs to be conducted in this area for scalability.\nPractical implications: - As social network analysis is gaining more prominence in the knowledge management community, the analytic hierarchy process may be able to provide more valuable measures to determine the strengths of relationships between actors than simply using ordinal numbers.\nOriginality/value: - Coupling the analytic hierarchy process with social network analysis provides a novel approach for future knowledge-mapping activities.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The impact of other group members on tourists' travel experiences: A study of domestic package tours in China	[ "China", "Tourism", "Travel", "Services", "Tour operators" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Despite the increase in independent travel, the group package tour (GPT) is still a popular mode of outbound travel in many different countries (Wang et al., 2010; Zhang and Yan, 2008). Compared with Western tourists, Asian and Chinese tourists prefer taking package tours, particularly for international trips (Hooper, 1995; Wang et al., 2010; Wong and Lau, 2001). In fact, GPTs have consistently been the preferred choice for outbound tourism by Asian tourists for many years (Nozawa, 1992; Prideaux, 1998; Wang and Sheldon, 1995). According to the China Tourism Academy (2014), the number of domestic travel agencies in China during 2013 reached 26,054 (up from 24,944 in 2012, an increase of 4.45 per cent). In that year, there were 3.26 billion domestic tourists (up from 2.96 billion in 2012, an increase of 10.14 per cent), 98.19 million outbound tourists (up from 83.18 million in 2012, an increase of 18.05 per cent) and 129 million inbound tourists (down from 132 million in 2012, a decrease of 2.5 per cent). Among these domestic tourists in 2013, 128.56 million people chose to join a GPT (China National Tourism Administration, 2014); this number is much larger than the number of outbound tourists and almost the same with the number of inbound tourists. Therefore, China's domestic GPT is undoubtedly a substantial sector of the tourism industry and attracts researchers' attention.\nTheoretical background: The impact of other customers\nMethodology: Research design\nResults: Of the 253 usable responses, 54 respondents reported that their travel experiences were positively enhanced by the presence of other tourists (21.3 per cent of total incidents), while 199 respondents reported that their travel experiences were negatively affected by the presence of other tourists (78.7 per cent of total incidents). The process of data analysis followed the modified CIT method used by Baker et al. (2007) and involved three academic researchers as judges. The first judge arranged all incidents according to the most basic classification standards by grouping similar incidents into one category with a name label. Based on subjective judgment, the second judge then placed the incidents into the labeled categories that the first judge had defined. For incidents that could not be put into any existing category, the second judge recorded the information and set the incident aside and then decided whether the incident should belong to a new category. The two judges reached a decision by consensus on inconsistent judgments. The above classification was then delivered to the third judge for a further judgment to ensure that the classification had a high level of reliability and consistency. Following the procedures provided by Perreault and Leigh (1989), inter-rater reliability was 0.85, which was acceptable for the critical incidents. Finally, the study identified three categories of incidents that revealed the factors affecting the travel experiences associated with a domestic package tour in China. Figure 1 shows the three categories of critical incidents. The three categories of incidents are identified as:\nDiscussion and conclusions: This study has explored specific characteristics or behaviors of other customers that affect the travel experience of a domestic GPT tourist in China. The findings provide both theoretical and practical implications.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to examine the impact of other group members on the travel experiences of Chinese tourists participating in domestic package tours.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Based on the critical incident technique, usable responses were obtained from 253 tourists regarding the influence of other group members on their travel experiences in the same group package tour (GPT).\nFindings: The results show that the travel experiences of Chinese tourists on a domestic package tour are affected by three general factors, namely, appearance, behaviors, and language of other group members.\nResearch limitations/implications: This research mainly involves samples of young tourists. The findings may not be able to generalize to elderly tourists. Future studies may involve samples from various age cohorts.\nPractical implications: The findings offer new insights and directions for GPT operators and tour guides to improve tourism management and tourist experiences.\nSocial implications: This study contributes to tourism literature about customer-to-customer interaction by identifying the major categories of other customers' characteristics or behaviors that may positively or negatively influence a GPT tourist's travel experience.\nOriginality/value: This study enriches the existing literature by investigating the attributes of other group members that may affect the travel experiences of a domestic GPT participant. Tourism firms can formulate better strategies and staff training to enhance tourists' travel experiences.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Infusing gender and diversity issues into educational leadership programs: Transformational learning and resistance	[ "Leadership", "Transformational leadership", "Equal opportunities", "Sex and gender issues", "Feminism" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Inclusion of diversity issues in educational leadership preparation programs is important if current and aspiring educational leaders are to attain higher levels of cognitive learning such as transformational learning - defined for this article as learning outcomes that enable the learner to critically reflect upon, communicate, and shift, if necessary, pre-existing assumptions, biases, and paradigms (Cambron-McCabe et al., 1991; Mezirow, 1990; 2000). However, only a handful of programs actually include such issues (Rusch, 2004). Instead, most educational leadership programs continue to espouse theory that is dominated by one (or a mixture of) four theoretical foundations: rational, mechanistic, organic, and/or bargaining models (Young and McLeod, 2001). Although such programs offer a necessary, but often thin, body of \"core knowledge\", research (e.g. Marshall et al., 1996) suggests that such narrowly framed curricula do not encourage students to step outside of a structural functional paradigm to solve problems. In addition, anecdotal evidence from practicing administrators suggests that the role of educational leaders is far too complex for such limited training to be effective, particularly for leaders who are committed to advancing social justice within their schools and districts.Due to these limitations of traditional approaches to educational leadership preparation, the importance of infusing transformational learning experiences into preparation programs, particularly experiences with diversity, recently has begun to gain attention (Larson and Murtadha, 2002). Over the next decade, we are likely to see an increase in the number of educational leadership preparation programs that emphasize issues of diversity, ethics, and equity and utilize transformational learning to train leaders who will be better able to advance social justice in their schools and districts as well as in their communities and society at large.Programs such as these that are redesigned for transformative learning, particularly around issues of diversity and social justice, may usher in a renaissance in curriculum and pedagogy for our field at both national and international levels. Initial research on programs redesigned for such purposes indicates that emphasis is being placed on critical reflection, problem-based learning, and the inclusion of critical theories and leadership literature that emphasizes ethics, diversity and social justice (Hafner, 2005). Furthermore, these redeveloped programs are highly likely to present new challenges for the faculty teaching in them.One key challenge for leadership faculty in redesigned leadership preparation programs will be supporting student learning in the wake of student resistance. Transformational learning involves a reevaluation of personal values and beliefs. As a result, students respond in a variety of ways - from excitement to depression and from resistance to rage (Capper and Young, n.d.).The purpose of this article, thus, is to explore this issue - student resistance to transformational learning around issues of diversity and social justice. The authors are currently engaged in a multi-year investigation of student learning within an educational leadership program that has been redesigned to support such transformational learning outcomes. Although the educational leadership preparation program that is the subject of this research has infused multiple diversity and justice issues into it curriculum - including race and social class - the discussion in this article centers on the program's efforts to engage students in transformational learning around issues of gender. We understand clearly that gender interacts in complex and complicated ways with other diversity issues, particularly with race, and we acknowledge that students' experiences of transformational learning about gender are necessarily intertwined with transformational learning in other areas. Nonetheless, it is simply not possible to study everything that is conceivably related all at once, nor is it possible to report it all in a journal-length article. Thus, our focus here is specifically on learning and resistance in relation to issues of gender. We were particularly interested in studying the results of the program's adoption of a gender-focused book, Reconsidering Feminist Research in Educational Leadership, as a required text. This book was used in several courses, but most significantly, it was used as the key textbook for the program's online discussion and reflection course.This research has provided us with important insights into how students react to, learn from, and resist social justice-oriented curricula and teaching strategies, particularly those related to gender issues. Within this article, we share reactions of students involved in the focal educational leadership program to social justice curricular content focused on gender. We begin by providing a review of literature in two key areas. The first identifies the conditions necessary for transformational learning to occur in adult learning environments. The second delineates several different types of resistance to transformational learning. Following the review of literature, we discuss our research project, provide a brief overview of the program under examination, and describe the intended learning outcomes, particularly those associated with diversity and transformational learning. Subsequently, we discuss our research methods and then present our findings.\nTransformational learning and student resistance: Much has been written about social justice and transformational learning. Thus, we have focused our review around two areas of the literature that we found particularly important: literature explicating the necessary conditions for transformational learning to occur and literature describing and explaining student resistance to instruction designed to support transformational learning.Necessary conditions for transformational learning\nThe research project: Context and participants\nFindings and discussion: Transformational learning is a high-level cognitive learning process that involves shifts in preconceived assumptions and biases and, subsequently, changes in one's behaviors (Mezirow, 2000). Change, then, is essential. Results from the analysis of the qualitative interview data indicate that most students believed that their beliefs had changed to some degree as a result of exposure to feminist literature, though fewer appeared to have changed their behaviors. Results also demonstrated the existence of student resistance to transforming beliefs and behaviors about gender issues. Finally, results also indicated that certain aspects of the Ed.D. program's design impacted student's learning transformations.We have organized our discussion of these findings into three sections:1. transformational learning;2. resistance; and3. program design.Within each of these three sections we present both our findings and a discussion of our findings - our sense-making of the data. As much as possible, we use participants' own words to demonstrate patterns and to make our points.Transformational learning\nConclusion: In an ongoing effort to find successful pedagogical activities in educational leadership programs targeted toward transformational learning, particularly around issues of diversity, we examined responses from students involved in a program explicitly designed for this purpose. Our analysis of the data collected in this research suggests that, after a year of exposure to readings and written assignments about gender and other diversity issues, few students had undergone significant transformations in their learning regarding gender issues. Moreover, we found that many students demonstrated resistance to reading, reflecting upon and discussing gender issues. Although, most examples of resistance indicated that students were engaging with course materials, some students were practicing a less productive form of resistance - opposition - which could serve as a major barrier to learning if left unaddressed.Importantly, a majority of the students shared that the lack of forums for conversation about the materials and inadequate time for reflection on the materials were key barriers to their ability to internalize the material and change personal and professional behaviors. This finding is important to program design. Although, on the surface, it may seem that the time the pedagogical components of transformational learning require (instrumental and communicative learning) outweigh the reality of time that many students who are involved in these types of programs have, there may be creative ways to provide students with the forums and time they believe they need. Program designers may want to evaluate, for example, the time dedicated in all courses to discussing issues of diversity and social justice. It may be that, while these issues are emphasized in the online course, that they are not provided adequate time or attention in face-to-face courses. It would also be beneficial to evaluate the learning activities structured and required throughout the program. Learning activities, such as action learning projects that emphasize critical reflection, could be incorporated throughout the program to support on-going student growth.\"Every adult educator has the responsibility for fostering critical self-reflection and helping learners plan to take action\" (Mezirow, 1990, p. 357). We need leaders who are transformative, who are both active, reflective scholars and practitioners. We also need transformative teaching practices that incorporate issues of diversity and assist in the development of such leaders. However, as our data suggests, we cannot assume that simply because we teach, that students will learn. Faculty must increase their knowledge of student responses to teaching strategies and course content that support transformation learning around issues of diversity.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this article is to consider the impact of incorporating a set of readings focused on issues of gender, diversity, leadership, and feminist thought into the curriculum of a statewide educational leadership doctoral program.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Based data from open-ended surveys, semi-structured interviews, and reflection statements, the article presents a qualitative analysis of how students react to, learn from, and resist social justice-oriented curricula and teaching strategies, particularly those related to gender issues.\nFindings: - The analysis of the data collected in this research suggests that, after a year of exposure to readings and written assignments about gender and other diversity issues, few students had undergone significant transformations in their learning regarding gender issues. Moreover, it was found that many students demonstrated resistance to reading, reflecting on and discussing gender issues.\nOriginality/value: - Programs and professors that endeavor to prepare leaders who are transformative, require transformative teaching practices that assist in the development of such leaders. When content includes issues of diversity, our findings indicate that it is particularly important that faculty increase their knowledge of student responses to difficult content and transformative teaching strategies.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Capacity building for transnationalisation of higher education: Knowledge management for organisational efficacy	[ "Learning organisation", "Standardisation and adaptation", "Transnationalisation", "Marketing mix", "Value co-creation", "Market orientation", "Education marketing", "Competitive advantage", "Knowledge management", "Capacity building", "Transnational education" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Transnationalism and transnational concept are, however, extensively researched in many other social science areas; transnational marketing is a relatively fresh idea and an unexplored research domain. In terms of transnational marketing, the extant literature predominantly deals with legal and contractual issues of transnational business, but many issues related to transnational marketing considerations are yet to be explored (Sirkeci, 2013). There is no research institution that explicitly dedicated to investigating the transnational marketing issues (Sirkeci, 2013), as well as there is very less research on transnational marketing (Buschgens et al., 2019). On one hand, \"nations must be able and willing to buy each other's goods if economies are to blossom\" (Robison and Goodman, 2007; Smejkal, 2011; Puslecki, 2013; as cited in Shams and Kaufmann, 2016, p. 1252). On the other hand, to keep home industries safe, there is a rising importance of neo-mercantilist potential to restrict imports and encourage exports (Bonatti and Fracasso, 2012). As a result, more studies on transnational marketing issues are imperative to understand the transnational market conditions, to support international business.\nLiterature review: Transnational education and markets\nA transnational marketing management capacity-building framework and practical insights: On one hand, the cause and consequence of stakeholders' relationships and interactions or SCS in transnational market could be instrumental to recognise capacity building needs and to use stakeholders' mutual skills and resources and social capital through stakeholder discussion, coordination and value co-creation. On the other hand, such capacity-building driving factors and components of the capacity-building process would be able to reinforce SCSs among the involved stakeholders. For example, understanding capacity building needs and stakeholder coordination could further engage the key stakeholders to pursue common goals, as well as stakeholder relationships could help to understand the associated stakeholders' mutual skills and resources that would be available to invest in capacity building. The thinner double-headed arrow of Figure 3 represents this interrelationship between SCS and capacity building driving factors and processes. Various components of Figure 3, except the \"absorptive capability\" and \"varied competitive advantage extents\" are discussed in the preceding sub-sections of this paper. Absorptive capability is (Wang and Ahmed, 2007, p. 37):\nDiscussion, implication, generalisation and future research: In general, the capacity building issues are researched from the developmental contexts of various socio-economic issues. This study discusses capacity building from a business perspective, particularly developing capacity in transnational marketing, and argues that capacity building and finding the appropriate transnational StandAdapt extent for transnational market orientation or transnationalisation is a continuous learning process to adapt with the transnational socio-economic issues, to reinforce capacity in transnational marketing. From this angle and based on introducing the SCS concept, and integrating various capacity building issues, this study contributes to the under-researched TNE marketing, with some emergent factors in TNE marketing mix, as well as confirming the application of some of the international marketing mix factors from the contexts of TNE marketing for the first time. To support the arguments of this study, it presents practical information (i.e. some case examples) on TNEs' marketing mix, based on three different TNEs in three different transnational markets. As portrayed in Figure 3, this study emphasises on the interrelationships between TNEs' SCSs with their transnational stakeholders and various capacity building driving factors and processes to recognise and absorb particular transnational conditions, to decide on their StandAdapt issues, with an aim to build capacity in TNE's marketing through stakeholder value co-creation in transnational market. Therefore, an additional contribution of this study is to develop further insights on the well-researched StandAdapt issues in international business through an alternative approach to proactively taking a decision on the StandAdapt issues.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Transnationalism and transnational concept are extensively researched in many social science areas; however, transnational management and transnational marketing is relatively a less explored research domain. Also, knowledge management for transnational education (TNE) marketing is not well-researched. Capacity building is an established research-stream, with a key focus on socio-economic and ecological development; however, prior research on capacity building from the context of TNE's knowledge management and marketing is scarce. The purpose of this study is to analyse TNE marketing mix, to understand the influence of transnational stakeholders' causal scope(s) on knowledge management in TNE to uphold their transnatioalisation processes through capacity building in TNEs' marketing management.\nDesign/methodology/approach: An inductive constructivist method is followed.\nFindings: Organisational learning from the context of transnational market and socio-economic competitive factors, based on analysing the transnational stakeholders' causal scope(s) is imperative for proactive knowledge management capacity in TNE marketing. Following the analysis of transnational stakeholders' causal scope(s) to learn about the cause and consequence of the transnational stakeholders' relationships and interactions, an initial conceptual framework of knowledge management for TNE marketing is proposed. Practical insights from different TNE markets are developed in support of this novel knowledge management capacity building framework of TNE, and its generalisation perspectives and future research areas are discussed.\nPractical implications: These insights will be useful for TNE administrators to better align their knowledge management perspectives and propositions with their transnational stakeholders to underpin TNE marketing. Academics will be able to use these insights as a basis for future research.\nOriginality/value: This study proposes a novel conceptual stakeholder-centred capacity building framework for TNE's knowledge management to uphold TNE marketing and supports the framework, based on practical insights from three different transnational markets.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Europe's business brains: poorly led ... and leaving	[ "Leadership", "Coaching", "Retention", "Innovation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Over 50 percent of European respondents to a recent BlessingWhite survey, Leading Technical Professionals, said that retaining the brightest minds is extremely challenging (Table I).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The aim of this research is to discover the special characteristics of technical professionals and the leadership skills required to manage, engage and retain these people. It also sought to establish leaders' assessment of their success in leading this particular group of people.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The survey took place over a six-month period in 2005 and 2006. 898 leaders of technical professionals were surveyed by e-mail. Leaders from more than 30 organizations in a wide range of industries across four continents representing more than ten functional areas took part. The objectives were to discover: what are the most challenging issues faced by leaders of technical professionals today? What skills and strategies do these leaders believe are most important for success in their jobs? How effective do they think they are? What characteristics are common to the technical professionals they lead?\nFindings: - A very broad range of findings described in the article and full report - available on request.\nOriginality/value: - The findings of the report are entirely original and follow on from an earlier study conducted nearly 20 years ago. The paper is of value to leaders of technical professionals in many roles; IT, economics, finance, law, research etc. as they seek to understand the people they lead and to encourage high performance.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Can pay gaps between gay men and lesbians shed light on male-female pay gaps?	[ "Male–female pay gap", "Gay men–lesbian pay gaps", "Gender discrimination", "Household responsibilities" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: There is general agreement that a male-female pay gap remains even after controlling for the effect of a wide range of pay determining factors. There is, however, less agreement on the extent to which that pay gap reflects either or both of the two leading contenders for explaining the pay gap: discrimination or differences in household responsibilities that can affect labor market productivity (Ahmed et al., 2011). Doing two jobs - one in the labor market and the other in the household - is bound to affect productivity and hence pay, and, this in turn can contribute to explaining some of the male-female pay gap. The question is: by how much?\nTheory: Gender discrimination\nMethod: Estimating strategy\nResults: The interval regression results are presented in Table I, with the first three columns giving the results for single heterosexual males and females (with gay men and lesbians removed) and the next three columns giving the results for single gay men and single lesbians.\nSummary and policy discussion: The previous discussion suggested that the unequal division of labor within the household is more important in explaining the male-female pay gap than is gender discrimination per se. However, given the taboo that still exists with regard to homosexuality and we only have 29 single lesbian women in our study, the sample may contain bias, which cannot be dealt with otherwise due to lack of data.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to estimate the relative importance of gender discrimination and differences in household responsibilities as determinants of the male-female pay gap.\nDesign/methodology/approach: It parses out the relative importance of those two factors by using the pay between gay men vs lesbian women as a comparison group that should reflect only gender discrimination. Subtracting the pay gap between gay men and lesbians (reflecting only gender discrimination) from the male-female pay gap for their heterosexual counterparts (reflecting both gender discrimination and household responsibilities) provides evidence of the relative importance of gender discrimination and household responsibilities in explaining the male-female pay gap.\nFindings: The results show that essentially all of the male-female pay gap is attributed to differences in household responsibilities.\nOriginality/value: This paper advances the literature of gender wage gap by using a novel comparison group - gay men vs lesbian women - to estimate the relative importance of gender discrimination and differences in household responsibilities as determinants of the male-female pay gap.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Improved decision aiding in human resource management: A case using constructivist multi-criteria decision aiding	[ "Performance Management", "Human Resource Management", "HRM", "MCDA‐C" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Manufacturing companies are increasingly adopting project management in their design and development processes to help develop more sophisticated and customized products. A key issue for the management of these companies is to ensure skilled individuals are allocated as effectively as possible to cope with the demands of competing projects. In this paper, we address this problem by using a constructivist multi-criteria approach to develop a decision support model for human resource management (HRM).The study analyses a multinational company that manufactures home appliances. This firm is the market leader and has approximately 800 employees, out of a total of 7,000, involved in project management. These professionals need a management model that allows them to meet the demand for customized products without increasing the resources available - a complex and challenging management issue.First we need to understand the problem and the high importance of the approach; the next step is to identify any scientific knowledge that can be used to support managerial functions. The constructivist approach develops managerial knowledge and thus allows managers to expand their own knowledge and understanding about individual decisions, goals, and objectives. Therefore, this approach has been identified as the most appropriate in this context when compared to the normative, descriptive, and prescriptive approaches.To identify the relevant objectives for this analysis we need to define the goals to be achieved. In this context, the following research question emerged: How can MCDA be used to construct a managerial decision support tool for human resource allocation based on technical expertise? The objective of this study is, therefore, to develop a model to help human resource allocation based on technical expertise (i.e. knowledge demand).\n2. Literature review: The theoretical framework is presented in three parts. In the first part we introduce the concept and characteristics of HRM relevant to the study; the second part presents the research opportunities; and the third addresses the intervention instrument used in this work, namely the MCDA-C.2.1. Concepts and definitions\n3. Methodological framework: The research is exploratory, applied, and carried out as a case study. It has the objective of broadening the knowledge of the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) by creating a HRM model based on knowledge demand in a global organization that develops home appliances. The data were gathered through non-structured interviews with the CTO and the Technology and General Manager (TGM) of the organization. Bibliographical research with an exploratory character was used to construct the theoretical framework and to broaden the understanding of the context under study, as well as to develop the adopted intervention instrument.The approach to the research problem shows qualitative and quantitative characteristics. The qualitative side aims to deepen knowledge about the context by identifying criteria and building ordinal scales. Whereas the quantitative side uses mathematical models to convert these ordinal scales into cardinal scales, to identify the compensation rates that serve to integrate the criteria of the model and allow global performance evaluation (Ensslin and Vianna, 2008). This qualitative and quantitative research forms part of constructivist models, such as in the MCDA-C case, by considering that initial knowledge is qualitative and then quantitative once measured mathematically (Ensslin et al., 2010). This calls for the use of performance evaluation tools that allow for a broader understanding of the KPIs to be chosen and represent the decision maker's values in a HRM setting.\n4. MCDA-C case study: HRM model based on knowledge demand: For complex situations with multiple variables, conflicts of interest among stakeholders and relevant consequences on the final results, we recommended the use of MCDA-C, and follow the steps proposed in Figure 3. The case study was developed over six months, consuming 528 facilitator hours and 48 meetings through decision and the compilation of results.4.1. Step 1: contextualization (soft approach to structuring)\n5. Conclusions and recommendations for further research: The final product of this study was human resource allocation in a project management model based on knowledge demand, which allowed for expanding knowledge and understanding of the CTO (decision maker). Because of the complexity and conflicting interests of stakeholders, the MCDA-C method was selected as an intervention instrument to identify the objectives, evaluate their impact, and aid managers enduring managerial difficulties.The process identified 80 PAEs that were transformed into concepts and descriptors, which generated an expansion of knowledge and understanding of the problem by the decision maker and, consequently, others involved.The decision maker actively participated in all steps of the process to legitimize them. Moreover, the decision maker could use the model as a management tool to improve opportunities with the clear understanding of the impact on both the local and the global scores of each action.The theoretical contribution of this paper is based on theoretical constructs built from research opportunities observed from 11 relevant and well-cited papers about performance evaluation and HRM. These constructs were built using ProKnow-C, a systematic way to build the researcher's knowledge about a scientific topic.At the beginning, the human resources manager considered the method both slow (after his focus was to manage all of the project and people) and hard (due to his active participation and deep involvement during the process). However, the benefits of measuring the indicators are were not only qualitative; after showing him the graphic model and the possible improvement opportunities, he promptly changed his mind and provided favorable support. Table II presents the theoretical constructs built from this study's research and highlights how MCDA-C attends to them, as observed from the case study section.The MCDA-C methodology has demonstrated its usefulness in the process of decision aiding in other contexts such as project management (Lacerda et al., 2011b), R&D management (Marafon et al., 2012), healthcare technology management (De Moraes et al., 2010), and presented in a HRM context in this study.However, it is recommended that the method be used in other specific people management problems, such as professional selection, reward programmes, professional career planning, and promotions. The adequacy of the method needs to be observed and improvements made to this decision aiding methodology.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Identify the criteria/KPIs to support managers during human resource allocation based on knowledge demand, which serves as a decision support tool to help maintain organizational competitiveness.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Human resource allocation in a project management model, based on knowledge demand and using a multi-criteria decision aiding method as an intervention instrument.\nFindings: - Three major areas of concern were identified. In all, 76 KPIs to explain concerns associated with the values of the manager, and develop cardinal and ordinal scales for each descriptor and integrate compensation rate. Further, he was allowed to implement and evaluate the current performance of the analyzed engineer, with 44 points on a cardinal scale, and provide a model with improved actions that raised his assessment to 55,67.\nOriginality/value: - The Multi-Criteria Decision Aiding-Constructivist methodology (MCDA-C) emerges as a traditional MCDA method to support decision makers in the contexts where they have a partial understanding and wish to increase their knowledge of the consequences of their values and preferences. In addition, these managers will also need to utilize time management, as people issues in the place of other functions have been highlighted in numerous published articles over how the management of human resource allocation can influence the competitive performances of an organization.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Supply chain management and activity-based costing: Current status and directions for the future	[ "Supply chain finance", "Systematic literature review", "Inter-organizational cost management", "Supply chain costing" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Increasing transactions between firms, such as the exchange of materials and information, are the reason for the \"hidden factory,\" meaning high manufacturing overhead costs (Miller and Vollmann, 1985). Traditional cost accounting practices (e.g. volume-based costing) have been unable to allocate these costs to products accordingly (Dickinson and Lere, 2003; Thyssen et al., 2006; Uskonen and Tenhiala, 2012). Yet accurate cost data are crucial for decision making and have been seen as a source of competitive advantage (Gupta and Galloway, 2003; Berling, 2008; Lin et al., 2012; Maiga et al., 2014). Cooper and Kaplan (1988) presented activity-based costing (ABC) as an alternative cost accounting approach. Initially, ABC was intended to be implemented for intra-firm purposes only (La Londe and Pohlen, 1996). However, the reduction of a company's own contribution to a product's value due to outsourcing (McCarthy and Anagnostou, 2004; Schulze et al., 2012) resulted in more transactions at the inter-organizational level (Weber et al., 2010). Furthermore, global competition has increased and puts pressure on firms and their supply chains (Khataie et al., 2011; Askarany et al., 2010). Today, not only individual firms but also whole supply chains compete against each other. Consequently, the need for coordinated activities, as well as information sharing, within and across supply chains has arisen (Schulze et al., 2012). Supply chain management (SCM) supports firms to manage inter-company material, information, and financial flows to collectively enhance productivity, performance, and profitability (Gunasekaran et al., 2004; Templar et al., 2016). Efforts today to improve competitiveness include suppliers and customers. Cost transparency across the supply chain, in addition to appropriate customer service levels, is seen as a crucial success factor (Hoffjan et al., 2011).\nMethodology: A structured literature review differs from a narrative review due to the systematic method, which implies a detailed plan of the steps taken to select, scan, and analyze the literature to reduce biases and to increase transparency (Tranfield et al., 2003). Rousseau (2006) emphasizes that systematic reviews have been applied in management research to close the \"research-practice gap.\" A structured literature review is a method for developing propositions and discussing future research implications (Touboulic and Walker, 2015). Therefore, as shown in Figure 1 the process is split into five consecutive steps (Denyer and Tranfield, 2009): formulate review questions, locate research articles, select and evaluate articles, classify and analyze the content, and report and use the results as a synthesis.\nConceptual integration of ABC and SCM: In the following section, the first research question is addressed by clarifying the concepts of ABC and SCM. This presentation provides the basis for the organizing framework that integrates both approaches. Moreover, the conceptual development creates the main classification criteria for the analyzed papers.\nFindings and discussion: Overall, 87 articles correspond to the criteria (marked in the reference list). Of these articles, 21 address ABC generically, whereas 67 are considered specific and thus, can further be integrated in the SCOR model. In addition, 51 articles are considered intra-firm ABC applications and 36 inter-organizational papers. Of the inter-organizational view, 26 are SCO-ABC related, and ten follow a SCM-ABC view.\nConclusion and future research agenda: This study provides an overview of how ABC has been applied in various intra-firm and inter-organizational contexts. Although several reviews of ABC have been performed, none has analyzed the integration of ABC and SCM. The shift in competition from single firms to supply chains emphasizes the relevance of inter-organizational cost management approaches. To achieve supply chain competitiveness, having accurate cost data is a crucial factor. This paper thus aims at advancing the understanding of various supply chain views to build awareness of the ABC benefits in SCM. Therefore, intra-firm ABC, SCO-ABC, and SCM-ABC were defined. First, traditional ABC demonstrates the effectiveness of this management accounting tool. Then, often disguised as SCM articles, SCO-ABC papers reveal expected improvement in supply chain competitiveness. However, these articles provide the conceptual starting point for further inter-organizational research in this area. Finally, the results of the SCM-ABC articles show a network-based supply chain view, disclosing ABC cost data for supply chain members to achieve goals across company borders.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to summarize and analyze what is known regarding activity-based costing (ABC) applications in the context of supply chain management (SCM). The authors present a reference framework for practical implications and areas for future research in intra-firm and inter-organizational environments.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The findings underlie a systematic review methodology. Research gaps and guidance for further publications are derived from the reference framework based on ABC and SCM literature.\nFindings: The review illustrates four main areas for further research: determination of the role of management accounting in SCM (including supply chain finance), integration of time-driven ABC with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and automatic data collection, analysis of inter-organizational management tools in supply chains in multiple negotiation rounds, and standardization of cost accounting data in supply chains.\nPractical implications: The review provides practitioners with three main recommendations: ABC applications require a solid data basis, organizational readiness, commitment from senior management, and an ABC management philosophy; open book accounting for inter-organizational cost information-sharing purposes needs institutional arrangements and economic incentive systems; and sharing costs and benefits among supply chain members requires a change of managers' mind-set.\nOriginality/value: This paper reveals practical implications and provides new directions for research based on the reference framework. The paper contributes to the interdisciplinary topic between SCM and management accounting by providing a structured overview of 87 peer-reviewed articles from 1992 to 2016.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The essential mix: six tools for strategy-making in the next decade	[ "Strategy", "Strategy tools", "Strategy formulation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Effective strategy-making, the process of analyzing the external and internal environments of an organization and using the analysis to formulate a strategy, is essential for organizations to survive and thrive. Many people, in diverse positions throughout organizations, must be involved in a process that combines both top-down and bottom-up movement of information and ideas to achieve effective strategy-making. For example, Pascale (1996) observed that it is rare for one leader to produce a \"bold strategy that guides a firm unerringly\" but far more common for the key input to come from below in the organization.\nDefining the key terminology and identifying the boundaries of the procedure: Given the expansiveness of the field of strategy, there are a variety of ways in which its concepts have been defined. Thus, before describing the proposed procedure for strategy-making, it is useful to briefly specify how this article defines some of the key concepts and identify the boundaries of this article's procedure.\nA seamless, systematic procedure for strategy-making: Consistent with prior research (Christensen et al., 1982; Grant, 2008), the strategy-making procedure developed in this article views strategy as a link between factors in the organization's internal and external environments. Accordingly, the procedure includes analysis of factors in the same broad realms as those considered when designing strategies based on what is likely the most enduring, influential, and widely-used tool in strategy, the SWOT analysis that focuses on assessing the Strengths and Weaknesses within the organization and the Opportunities and Threats in its external environment (Ansoff, 1968; Christensen et al., 1982; Jarzabkowski et al., 2009). However, because there are significant criticisms related to the use of SWOT as a stand-alone tool for strategy development (Agarwal et al., 2012; Fehringer, 2007; Hill and Westbrook, 1997), I take an approach to strategy-making that overcomes many of these shortcomings. A typical process generates long lists of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, using an unsystematic process, with no prioritization or supporting data and objective, theory-based analysis and no links to strategy formulation. Instead, this article seamlessly integrates techniques for applying a parsimonious set of four widely-used tools for analyzing the organization's internal and external environments, drawing on the fundamental theories which underlie the tools, with techniques for applying two additional tools to synthesize the output of the analysis and formulate a strategy. While the procedure (with minor adjustments) is applicable to organizations of diverse types, the remainder of the article discusses how the procedure can be used for strategy-making for existing business enterprises. Southwest Airlines Company is used as the focal firm in illustrating some of the techniques.\nDeveloping a list of new alternative strands of strategies: To develop a list of strands or pieces of potential new strategies, based on a synthesis of the analyses of the external and internal environments previously completed, it is proposed that strategists develop a TOWS (SWOT spelled backwards) matrix (Weihrich, 1982). Table IV illustrates the creation of a TOWS matrix to identify numerous alternative strands of strategies, which address the potential options available at the intersections of various subsets of the most important strengths and opportunities (SO alternatives), strengths and threats (ST alternatives), weaknesses and opportunities (WO alternatives), and weaknesses and threats (WT alternatives). Each of the alternative strands of strategies identified in Table IV should include the following information:\nFormulating a new strategy by combining what is working in the existing strategy with new alternative strands of strategies: Strategy-making for existing business enterprises involves revising and/or replacing parts or the entirety of the firm's current strategy with new strands of strategies, woven together to form a complete strategy. It is recommended that strategists formulate the latest iteration of a firm's strategy using the strategy diamond tool. The strategy diamond specifies that a good strategy should have five elements, addressing five main questions (as well as a number of related sub-questions): \"1. Arenas: Where will we be active? 2. Vehicles: how will we get there? 3. Differentiators: How will we win in the marketplace? 4. Staging: What will be our speed and sequence of moves? And 5. Economic Logic: How will we obtain our returns?\" (Hambrick and Fredrickson, 2001, p. 50)\nSignificance, benefits and relevance of the procedure for strategy-making: This article discusses new classroom-tested techniques for applying six essential tools, within an integrated procedure for strategy-making. As the procedure incorporates consideration of the previous strategy that was actually implemented by the organization, as a determinant of the new strategy, it connects strategy-making and executing in an iterative process. Thus, the procedure merges two perspectives on strategy formation: that strategy is intentionally created through forward-looking, analytical planning versus the perspective that strategy emerges through backward-looking retrospective sense-making of patterns of actions that have worked in the past (Mintzberg, 1987). As the procedure seamlessly integrates analysis of the organization's external and internal environments with strategy formulation, it fuses the two major perspectives on strategy formulation: the outside-in, industrial organization economic perspective that strategy is primarily based on identifying, establishing and, defending desirable positions (Porter, 1980); and the inside-out, RBV perspective that strategy is primarily based on identifying and deploying the valuable, rare, and inimitable resources that underlie the strengths and weaknesses within the organization (Barney, 1991, 2010).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a solution that helps reduce confusion about choice and usage of tools for strategy-making.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The approach is to present a classroom-tested system that integrates new methods for applying a parsimonious set of six widely used tools, within one, comprehensive, yet succinct, procedure for strategy-making.\nFindings: Findings, based on years of development and use of the procedure as the basis for teaching MBA capstone courses in strategy, reveal that it facilitates rapid mastery of the underlying theory and practical application of the essential tools of strategy-making.\nPractical implications: Practical implications include decreased tendencies for ad hoc or disjointed use of random sets of tools for strategy-making and increased capabilities to connect strategy-making and strategy-executing in an iterative process, as previous iterations of strategies that were executed by organizations are used to determine new strategies.\nOriginality/value: Characteristics of the procedure which are original include: merging outside-in and inside-out perspectives on strategy-making in one, succinct procedure; providing an approach with general applicability to diverse types of organizations; providing a systematic process for identifying and rating environmental characteristics, using shared, theory-based scales, applied to fully-cited, real-world data, thereby reducing reliance on unsubstantiated opinion, providing full traceability, and facilitating knowledge transfer across users and time; and linking strategy analysis to formulation. The procedure described in this article has value for professors, students, managers, consultants, and the broad spectrum of people throughout organizations who are engaged in strategy-making.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Top managers' role in key account management	[ "Marketing", "Key accounts", "Top managers", "Management", "Value added", "Customer relations" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Key account management (KAM) consists of a strategy used by suppliers to improve their relationships with the most important customers (Brehmer and Rehme, 2009; Guenzi et al., 2007; Hald et al., 2009; Tzempelikos and Gounaris, 2015). KAM helps to promote new inter- and intra-organizational management practices (Storbacka, 2012) and to leverage change in strategy, skills, values, style, structure, staff and systems (Guenzi and Storbacka, 2015).\n2. Key account management: This literature review shows where to focus on improving KAM. Considering that such focuses could attract TMs' attention when managing KAs, the literature was grouped into KA managers and their teams, culture, team engagement and knowledge, organizational structure/conditions and customers and markets. The first and second group indicate what TMs can do improve their managers' and teams' performance. The third group indicates what may interest them regarding the organizational structure/conditions of their own companies. The fourth group indicates ways to improve relationships with KAs. Details on these groups are presented below.\n3. Method: 3.1 Research design\n4. Findings: The findings indicate that the TMs perform four different groups of actions when managing their KAs. These activities were grouped into KA managers and their teams, culture, team engagement and knowledge, organizational structure/conditions and customers and markets. No significant differences among the respondents were identified (considering their gender, experience, industry or other criteria). However, some of the actions identified seem to present a certain overlap with those that should be performed by KA managers. This perception is endorsed by all of the TMs investigated. As identified, this overlap helps them to take better decisions. Beyond that, this overlap also helps TMs to evaluate KA managers' actions and decisions. Nevertheless, the TMs also recognize that their activities are similar, but their dedication is different. While a KA manager spends 100 per cent of the time managing hihe/sher KA, a TM spends only a small portion of hihe/sher time in such actions (as they have other functions to perform).\n5. Discussion and conclusion: The findings indicate that the TM role includes actions associated with KA managers and teams, culture, engagement and knowledge, organizational structure/conditions and KAs and markets (Table VII). This section discusses research contributions, managerial implications, limitations and future research.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore top managers' role in key account management.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The possible actions that could be performed by a top manager were investigated in 12 case studies. These actions were grouped into key account managers and teams, culture, engagement and knowledge, organizational structure/conditions and customers and markets.\nFindings: Top managers (TMs) informally evaluate teams and key account (KA) managers, stimulate a culture that favors the information's prospection, persuade managers to reduce their resistance and improve organizational structure/conditions by inducing internal and external questioning. They also contact key customers' top managers to check on the changes required or to persuade them to change requirements, accept a higher price or redirect an unattractive order to competitors. They approve revisions on the key customers list, discuss with the key account manager how to redirect an unattractive opportunity to competitors and try to improve gains even in attractive orders.\nResearch limitations/implications: Additional research beyond the provided exploratory study is needed to generalize the results. The findings contribute to improving the understanding of how TMs get involved in key account management, buyer-supplier relationship improvement and increasing company profitability. They also unveil top managers' role in internal culture creation and team engagement.\nOriginality/value: When managing their KAs, TMs seem to be sceptical, curious and pragmatic with their subordinates, as well as with the customers or competitors.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The size distribution of California's north coast wineries: 1984-2009	[ "United States of America", "Wine business", "Winemaking", "Market share", "Wineries", "Minimum efficient size", "Size distribution of wineries" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In recent years, the US wine industry has experienced significant growth. Although many US wine consumers enjoy the consistency of big brand wines, an increasingly sophisticated and growing segment of consumers has focused on limited production wines, which has resulted in the growth of boutique or artisan winemaking. Almost half of the wineries in North America now produce less than 15,000 cases per year. In response to this market trend, some larger Californian wineries have created smaller wineries within their larger context (Caputo, 2007).The purpose of the paper is to examine the structure of California's north coast wine industry over the period from 1984 to 2009 to determine whether there are significant changes in the size distribution of wineries and whether a minimum efficient size for wineries exists. To measure size, dollar sales are commonly used although other variables such as the number of employees, units of sales, quantity produced and production capacity are also used. In this study, we use annual production output (cases of wine per year) which is highly correlated with sales.Using data from the Wines & Vines Annual Directory (Wines and Vines, 1984, 1989, 2004, 2009), wineries are categorized by size classes as measured by output. The market share of total output of the various size categories is then examined to determine whether the changes in the market share for various size classes are significant and whether an optimal or minimum efficient size exists. The results are then compared to earlier studies of the Californian wine industry (Flanagan, 1986) and to the Canadian wine industry (Cyr et al., 2010).Although a number of techniques exist for determining cost functions and the optimal or minimum efficient size of a firm, modeling cost functions for wineries is difficult because the wine industry does not produce a homogeneous product and is vertically integrated. Survivor analysis is a long-standing technique (Stigler, 1958) to determine the minimum efficient size of a firm where all economies have been exploited. Although the technique is subject to several criticisms (see Giordano, 2003, for a succinct review of the debate), its advantage is that it implicitly incorporates the cumulative effects of all relevant market factors and is a useful \"first pass\" in the analysis of returns to scale (Westbrook and Tybout, 1993).Several recent papers (Giordano, 2003, 2008; Sengupta, 2004) provide justification for employing the survivor technique as an empirical tool for determining economies of scale. As indicated below, the information derived from survivor analysis is important to potential entrants, policy makers and industry regulators.\nMethodology: To examine whether the size distribution has changed over time, wineries are classified according to size as measured by their output. A standard kh2 test is used to determine whether the changes in the market share between the base year and the current year for various size classes are significant. The kh2 statistic is given by: Equation 1 where Oit is the observed output for firm size class i in the current year (t); Eit=Sit-1Qt is the expected output for size class i given by the product of the share of total output of that size class in the base year, Sit-1, and the total output in the current year, Qt; and k is the number of size classes. The number of degrees of freedom associated with the kh2 statistic in equation (1) is k-1.Equation (1) is used to determine whether the overall change in the size distribution is significant. Each of the k individual size classes is then tested to determine whether the change in its market share is significant. Again a kh2 test is employed. In this situation, the relevant kh2 statistic is given by: Equation 2 where Oi is the observed output for size class i in the current year (t); Ei=Sit-1Qt is the expected output for class size i in the current year given by the product of the share of total output of that size class in the base year, Sit-1, and the total output in the current year, Qt; O'i is observed output of all other size classes combined in the current year; and E'i=Sit-1'Qt is the expected output for all other class sizes combined measured as the product of the sum of their base year market shares, Sit-1', and the total output in the current year, Qt. The number of degrees of freedom associated with equation (2) is 2-1 as the size class of interest is compared to all other size classes grouped together, resulting in k=2.In cases where the kh2 statistic is significant, Hoelter's (1983) Critical N (HCN) is computed as an additional indicator of goodness-of-fit. HCN indicates the minimum sample size for which the kh2 would be significant at a given level of significance. HCN provides a more robust measure of goodness-of-fit given that the kh2 statistic is not invariant to the number of observations, and increases with the sample size. This could result in trivial differences between size classes appearing to be significant when the number of observations is relatively large, such as is in the case of annual output measured as cases of wine. According to Hoelter's rule of thumb, at the 5 percent level of significance, HCN values greater than 200 are indicative of a good model fit in terms of the ability to reproduce the data. Therefore, if the kh2 statistic is significant, a confirmatory HCN value is one less than 200, indicating that the number of observations could be fewer than 200 and the kh2 statistic would remain significant.\nData: The data used in the study are obtained from the Wines & Vines Annual Directory of North American wineries. Since the time between planting of vines and harvesting is approximately five years, we use data comprised of five year intervals for the following years: 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2009. Since the data provided in the Directory are based on voluntary submissions by the wineries, missing data is an issue, particularly for the two earlier periods (1984 and 1989). Data on capacity variables such as storage (including fermentation), daily bottling and crush capacity are only reported up to 2004. However, the data on acreage and annual case production are consistently reported from 1989 onwards. As noted by Giordano (2008), survival analysis can use either producer population (i.e. number of wineries), or output (i.e. the number of cases) to measure changes in the size distribution. In our study, like most other studies, we use both.Our study focuses on wineries from the north coast which is the primary wine producing region of California. The north coast comprises of the counties north of San Francisco including Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Sonoma and Solano, and represents more than 40 American Viticultural Areas. The north coast forms a rectangle approximately 100 miles long and more than 50 miles wide from the Pacific Coast Ranges in the northwest to the Blue Ridge Mountain Range in the east to the San Pablo Bay in the South, and includes more than three million acres of land and nearly half the total number of wineries in California. Figure 1 shows the major wine producing regions of California, including the north coast region.As shown in Figure 2, over the 25 year period, the number of wineries increased from 135 in 1984 to 1,250 in 2009 with the largest increase occurring in the 2004-2009 period. Figure 3 shows the total production over the same period. Although production increased from approximately 20 million cases in 1984 to 51 million cases in 2009, the increase in production did not match the increase in the number of wineries. Figure 4, which shows a general decline in the average annual production per winery over the 25 year period, provides evidence of changes in the size distribution of wineries in California's north coast.\nAnalysis of data: As previously indicated, the number of wineries and the annual output (number of cases) as reported in Wines & Vines Annual Directory are used as our size variables. To this end, the following five size classifications as reported in the Directory are used: category 1(< 1,000 cases), category 2 (1,000-4,999 cases), category 3 (5,000-49,999 cases), category 4 (50,000-499,999 cases), and category 5 (500,000+cases). In cases where data are not reported for the 1984 period, regression methods are used to estimate the annual output for all firms. For all other years for which data are not reported, the average of reported output for consecutive periods is used.Analysis using number of wineries\nConclusions: The percentage of wineries producing fewer than 5,000 cases per year increased significantly whereas the percentage producing more than 5,000 cases per year decreased significantly. The majority of the changes occurred between 1999 and 2009. In terms of market share as measured by output, the results are similar. The share of smallest wineries increased significantly while the share of the largest wineries decreased significantly, albeit not to the same extent as when the number of wineries is used to measure market share.Although our results are not conclusive with respect to determining a minimum efficient size based on the survivor technique, a statistically significant trend emerges in terms of smaller wineries becoming an increasing percentage of both the total number of wineries and of market share. These results differ from those of most other industries where the distribution is highly skewed with its upper tail resembling a Pareto distribution (Axtell, 2001; De Wit, 2005). Thus, unlike most other industries, small wineries are able to meet the changing market and technological conditions of the industry. These results are similar to those of Cyr et al. (2010) for the Canadian wine industry but are contrary to those of Flanagan (1986) and Cooke and Vilas (1989) who predicted a decrease in the number of smaller wineries in California.Several hypotheses may explain the growing importance of smaller wineries. First, in response to increased consumer interests in the more expensive wines, the smaller wineries have responded by catering to such tastes. Rather then competing in terms of price, the high value added strategy becomes advantageous in terms of revenues (Taplin, 2006). A second advantage could be financial where the smaller firms, because of the entrepreneurial nature of their owners and their acceptance of subnormal returns, have lower costs (Scott Morton and Podolny, 2002; Gilinsky et al., 2010). Their costs could also be lower because their wines are sold on site directly to consumers, thereby avoiding shipping and retail distribution costs where the markup from winery to consumers may be as high as 100 percent (Heien and Martin, 2003; Taplin, 2006). Furthermore, many of the smaller wineries sell a large portion of their production online to existing customers, which further reduces their marketing and distribution costs. However, once size reaches a certain threshold, more costly management and marketing is required which increases per unit costs until a second threshold is reached where costs begin to decline due to economies of scale. If so, the average cost curve would not be U-shaped but instead sinusoidal in which case to be successful one must be either small or very large. Second, the increasing importance of wine tourism which is dependent on the presence of a large variety of wineries may also contribute to the survival of smaller wineries as their survival is also in the self interest of larger firms. Furthermore, as in Australia, the smaller wineries may have the advantage of more brand loyalty resulting from the more personalised experience they offer to tourists (Fountain et al., 2008). During our study period, not all smaller wineries were open for tourism, but if over time the percentage increases, one would expect positive tourism spillovers to the other boutique wineries. Given the plausibility of these explanations, the trend towards larger market share by smaller wineries could continue in which case the distribution of firms becomes bimodal. These results augur well for wine tourism which is a highly symbiotic relationship with boutique wineries. They are also consistent with the contention that changing consumer tastes to high status low volume wines facilitates entry into the industry, especially for resource rich firms (Swaminathan, 1995; Taplin, 2010), which is encouraging to new start up wineries.Given the trend towards a bimodal distribution of wineries, an area of future research would be the determination of a minimum efficient size for both the small and large size categories. To do so would require segmentation of the sample into both small and large-scale wineries in which case the placement of medium sized firms becomes subjective.One question which this paper has not addressed is the relationship between the size distribution and the age of the firms, as well as the related issue of ownership. Specifically, do smaller firms continue to exist or are they merely replaced by new entrants; and are larger firms typically the result of mergers and acquisitions? Our results would indicate that even if there is turnover, smaller firms continue to increase their market share.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of the paper is to examine the structure of California's north coast wine industry from 1984 to 2009, to determine if there are significant changes in the size distribution of wineries.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Chi-squared tests in conjunction with the Hoelter index are used to determine whether the changes in the market share for various size classes are significant.\nFindings: - The authors find a statistically significant trend in terms of smaller wineries becoming an increasing percentage of the total number of wineries and of market share.\nOriginality/value: - Unlike most other industries, small wineries are able to meet the changing market and technological conditions of the industry. These results augur well for the growing area of wine tourism which is highly dependent on boutique wineries. The results are also encouraging to new start up wineries considering entering the industry.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Loss of organizational knowledge: From supporting clients to serving head office	[ "Knowledge management", "Organizational change", "Knowledge organizations" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Mainstream organizational theory has principally adopted univocality in approaching change processes within organizations. Lewin's (1951) work, in particular, has been foundational in grounding theoretical approaches (Weick and Quinn, 1999) that reduce the complexity of social processes with their multiple voices to a singular dimension. Such understandings of change have been underpinned by the view that stability and equilibrium are natural, desired states within organizations. Thus change, whether incremental or radical (Bateson, 1972), has been viewed as a managed intrusion into stability. The assignment of ontological priority to fixative notions such as \"organization\" has made change \"exceptional, produced only under specific circumstances by specific people ... rather than pervasive and indivisible\" (Tsoukas and Chia, 2002, p. 569).A useful framework to deepen the study of discursive change processes is a knowledge-based approach which focuses on both the emergent nature of change itself and on the re-forms and re-creations that organizing produces in terms of organizational knowledge. It also offers an understanding of change processes as tensions between competing bodies of knowledge, and hence the importance of multi-vocality in examining organizational change. Such re-conceptualizing of organizational change to address multi-vocality opens up new ways of researching how organizing and re-organizing processes in organizations produce intended and unintended effects. One such effect that has been overlooked in the context of organizational change is the loss of organizational knowledge.Late modern organizations rely increasingly for their capability on their capacity to create, share, manage and recreate organizational knowledge. Tsoukas and Vladimirou (2001) argue that organizing implies generalizing and what makes knowledge distinctly organizational is its codification in the form of propositional statements underlain by a set of collective understandings. This codification, however, requires abstraction of situated, embodied and local knowledges. Distinctions and generalizations are made, as strategic, operational and socio-political influences shape corporate understandings and hence decision making. In the organizing processes of both managed and emergent organizational change, some organizational knowledge is lost, displaced or marginalized, with significant implications for organizational capability.Accordingly, this paper aims to show how some types of organizational knowledge may be lost during organizational change. We attempt to ground several related questions in the context of everyday practice within the study of a community services organization undergoing both managed and emergent change. What is the nature of the organizational knowledge that is lost? How does this happen? And with what effects on organizational capability? By investigating these theoretical questions, as yet unresearched but highly visible within the domain of community services, we aim to develop understanding of the complex, improvisational and highly contextualized organizational knowledge involved in the provision of such human services.Human services organizations in Australia have undergone significant change since the early 1980s, reflecting not only shifts in government policy (Pusey, 1991), but also the migration of corporate language and practices. Advocates such as Osborne and Gaebler (1992) claimed such transformation of both public and non-government human services domains would result in greater efficiencies, less bureaucratic incumbrance and increased entrepreneurial activity. In contrast, others tracing the effects of this migration (Rees et al., 1993) into a variety of human and community services have highlighted the influx of managerialist practices and policies (Rees and Rodley, 1995).The paper is organized in five parts. First, we review recent developments in the field of organizational change and organizational knowledge, and then draw out the relation of organizational knowledge to discourse and power. Second, we describe the field site and discuss the research methodology. Third, we read the data using critical discourse analysis (Phillips and Hardy, 2002) to foreground dominant and marginalized discourses and the key areas of organizational knowledge loss and their effects. Fourth, we distinguish between the different types of organizational knowledge lost and illustrate how the linguistic and discursive practices of new management discourses are marginalizing and displacing practitioners' organizational knowledge. Finally, drawing on Townley (2002) and Taylor (1985), we develop the argument that some types of organizational knowledge may be more vulnerable to marginalization, and hence loss, as organizations seek to codify knowledge into generalizable abstractions. We conclude that such losses of organizational knowledge, and hence some organizational capability, are unintended effects of unexamined processes of re-organizing.\nTheoretical framework: Organization, organizing and change\nAn empirical study in a community services organization: Field site\nReading the data: Historical discursive contexts\nRe-organizing and loss of organizational knowledge: The contemporary neo-liberal regime within which community service organizations in Australia are currently located is productive of corporate managerialist discourses (Townley, 2002) which are themselves powerful organizing forces producing new discursive practices that are highly contested in a number of organizational sites. This study shows that, while the community services worker's primary obligation was accorded to the client's needs, newer management imperatives for accountability and contracted outcomes were legitimated by prioritizing financial imperatives and by close links with government. In prioritizing client needs to a lower, contingent status in new organizational routines and culture, the operation of discourse and power on organizational knowledge is highlighted. Power was exercised by introducing new corporate language and standardized managerialist practices that staff were expected to carry out, and through the operation of this power/knowledge nexus, previous organizational knowledge was overlooked, disrupted, excluded and lost.Furthermore, this univocal approach to change was based on unexamined evaluations of worth (Taylor, 1985). It appears that ACCS, a historically conservative Christian organization with a social mission, is implicitly turning away from strong evaluations of worth in its operational practice. It is this incongruence between former strong evaluations of worth (a profound belief in what we did) and the redefinition of organizational purpose by re-prioritizing weak evaluations (instrumental outcomes of financial viability and income sustainability of the budget) as important that is expressed so lucidly in interview narratives.The organizational knowledge required to achieve managerialist ends, now specified in contracts, is assumed to be explicit in the codified procedures that are uniformly required. Client-focused practices are, on the other hand, more reflexive, focused on identifying and assisting with human and social needs, by supporting people, developing long/short-term case-plans reflexively with those who have become clients. In consequence, this client service work draws on different knowledges as community workers act in the context of specific and locally-situated knowledge. Much of the organizational knowledge loss has been expert practitioner knowledge which is tacit and, therefore, implicit, operating experientially through personal relationships, social interactions and in action. The heuristic knowledge historically developed and shared by staff located within the client-focused discourse was powerfully productive of organizational knowledge, based as it was on collective understandings and generalizations reflectively generated. Thus, there has also been widespread loss of organizational knowledge in terms of staff's ability to continue the social interaction processes of knowledge sharing, knowledge creation and reflectivity that comes about through well developed personal networks and collective engagements between people who share a vision and a set of enabling practices. As one interviewee noted:It is more than just taking the body away, it's what's been gained and accumulated over the years, and the knowledge from personal experience and interaction that is so substantial in terms of making decisions for the services.As a social process, knowledge sharing within and across organizational networks facilitates reflexive practice that, in turn, enhances organizational capability.In re-organizing ACCS to accommodate expansion in a new discursive context, new systems and procedures emphasize performance measures and accountabilities in short timeframes that militate against the kinds of complex, situated and local knowledges improvisationally and tacitly employed by experienced workers. New generalizations (Tsoukas and Vladimirou, 2001) or conventions (Fairclough, 2001) are discursively constructed first, through language which codifies and prescribes, and second, through practices which are employed for reporting and accountability. Such language has a powerful ontological dimension. It creates categories by describing such things as what a \"case\" (client) is, what \"case management\" (service) is and what a \"case manager\" (community service worker) is and who, in turn, is included or excluded within these categories and the rules that apply to them (Feldman, 2000). By so doing, the new dominant managerialist discourse constrains the range of actions that staff, as a condition of their employment, are now expected to take in relation to \"client service\". Thus, it is when organizational knowledge is used, or in other words when action is taken, that power relations are identifiable in emergent and managed change processes.\nA call for multi-vocality in organizational change: This empirical study highlights the loss of organizational knowledge during complex discursive change in a human service organization. Demonstrably, tacit and heuristic knowledge have been major losses, disrupted and increasingly replaced by corporate managerialism instituting more abstract knowledge in order to generalize policies and procedures. Whether these losses of organizational knowledge are unintended effects or not, interview data suggest that contestation of corporate managerialism has been nevertheless significant in terms of organizational commitment, staff dissonance, client needs and community networks resisting instrumentality. The study raises not only questions about the future capability of ACCS, in particular, but also broader questions for future investigation about the loss of organizational knowledge, especially heuristic and tacit knowledge during managed changed and the continuous processes of re-organizing.The contribution of this paper is to highlight the importance of different evaluations of worth that drive competing discourses and lead to the loss of organizational knowledge during univocal organizational change. Adopting a knowledge perspective on organizational change opens up new possibilities in the re-organizing of human service organizations. The urgent management challenge of re-organizing is not only towards better accountability of significant resources, but also to enable embodied feeling agents to deliver flexible human services in complex, everyday situations. Such a project relies on better understanding the social nature of knowledge and thus creating multiple forms of organizational knowledge with strong evaluations of worth during the dynamic processes of organizational change.Arguably, a new appreciation of multi-vocality, reflective assessment of differing evaluations of worth, and careful attention to the implications of linguistic and discursive practices generated and formalized during organizational change processes offer new ways of thinking about organizational knowledge during organizational change.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper seeks to explore the loss of organizational knowledge during organizational change processes from a knowledge perspective.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Recent developments in the fields of organizational change and organizational knowledge are reviewed, then the relation of organizational knowledge to discourse and power is drawn out. Using critical discourse analysis, dominant and marginalized discourses are foregrounded, different types of organizational knowledge loss distinguished, and their effects in a human services organization identified.\nFindings: - The analysis shows how the linguistic and discursive practices of financial management are marginalizing and displacing practitioners' organizational knowledge. An illustration is given of how situated and heuristic organizational knowledge is vulnerable to marginalization, and hence loss, as organizations seek to codify knowledge into generalizable abstractions. It is concluded that these losses of organizational knowledge are the effects of re-organizing around corporate managerialism without attention to multi-vocality and differential evaluations of worth.\nResearch limitations/implications: - These findings, within a large community services not-for-profit organization, may differ in business organizations where research into knowledge management has typically focused. However, the findings are worth examining in other sites, given the migration of corporate managerialism.\nPractical implications: - Organization development practitioners, consultants and leaders need to take into account both the emergent nature of change itself and how re-organizing around corporate managerialism can marginalize or lose organizational knowledge that is valued differentially.\nOriginality/value: - The paper's contribution is its understanding of discursive change processes as tensions between competing bodies of knowledge. Re-conceptualizing organizational change to address such multi-vocality opens up new ways of examining how organizing and re-organizing processes in organizations affect organizational knowledge and thus organizational capability.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Hedging and debt overhang: a conceptual note	[ "Hedging", "Debt overhang", "Non-monotonic relationship", "Risk shifting", "Underinvestment problem" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In a classic paper in the academic literature on corporate finance, Myers (1977) developed the concept of what has come to be known as the underinvestment problem or debt overhang. In the popular textbook authored by Brealey et al. (2011), the notion is likewise identified as the game of refusing to contribute equity capital. This refers to a situation where a leveraged firm, having determined that an investment project generates a positive net present value or NPV, nonetheless, decides to reject the proposal. As NPV measures the increase in the market valuation of the firm that would be occasioned by acceptance of the project, this rejection represents a value loss for all the firm's investors, i.e. both debt- and stock-holders, taken as a group. Subsequent research has delved into corporate practices that remediate this anomalous behavior.\n2. NPV and the problem of debt overhang: In the textbook treatment of debt overhang, such as that provided by Ogden et al. (2003), numerical examples are usually presented that illustrate why the firm is motivated to underinvest for the specific situation posed. Adhering closely to the case study these authors put forward, the problem is depicted here in more general terms.\n3. An option pricing model perspective: In their path-breaking paper on the valuation of options, Black and Scholes (1973) posit the isomorphism that exists between a call option and the common shares of a firm that has debt outstanding, a paradigm that is further articulated in Galai and Masulis (1976). This approach is exploited here to determine the effect of hedging on the parameter b. Does hedging, which generically induces a reduction in the volatility of corporate assets, result in a decrease or an increase in the indicated parameter? On the one hand, if the former is the answer, then hedging ameliorates debt overhang, whereas on the other hand, if the latter is the answer, then hedging aggravates debt overhang.\n4. Empirical implications: The analytical results derived above may be succinctly restated in the following terms. Metrics for hedging activity and the extent of debt overhang exhibit a non-monotonic relationship to each other. Hedging activity, which causes the volatility of corporate assets to drop, remediates debt overhang if s is below a critical value. If s exceeds that critical value, hedging activity aggravates debt overhang.\n5. Conclusion: This note has explored the effect of hedging on the severity of the underinvestment problem. It was shown that if corporate assets are highly volatile, hedging exacerbates debt overhang, whereas if the volatility of corporate assets is below a critical value, hedging remediates debt overhang. Absent a detailed determination of corporate asset volatility, the effect of hedging on debt overhang is ambiguous. Thus, the results of this note provide a cautionary addendum to extant theoretical research, which has persuasively demonstrated that hedging exclusively via forward contracts unequivocally diminishes the underinvestment problem. A more general interpretation of hedging that encompasses a wider gamut of derivative instruments results in conclusions that are no longer unequivocal due to the phenomenon of risk shifting. Hedging may have disparate effects on debt overhang depending upon the initial volatility of corporate assets. As existing empirical studies into the incentive effects of hedging on bondholder-stockholder conflicts fail to take account of these disparate effects, it is hoped that future investigations remedy this shortcoming.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to examine the nexus between hedging, which reduces the volatility of corporate assets, and the anomaly of debt overhang, whereby corporate management is motivated to reject positive net present value (NPV) projects. The question of whether hedging ameliorates or aggravates debt overhang is addressed.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The Black-Scholes isomorphism between common shares and call options is exploited to determine the allocation of a project's NPV between debt- and stock-holders. The effect of hedging on this NPV-partitioning is then gauged to determine the resulting likelihood of debt overhang.\nFindings: If the volatility of corporate assets is below a critical maximum, hedging ameliorates debt overhang consistent with extant theoretical research. However, above that critical value of volatility, hedging aggravates debt overhang.\nOriginality/value: The novel result of this note, namely, hedging may exacerbate debt overhang, is demonstrated both analytically and intuitively. The latter is explained by allusion to a second agency-theoretic conflict between debt- versus stock-holders, namely, risk shifting. The disparate effects of hedging on debt overhang imply a non-monotonic relationship between metrics for these two variables, which is a phenomenon that extant empirical studies have failed to take into account.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The role of climate for innovation in enhancing business performance: The case of design firms	[ "Innovation", "Construction industry", "Design", "Business performance", "Australia" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: To many firms, innovation is considered to be a sine qua non for their business success and proliferation in the current competitive, complex and capricious environment. Despite construction being perceived as a mature industry where changes are developing slowly (Blayse and Manley, 2004; Manseau, 2005), innovation is required as a source of competitive advantage for firms operating in the industry to accommodate rapid changes embodied in complex products and processes (Eaton et al., 2006; Manseau, 2005). The awareness of the significant role of innovation in the construction industry has led numerous scholars to study the critical factors that influence successful innovation (e.g. Eaton et al., 2006; Egbu et al., 1998; Peansupap and Walker, 2005; Stewart et al., 2004). Amongst the many factors studied, firm-level factors have constantly received attention (see, for example, Barrett and Sexton, 2005; Egbu et al., 1998; Peansupap and Walker, 2005; Seaden et al., 2003). Analysis of factors at the firm level is particularly important because it is at this level where innovation activities mostly take place and are subsequently made into good currency (Winch, 1998). In other words, the locus of innovation is embedded in the firm, which is the place where the benefits of innovation activities can be observed and measured (Seaden et al., 2003).Innovation in this paper is eclectically defined as the generation and adoption of ideas, practices and technologies perceived to be new by an organisation involved (Damanpour and Gopalakrishnan, 1998; Van de Ven, 1986). The generation of innovation can be seen as a bottom-up effort whereas the adoption represents top-down innovation attempt (Winch, 1998); both of which require successful diffusion to ensure the efficacy of innovation. Theoretically, diffusion is defined by Rogers (2003) as the process in which an innovation is disseminated over times amongst the members of a social system, which in this case is an individual organisation. In fact, it is widely acknowledged that innovation involves a social psychological process, as it is the product of social relationships and complex systems of interaction (Bain et al., 2001; Chandler et al., 2000; Egbu et al., 1998). Within an organisation, a social psychological process can manifest itself in a form of \"climate\", which is considered as a determinant of motivation and behaviour (Kozlowski and Doherty, 1989). To study climate of an organisation, Schneider and Reichers (1983) contend that researchers should focus on a specific facet in order to deliver meaningful results. The paper thus concentrates on the social psychological factors that constitute the \"climate for innovation\".In addition, the paper focuses on \"design\" as a context within which the climate for innovation was studied. In the construction industry, design is an important element in construction projects: good design is a precursor to quality deliverables. In the realm of innovation research, design has long been recognised as an important part of the innovation process, yet it is poorly understood in innovation studies (Salter and Torbett, 2003). To address this gap, the paper aims at studying the roles of climate for innovation amongst architecture and engineering design (AED) firms. Furthermore, the contribution of innovation to the performance of such firms will also be evaluated to ensure the efficacy of innovation. The paper begins with the development of a conceptual model, based on the literature review, which depicts the relations amongst the key constructs within the climate for innovation and their roles in determining innovation-related outcomes. Each model construct and the rationale behind its development were delineated. A series of statistical analyses were then performed to assess the developed model and pertinent results elaborated. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of research findings and limitations.\nConceptual model: A literature review regarding innovation and creativity was conducted in order to explore factors that contribute to successful innovation and effective diffusion. This effort revealed three levels of social psychological factors forming a climate that can be perceived by members of an organisation, namely, organisation, leadership and team (see Amabile et al., 1996; Jung et al., 2003; Sturges et al., 1999). Although commonly identified in the literature, the interrelationships and roles of these sets of factors (will be referred as \"constructs\" onwards) have not been empirically examined extensively in the construction context. The present research therefore attempts to fill this gap by developing a model incorporating interrelationships of such constructs, and their effects on the innovation-related results, as illustrated in Figure 1. The model comprises two main elements: climate for innovation and results. Within the element of \"climate for innovation\", the model proposes three key constructs: organisational culture for innovation, leadership for innovation, and team climate for innovation. The \"results\" element is represented by two constructs: innovation diffusion outcomes; and business performance. As enablers, all of the three climate constructs are hypothesised to have a joint direct effect on the innovation diffusion outcomes. Further, the model proposes that organisational culture for innovation is dependent upon leadership and team climate for innovation; and also directly determines the outcomes of innovation diffusion. Finally, a direct relationship between innovation diffusion outcomes and business performance is proposed. The following sections elaborate on each model's construct, and the rationale behind its development and its presumed relationships with other constructs.Organisational culture for innovation\nResearch methodology: Questionnaire survey\nData analysis and results: Exploratory factor analysis\nDiscussion and conclusion: Based on the results, the hypotheses associated with the conceptual model that the three perceived social psychological constructs (i.e. leadership, organisational culture, and team climate) would influence the extent of innovation diffusion outcomes which, in turn, would influence business performance, was partially supported by the data. Only two links from leadership and team climate to innovation diffusion outcomes were not significant, implying that both constructs exert no direct influence on the outcomes of innovation diffusion. Instead, both leadership and team climate contribute to innovation diffusion outcomes indirectly through organisational culture. This pattern of relationships underlies the importance of organisational culture, as a mediating variable, that appears to function as a portal to effective diffusion of innovation. This result reinforces findings from other studies highlighting the vital role of organisational culture (e.g. Egbu et al., 1998; Hartmann, 2006). Without a culture for innovation, it is unlikely that creative ideas will be transformed into innovative products. In the same manner, even though an organisation decided to adopt a particular innovation, such innovation is not likely to be fully utilised if the employees perceive no encouragement and support from the firm. Therefore, to unleash and exploit the innovative capacity that team members and managers/supervisors may possess, it is imperative that the firm ensures the culture for innovation is in place and can be perceived by all members rather than being simply enshrined in the firm's policy.In addition to the apparent mediating role of organisational culture, the pattern of relationships indicates dual pathways to achieving innovation diffusion outcomes; both of which emerged from the leadership for innovation construct. This finding is consistent with the literature (e.g. Amabile et al., 1996; Jung et al., 2003; Scott and Bruce, 1994) highlighting a critical role that managers/supervisors play in bringing about innovation through inducing innovative team climate whilst influencing a culture that supports creative ideas and fosters innovation efforts in team. Therefore, it is recommended that firms should place an emphasis on developing highly innovative leaders, which could be achieved by cultivating transformational leadership amongst managers/supervisors. Once achieved, these leaders will act as a momentous force in shaping and sustaining innovative traits within individual teams and the firm at large.Focusing on the benefits of design innovation, this study demonstrated a significant relationship between the outcomes of innovation diffusion and the business performance of design firms. With the prevalent uses of advanced technologies and innovative design practices, coupled with innovative design products, firms can enhance the overall quality of their design deliverables, thus increasing the level of client satisfaction. This in turn improves the ability to expand market share that leads to turnover and profit growth; thereby strengthening the overall business performance.In conclusion, by drawing attention to the social psychological aspect of innovation and uncovering the mechanisms for enhancing innovation diffusion and business performance, this paper sheds additional light on the implications of fostering innovation practices, especially within the AED context. More importantly, the paper provides evidence that design innovation is an essential driver of business performance, thus warranting the benefits of design innovation in AED firms. Finally, the developed model presented in this paper could serve as a framework for firms seeking to diagnose the health of their innovation practices. This could help guide firms to devise custom strategies that serve to enhance innovation diffusion and ultimately business performance.\nStudy limitations: The research findings reported herein should be interpreted in light of limitations. As cross-sectional research, this study did not consider the \"time\" factor, which is one important element in the theory of innovation diffusion. To do this requires a longitudinal research design where the study is conducted at different points in time. Also, the use of a cross-sectional study precludes a definite conclusion regarding the causal relationships between model constructs, which can only be achieved via quasi-experimental research. Furthermore, the use of self-reported measures means that the responses have an element of subjectivity. This is acceptable for the measuring fuzzy innovation climate constructs; however, business performance is ideally measured by objective metrics. Lastly, the use of questionnaire survey does not necessarily explain how relationships have manifested themselves in AED firms. Thus a series of case studies is beneficial to complement the empirical findings by qualitatively validating identified relationships and uncovering the real industry strategies underpinning them. Such case studies are currently being completed by the research team.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Innovation and the process of diffusion have been widely acknowledged as hinging upon the complex social psychological process. Invariably, such a process manifests itself in the form of \"climate\" in an organisation, which influences people's behaviours. The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the roles of a facet-specific climate, namely \"climate for innovation\" in determining innovation-related outcomes. In particular, this paper focuses on interrelationships and roles of specific constructs forming such climate. Additionally, this paper attempts to determine the efficacy of innovation by examining the relationship between outcomes of innovation diffusion and business performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A conceptual model incorporating three climate for innovation constructs including leadership, team, and organisational culture along with two constructs addressing innovation diffusion outcomes and business performance was developed. Statistical analyses, specifically exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM), were conducted based on the data collected from a questionnaire survey of 181 design professionals employed in Australian architecture and engineering design (AED) firms. EFA was employed as a preliminary step to ascertain the factors underlying each construct, and SEM was sequentially utilised to determine the factor structure of the model and to assess the relationships between model constructs.\nFindings: - The results revealed that perceived organisational culture functions as a gateway to the diffusion of innovation, by mediating the relationships between leadership and team climate, and innovation diffusion outcomes. More importantly, it was found that all pathways to innovation diffusion outcomes originated from the leadership construct, highlighting its critical role in creating a supportive culture that fosters and nurtures innovation. Finally, the findings warranted the benefits of innovation by demonstrating its significant contribution to business performance in AED firms.\nOriginality/value: - The study presents an empirically developed model depicting pathways that explain the mechanisms of climate for innovation constructs in determining the degree of innovation diffusion outcomes and business performance. The model can potentially form the foundations of a framework for firms seeking to diagnose their existing condition and use such findings to enhance the diffusion of innovation that could, in turn, strengthen their business performance.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Strategic emotional display: an examination of its interpersonal and career outcomes	[ "– Strategic emotional display", "Emotion regulation", "Social influence", "Career development and growth", "Careers", "Influence" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Research in the social influence literature has long suggested that organization is a political arena, and individuals' career success depends not only on their ability to perform job-related tasks, but also on the ability to get along, to handle interpersonal situations effectively, to manage one's image and reputations, and to build strong social networks to facilitate the possession and access to critical organizational resources (Ferris and Judge, 1991; Ferris et al., 2002; Siebert et al., 2001). A remarkable amount of research has been devoted to individuals' usage of influence tactics and how both the selective usage of these tactics and the style with which these tactics are delivered have significant influence on job performance and career outcomes (e.g. Kipnis and Schmidt, 1983; Treadway et al., 2007; Wayne and Liden, 1995; Yukl and Tracey, 1992). Interestingly, not much research has explored one particular form of influence tactic, the use of emotional expression as a tool of interpersonal influence. Gibson and Schroeder (2002) commented that extant models of social influence are typically cognitively oriented, with a common theme that depicts the influence agent as engaging in a primarily cognitive process of determining effective influence strategies. They suggest that the \"feeling\" side of power and influence has generally been omitted.\nTheoretical background and hypotheses development: In the past few decades, emotion in organizations has received increasing scholarly attention. Emotion as an integral part of work life has been studied at various levels of analysis, and its profound role from intrapersonal level to inter-organizational level explored, which has yield increasingly rich understanding about the emotionality of organization and the people in the world of work (cf., Ashforth and Humphrey, 1995; Ashkanasy, 2003; Elfenbein, 2007). In particular, the effects of emotional expression on interpersonal outcomes have received considerable research attention. It is understood that, at the intrapersonal level emotions serve as information for individuals to make judgments about their own attitudes and preferences (Forgas, 1995); and at the interpersonal level, emotional expressions serve similar functions. They send cues to others regarding one's internal states, thoughts and intentions (Gibson and Schroeder, 2002; Van Kleef, 2009), and these communicated cues will then help influence targets' reactions and behaviors, through which interpersonal interactions are regulated.Despite of the understanding of the interpersonal effects of emotional expressions, the strategic use of emotional expressions for the purpose of interpersonal influence remains under-researched (Gibson and Schroeder, 2002). To date the different tactics individuals use when they try to influence others through emotions have not been systematically examined, although there is moderate evidence in the literature indicating that people do practice these influence tactics, both in professional contexts and in daily social lives (Glaso and Einarsen, 2008; Kopelman et al., 2006).Many emotion theorists have suggested that humans are quite capable of controlling and regulating their emotional displays. Goffman (1959) indicated that emotional expressions are guided by conscious self-presentation strategies. Parkinson (1997) suggested that many emotions are expressed as strategic tools to convey intentions. Similarly, Gordon (1990) suggested that, beyond revealing one's internal emotional states, emotional expressions also serve a signaling function. For impression management and self-presentation purposes, individuals oftentimes purposefully enact, exaggerate, minimize, or suppress expressions of felt emotions (Andersen and Guerrero, 1998; Gordon, 1990).Viewing a person's control over his or her emotional display as a form of influence attempt, researchers have started to identify the specific strategies that individual use in such attempts. The strategic use of positive emotions and negative emotions are two dimensions that have consistently been identified (e.g. Gibson and Schroeder, 2002; James and Mile, 2007; Rafaeli and Sutton, 1991). This is consistent with the distinction in the organizational politics literature between hard (e.g. assertiveness) and soft (e.g. ingratiation) tactics (Kipnis, 1984). We also identify a third dimension that appears to have been discussed under various terms, such as emotional suppression, masking, or neutralizing (e.g. Andersen and Guerrero, 1998; Gibson and Schroeder, 2002). This dimension of strategic emotional display has been identified in both emotion expression research (e.g. Gross and John, 1997), and prior theoretical discussion on the strategic use of emotions (e.g. Gordon, 1990). Together, the first two dimensions of strategic emotional display involves the decision and action of doing something with one's emotions in hope that it will change things, and the third dimension involves the decision and action of not to do anything with one's emotions in hope that things will change because of the inaction. Thus, the first two dimensions are more overt, proactive way of influence, and the third dimension reflects a covert, more subtle form of influence.Thus, in this study we distinguish three dimensions of strategic emotional display, strategic display of positive emotions, strategic display of negative emotions, and strategic emotional masking, suppression, or neutralization. We refer to these three dimensions connecting, confronting, and concealing, respectively. Connecting refers to the strategic display of positive emotions with the purpose of building positive interpersonal dynamics, including relationship building, interpersonal comforting, inspiration and encouragement. The use of positive emotions as interpersonal influence is evident in the practice of leadership. For example, charismatic leadership has been found to use positive expressions to evoke similar emotions in their followers (Erez et al., 2008). The use of positive emotions to solicit positive reactions from interactional partner is also documented in the emotional labor literature (e.g. Hochschild, 1983). In the social influence literature, influence tactics such as ingratiation also imply the use of positive expressions to induce similar feelings in targets (Jones, 1990).Confronting is the strategic display of strong negative emotions with the purpose of establishing or maintaining a relatively favorable social standing. Confronting involves mainly the expressions of strong negative emotions such as anger and frustration aimed at intimidating, discouraging, or distancing from the target. For example, bill collectors use negative emotions such as anger, irritation, and mild disapproval to induce complementary feelings of fear and anxiety in debtors, which propel them to comply with the collectors' demands (Sutton, 1991). Recent negotiation research has also documented the use of negative emotions such as anger as a tool to induce fear in the opponent (e.g. Van Kleef et al., 2004a, b). Further, research on strong influence tactics has indirectly examined the use of negative emotions in influence. These tactics include, for example, expressions of hostility and irritation (Kipnis and Schmidt, 1983).Concealing refers to the concealment of emotionally expressive cues. Concealing has been identified as a strategy in emotional display (e.g. Andersen and Guerrero, 1998). Individuals who conceal their emotions often appear to be emotionally neutral to affect-laden events. The practice of concealing is found in professional poker players and negotiators who will not reveal their inner feelings to their partners during games or negotiations. Concealing shares conceptual similarity with emotional suppression, a frequently discussed emotion regulation strategy (cf., Gross, 1998). However, the primary purpose of emotional suppression, as has been studied in the literature, is to suppress certain emotional experiences and/or expressions such that such emotions are no longer experienced or observable to others. In contrast, concealing as a strategic emotional display strategy involves withholding emotional cues to prevent such information from being used by others. As such, concealing is intended for a protective function.Strategic emotional display and network resources\nMethod: Sample and procedures\nResults: Confirmatory factor analysis\nDiscussion: In this study we developed a three-dimensional scale of strategic emotional display and examined its influence on interpersonal and career outcomes. We found that the strategic use of positive emotions (i.e. connecting) was positively, and the strategic use of negative emotions (i.e. confronting) was negatively, related to network resources, which further increased career growth potential. Thus, consistent with prior research, it appears that individuals do use emotional expressions as strategic tool for social influence. This is the first quantitative study systematically examine various ways in which individuals strategically use their emotions as influence tactics at work, and we provide evidence that such emotion-focused influence tactic is related to career outcomes.Contrary to the expectations, concealing, the strategic concealment of emotions (i.e. concealing), was not significantly related to access to network resources or career growth potential. Thus, despite all the potential negative interpersonal consequences documented in prior research for similar constructs such as emotional expression (e.g. Butler et al., 2003), when used strategically as an influence tactic, concealing did not have a perceivably detrimental effect on one's ability to build effective network in this study. A note of caution when interpreting this result, however, is that it may have to do with display norms in Chinese organizations. China has a culture of emotional neutralization, in which people believe that the balancing of emotional energy is essential for good health and effective interpersonal relationships (Krone and Morgan, 2000). Thus, emotional concealing may be a more prevalent emotion management practice in Chinese firms. Thus, future research may replicate the current research with samples from other countries to assess potential cultural effects.The study makes contribution to both the emotion literature and the social influence literature. This study takes steps to quantify the effects of various strategic emotional display tactics. It also furthered prior research by focusing on potential career implications of strategic emotional display as a social influence tactic. James and Miles (2007) pointed out that, with the exception of Ferris et al. (2002), \"the social influence literature is virtually void of any studies that explicitly address expressed emotion as a strategic influence tactic\". Indeed, emotion as a tool for social influence has only received implicit attention in prior research on influence tactics. However, given the ubiquitous use of such emotion-focused tactics, it is important to understand how they work and what influence they have on important outcomes at the workplace. The results of our study indicate that not only individuals use emotions as social influence tactics, but the habitual uses of these tactics are associated with different work-related outcomes, which highlight the need for future research to further integrate the emotion and the social influence literature to better understand social effectiveness.Limitations\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this study is to explore an under-researched, emotion-focused influence tactic, strategic emotional display, and its interpersonal and career outcomes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The authors collected data from 258 matched supervisor-subordinate dyads in a Chinese sample.\nFindings: - The results indicate that individuals who use positive emotions in social influence tend to enhance their access to network resources and career growth potential, and those who use negative emotions in social influence tend to erode their network resources and hinder career growth potential.\nResearch limitations/implications: - A major limitation of the research is that the authors collected data on both strategic emotional display and network resources from the same source at the same time. Supporting prior research, the results indicate that individuals do use emotional expression as a social influence tactic at work, and that different emotion-focused influence tactics are associated with different outcomes. The study makes evident the need to integrate the emotion and the social influence literature.\nPractical implications: - The results of the study indicate that employees may need to develop greater awareness of their own emotions, and cultivate the ability to convey emotional cues to others effectively. It also appears that individuals need to be selective in their use of emotion-focused influence tactics.\nOriginality/value: - The paper integrates social influence and emotion research, and focuses on a ubiquitous yet overlooked influence tactic, strategic emotional display, and shows evidence that it is associated with interpersonal and career outcomes.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Team-member exchange, voice behavior, and creative work involvement	[ "Voice behaviour", "Team-member exchange", "Social exchange theory", "Creative work involvement", "Social penetration theory" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Employee involvement in creative tasks has been an interesting topic in scholarly literature for some time (Atwater and Carmeli, 2009; Carmeli and Schaubroeck, 2007). Scholars have defined creative work involvement as an employee's engagement in creative processes associated with work (Carmeli and Schaubroeck, 2007). Creative work involvement is therefore a specific type of engagement that directly corresponds to creative outcomes that include novel ideas, products, services, procedures, or processes (Woodman et al., 1993), which in turn, support organizational creative performance (Volmer et al., 2012). Scholars have investigated factors influencing creative work involvement. Most of them have emphasized the influences of personal factors such as psychological safety, vitality, and commitment (e.g. Kark and Carmeli, 2009; Vinarski-Peretz et al., 2011). Others have investigated the effects of leadership attributes (Carmeli et al., 2010) and relationship quality (Atwater and Carmeli, 2009; Vinarski-Peretz et al., 2011; Volmer et al., 2012).\nLiterature review: TMX and voice behavior\nMethod: Sample and procedure\nData analysis: Preliminary assessment of primary variables\nDiscussion: The purpose of this study was to examine the links among TMX, voice behavior, and creative work involvement. A total of 260 longitudinal data from two waves of data collection four months apart were used for analyses. We summarized the hypothesized paths with the standardized estimates shown in Figure 1. As predicted, TMX positively influenced both voice behavior and creative work involvement. Voice behavior also positively influenced creative work involvement. Our mediation hypothesis was also found to be supported. The results indicate that the effect of TMX on creative work involvement can be either straightforward or via voice behavior.\nLimitations and future directions: We wish to note some limitations of this study. First, although we collected data two times, we relied on a single rater for all measures. Our data might still be contaminated with inflated variance because TMX and voice behavior were taken at the same point in time. Future research may cover multiple raters. For example, although previous scholars have used self-reported perceptions of creative work involvement (Kark and Carmeli, 2009), it might give a different perspective if this scale can be measured by peers or intermediate supervisors. Second, the data of our study were taken from only one country. In addition, 88 percent of our participants were working in tertiary industries. Therefore, the data used in the present study may limit the generalizability of the findings. Future research could replicate the findings by using participants from other countries or industries (i.e. primary or secondary). Third, the participants of our study were working in a relatively wide variety of companies and departments. Nevertheless, prior study on creative work involvement has used samples from participants working in diverse organizations and occupations (Atwater and Carmeli, 2009; Kark and Carmeli, 2009). Atwater and Carmeli (2009, p. 267), for example, sampled individuals from 24 different organizations with approximately 50 job types. We must, however, admit that one organization should differ from another in regard to viewing the importance of members' creativity influencing employees' perceptions of the necessity to develop their creative behavior in the workplace. Future research may collect data from employees working in high-technology firms, creative industries (e.g. advertising, arts, software) or departments (e.g. R&D, marketing). Fourth, we used a one-dimension construct of voice behavior. Meanwhile, extant literature has proposed different types of voice behaviors (e.g. supportive, constructive, defensive, and destructive voice, see Maynes and Podsakoff, 2013). The findings of our study were therefore limited. For example, the effects of TMX on the types of voice behaviors may vary. Future research could expand the findings by using the types of voice behaviors as either predictor or outcome variables in order to offer different nuances of the relationships among the study variables.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize the links among team-member exchange (TMX), voice behavior, and creative work involvement.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A total of 260 employees were participants in this study. All were alumni of a Business School in Indonesia. Data were gathered at two time points four months apart. Hierarchical regression and bootstrapping analyses were conducted to find the effects of TMX on voice behavior and creative work involvement.\nFindings: Results from the analyses showed positive effects of TMX on both voice behavior and creative work involvement. A positive effect of voice behavior on creative work involvement was found. The results also exhibited a partial mediating effect of voice behavior on the relationship between TMX and creative work involvement.\nPractical implications: The findings point to the importance of maintaining TMX quality in work teams for enhancing employee voice and creativity. Organizations may need to develop members' reciprocal relationship skill in teams and maintain the roles of team leaders to develop the quality of TMX. It is also suggested that the practice of self-management teams may enhance the quality of TMX and voice behavior of employees.\nOriginality/value: This paper offers new insight on how levels of TMX may impact on members' voice behavior and creative work involvement. Longitudinal data may provide a more accurate prediction of the links among TMX, voice behavior, and creative work involvement.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Quality enhancement on e-learning	[ "Europe", "Higher education", "Universities", "Distance learning", "Benchmarking", "E‐learning", "Quality assurance", "Critical success factors", "Quality enhancement" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Benchmarking as a method for quality enhancement has until now not been very commonly used in higher education (Moriarty and Smallman, 2009) and especially not with regard to e-learning (Ossiannilsson, 2010a). Quality assurance, quality indicators, benchmarks and critical success factors for e-learning have not been taken seriously into account in regular quality assurance within higher education (The Swedish National Agency for Higher Education (NAHE), 2008; Ossiannilsson, 2011; Ubachs, 2009). The quality concepts have not been conceptualised. In any case, the quality of e-learning has been discussed in quality assurance methods, but e-learning has been considered and managed more disconnected according to an international study by NAHE (2008). Though, few methods have so far focused on parameters of quality assurance governing e-learning. Nevertheless, criteria based on ease of access, new forms of interaction, flexibility, accessibility and personalisation, and other pedagogical aspects relevant for e-learning are missing. Additionally, there is a lack of experiences and theoretical frameworks about values and impacts of benchmarking e-learning in higher education (Ossiannilsson, 2010a, 2011; Bacsich, 2005, 2009; Schreurs, 2009). Obviously, there is a need for enhanced understanding of how benchmarking can be used in new contexts, focusing particularly on values and impacts for higher education institutions and their stakeholders participating in benchmarking exercises (Ossiannilsson, 2010a; Ossiannilsson and Landgren, 2011).Recently, one benchmarking initiative at European level was conducted by The European Association of Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU). Under the e-learning programme 2004 the E-xcellence benchmarking project was carried out by a consortium from European countries into lifelong, open and flexible learning and, in addition, expertise of quality assurance and accreditation processes from The European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) members in cooperation with the Association of European institutions of higher education (EUA) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The intention with E-xcellence was to supplement existing quality assurance systems on e-learning specific issues, and not to interfere with ordinary quality assurance systems in higher education (Ubachs, 2009).This paper focuses on experiences of European universities that participated in local seminars and took part in the process of QuickScan in the framework of E-xcellence+ by EADTU. In ongoing research by Ossiannilsson (2010b, 2011) (Ossiannilsson and Landgren, 2011) two recently completed European benchmarking initiatives on e-learning in 2008/2009, is the centre of attention. One, which is the one elaborated on in this paper, was carried out by EADTU, E-xcellence+ (Ubachs, 2009) and the other one was conducted by the European Centre for Strategic Management of Universities (ESMU), in cooperation with EADTU, the ESMU e-learning benchmarking exercise 2009 (Ossiannilsson, 2010b, 2011; Ossiannilsson and Landgren, 2011). The paper will not focus on single benchmarks, indicators, critical success factors, or the benchmark methodology as such, but on values and impacts for stakeholders that participated in benchmarking exercises. The research regards aspects of value and impact and aims to be innovative, in regard to new concepts of benchmarking on e-learning in higher education.\n2. Benchmarking e-learning: Today, universities are facing new challenges as well as in the years ahead in the twenty-first century, to take action to be competitive not just in educational, social, managerial and technological aspects, but also to work in global perspectives, as well as to be a driver for innovation and contribute to sustainable development (Ehlers and Pawlowski, 2006; Ehlers and Schneckenberg, 2010; Ossiannilsson, 2010a, 2011; Ossiannilsson and Landgren, 2011). Issues such as demonstrating respect for the individual student and their learning processes, accountability for the use of funding, both public and private, quality of education and research, and contributing to economic growth and sustainability have thus become more important (Ehlers and Pawlowski, 2006; Ehlers and Schneckenberg, 2010; Ubachs, 2009). Higher education institutions have to face the fact of increased demands on enhanced learning through new technology: digital skills in education, learning for the future in a global context within sustainable dimensions and integrating technology into all aspects of their strategic planning to ensure their survival in the years to come. The survey by NAHE (2008) emphasised that e-learning must be accessed from a holistic point of view and argue that:Existing methods of quality assessment need to be adapted. There is a need that quality aspects for e-learning are integrated into existing quality assurance systems. Internal competence and the provision of information in the e-learning area need to be guaranteed. Internal working methods need to be adapted to the special conditions which apply for the assessment of borderless education (NAHE, 2008, p. 10).Research and experience shows that knowledge gaps on how e-learning can be embedded and integrated in ordinary quality assurance are both explicit and demanding (Ossiannilsson and Landgren, 2011).Benchmarking is a rather new phenomenon in higher education (Ubachs, 2009, Ossiannilsson, 2010b; Moriarty, 2008; ESMU, 2008a, b, 2010). The definition of benchmarking is, on the other hand, not very explicit and clear (ReVica, 2011). ENQA defined benchmarking as \"[...] a learning process, which requires trust, understanding, selecting and adapting good practices in order to improve\" (ESMU, 2008a, p. 7). The locus of benchmarking lies between the current and desirable states of affairs, and contributes to the transformation process that realise these improvements (Moriarty, 2008; Moriarty and Smallman, 2009) Benchmarking might identify changes necessary to achieve the aims. The concept change seems to be implicit in benchmarking; a change consistent with benchmarking-directed improvements processes. Benchmarking is not only about change, but also about improvements or as Harrington, already in 1995, summarized: \"all improvement is change, but not all change is improvement\" (Moriarty, 2008, p. 29). Moriarty elaborated it further and stated that, benchmarking is not just about changes, it is more about identification and successful implementation. ESMU (2008a, b, 2010) emphasises that benchmarking is an ongoing process to improve the performance of higher education institutions. An extended literature review on benchmarking was carried out by ESMU (2008b) aiming to clarify the understanding of the concept. Conversely, one of the underlying purposes of the study was to improve the practice of benchmarking in higher education, as a powerful tool to support improved governance and management in higher education. According to ESMU (2008b) there are at least ten good reasons to use benchmarking as a management tool in higher education; to self-assess their institutions; for a better understanding of processes; to measure, compare and discover new ideas; to obtain data to support decision making; to identify targets for improvement; to strengthen institutional identity; for strategy formulation and implementation; to enhance reputation; to respond to national performance indicators and benchmarks; and to set new standards for the sector in the context of higher education reforms. ESMU (2008b, p. 16) defined benchmarking as an \"[...] internal organisational process aiming to improve the organization's performance by learning about possible improvements of its primary and/or support processes by looking at these processes in other, better-performing organizations\".E-learning is not very easy to define either. Most often the concept of e-learning covers both technical and digital means, but covers also e-learning as learning, and learning through e-learning (Ossiannilsson, 2010b). The concept is used to cover a wide set of applications and pedagogical processes and learning supported by information and communication technology, such as web-based learning, computer-based learning, virtual classrooms and digital collaboration, with an added value of increased accessibility, flexibility and interactivity. McLoughlin and Lee (2008) stress the \"three P's of pedagogy\" for the networked society, personalisation, participation and productivity. Bonk (2009) shows how technology has transformed educational opportunities for learners, as well as those of innovators from the worlds of technology and education that reveal the power of opening up the world of learning. New conceptualisations of e-learning in the twenty-first century will change the scene (Ehlers and Pawlowski, 2006; Ehlers and Schneckenberg, 2010; Ossiannilsson and Landgren, 2011) and may have an impact on how benchmarking e-learning in higher education in the future will be conducted, and what kind of quality issues will matter. In a comprehensive literature review by Ossiannilsson (2010a), the context of benchmarking e-learning in higher education was explored. Conversely, as the literature showed, the trend today is that e-learning is more and more embedded in strategies of learning and teaching at universities (Ehlers and Pawlowski, 2006; Ehlers and Schneckenberg, 2010; NAHE, 2008; Ossiannilsson and Landgren, 2011; Ubachs, 2009). Enhancing learning, teaching and assessment by the use of technology is one of a number of ways in which institutions can address their own strategic missions.\n3. Material and methods: E-xcellence+\n4. Findings: The questions for the seminars covered areas such as: application, added value, shortcomings, integration, institutional integration, next step and other issues. In the following, the answers from the five participating institutions based on cross case analyses according to the areas mentioned above are summarised.Application\n5. Discussion: The ten good reasons described by ESMU (2008a) to conduct benchmarking were almost confirmed and verified by the participating institutions in the local seminars. They also emphasised that challenges for universities in the twenty-first century are to bring together all aspects of e-learning in a holistic framework, and perceive it in a more contextualised manner. The fact that e-learning is more and more embedded in strategies on learning and teaching at universities nowadays are almost benefits, but what will the consequences be and how should they pay attention to critical success factors, if there are any? Experience from the E-xcellence+ by EADTU can be expressed as both internal and external outcomes. Internal outcomes were that within the universities individuals' conducting the QuickScan remained to the same conceptual framework which led to trust, transparency, and internal and extended dialogues. External outcomes were described as visibility for stakeholders, students, agencies and the public.Findings from this study emphasised that benchmarking must always fall within the identification of strengths and weaknesses and gain a better insight of the institutions, with a vision to set targets and benchmarks for improvement and enhancement. Benchmarking requires an explicit focus on continuous improvement and enhancement, the search for best practices and to be more than just a comparison of statistical data. A benchmark exercise must always be envisaged as a dynamic exercise with relevant benchmarks, as the aims are to identify good practice, which will lead to improvement and implementation of changes. Further benchmarking requires institutional willingness to increase organisational performance, to act as a learning organisation and to review processes on an ongoing basis. In addition, the process as such requires the motivation to search for new practice and readiness to implement new models of operation. There is a strong need of commitment already from the beginning both on individual as well as on management level, especially if the result of the process will demand any overriding changes and for the implementation process. Moreover, one success factor is the commitment to change. Benchmarking requires institutional strategic development and is based on a continuous, long-term and professional approach.\n6. Conclusions: The impression seems to be that issues of constructive alignment, of benchmarking e-learning in universities according to national government and quality agencies' mandates will change the scenario and be of importance for quality enhancement in the twenty-first century. This will be owing to changed learning and teaching paradigms with among issues as blended mode approaches, personalisation, participation, collaborative- ubiquitous- and open learning, OER, and social media and changed and new demands from the new millennium learners entering higher education. Quality has to a higher extent to be valued from the learners' dimensions and perspective as well as which currently are the most common i.e. learning outcomes and management. In addition, the discourse on scholarship of teaching and learning, including digital scholarship in a global knowledge-based sustainable society will be of utmost importance.Although key benefits of benchmarking are well known, significant gaps still appear in the use of benchmarking practices in European higher education institutions. Benchmarking is a powerful strategic tool to assist decision makers to improve quality and effectiveness of organisational processes and, ultimately, aims to build a European platform. Through benchmarking, there can be large improvements in higher education institutions to meet international standards and guidelines, and to reach the position of the best international player in the higher education arena.Other aspects are about fast-changing professional practice and globalisation and how to keep the staff in line with newly required competencies in a lifelong learning perspective. Technology and digital scholarship is a useful tool for creating a new kind of university, but much more important are structural and cultural changes in which technology will play a supporting role. Without these cultural and structural changes, technology cannot change the university on its own.Will benchmarking on e-learning, in higher education in alignment with national and international quality boards and agencies, be an answer as a powerful tool for improvements on teaching and learning in a blended mode in the twenty-first century, to support improved governance and management in higher education? More research has to be done in a holistic perspective to answer questions on the value and impact of benchmarking e-learning in higher education, like as the following W-questions: why and how shall benchmarking be conducted, what shall be scrutinized, when shall it be done and duration, where shall it be done and by and for who/whom?\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Benchmarking, a method for quality assurance has not been very commonly used in higher education with regard to e-learning. Today, e-learning is an integral part of higher education, and so should also be an integral part of quality assurance systems. However, quality indicators, benchmarks and critical success factors on e-learning have not been taken seriously into consideration, nor incorporated in ordinary national or international quality assurance systems. The purpose of this paper is to describe how The European Association of Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU) initiated and developed E-xcellence+, a quality benchmarking assessment method and tool.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This paper, which is part of a larger research project on European benchmarking, focuses on experiences from universities taking part in the E-xcellence+ valorization process.\nFindings: - The results showed that benchmarking is a powerful tool to support improved governance and management in higher education, in alignment with national and international quality agencies. The tool can serve for quality improvements in teaching and learning. Additionally, the results showed critical success issues for e-learning.\nOriginality/value: - This original paper reports on a Europe-wide study examining benchmarking of e-learning and presents suggestions for tackling quality issues.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Long-term care physical environments - effect on medication errors	[ "Medication errors", "Physical environment", "Long‐term care facility", "Canada", "Health care", "Patient care", "Environmental health and safety" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Medication errors contribute significantly to patient morbidity and mortality, and are associated with considerable healthcare costs. The human and financial costs following preventable medical errors are high; data in the US suggest an estimated 44,000 inpatients die each year owing to preventable medical errors (Kohn et al., 2000a). National, preventable adverse event costs have been estimated at $17 billion (Kohn et al., 2000b). Although reliable, Canadian data are not available, such errors and costs are felt to be comparable (Baker and Norton, 2001). It has been estimated that medication errors are high in long-term care facilities (Gurwitz et al., 2005) because elderly patients are usually taking more medications, increasing error risks (Hodgkinson et al., 2006; Cafiero, 2003; Thomas and Brennan, 2000; Scott-Cawiezell et al., 2007). Medication error rates in long-term care facilities vary - some are at 59 percent (Cafiero, 2003). Errors typically involve deviating from drug, dose, route or timing in the physician's orders, manufacturer's guidelines or best practices and they can arise during ordering, dispensing or administration (Cafiero, 2003; O'Shea, 1999; Hellier et al., 2006).Errors most often occur during the ordering and monitoring stages. Ordering errors include: wrong dose; prescribing drugs that interact with other medication and wrong choice. Enhanced surveillance and reporting systems for adverse drug events in nursing homes may help reduce errors (Gurwitz et al., 2000). Safety is pointed out in multiple studies; for example, Kapp (2003) said that medication errors are caused by: faulty communication when patients are transferred from hospital; excess dosage; drug interactions; poor drug selection; poor baseline or infrequent monitoring; failure to act on information; contraindicated drug use; confusing abbreviations; sound-alike and look-alike drugs; and errant orders. Barriers to reporting errors include: staff worrying about regulatory sanctions; prosecution fears; and strained rapport with families, which discourages open discussion.Medication administration in long-term care facilities is among many nursing responsibilities. Nursing work is physically and psychologically intense. Burnout, stress and errors are a risk. Nursing errors can be conceptualized at two levels: active failures; and latent conditions (Reason, 2000). Active failures can be attributed to cognition, memory and decision making. Latent conditions refer to failures resulting from decisions made by managers and architects, including: time pressure; stress; fatigue and physical factors such as noise, privacy and temperature. These issues show that environments need to support nursing work and be responsive to nurses' needs.Ulrich and Zimring (2004) argued that reducing staff stress and subsequent errors using ergonomic interventions and environmental considerations (such as air quality, acoustics, lighting, etc.) can significantly influence staff health. It can also influence staff efficiency and contribute towards patient safety. It is claimed by Harrison (2004), McCarthy (2004), Reiling et al. (2003), Rollins (2004) and Scott (2004) that specific environmental conditions, such as: artificial versus natural lighting; room temperature and humidity affect performance; for example, artificial or inadequate lighting can cause staff to feel drained and tired leading to medication errors. Topf and Dillon (1988) found that high noise levels are detrimental to work performance. Healthcare facility design and function have a major impact on nurse recruitment and retention (Scott, 2004). Though nursing staff spend significant time in their work settings, working day and night shifts, often they are not consulted about decisions regarding their work environments and this can contribute to demoralization. Empirical studies examining environmental effects on medical errors are scarce (Chaudhury et al., 2009). To address this gap, we examine the physical environment's role in medication and nursing errors in long-term care facilities and identify key environmental features that need to be considered to reduce errors.\nDesign and methods: A mixed methodological strategy (Patton, 2002; Teddlie and Tashakkori, 2003) was used to triangulate data-collection (Lincoln and Guba, 1985) using: focus groups with nursing and pharmacy staff; observing medication preparation and administration in selected facilities; and staff surveys. All participants were staff members working with a large, continuing care organization located in Edmonton, Alberta. Four long-term care facilities were selected based on direct consultation with the organization's administrative and nursing staff. The care facilities were selected to represent diverse physical environments; e.g. one recently built facility was designed as a \"household\" with no designated medication room. An old building had a traditional medication room and nurse station. The other two had some variation in the resident rooms, medication room, dining space and physical layout. Here, we report findings from our observations and staff survey, as the focus groups were used primarily to identify issues that might inform the other two methods.Observations\nResults - observations: The RNs, LPNs and ACWs were shadowed as they performed medication-related activities. Table I describes the three units we observed and their medication delivery systems. In all three units, MCs are stocked in a standard manner prior to the \"medication pass\"; i.e. medication delivery and administration. They typically contain medication packs for each resident, ward stock, applesauce, spoons, water, cups, straws, gloves, hand sanitizer and the narcotics record. Medication packs are stored in individual compartments on the MC and are organized by resident room number. During the medication pass, the medication administration record is kept on the MC.Medication preparation errors\nSurvey results - errors: Errors rarely occurred according to most respondents (Table II). The commonest medication error occurring somewhat or frequently was missed medication doses (n=18, 33.3 percent). Several respondents indicated that missed medication rarely occurred (n=16, 29.6 percent). However, a percentage said that wrong medications were administered (n=16, 29.7 percent) somewhat often, neither frequently nor rarely and somewhat frequently. Regarding documentation errors, a plurality of respondents felt omission or partial information input in charts/records rarely occurred (n=21, 38.9 percent); however, one third indicated this documentation error occurred somewhat often in their unit (n=18, 33.3 percent). Other documentation errors included not signing medications when given (n=3, 50 percent).Staff and organizational issues leading to error\nDiscussion: During medication preparation, MR layout and location were most likely to cause medication errors. However, during medication administration, social environment, such as interruptions and noise were most likely to cause medication errors. This is consistent with Reason's (2000) conceptualization of latent conditions and active failures creating the possibility for error. It also highlights the importance of ensuring that nurse work environments are supportive.Practice and policy implications\nLimitations: Our study has several limitations; it does not include a medication error frequency measure. However, all participating facilities had a low percentage and the report forms lacked any variables relevant to the physical environment. The study used several facilities belonging to the same organization, which may limit how far results can be generalized.\nConclusion: The physical environment potentially contributes to medication errors in long-term care facilities. Medication room size and layout are a major source of potential errors during medication preparation. During medication administration, the social environment is more likely to cause errors; e.g. interruptions, noise and staff shortages were identified as particular problems. An organizational intervention to reduce medication errors and create a safety culture should take into account modifying negative physical environmental factors to make a meaningful impact. The pathway to error from environmental features can be direct or indirect. For example, interruptions owing to poorly located and designed MRs directly affect error rates. High stimulation in the unit could contribute to staff stress and fatigue, which in turn raises the possibility of errors. Therefore, future studies need to differentiate between direct and indirect error pathways to fully understand environment-error relationships. Simple modifications may help reduce error potentials and improve nurse working environments. Also, research in this area using objective error-rate measures in long-term care facilities is needed.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Few studies examine physical environmental factors and their effects on staff health, effectiveness, work errors and job satisfaction. To address this gap, this study aims to examine environmental features and their role in medication and nursing errors in long-term care facilities.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A mixed methodological strategy was used. Data were collected via focus groups, observing medication preparation and administration, and a nursing staff survey in four facilities.\nFindings: - The paper reveals that, during the medication preparation phase, physical design, such as medication room layout, is a major source of potential errors. During medication administration, social environment is more likely to contribute to errors. Interruptions, noise and staff shortages were particular problems.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The survey's relatively small sample size needs to be considered when interpreting the findings. Also, actual error data could not be included as existing records were incomplete.\nPractical implications: - The study offers several relatively low-cost recommendations to help staff reduce medication errors. Physical environmental factors are important when addressing measures to reduce errors.\nOriginality/value: - The findings of this study underscore the fact that the physical environment's influence on the possibility of medication errors is often neglected. This study contributes to the scarce empirical literature examining the relationship between physical design and patient safety.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Organizational citizenship behavior in relation to employees' intention to stay in Indian organizations	[ "Intention to stay", "Organizational citizenship behaviour", "Intention to stay", "Employees’ quality", "Sportsmanship", "Altruism", "Courtesy", "Civic virtue", "Conscientiousness" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In present global competitive business environment where organizations are striving to achieve excellence and sustainability in the market for longer time is not easy without having efficient and effective employees, who serve the organization for longer time, share their expert experiences to improve the dynamic quality of the organizations . Though there are various parameters suggested by experts to retain individuals in organization, now the usefulness of certain psychological and social behavior is being evaluated. Organizations should inculcate positive and altruistic behavior among individuals to help others and understand organization better, classified as organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), which was earlier known as extra role behavior (Bernard, 1938), suggesting individual's own wish to work for organization, in difficult circumstances.\nSample: The study was conducted in organizations located in western India. The sample was obtained in a manner that ensured sticking to the probability sampling method, but with some degree of opportunity sampling bias. Sample represented cross-section of industries with varied background and differing functional grouping of managers, somewhere sample ensured varying levels of attainment of leaders at different hierarchical level. In all, 475 executives responded to the questionnaire, related to OCB and intention to stay, out of which 56 percent belong to upper and 44 percent to middle management cadre. The age of respondents varied from 25 to 55 years, with median age being 38 years, the work experience ranged from 5 to 25 years (median=13 years).\nInstruments: Organizational citizenship behavior\nResults: In the present study, factor analysis was used to find out the factor structure of OCB and intention to stay in Indian setting. Further, data were analyzed using Pearson product moment correlation coefficient and regression analysis, to establish the relationship and causal relationship among variables. In additional, SEM was conducted to create a model for the same.\nDiscussion: Objectives of study were to define OCB dimensions through factor analytic approach, also to find out the influence of OCB on employee's intention to stay. Result of factor analysis revealed five dimensions of OCB, which were: sportsmanship, altruism, courtesy, civic virtue and conscientiousness, respectively. Similarly, result shows that single dimension measuring employee's intention to stay in Indian organizations. Interesting to note that first dimension of OCB was sportsmanship, suggesting that employees were ready to tolerate inconvenience in Indian organization. Pearson product moment correlation result shows positive relationship between three dimensions of OCB, namely, altruism, civic virtue and conscientiousness, with intention to stay. There was no relationship found between courtesy and intention to stay, while sportsmanship citizenship behavior was negatively correlated with employees' intention to stay, though correlation was not significant. Regression analysis result revealed positive influence of OCB on employees' intention to stay with the organization, however, civic virtue and conscientiousness were the best predictor for intention to stay. Structural model indicates that organization citizenship behavior affects employee intention to stay (Figure 3).\nImplications of the study: Overall, organizations are facing increasing competition day by day; they along with employees are expected to stretch themselves to remain comptitive. After a while, it becomes difficult to maintain high standards, which results in the deterioration of an organization's competitiveness. Retaining and maintaining quality thus becomes a challenge for organizations. This study revealed the positive relationship between OCB and employees' intention to stay, suggesting that it must be considered to practice and inculcate OCB among employees in industries, particularly in Indian context and world in general. An employee works without much expectation, stays with the organization for longer periods of time, prefers to inculcate, imbibe the working culture of organization which enriches his/her experiences, same is utilized in increasing productivity and prosperity of the organizations. It gives immense benefit to organization as well as individual. OCB helps organization in retaining the employees successfully; in turn employee will increase its efficiency and success. At the time of recruitment itself, focus should be on selecting those candidates who show inclination toward OCB. High on OCB, employees are comfortable, secured, involved, positive and tolerant toward inconvenience, increased sense of belonging which makes them want to stay with the organization. Thus, OCB is the main predictor of employees' intention to stay.\nLimitations of the study: Despite its contribution to the research, this study has a number of limitations. First, the results are based on Indian setting, therefore it should be interpreted with this fact in mind. it measures only intention to stay, it could have been verified with actual length of service and stay in organization. Data were collected using self-reported measures, social desirability bias could not be ruled out. Though the study was carried out in India, yet focused to measure only two dimensions, those were--OCB and intention to stay, it would be interesting to include the cultural aspect of India which is diverse in nature. It is suggested for future researchers to evaluate OCB in relation with diverse Indian culture.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to find out dimensions of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in Indian setting and to further examine the role of OCB that impacts employees' intention to stay, with a view to draw on the deeper influences it carries on the quality work of the organization.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Experimental research design was used to find out the causal relationship between these constructs, i.e., dimensions of OCB and intention to stay. Probability sampling method was used to obtain the sample. In total, 475 respondents were approached for data collection. Data were collected using questionnaire method.\nFindings: Factor analysis result revealed five factors of OCB, namely: sportsmanship, altruism, courtesy, civic virtue and conscientiousness, having the reliability of 0.93, 0.89, 0.81, 0.82 and 0.69, respectively, single factor of intention to stay having the reliability 0.87. The findings of Pearson's correlation, regression and structural equation modeling revealed unequivocal influence of OCB over employees' intention to stay, suggesting a maneuvering capability of OCB with its influence over employees' intention to stay in their present organizations.\nResearch limitations/implications: Since this study was conducted in India, to establish the external validity has to be judged carefully. The organizations approached for the study were of the MNC level.\nPractical implications: This study is important to understand the citizenship behavior of employees in relation with intention to stay in Indians setting in particular and the world in general. When individual does work, without any expectation, stay with the organization for longer time inculcating, imbibing working culture of the organization which enriches his experiences, utilized in increasing productivity and prosperity of the organizations.\nSocial implications: Overall, organizations are facing increased competition day by day; employees are expected to stretch themselves to be in the competition. After certain point of time, employees stop extending themselves, resulting in deteriorating the quality, performance and product. Retaining employees along with maintaining the quality becomes an important concern and issue for organizations. Importance of OCB is considered extensively in Industries in this regard.\nOriginality/value: This is an original research in Indian Setting, much researches are not available finding the relationship between OCB and intention to stay in turn which improves the quality of organizations. This research is valuable for business world, are facing problems of retaining the employees which affects their efficiency, productivity and profitability.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Cutting the Gordian knot [?]: a response to Lukka and Vinnari (2014)	[ "Domain theory", "Method theory", "Accounting research", "Theoretical contribution" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Such dreams provide this temporary illusion of a life that has meaning (Anna Jae).\nThe role of domain theory: We start by noting that the nature of (theoretical) contribution will vary significantly, depending on the philosophical underpinnings of a study (Chua, 1986; see also Guba, 1990). In this paper, we consider this issue using insights from interpretive research (sometimes referred to as interpretive accounting research (IAR[1])). Much interpretive research has been motivated from a relatively subjectivist worldview (Ahrens et al., 2008; Lee and Lings, 2008). Such research has been criticized by some authors in accounting for its failure to \"build\" theory (Vaivio, 2008; Malmi and Granlund, 2009). Other scholars argue that such research offers only \"pseudo problematization\" (Alvesson and Sandberg, 2014) or mere illustrations of social theory (Ahrens, 2008; Ahrens and Chapman, 2006; Malmi and Granlund, 2009). As a consequence it has been suggested that we may have gone past the point where we should be continuing to engage in research of this type (Malmi and Granlund, 2009).\nDistinguishing domain and method theories: Interestingly, at a point in time where we already have had several debates on what theory means (Corley and Gioia, 2011; DiMaggio, 1995; Gioia and Pitre, 1990; Gregor, 2006; Sutton and Staw, 1995; Weick, 1995), LV (2014) and Lukka (2005) refer to prior theoretical knowledge on a substantive topic area as \"domain theory\" - without discussing what this implies, and without indicating how domains are defined or (by whom). According to Gregor (2006), who discusses the nature of theory formation in information systems research, questions about (the definition and boundaries of) a domain need to be answered before one can viably argue that theoretical contributions to that domain have been made[2]. She asserts that a domain is defined by the phenomena, core problems and topics that typify a particular discipline, but does not indicate who stipulates these phenomena, problems and topics. It is also not clear what may be termed a \"discipline\". What is clear, is that Gregor supports a broader definition of a \"domain\" than do LV, as she also includes phenomena and core problems in her definition.\nCombining and assessing contributions to method and domain theories: some notes on the use of ANT in accounting research: LV seem to argue that contributions to management accounting \"domain theory\" can stem from research that is informed by different \"method theories\". However, method theories may at least be partially incompatible and/or incommensurable, which might hinder their integration in a single domain theory (Firestone, 1990; Kakkuri-Knuuttila et al., 2008; Lee and Lings, 2008)[5].\nContributing to method theories: A further problem (and second example) related to the integration of method theories occurs when LV argue that Briers and Chua (2001) \"must\" have made a contribution to method theory by combining two \"unrelated\" (method) theories (namely, ANT and boundary objects (BO)). Star and Griesemer (1989) (who developed the concept of BO) motivate their paper as an attempt to make the concept of \"translation\" from ANT more tractable.\nIdentifying limitations in theory: contributing to the domain: The engagement of researchers with ANT has provided a much neglected understanding of the role of material artefacts in work settings (Nicolini et al., 2012). Accounting has also drawn significant ideas from Foucault and latterly from practice theory (Jorgensen and Messner, 2010; Nama and Lowe, 2014). These theoretical frameworks do not offer single, coherent methodologies, but are fabricated from a cluster of somewhat related concepts (Latour, 1987, 2005; Nicolini, 2012). Research inspired from these perspectives alerts us to seek out less obvious answers when investigating accounting phenomena (Lowe, 2004; Modell, 2014).\nTowards more modest claims: We live in a world with many alternative (and often competing) views on (accounting) research. We offer our thoughts in the interests of opening up, or perhaps hoping for a detour (Latour, 1987) in the conversation. We make no claims about any \"best\" approach to contributing to the extant literature. We merely suggest a more open and careful attitude to mobilizing and integrating different schools of thought as part of a focused effort aimed at producing interesting and insightful contributions to academic thought and endeavour in accounting.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to constructively discuss the meaning and nature of (theoretical) contribution in accounting research, as represented by Lukka and Vinnari (2014) (hereafter referred to as LV). The authors aim is to further encourage debate on what constitutes management accounting theory (or theories) and how to modestly clarify contributions to the extant literature.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The approach the authors take can be seen as (a)n interdisciplinary literature sourced analysis and critique of the movement's positioning and trajectory\" (Parker and Guthrie, 2014, p. 1218). The paper also draws upon and synthesizes the present authors and other's contributions to accounting research using actor network theory.\nFindings: While a distinction between domain and methods theories ... may appear analytically viable, it may be virtually impossible to separate them in practice. In line with Armstrong (2008), the authors cast a measure of doubt on the quest to significantly extend theoretical contributions from accounting research.\nResearch limitations/implications: Rather than making (apparently) grandiose claims about (theoretical) contributions from individual studies, the authors suggest making more modest claims from the research. The authors try to provide a more appropriate and realistic approach to the appreciation of research contributions.\nOriginality/value: The authors contribute to the debate on how theoretical contributions can be made in the accounting literature by constructively debating some views that have recently been outlined by LV. The aim is to provide some perspective on the usefulness of the criteria suggested by these authors. The authors also suggest and highlight (alternative) ways in which contributions might be discerned and clarified.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Five steps to transforming innovation processes: continually adjusting to new environments	[ "Open innovation", "Product development", "Organizational transformation", "Innovation management", "Strategic renewal", "Strategic change" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Changes in a firm's environment, such as new technological trends or customer needs, call for the renewal of a firm's strategies and processes. To manage the required internal changes, many companies have established special units, often called organizational development or change management functions. To cope with the environmental changes, many firms increasingly rely on proficient innovation management. Besides pursing several other innovation types, such as process innovation or business model innovation, many firms emphasize product innovation. By developing new products, firms can respond to new technological and customer trends to grow and achieve superior financial performance (Garai, 1999; Roloff et al., 2015).\nReconfiguration of innovation processes: Proficient innovation processes in one period may help a company gain a competitive advantage, but it will most likely be insufficient to sustain the advantage over time. Firms have to dynamically adapt and develop their innovation processes, and managers need to understand that the generation and commercialization of new ideas may not be enough to remain profitable in the long run. Managers need to recognize that the innovation processes themselves need to be renewed. Firms may proactively adapt their innovation processes, or they may reactively transform these processes in response to environmental changes. At present, the vast majority of companies exist in dynamically changing environments. Hence, the innovation processes of these firms call for adaption to ensure sufficient fit with the environmental conditions (Eisenhardt and Martin, 2000).\nRealignment of innovation processes: Companies typically need to align different activities in their innovation processes. Multiple activities need to be carried out in innovation, including idea exploration and idea exploitation. There are important interfaces among these activities, and their connections need to be thoroughly managed to ensure synergistic outcomes. The alignment of different activities is an essential task of innovation management, and the importance of this issue has been acknowledged (Lichtenthaler and Lichtenthaler, 2009). In contrast, the need for realignment is often neglected when firms transform their innovation activities, as companies tend to focus on the adaptation of each individual activity, whereas the interplay of these activities receives limited attention. However, insufficient realignment may lead to inappropriate coordination at interfaces, with implied negative consequences for a firm's innovation outcomes.\nExample of open innovation: Open innovation describes processes where a firm's organizational boundaries are porous (Chesbrough, 2003). A firm may externally explore new ideas in inbound open innovation processes with inward knowledge transfer or it may externally exploit its own ideas in outbound open innovation processes with outbound knowledge transfer. Figure 1 illustrates these two dimensions, i.e. external exploration and external exploitation, and shows a firm's internal exploration and internal exploitation processes. The majority of innovation activities are typically still conducted in-house even if companies pursue open innovation strategies (Enkel, 2010). The internal exploration of new ideas and the internal development of new products usually remain the core business of firms with open innovation strategies (Rayna and Striukova, 2010; Huston and Sakkab, 2006).\nImplementation procedures: The examples above highlight the need to systematically implement changes of innovation processes to cope with the challenges of reconfiguration and realignment. Managers may apply the following five-step procedure to change their firms' innovation processes in a systematic way (Figure 2). The figure provides a general overview of the steps that need to be considered but only offers a simplified overview and does not detail every single activity necessary. Nonetheless, it provides important guidance to avoid reconfiguration and realignment failures.\nImplications and outlook: Although many companies have systematic innovation processes, they lack an organized approach to transforming these processes over time. Failures in successfully implementing open innovation processes can be traced back to insufficient attention to the transformation, especially regarding the challenges that derive from the reconfiguration and realignment of innovation activities (Chiaroni et al., 2010). Accordingly, managers need to become aware of the transformation of innovation processes as a major innovation itself. This organizational transformation involves risk and uncertainty comparable to a product innovation project. Managers should follow their typical procedures and systematize these transformations. A proficient approach to \"innovating a firm's innovation processes\" appears to be superior to simply implementing changes in an ad hoc way and responding to problems when they occur.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to suggest a procedure for successfully transforming a firm's innovation processes in a systematic way.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual paper, which draws on prior academic and practitioner papers.\nFindings: Changes in a firm's environment, such as new technological trends or customer needs, regularly call for the dynamic renewal of a firm's innovation processes. Nonetheless, most firms proceed in a surprisingly unsystematic way if they transform their innovation processes. This approach contrasts with the systematic innovation processes that many firms have established to manage their product development from initial idea to final market launch.\nOriginality/value: To overcome this discrepancy, this paper distinguishes reconfiguration and realignment challenges in the transformation of a firm's innovation processes. These different activities are illustrated with the example of transforming firms' innovation processes towards open innovation. Furthermore, a five-step procedure is suggested to ease implementation. On this basis, implications for managers are discussed with respect to proficiently adapting their firms' innovation processes over time.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Bottleneck-based opportunistic maintenance model for series production systems	[ "Decision making", "Bottleneck", "Opportunistic maintenance", "Series production system" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Series production systems are widely applied in modern manufacturing enterprises, such as automobile, aviation, aerospace enterprises, etc. For series production systems' flow-shop configuration, any machine's failure may provoke the whole system breakdown or defective production. Furthermore, unexpected system shutdown always leads to a great loss in production, especially for a mass production system. This production loss and the huge maintenance cost imply that proper maintenance would be of fundamental importance for the economics of plants operation.\n2. Literature review: Since the traditional single-unit PM model developed by Barlow and Hunter (1960), a great effort has been made on maintenance methods. In some initial PM models (Canfield, 1986; Sheu et al., 1995), PM activities are carried out periodically and they can restore the system to an \"as good as new\" condition. But this view does not cohere with the reality. Pham and Wang (1996) pointed that PM activities may bring the system into three states: the state of a new system (perfect maintenance), the state that the system had just before failure (minimal maintenance) and the state of a younger system (imperfect maintenance). However, PM activities are always imperfect in practice. Under the imperfect circumstance, a machine will be preventive maintained at a decreasing sequence of time intervals, which could be more practical since most machines need more frequent maintenance with increased usage and age. In consideration of this fact, imperfect PM problems have been studied extensively (Castro, 2009; Sheu and Chang, 2010; Lu et al., 2012; Dhouib et al., 2012). Generally speaking, there are eight methods for an imperfect PM modeling process (Pham and Wang, 1996). Among eight methods, the improvement factor method (Zhao, 2003; Tsai et al., 2004; Zhou et al., 2009) was widely adopted to modify the failure rate function. Liao et al. (2010) showed that periodic PM may easily overlook reliability issues due to the deterioration of the system with time and usage. A reliability-based sequential PM model has been proposed for monitoring repairable deteriorating systems. When the system's reliability reaches the threshold R, an imperfect repair technique is implemented to restore the system. Schutz et al. (2013) proposed an integrated strategy to determine jointly efficient business and maintenance plans. Two maintenance policies including a minimalist policy which involves only corrective maintenance (CM) and a sequential policy which involves several imperfect PM activities are studied.\n3. Problem statement: In this paper, we focus on a series production system with buffers. It consists of n machines (M\n4. Maintenance model for single-machine: As the basis of the OM policy, maintenance model for single-machine should be built before the OM decision making. Considering the characteristics of different types of machines, the maintenance model for single-machine is divided into three categories: maintenance model for bottleneck machine, maintenance model for front-bottleneck machines and maintenance model for behind-bottleneck machines.\n5. OM scheduling for the series production system: As mentioned in the literature review, OM provides the maintenance worker an opportunity to repair or replace the other machines which are found to be defective or need replacement during the maintenance of bottleneck machines. Since the bottleneck machine always determines the throughput of the whole series production system and the front-bottleneck machines may also cause the breakdown of the whole line, while the behind-bottleneck machines' failure may not cause the reduction of system capacity in a long interval. Therefore, we only consider the front-bottleneck machines' opportunity to maintain with bottleneck machine. A front-bottleneck machine's OM activities can be carried out in two ways: one is by delaying its PM activities to the later duration of the bottleneck's PM; the other is to advance its PM activities to the earlier duration of the bottleneck's PM. Here, we call both actions as participating in the OM for the duration of bottleneck's PM. In addition, the action that a machine is determined whether to be opportunistic maintained is called participating in the OM decision-making process instead. The OM decision-making process for the series production system is shown in Figure 2. The time of the OM decision-making point is given by:\n6. Illustrative example: The first OM decision-making process of a series production system is taken to evaluate the maintenance model proposed in this paper. Combining the actual production situation, the experiment production system is designed by expanding maintenance model of Zhou et al. (2009). This series production system consists of ten machines and nine buffers. Other data are shown in Table I.\n7. Conclusion: In this paper, we developed and presented a bottleneck-based OM optimization model with the integration of the imperfect effect as a new method to schedule maintenance activities for a series production system with buffers. While most previous researches have addressed the problem of finding an optimal maintenance policy for series production system, the current research is the first of its kind which deals with issues considering the bottleneck constraint on system capacity and diverse types of machines as a means to reduce the maintenance cost and to increase corporate profit by increasing availability and production.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a bottleneck-based opportunistic maintenance (OM) model for the series production systems with the integration of the imperfect effect into maintenance activities.\nDesign/methodology/approach: On the analysis of availability and maintenance cost, preventive maintenance (PM) models subjected to imperfect maintenance for different equipment types are built. And then, a cost-saving function of OM is established to find out an optimal OM strategy, depending on whether the front-bottleneck machines adopt OM strategy or not. A numerical example is given to show how the proposed bottleneck-based OM model proceeded.\nFindings: The simulation results indicate that the proposed model is better than the methods to maintain the machines separately and the policy to maintain all machines when bottleneck machine reaches its reliability threshold. Furthermore, the relationship between OM strategy and corresponding parameters is identified through sensitivity analysis.\nPractical implications: In practical situations, the bottleneck machine always determines the throughput of the whole series production system. Whenever a PM activity is carried out on the bottleneck machine, there will be an opportunity to maintenance other machines. Under such circumstances, findings of this paper can be utilized for the determination of optimal OM policy with the objective of minimizing total maintenance cost of the system.\nOriginality/value: This paper presents a bottleneck-based OM optimization model with the integration of the imperfect effect as a new method to schedule maintenance activities for a series production system with buffers. Furthermore, to the best of the knowledge, this paper presents the first attempt to considering the bottleneck constraint on system capacity and diverse types of machines as a means to minimize the maintenance cost and ensure the system throughput.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Adaptations in traditional courtyard houses in Baghdad, Iraq	[ "Lifestyle", "Iraq", "Baghdad", "Building adaptability", "Traditional courtyard house", "User adaptations" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Buildings are an important component of any society. Apart from their primary function of providing shelter and space for various activities, they also contribute to the culture, heritage, and wealth of a society, as well as impact the natural environment.\nBuilding adaptability: Changes to buildings over time are made possible by how easy it is to make those changes. That is, with respect to its adaptability, defined as: \"the capacity of a building to accommodate effectively the evolving demands of its context, thus maximizing value through life\" (Schmidt et al., 2010). This \"capacity to be changed\" can be pre-configured during the conception and design of the building, or it can be re-configured in use (Beadle et al., 2008). Strategies to build in adaptability include the use of modular grids, raised floors (Arge, 2005); simple, regular layouts, common, standard shapes and connections, fewer large members rather than many small members, and over-designing to allow for future adaptation (Webster, 2007).\nTCHs: TCHs are an indigenous urban house form that has evolved over the last 6,000 years in various regions of the work with different climates, cultures, and building materials (Goh and Sibley, 2009). A TCH typically has an inner open space, the courtyard, which serves as the focal point for all other habitable spaces (Al-Zubaidi, 2007). It provides not only an appropriate microclimate to obtain light and natural ventilation, but it also delivers the privacy, seclusion, security, and social oneness required in such traditionalist societies (Shokouhian et al., 2007, p. 971; Leylian et al., 2010).\nResearch methodology: The research reported in this paper was part of a wider research into the role of intelligent systems in enhancing the performance of TCHs in Bagdad, which was motivated by Iraqi Government efforts to refurbish and upgrade TCHs in historic areas of the city (Agha, 2016). This paper draws from an aspect of the research that focussed on the nature of TCHs and the lifestyles of its users, to explore the adaptations that have been with a view to developing an understanding of the issues, processes, and strategies involved, against the context of research and practice in building adaptability. It is therefore exploratory in nature. A qualitative approach was therefore adopted as it is considered most appropriate to address exploratory research questions (Yin, 2003; Flyvbjerg, 2006). Key research questions were:\nFindings: Changes to houses\nAnalysis and discussion: This paper sought to explore questions around the nature of TCHs and how they support the lifestyles of current users, the nature and extent of the adaptations that have been made, and how these contribute to the wider theory and practice of building adaptability.\nConclusions: The aim of this paper was to explore the adaptations that have been made to TCHs in Baghdad, Iraq, with a view to developing an understanding of how these compare with current state-of-the art on building adaptability. A case study approach was adopted and this involved a survey of 12 TCHs in the Al-Kadhimiya area of Baghdad, and interviews with 24 residents (two per surveyed house). From the analysis of the findings, the following conclusions can be drawn.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the adaptations that have been made to traditional courtyard houses (TCHs) in Baghdad, Iraq. The aim is to develop an understanding of various factors in the adaptation of these buildings to suit contemporary lifestyles, which will contribute to the wider field of building adaptability.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Empirical evidence was collected through case studies of 12 TCHs in the Al-Kadhimiya area of Baghdad, which involved a physical survey of buildings and semi-structured interviews with 24 occupants.\nFindings: Case study analysis show that building adaptability involves both a change to physical spaces and also to lifestyles; with the latter being more likely when there are limitations in how much change can be made to the physical structure.\nResearch limitations/implications: The focus of this research is mainly on users' adaptation of spaces and therefore does not consider the full range of stakeholders involved in the adaptation process. The findings also only apply to the cases considered and may not be applicable to other house types or locations.\nOriginality/value: Studies on building adaptability mostly focus on the ease of change to the building fabric, although the role of users is acknowledged. This study provides insights into the complexity and variety of changes that users can make, which are influenced by lifestyles and driven by the need for comfort. These insights are represented in an adaptation model, which can serve as a basis for further research.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Lay governance of New Zealand's schools: An educational, democratic or managerialist activity?	[ "New Zealand", "Schools", "Governance" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: While many OECD countries have undertaken sweeping reforms of their public sector in the last 15 years, the reform of the New Zealand public sector is frequently described as among the more radical, aggressive and coherent examples of any of these efforts to date (Kettl, 2000; Behn, 2001). These qualities are well illustrated by the 1989 educational reforms, during which the highly centralised and regulated system for administering New Zealand's state schools was dismantled and replaced with a model of single-school lay governance (Department of Education, 1989). Each school was now governed by a Board of Trustees, comprising the principal, a staff representative and elected parent representatives, one of whom acts as chair. In this model of governance, these predominantly lay boards have more responsibilities than in any other system of school-based management (Education Review Office, 1999). Section 75 of the 1989 Education Act states that \"except to the extent that any enactment or the general law of New Zealand provides otherwise, a school's board has complete discretion to control the management of the school as it sees fit\" (New Zealand Government, 1989). Their responsibilities under this act include the hiring and appraisal of the school principal who \"is the Board's chief executive\" (New Zealand Government, 1989).\nResearch context and methods: The findings reported in this article were obtained as part of a three-year evaluation of a New Zealand government initiative to improve schooling in two economically disadvantaged urban multi-cultural communities (Education Review Office, 1999). One strand of the initiative involved the improvement of school governance through such interventions as audits of Board performance, the appointment of Board mentors, systematic involvement of Boards in decisions about expenditure, and increased school and cluster-based training of lay trustees[1].The Board Chairs and principals of the 15 schools in one of these two communities were invited to participate in the study, along with the state officials responsible for the initiative. Interviews were completed with 12 chairpersons, 11 principals and 9 state officials. The interviews were structured around four governance scenarios[2] that described the work of a hypothetical Board, operating in an environment similar to that in which these participants worked. Each scenario was written with sufficient detail to convey a rich and convincing picture of Board practice, but included sufficient ambiguity and openness to enable respondents to project their own understandings of governance into the scenario, and thereby, to reveal more about their conception of the role. Three of the four scenarios focussed on the educational, rather than financial or property dimensions of a Boards' role. One described a Board which struggled to understand a report provided by teaching staff on the achievement levels of students. The second scenario described a Board which assertively followed up a parental complaint about homework by asking the principal to report to it about the implementation of the homework policy. The third scenario described how a Board and staff developed a policy on reporting to parents. The fourth scenario described a Board which delegated the management of the principal's appraisal to the principal himself.For each scenario, interviewees were asked to use a nine-point scale to rate how well the board did its job, and then to explain their ratings. The ratings revealed the stringency of the standards of governance held by each group. Interviewees' reasons for their ratings revealed their criteria of good governance. After repeated reading and discussion of a sample of interview transcripts, eight main categories were developed into which all reasons were classified. A codebook was developed comprising definitions of the eight categories, illustrative examples and a set of coding rules. A reason was defined as any statement which explained why the Board's practice had been rated as it had. The unit of analysis used was a change in reason statement. That is each new instance of every reason statement was counted. The proportion of reasons that were coded in each category was treated as an indicator of their relative importance.\nResearch findings: In the first section, we address the question of how Board chairpersons, principals and Ministry officials understand governance by presenting a quantitative analysis of their respective ratings of Board performance. In the subsequent section we address the same question by revealing the conceptions of governance that participants offered as explanations for their ratings.Participant evaluations of Board performance\nDiscussion and conclusions: This study has revealed the conceptions of good governance that are held by a sample of participants in the governance of New Zealand primary and middle schools. Before discussing the broader implications of these findings, it is important to consider whether it is legitimate to generalise from this small sample of 32 interviewees to the wider population of boards and principals of New Zealand primary schools. On the one hand, there were few trustees in our sample with professional backgrounds and tertiary qualifications. These factors could reduce their confidence and understanding of their trustee role. On the other hand, these trustees had participated in a considerable amount of trustee training, much of it associated with the school improvement initiative that provided the broader context for this study. If their background knowledge on entering trusteeship was any less than that of the average New Zealand primary school trustee, their extra training and involvement in a major school improvement initiative could have been a compensating factor. Another factor which suggests that this sample may not be atypical is the similarity of many of the themes which have emerged, such as the importance of communication and teamwork, with those that have been reported in prior New Zealand surveys of the work of trustees (Wylie, 1997, 1999).We suggest, therefore, that while the generalisability of our findings should be tested through further national studies, there are good reasons to believe that the broad conclusions have relevance to the national scene.Conceptions of governance\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This study investigated the conceptions of governance that informed the practices of school trustees, and considered the extent to which those conceptions matched the policy imperatives that shaped New Zealand's school governance framework.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 32 participants in the governance of New Zealand primary schools. The interviews were structured around four scenarios that described the work of a hypothetical Board. For each scenario, the participants were asked to rate how well the Board did its job and then asked to explain their ratings.\nFindings: - Conceptions of good governance were dominated by concerns about the quality of relationships and the effectiveness and efficiency of task completion. There was little evidence that educational or democratic values shaped governance activity.\nResearch limitations/implications: - These findings were derived from a small sample of 32 participants, drawn from a disadvantaged, multi-cultural community. While their generalizability to all New Zealand primary school should not be assumed, the similarity of these themes to those reported in prior New Zealand surveys suggests that this sample may not be atypical.\nOriginality/value: - The originality of this study is that it presents a methodology for discovering the extent to which key policy ideas are reflected in the understanding of those who are intended to carry them out.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The governance model	[ "Governance", "Computer software", "Espionage" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nThe governance model: It was more than just a bit strange to step through a door and find yourself in the middle of a track winding through a field of ripening wheat. Particularly when you knew the door you stepped through was on the eighth floor of an office building at the heart of the city of Melbourne. And slightly unsettling to look behind to see the track winding away into the distance and no door in sight.Charlotte gave herself a shake and studied the rest of the group. They looked a little incongruous dressed in their sleek office suits while the wheat gently bobbed in the breeze around them. Charlotte grimaced and looked down at the muddy soil. She lifted her feet gingerly to examine her designer shoes. No streaks or marks - well, she knew there would not be but it was difficult to not trust the evidence of her own eyes.\"Okay, everyone ... can everyone hear me?\" the CEO asked, raising his voice over the steady droning of farm machinery working the fields nearby.There was a murmured disagreement from some of the older board members.\"That's okay. I'll call up another template. Please be aware you may experience some disorientation but it will pass quickly,\" the CEO said reassuringly, before announcing to the air: \"SecComp: Load Rose Garden.\"The wheat fields shimmered and melted into the ground. For a moment the group stood in a room, five metres by five, each wall a featureless green. The same green coated the floor and the ceiling. Then a shimmer at floor level rose up and formed a rose garden around them.A few of the board members staggered slightly. As the CEO reassured them, Charlotte looked around her in wonder. The manicured lawn made her want to take off her shoes and dig her toes into it. Rose bushes laden with scented blooms tumbled around them.\"I must admit this is my favourite program,\" the CEO beamed at them, \"Now, because we have some new board members with us tonight, I would like to recap what the governance model is.\"\"As we know, mostly from our children, the development of virtual reality rooms has created a whole new generation of gaming. Rather than the full body suits our ancestors forecast, a simple implant and the use of flexible forcefields is all that is needed to create a complete experience. Oh, those and a very powerful computer that is fast enough and flexible enough to compute an incredible amount of variables at real time.\"As one of the premier software houses, we have led this development.\"Charlotte snorted softly.\"In an attempt to find new markets we have been examining what other applications for this technology might be. It was when the Board themselves asked for improved ways to assess organisational performance that we realised what one of those applications could be.\"It is true that the complexity of business in our modern times has made fully comprehending how the company works extremely challenging. And this, in turn, makes identifying risks even more difficult.\"\"Get on with it, man,\" an elderly man interrupted, \"Tell us how on earth flowers and wheat are supposed to help us do that!\"The CEO smiled patiently, \"Mr Vaughn, have you ever walked into a room and noticed immediately that one of the pictures on the wall is hanging ever so slightly crooked?\"\"Of course.\"\"Of course. The human brain is a marvellous thing that processes information on a daily basis that outstrips even the very expensive computer that is responsible for this room. As humans we respond particularly well to visual data - one of the reasons that we use so many graphs in our meetings. I want you to think of this room as the ultimate graph!\"He beamed at them all.Almost as one the board members looked around the room. Charlotte reckoned she could almost hear them thinking: Graph? Where's the graph?\"All the data produced by the company is translated to the visual data you see here. The Secretary Computer, or SecComp, uses the selected overlay to give the data a consistent form. Take a look at this rose.\"The rose was a deep velvety red, the vivid petals without blemish or tear.\"This particular plant is the marketing department. With one glance you can see we are in a very healthy position.\"\"How do you know its marketing?\" the board chairman asked.\"Well, I know because I created this template but if you weren't sure all you would do would be to ask for the tags to be installed. Like this ... SecComp: Add tags.\"A shimmer and then beside every bush a small plus sign hovered. The CEO tapped the one closest to the bush in question and a label appeared: \"marketing\". While the plus sign was now a minus sign, further plus signs had appeared beside each bloom. More taps and he had drilled down to various reports on advertising projects. A quick tap on the minus sign and the data vanished.\"Now, take a look at this rose,\" he gestured to a bush that was in its own bed.The rose was covered in black spots and looked unhealthy.\"This is some test data, carefully isolated from the main records, that I loaded earlier. As you can see, you can immediately identify that problems exist in this department. Thank goodness it's a fake one, hey?\"He laughed heartily and the board echoed him. Charlotte placed her hands in her pockets. There was a small click as she opened the vial in her pocket.\"Can't help noticing, old boy, that there are some clouds coming our way,\" Mr Vaughn gestured to the horizon, \"Perhaps we should go inside?\"The CEO chuckled, \"That's not really rain and we are in no danger of getting wet. All the media and government links are also loaded into the system. This is the environment in which the company operates so it is only fitting that this data is interpreted as the climate of the governance model. Actually, let's check this out ... \" he tapped the tag hovering above him.While the rest of the board were murmuring over the reports, Charlotte tapped a few of the tags, idly scanning through the various departments.\"Blast them!\" Mr Vaughn exclaimed, \"How did they do that?!\"This was interesting. Charlotte sidled over to the group and peered over their shoulders. A newspaper report hovered in midair - \"VR to assist business\" the heading screamed. A major competitor of the company was announcing the imminent launch of an \"innovative software package that would enable directors to visually interpret the complexities of their businesses.\"The CEO's normally amiable face was red with fury.\"I would say, ladies and gentlemen, we have a leak. I think we had better retire to the boardroom to discuss the situation. SecComp: Restore Exit.\"The outline of the door appeared, hovering over the lawn. As the others turned to leave, Charlotte stepped over the rose bush that interpreted the research and development department. Taking the vial out of her pocket she tipped the contents over the closest bloom. The shimmering sand slid into the petals and the complex receptors in each tiny computer went to work. In moments they had analysed the template and transformed into the most appropriate form. Charlotte's eyes widened as tiny aphids clambered out of the petals.The company had not taken into account that the transfer of data in a VR room can be two-way. Each of those little bugs would transfer information into the system that would corrupt and destroy their records. Her boss would be very pleased with her, particularly as the collapse would coincide nicely with the launch of their own governance model.She smiled and turned to leave; satisfied no one had noticed her actions. The company would be out of action for a while. At least until, she chuckled to herself, they debugged the system.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The aim of this paper is to explore what tools may be available in the future to assist in governing businesses and the potential strengths and weaknesses of such tools.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper takes the form of humorous fiction.\nFindings: - Visual input could become an important aspect of future software designed to assist directors of businesses in a climate of increasing data complexity.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Current technology has been projected to a conceivable outcome. There is no guarantee that such developments will be able to be implemented.\nOriginality/value: - The paper is speculative fiction that reflects on a possible scenario in a manner that will promote discussion.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Private label brands in an emerging economy: an exploratory study in India	[ "Private label brands", "Longitudinal study", "Extrinsic cues", "Brand naming strategies", "Intrinsic cues", "Packaging strategies" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Private label brands (PLBs), also referred to as \"store brands\", are brands owned by a retailer or wholesaler (Hyman et al., 2010). With margins as high as 20 per cent in the fast moving consumer goods category and 40 per cent in apparel, PLBs play a dominant role in several European markets as well as Canada (Nielson's Report, 2014). Over the last decade, the growth of PLBs in India has coincided with the growth of modern retail stores. Organized retail in India is undergoing a remarkable transformation from traditional methods to modern stores. Currently, organized retail in India represents 10 per cent of the total retail market, which is projected to reach US$ 180 billion by 2020 (BCG Retail Report, 2015). Private label's (PL) share of modern retail in India accounts for about 7 per cent of the total retail market and is growing annually. It is expected that India's e-commerce market will also grow rapidly, and PLB retailers see potential in the online space (Anand, 2015).\nBackground: Using the concept of strategic orientation, Zielke and Dobbelstein (2007) have identified different types of PLBs. First, the classic PLBs are 10-30 per cent cheaper than leading national brands (NBs) and as such, are positioned in line with or slightly below these NBs (Nenycz-Thiel, 2011). Second, the generic PLBs, which come with necessary packaging, are positioned in the lowest price segment. Finally, the premium PLBs are positioned in the same way as successful NBs (Steenkamp et al., 2010). The literature has examined market share (Steenkamp and Geyskens, 2014), individual purchase behaviour (Batra and Sinha, 2000), perceptions, attitudes, and willingness to pay (Steenkamp et al., 2010) in determining the success of PLBs (Calvo-Porral and Levy-Mangin, 2014).\nResearch methodology: Exploratory studies\nFindings: The details of naming, packaging, pricing, and promotion strategies of nine major Indian retail chains are outlined in Table II.\nDiscussion and conclusion: Retailers across countries use varied naming strategies for their PLBs. Several retailers prefer their own \"store name\" for their products (for instance, TESCO beer), while others believe in using a separate \"brand name\" (Wal-Mart's Equate) to market their PLBs. A few adopt sub-branding or a combination strategy across different product categories (e.g. Carrefour Cola Classic). However, research shows that Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, primarily follows the \"House of Brands\" strategy (Store Brands Decisions, 2010). Indian retailers are also headed in this direction. This study indicates that retailers mainly adopt sub-branding (using the store name along with a separate brand name) and \"House of Brands\" (using a separate brand name only) strategies to sell their PLBs in the Indian market.\nLimitations and direction for future research: The limitations of this study arise from its exploratory nature and the fact that it examines one emerging economy (India); generalizations may be drawn with another large-scale future quantitative study. This study has not considered the role of seasonality on shopping behaviour or cultural factors of the preferred PLB categories. Given the limits of this study's purposive sample of respondents, this was an initial attempt at identifying the preferred PLB categories among Indian consumers.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present different naming, packaging, and pricing strategies adopted by private label (PL) retailers in India. This study also aims to identify preferred private label brand (PLB) categories, factors influencing their selection, and the importance of cues in evaluation of PLBs. The overall purpose is to identify important areas for future research of PLBs in the wake of organized retail growth in an emerging economy (India is the context here).\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study is based on in-store observations of major Indian retail chains, longitudinal analyses of customers' shopping bills, qualitative analyses of consumer interviews, and focus group discussions.\nFindings: The results indicate that retailers primarily adopt \"Sub-branding\" (using the store name along with a separate brand name) and \"House of Brands\" (using a separate brand name only) strategies to sell PLBs in the Indian market. Groceries, food and beverages, and apparel are the preferred categories in PLB. Price, quality, and convenience are the major factors influencing PLB. Taste, ingredients, packaging, price, brand name, and store name are the main factors that are used to evaluate PLBs.\nResearch limitations/implications: Due to the qualitative analyses and interpretation, there are limitations to this study which need to be empirically validated.\nPractical implications: This research has implications for organized retailers in understanding the various strategies used for PLBs in India.\nOriginality/value: This study is a novel study for documenting the PLB strategies adopted by organized retailers in India. It also uses a longitudinal exploratory approach to further understanding the consumption of PLBs in India.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Phenolic profile of three wild edible mushroom extracts from Ordu, Turkey and their antioxidant properties, enzyme inhibitory activities	[ "Antioxidant activity", "Anti-cholinesterase", "Anti-tyrosinase", "Enzyme inhibition", "Helicobacter pylori", "Mushroom" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Edible mushrooms have been used both as food and as medicine since ancient times. Besides their attractive taste and aroma, mushrooms are also consumed favorably by humans, thanks to their rich contents including carbohydrates, proteins and dietary fibers as well as vitamins and minerals (Aprotosoaie et al., 2017; Kaewnarin et al., 2016). The reason for the use of mushrooms as therapeutical agents is that they have a large variety of secondary metabolites such as organic acids, alkaloids, terpenoids, steroids and phenolics. Medicinal benefits of mushrooms due to this content are usually concentrated on antioxidant, anticancer, antiviral, antifibrotic and antidiabeic activities and cholesterol lowering, liver protective, immune response stimulating and blood lipid lowering effects (Kosanic et al., 2016). On the other hand, they have effective role in curing various degenerative diseases (Rathore et al., 2017). So, there is a growing interest in mushrooms (Kaewnarin et al., 2016). There is no doubt that mushrooms are at the forefront of natural resources used as traditional medicines and natural poisons (Dulay et al., 2017).\n2. Materials and methods: Chemicals and instruments\n3. Results and discussion: Phenolics and antioxidant activities\n4. Conclusions: Based on all these presented results related to antioxidant activities, enzyme inhibition potentials and phenolic contents in selected wild and edible mushroom species from Ordu, it can be concluded that mushrooms can be valuable dietary products. All these useful properties can be attributed to secondary metabolites identified herein. Except those, the present study provides important data to the literature in many aspects: investigations to determine enzyme inhibitory potentials for Lactarius pyrogalus was occurred first time. On the other hand, studies on anti-tyrosinase activity of mushrooms are very rare, while almost no studies have been conducted on anti-urease activity. So, the results of present study are very valuable. On the other hand, substances with anti-cholinesterase and anti-tyrosinase activity are known to be valuable for the treatment of AD and PD as well as in the treatment of hyperpigmentation leading to skin cancer, respectively. Similarly, a substance with anti-urease activity can remove many health problems that can reach up to gastric cancer caused by H. pylori, as well as find use in agriculture. Natural resources that have these activities thanks to their phenolic contents are valued in the fields of cosmetics and agriculture, especially medicine. So, the current study will provide significant contributions to the literature in terms of new sources that are rich in antioxidants. Thus, the obtained data not only increase the ecological importance of the region but also provide a source of hope for fatal diseases including AD, PD or gastric cancer. In addition, mushrooms can be easily used directly in daily diet and contribute to our health by taking advantage of the synergistic and additive effects of all bioactive compounds present in it.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Mushrooms have always been treasured and appreciated, thanks to their nutritional as well as medicinal properties. The purpose of this paper is to reveal these properties such as antioxidant activities and enzyme inhibition potentials of three mushroom species from Ordu, Turkey. Furthermore, phenolic profiles which are believed to be source of these properties are investigated.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The assays followed to determine total phenolic, flavonoid and antioxidant contents, antioxidative and enzyme inhibition activities are spectrophotometric methods. Phenolic profiles of mushroom samples were investigated by using the HPLC system.\nFindings: The highest phenolic content was found for Lactarius deliciosus. Pyrogallol was the major phenolics in all three samples. Total phenolic content values supported that finding. But, total flavonoid content was the maximum for Cantharellus cibarius. The magnitude of the antioxidant activities revealed by the different tests varied between species. Furthermore, inhibition potential degrees on acetylcholinesterase, butrylcholinesterase, tyrosinase and urease activities were worth mentioning. Lactarius pyrogalus had anti-tyrosinase activity with a 26.229 percent inhibition rate. IC50 values for urease inhibition effect of mushroom samples were in the range of 0.37-0.90 mg/mL.\nOriginality/value: Enzyme inhibitory potentials for L. pyrogalus was revealed first time. On the other hand, studies on anti-tyrosinase activity of mushrooms are very rare, while almost no studies have been conducted on anti-urease activity. So, the results of present study are very valuable. Thus, the obtained data not only increase the ecological importance of the region but also provide significant contributions to the literature in terms of new sources rich in antioxidants.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
CSR-consumption paradox: examination of UK apparel companies	[ "Consumer behaviour", "UK", "Apparel", "Corporate social responsibility", "Customer surveys", "Consumer perception" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Research issue\nConceptual development: Corporate social responsibility\nResearch methods: Instrument and scales\nResults and analysis: Differences in pro-social consumption by socio-demographics\nDiscussion: Test 1 result suggests that differences of pro-social consumption among demographic factors such as gender, education, income and occupation are not significantly supported. Mohr and Schlich (2016) suggest that socio-demographic factors, such as gender, age, wealth and education, have significant correlations with socially responsible consumption. The different results might be related to various research contexts and research issues. Mohr and Schlich (2016) examine German sustainable consumerism in foods and grocery, and this study tests UK consumers' pro-social consumption towards fashion clothes related to fairness and justice thoughts on their CSR evaluation. Demographic variables may not be consistent predictors of pro-social consumption across these different contexts and various issues related to socially responsible consumption. Therefore, care must be taken when applying this result to a different context such as different culture or nationality.\nConclusion: This study aims to further understand the CSR-consumption paradox by depositing it into three research issues, namely, whether the paradox is related to the socio-demographic differences in pro-social consumption; whether consumers' awareness of CSR commitments is associated with the actual purchase; and whether pro-social values and beliefs, termed as pro-social priority, are related to pro-social consumption. The results suggest a non-significant influence of demographic factors and consumers' awareness, and a positive impact of pro-social priority.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Despite extensive study into various aspects of corporate social responsibility (CSR), the effect on consumer behaviour is less explored. A growing amount of research is concerned with the phenomenon that CSR has a minor effect on actual purchases although CSR practices enhance consumers' purchase intentions. This is documented as the CSR-consumption paradox and is yet to be resolved. The purpose of this paper is to further understand this paradox.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Questionnaires were administered face-to-face to consumers in Birmingham. These questionnaires concern consumer behaviour in relation to CSR practices of 21 popular apparel companies in the UK.\nFindings: Results suggest that consumers' pro-social priority is significantly related to pro-social consumption and that consumers' awareness of CSR practices is insignificantly associated with their purchase behaviour. The pro-social consumption does not differ significantly among different demographic groups.\nResearch limitations/implications: To explore the external motivational factors in consumers' decision making will be a potential research direction in future.\nPractical implications: The empirical results provide implications for UK apparel marketers and policy makers to engage and motivate socially responsible consumers so as to reap strategic rewards for their CSR efforts.\nOriginality/value: This paper contributes to the knowledge of socially responsible consumption and how it is affected by CSR.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Evaluating inputs of failure modes and effects analysis in identifying patient safety risks	[ "Patient safety", "System thinking", "Risk management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The problem of the high rate of medical errors and their serious consequences on patient safety and quality have been discussed in various studies since the pioneer report of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System (IOM, 2000). In response to this problem, one of the recommendations was made on risk management to provide substantial and sustainable improvements in patient safety and quality (Card et al., 2014).\nMethods: Study setting and participants\nResults and discussion: In general, the FMEA session was constructive and interactive, with valuable insights contributed by all participants. Team participation in risk identification, and then grading the risks, was high. The identified risks can be seen in Table III.\nConclusions: This study addressed and elaborated the impact of the primary inputs - SMAs and structured brainstorming - utilised throughout the FMEA exercise. Regarding the results of the FMEA exercise, it can be said that FMEA has a merit in risk identification, but also had limitations experiences in this study.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: There is a growing awareness on the use of systems approaches to improve patient safety and quality. While earlier studies evaluated the validity of such approaches to identify and mitigate patient safety risks, so far only little attention has been given to their inputs, such as structured brainstorming and use of system mapping approaches (SMAs), to understand their impact in the risk identification process. To address this gap, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the inputs of a well-known systems approach, failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA), in identifying patient safety risks in a real healthcare setting.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study was conducted in a newly established adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder service at Cambridge and Peterborough Foundation Trust in the UK. Three stakeholders of the chosen service together with the facilitators conducted an FMEA exercise along with a particular system diagram that was initially found as the most useful SMA by eight stakeholders of the service.\nFindings: In this study, it was found that the formal structure of FMEA adds value to the risk identification process through comprehensive system coverage with the help of the system diagram. However, results also indicates that the structured brainstorming refrains FMEA participants from identifying and imagining new risks since they follow the process predefined in the given system diagram.\nOriginality/value: While this study shows the potential contribution of FMEA inputs, it also suggests that healthcare organisations should not depend solely on FMEA results when identifying patient safety risks; and therefore prioritising their safety concerns.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Framework for modularity and customization: service perspective	[ "Customer service management", "Service systems", "Networks", "Supplier relations", "Mass customization" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this article.\nIntroduction: The growing significance of services in the global economy, combined with the growing divergence of customer needs, have led to demands for services that are more efficient and based on customer needs. Mass customization has been one production strategy for achieving cost-efficient customization, and modularity has been recognized as an important means for enabling it. Today, the business excellence of a firm is often defined by its flexibility and responsiveness to customer needs. However, it is not always in the business interests of a firm to have customized offerings, as demand for them has to exist for a mass customization strategy to be successful (Da Silveira et al., 2001; Womack, 1993). It is important to recognize when mass customization is a feasible objective and to understand that despite its popularity it is not a panacea (Womack, 1993). What means could then be applied to analyze service models more comprehensively, taking into account other alternatives than mass customization? On the other hand, in the literature of modularity, there has recently been a call for frameworks examining the perspectives of modularity in a more comprehensive way than just in one perspective, for example product or organization (Campagnolo and Camuffo, 2010).To address this research gap, we develop a framework discussing the degrees of customization and modularity separately, leading to combinations also other than mass customization. Examination of service models of companies in a framework that separates the degree of modularity and customization seems also theoretically worthwhile: in the previous literature, the objectives of customization and exploitation of modularity strategies often seem to go hand in hand (Jacobs et al., 2007; Fixson, 2006). As for considering different perspectives of modularity in a holistic way, the framework includes three perspectives in which these dimensions are discussed:1. service offering;2. service production; and3. production network.Using the automotive industry as an example, we illustrate how the same service offerings can vary with respect to the degree of modularity and customization in the three perspectives. The automotive industry is an illustrative example: there is a lot of material available describing the industry and it also offers a good example of how physical goods become more and more service-oriented by involving different ways to include the customer perspective in the offering.Accordingly, the service component is considered in this paper to consist of customer involvement and the way that the services and products are offered to customers through the production process and network. We acknowledge three key perspectives at the customer interface creating the service component: service offering indicating how the products and services are offered to the customer and service production processes as well as service production networks (outsourcing, in-house operations) for achieving the customer offerings.\nMethodology: There is growing interest in issues related to modularity, and especially how modularity can benefit research and practical service implementation. There currently seems to be only limited literature available on modularity concerning services and service operations (Bask et al., 2010).The key objective of this paper is in theory building, i.e. in creating a framework for systematic analysis of modularity and customization from the service perspective. The framework has been constructed on the basis of literature on modularity and customization. Additionally, we offer examples from automotive industry to illustrate four key combinations of service modularity and customization from the three points of view. The automotive industry has been widely studied (e.g. Collins et al., 1997; van Hoek and Weken, 1998; von Corswant and Fredriksson, 2009; Fredriksson and Gadde, 2005; Doran et al., 2007; Ro et al., 2007; Lim et al. 2009), including different points of view, and it thus offers a rich base of secondary material for use. To provide examples, we have used academic articles (see references), material that is publicly available (web pages, articles, etc.), and our own knowledge. Our objective is to illustrate the different positions with descriptive, well-known and easy-to-understand examples, rather than to conduct full-scale case studies.The examples were chosen so that distinctive service models regarding the issues of the framework would be represented. The information was gathered from the internet and academic articles. The purpose was to find information on the specific issues that would illustrate the logic, i.e. how different service models can be distinguished with the framework.\nLiterature on modularity and customization: Traditionally, modularity research literature has focused on products and product design (Fixson, 2006; Campagnolo and Camuffo, 2010) and the concept has diffused to process and organizational issues related to manufacturing and delivery of products, and finally to supply chains and related service production networks. The service branch of modularity research has its roots in the software industry. These approaches have gradually converged and become overlapping. Customization has become more important in recent years as customer needs have become more divergent. In the manufacturing context, customization is often discussed as \"mass customization\", in which modularity is one of the basic means enabling cost-efficient customization. In the service context, it can be argued that customization has been more of a typical modus operandi over the years, whereas mass production of services is still rather unusual.The concept of modularity\nDeveloping the framework: There is quite an extensive literature related to the special characteristics of services. The recent literature more often emphasizes the similarities between product and service characteristics than the differences, for example that services can be mass produced and that the heterogeneity of services can be controlled through standardization of service modules, quality measures, and automation of service functions (Araujo and Spring, 2006). Increased overlapping of concepts and frameworks related to services and physical products can also be seen in concepts such as productization of services and servitization of products (Vandermerwe and Rada, 1988). In addition, customer involvement and the way products are offered to customers can be considered as the service component differentiating the offering (Gronroos, 1998).Next, we will present a framework combining modularity and customization. Duray et al. (2000) and Duray (2002) developed a framework separating modularity and customization in order to distinguish different mass customizer types. They differentiate between modularity types varying across the production cycle, and customization level depends on customer involvement in production. In contrast, our framework combines the degrees of modularity and customization. We use similar evaluation criteria for the degree of customization related to service production but for modularity, the focus is on the level of modularity and not on the type. Only one quadrant in our matrix represents mass customization, while they focus on mass customizer types. We also apply our framework in three different perspectives: service offering, service production, and service production network. These perspectives explain how the service is offered to the customer and how the offering is implemented.In our framework, the measure of the customization level for the service offering is the profundity of the customization experience for the customer. In service production, the measure is the deepness of customer involvement. The measure for modularity in the customer perspective is the product variants offered with different modules and service levels, and in the production perspective, the use of modularity principles in production. In the service production network perspective, the measure of network modularity comprises the responsibilities of the suppliers and the measure of customization the degree of dedication in supplier relations.Four extreme categories emerge when the degree of modularity and customization are combined. We call them \"non-modular regular\", \"modular regular\", \"modular customized\" and \"non-modular customized\", as presented in the basic service modularity framework (Figure 1). \"Regular\" illustrates a pre-determined and standardized element in the service and \"customized\" a more customer-specific element. We will analyze these four categories to illustrate how different kinds of products, services and their combinations differ in relation to service offerings, service production processes, and networks producing and delivering the service to customers.As argued by several authors (Salvador et al., 2004; Brusoni and Prencipe, 2001; Ernst, 2005; Mikkola and Skjott-Larsen, 2004), neither of the dimensions of the framework is dichotomous - there are different degrees of both modularity and mass customization. However, describing the extreme cases facilitates visualization of different strategies in services regarding service production and their service production networks.We will next present the categories from the service offering, service production process, and service production network perspectives in connection with a discussion of how different kinds of services differ in relation to the customer interface. After introducing the framework, we use it to describe service models of the automotive industry.Service offering\nModularity and customization in the car industry: Next we will present examples from car manufacturing industry that explain different service offering variations, service production alternatives and service production networks with combining these two dimensions, modularity and customization. Describing the extreme cases concerning the degree of low versus high modularity, and low versus high degree of customization facilitates depicting different strategies.In recent decades modularity combined with customization has had a profound impact on the car manufacturing industry. From the beginning of the twentieth century until the 1980s the automotive industry was regarded as the archetypal example of a mass production industry. The modularity phenomenon is relatively new to the automotive industry, having been first introduced in the latter part of the 1990s (Ro et al., 2007). Since then, the practices of car manufacturing, production networks, and customer interfaces have been completely reshaped. The major changes have included a shift towards teamwork in manufacturing processes, a move toward partner networks and tiering in production and supply networks, and a shift toward customization at the customer interface.Service offering\nConclusions and further research: In this paper, we have offered a general framework for analyzing service offerings, production and networks with dimensions of modularity and customization. This facilitates analysis of the service models used by companies. The framework enables examining different combinations of modularity and customization degrees - also other than mass customization. Also, service models can contain different combinations of modularity and customization levels with respect to the three perspectives (service offering, production, network). To demonstrate this point, we have provided examples that illustrate differences in the service offerings of the car industry. Table I summarizes the comparison.With the framework, by combining modularity and customization, we have presented four extreme categories:1. non-modular regular;2. modular regular;3. modular customized; and4. non-modular customized.The measure of the degree of customization used is the penetration of customer involvement in the production process or, from the service offerings perspective, the profundity of the customization experience for the customer. The measure for modularity is the use of modularity principles in production, or, from the customer perspective, the product variants offered with different modules and service levels that can be mixed and matched and perceived by the customer. In the network perspective, the measure of network modularity comprises the responsibilities of the suppliers and the measure of customization the degree of dedication in the partnership relations.Campagnolo and Camuffo (2010) concluded that the current literature does not provide a framework combining different perspectives in modularity analysis, and that a comprehensive approach is needed for further analysis of relationships between different modularity aspects. We attempt to contribute to the service modularity literature by offering one way to look at modularity and customization in a more comprehensive way, using three perspectives. We also build on the framework by Duray et al. (2000) and Duray (2002) by discussing combinations of the degree of modularity and customization, also other than mass customization, in service offerings.The managerial implications include opportunities for a systematic examination of modularity and customization in service offerings, production and supplier networks and opportunities for benchmarking with respect to competitors. This type of systematic examination of modularity and customization also aims at a better understanding of the concepts of modularity and customization, concepts which - despite their popularity in management literature - are apparently the source of some confusion. With our framework we emphasize that different strategies related to the degrees of modularity and customization can be right for different types of business environments.Our future research aims for operationalization of modularity and customization, which is a challenging and promising research area (Fixson, 2006), in the context of the framework. We also plan to conduct case studies of the dynamics and underlying causes of the various service models.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Modularity has been identified as one of the most important methods for achieving mass customization. However, service models that apply varying levels of modularity and customization also exist and are appropriate for various business situations. The objective of this paper is to introduce a framework with which different customer service offerings, service production processes, and service production networks can be analyzed in terms of both modularity and customization.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper builds theory and offers a systematic approach for analyzing service modularity and customization. To illustrate the dimensions of the framework, the authors also provide service examples of the various aspects.\nFindings: - In the previous literature, the concepts of modularity and customization have often been discussed in an intertwined manner. The authors find that when modularity and customization are regarded as two separate dimensions, and different perspectives- such as the service offering, the service production process, and the service production network - are combined we can create a useful framework for analysis.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Rigorous testing is a subject for future research.\nPractical implications: - The framework helps companies to analyze their service offerings and to compare themselves with other companies. It seems that in practice many combinations of modularity and customization levels are used in the three perspectives.\nOriginality/value: - This paper develops a framework for analyzing service offerings in terms of modularity and customization. The framework provides a basis for analyzing different combinations of these two aspects from the three perspectives, and herein lies its value.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Entrepreneurs' ingenuity and self-imposed ethical constraints: creating sustainability-oriented new ventures and knowledge	[ "Ethics", "Sustainability", "Knowledge management", "Entrepreneurship", "Entrepreneurial Ingenuity", "Ethical constraint" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In this paper, we study how entrepreneurial ingenuity and ethics can be leveraged for knowledge management. We observe a largely untapped intersection between entrepreneurial ingenuity and knowledge management, particularly vis-a-vis innovation. Innovation is central to most definitions of enterprises pursuing sustainability goals (Dees, 2017), and accounts for the fourth most common key word occurring in the Journal of Knowledge Management (Gaviria-Marin et al., 2018). Much knowledge management literature is anchored in the concept of tacit and explicit learning, which recognizes the contributions of innovative learning through experience in addition to codified learning (Polanyi, 1966). Sustainability-oriented companies offer considerable opportunities for tacit organizational learning that yields innovation in dynamic settings. Both these domains also view knowledge as a strategic asset (Meyskens et al., 2010; Moustaghfir and Schiuma, 2013; Uit Beijerse, 1999).\nIngenuity, knowledge management and organizational learning: Knowledge management are the \"sets of processing approaches, practices and systems used to generate, develop, renew and integrate knowledge-based resources into capabilities that the organization can leverage to seize opportunities quickly and proficiently\" (Moustaghfir and Schiuma, 2013, p. 499). Organizational learning consists of the necessary ingredients of knowledge management, and can be defined as the dynamic process of knowledge creation generated by an organization via its individuals and groups (Real et al., 2014). Organizational learning requires a balance between exploration and exploitation (March, 1991), both of which are supported through effective organizational ingenuity resulting in sustainable initiatives. Organizational ingenuity is an outcome of the tension for competing resources, and results in a \"feed forward and feed backward process of learning\" (Crossan et al., 1999).\nIngenuity and constraints: Different types of constraints may stimulate entrepreneurs to create innovative solutions. Lampel et al. (2014a) address structural, resource, temporal, product, and process constraints. Structural constraints are any restrictions on the behavior of innovative organizations and other stakeholders deriving from the nature of the institutions they inhabit, navigate, and with which they interact (Walker et al., 2014). Resource constraints can threaten the survival of a firm. For example, environmental regulations have been found to lead to higher levels of innovation and knowledge creation (Berrone et al., 2013).\nEthical constraints: Ethical constraints include any restrictions on the behavior of organizations deriving from social and environmental responsibility, such as founders' concern with sustainability and the impact of an organization's activities on stakeholders. Self-imposed ethical constraints shape entrepreneurial ingenious practices through one main mechanism: founders voluntarily choose to adopt ethical restrictions and thereby are encouraged to solve more complex problems by considering the impact of the business on a broader set of stakeholders.\nMethods: To examine the research question above, we use an exploratory case study approach informed by the Gioia (2012) methodology. We use this methodology because the state of prior theory and research is nascent (Edmondson and McManus, 2007) given that the literature on organizational ingenuity (Drori et al., 2014; Lampel et al., 2014a, 2014b) and creativity (Anderson et al., 2014; Drazin et al., 1999; Ford, 1996) thus far does not address ethical constraints. The concept of \"entrepreneurial ingenuity\" was introduced recently by Honig et al. (2014), and thus far, there is little theoretical development of its connection with ethical constraints in the extant literature. Therefore, the state of prior theory and research in our view has not yet advanced to intermediate (Edmondson and McManus, 2007), for which methods such as multiple case studies (Eisenhardt, 1989; Eisenhardt and Graebner, 2007) are helpful to test propositions. Due to the nascent state of the literature on ethical constraints and ingenuity, good methodological fit entails approaches such as the Gioia (2012) methodology which can be helpful to identify patterns in qualitative data as a means to open up nascent lines of research (Edmondson and McManus, 2007).\nFindings: Inspiring entrepreneurial ingenuity, knowledge management and organizational learning\nDiscussion: We examined the influence of entrepreneurial ingenuity on the creation of knowledge in an organization's environment. We emphasized that ethical constraints warrant consideration in the knowledge management process (Rechberg and Syed, 2013) because they can stimulate entrepreneurial ingenuity. We also investigated the relevance of ethical constraints for founders of sustainability-driven technology enterprises in Brazil, an emerging economy of growing interest to knowledge management scholars. Our study is unique in offering a \"business case\" for firms and organizations to focus on ethical constraints. Unlike a more general theory such as effectuation that concerns itself with alternative outcomes given a set of means (Sarasvathy, 2001), we focus on the ingenuity and creative outcomes for specific constraints involving ethical dimensions. In this way, we offer insight and encouragement for entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs competing with for-profit entities while attempting to maintain high ethical standards.\nImplications for theory: This study brings the following three main contributions. First, our research contributes to the perspective that both ethics and innovation can positively coexist within an organization while contributing to knowledge management creation and success (Schumacher and Wasieleski, 2013). The \"integrated causal model of innovation\" stressed the process by which ethics can become integrated into an organization's values, goals and strategies in a way that enables long-term knowledge management and innovation (Schumacher and Wasieleski, 2013). Our study extends the discussion on the positive coexistence of ethics and innovation by using an entrepreneurial lens. From an entrepreneurship perspective, this study underscores how self-imposed ethical constraints inspire entrepreneurs' ingenuity and the creation of sustainability-driven knowledge-creating enterprises.\nImplications for practice: First, treating ethics as both a lever and a constraint allows a more unique set of problems to be solved through knowledge management and entrepreneurship, so solutions to these problems can themselves become new sustainability-driven businesses. For instance, self-imposed ethical constraints may encourage entrepreneurs to develop sustainability-driven organizations like Zipcar. Alternatively, entrepreneurs may treat the lack of ethical sourcing for a product as a knowledge management problem to be solved, which itself can inspire new business opportunities offering ethical sourcing. In this way, ethics can serve as a lever and a boundary expander by encouraging founders to apply ingenuity to their knowledge management efforts to solve ethical problems (Chakrabarti, 2012; Rechberg and Syed, 2013). The outcome can be thought of as closing the gap between knowledge and practice, as the problem- solving methods, we identify are directly applicable and are immediately employed in practice. Thus, we examine an alternative mode of inquiry that avoids the translation and transfer problems of theoretical discovery and is immediately actionable. We thus address the call for empirical studies of knowledge obtained from practice, shedding light on the knowledge production problem (Van de Ven and Johnson, 2006).\nLimitations and future directions: Limitations of this study represent opportunities for new research. One limitation is that we conducted a study with a small number of cases based on five sustainability-driven enterprises from Brazil. New research may benefit from examining a larger number of organizations in other countries to investigate potential environmental differences that affect ingenuity and knowledge management. Research might also benefit from examining emerging technologies where resources such as crowd funding are more readily available (Fox, 2014). A second limitation is that our data structure shown in Figure 1 is more concise than that in other studies with greater number of cases (Dacin et al., 2010). Our study contains sufficient data to generate theoretical insights which we expressed in propositions; we also suggest that future studies may benefit from studying a larger number of cases and using a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Ingenuity can be viewed as the use of creativity to develop innovation within constraints. The authors investigate how entrepreneurial ingenuity is enhanced by self-imposed ethical constraints, by using a case study of sustainability-driven technology enterprises in an emerging economy. The authors find that self-imposed ethical constraints can enhance entrepreneurial ingenuity because they encourage entrepreneurs to solve more complex problems as a result of considering the impact of the business on a more diverse set of stakeholders. The aim of this study is to show that while additional resources are normally considered an advantage, a dearth of resources can be a source of competitive advantage leading to ingenuity. By self-imposing ethical constraints, founders increase engagement of stakeholders who shape the firm's industry toward greater sustainability knowledge.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors used semi-structured interviews which are typically the most important data source in the Gioia methodology because they provide both retrospective and present accounts by individuals experiencing the phenomenon of theoretical interest (Gioia et al., 2012). The authors focused on founders at each enterprise who had sufficient knowledge to speak comprehensively and authoritatively about their organizations. The goals of the semi-structured interview protocol were to focus on the research question, avoid the use of terminology that could lead interviewees in their answers and maintain flexibility to explore spontaneous themes during the interviews.\nFindings: The authors examined the influence of entrepreneurial ingenuity on the creation of knowledge in an organization's environment. They defined entrepreneurial ingenuity as a type of organizational ingenuity (Lampel et al., 2014a, 2014b) and by focusing on the role of ethical constraints, examined the conditions under which it is influenced. They emphasized that ethical constraints warrant consideration in the knowledge management process (Rechberg and Syed, 2013) because they can stimulate entrepreneurial ingenuity. The authors also investigated the relevance of ethical constraints for founders of social enterprises in Brazil, an emerging economy of growing interest to knowledge management scholars.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study brings the following three main contributions. First, by incorporating the scope of social entrepreneurship, the research contributes to the perspective that both ethics and innovation can positively coexist within an organization while contributing to knowledge management creation and success (Borghini, 2005; Schumacher and Wasieleski, 2013). Second, the authors establish ethics as an important type of constraint that can spark ingenuity and help break through the constraints of bounded awareness for knowledge management (Kumar and Chakrabarti, 2012). Third, by highlighting the role of self-imposed ethical constraints, this study helps answer a recent call for research on \"entrepreneurial actions that benefit others\" (Shepherd, 2015, p. 490) addressing \"What are the constraints that disable or obstruct an organization's normal routines from alleviating human suffering?..It could be less about whether it is good or bad to ignore constraints and more about which constraints are ignored and which are abided by\" (Shepherd, 2015, pp. 499, 501, emphasis added).\nPractical implications: In this study, the authors show that entrepreneurs facing ethical dilemmas experience a unique cycle of equilibration, essentially throwing customary norms of equilibrium into disequilibrium. Treating ethics as both a lever and a constraint allows a more unique set of problems to be solved through knowledge management and entrepreneurship, so solutions to these problems can themselves become new sustainability-driven businesses.\nSocial implications: This study opens up several opportunities for future research. The authors conducted a study with five sustainability-driven enterprises from Brazil. New research may benefit from examining a larger number of organizations in other countries to investigate potential environmental differences that affect ingenuity and knowledge management. This study highlights the notion of ethical constraints as enabling mechanisms, and thus self-imposed ethical constraints merit a more systematic consideration as a key additional factor that may inspire disruptive innovation (Christensen, 2013), blue-ocean strategy (Kim and Mauborgne, 2004), as well as value-creation for stakeholders (Tantalo and Priem, 2016).\nOriginality/value: Resources are critical to both knowledge management and entrepreneurial activity and have been examined from numerous perspectives (Alvarez & Busenitz, 2001; Barney, Wright, & Ketchen, 2001; Moustaghfir and Schiuma, 2013). Entrepreneurs following a creation strategy depend less on accumulating existing knowledge and resources before beginning, and more on forming new knowledge or relationships that do not yet exist. They do this through a process of entrepreneurial trial and error (Alvarez & Barney, 2007, 2010). From a knowledge management perspective, individual knowledge sharing through both experimentation and learning by doing provide consistently high levels of knowledge sharing (Burns, Acar and Datta, 2011). This research emphasizes that constraints, such as limited resources and self-imposed ethical standards, can be a source of advantage leading to ingenuity and knowledge creation.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The role of accounting in transforming public tertiary institutions in New Zealand	[ "Markets", "Neo-liberalism", "Government", "Public tertiary education" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Over the past three decades, governments in many countries have made substantial efforts to radically transform the public tertiary education sector within the framework of the New Public Management (NPM) reform agenda (Hood, 1991, 1995). The NPM ideologies have given accounting greater prominence and accounting-based technologies have occupied a central role to make operable the activities, programmes and rationalities of government (Kurunmaki and Miller, 2006).\n2. Neo-liberalism and NPM: This paper reflects and contextualises in a wider and overall setting the neo-liberal political and economic reforms of the New Right philosophies. As Sikka (2000, pp. 371-372) pointed out, the New Right ideology emphasises the importance and superiority of \"markets\", individual freedom of \"choice\", the \"minimalist state\" and with markets being \"[...] the only magical solution to everything\".\n3. Theoretical framework: NIT has become a popular choice among accounting researchers who seek to explain why and how organisations change (Moll et al., 2006) and what variants influence the processes of organisational change (Scott, 1987). NIT also offers theoretical perspectives that include both the social and institutional dimensions of organisations and their environment to help explain organisational change. Among these perspectives are the regulatory, normative and cultural-cognitive institutional elements that largely influence organisational behaviour (Scott, 2001). The regulative element refers to demands of government and regulatory bodies to comply with legislation and accounting regulations, usually imposed through coercive power. The normative element prescribes the accounting profession's wider norms and values and these are transmitted into organisations through the professional association of its members. The cultural-cognitive elements are taken for granted behaviour derived from shared understandings and societal beliefs (Scott, 2001).\n4. Research method: 4.1 A case-study approach\n5. Findings: The findings of this paper are presented in terms of three major phases of tertiary reforms introduced by the New Zealand government since the late 1980s. Indeed, these phases reflect the influence of accounting changes particularly from the adoption of accounting policies and practices of the accounting profession that are associated with the institutional logics of these reforms. This paper's adoption and application of four key \"institutional logics\" are the logic of public accountability; of markets; of business; and of the academic profession. These key \"logics\" are appropriate in order to highlight and explain the following TEIs' reforms in the pre-NPM or traditional public administration era through to NPM and NPG.\n6. Discussion: This paper examines the influence of accounting in the transformation of public TEIs and addresses two associated research questions: first, how accounting became associated with the multiple logics of government reforms in transforming TEIs; second, what impact did accounting have on the transformation of public TEIs. Overall, the findings clearly indicate that accounting has been integral to the transformation of public TEIs as waves of reforms, largely based on neo-liberal political and economic dogma, have been introduced over the past three decades.\n7. Conclusion: The role and influence of accounting as both an agent of change and control has been unleashed in different phases of higher education reforms. Accounting has become a powerful conduit for the exercise of government control over TEIs. For over three decades, the government's implementation of its neo-liberal policies has relied on accounting technologies to visualise, construct and make its tertiary sector reform programmes operable. Accounting technologies have transformed TEIs from a traditional compliance role to a broader public accountability role. It has intervened in the functioning of TEIs with its representation of activities, processes and events in financial terms thus embedding a dominant business logic that has shifted the idea of tertiary education as a commodity bought and sold in the open market. As a consequence, the role and influence of accounting has accelerated and expanded to assume far greater prominence beyond levels previously noticeable in public TEIs.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify and evaluate the role and influence played by the discipline of accounting through its association with the multiple logics of government reforms to transform the public tertiary education sector in New Zealand.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study adopts a case study approach utilising multiple data collection methods. Neo-institutional theory provides an insightful complement to neo-liberalism and enhances the understanding of institutional logics driving government reforms and the transformation of public tertiary institutions.\nFindings: The findings reveal that accounting has become a powerful conduit for the exercise of the neo-liberalism reforms by government and implemented by managerial control over public tertiary education institutions.\nResearch limitations/implications: By addressing a gap in the literature, the paper shows how political and economic neo-liberal policies have been implemented in tertiary education with the discipline of accounting being adopted as a prime driver of these reforms. The paper has significant implications for educational management, academics and learners in understanding how and why the inherent nature, objectives and processes of the overall educational experience have undergone a radical reformation.\nOriginality/value: New Zealand is one of the first countries to implement these educational reforms and adopted \"accounting technologies\" to reduce costs and improve performance. But the reality has often been very different. Most of the government's original objectives have not been fulfilled and the reforms have been costly for the academic profession. This paper provides a valuable source of learning for academics, managers and politicians.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Measuring quantitative and qualitative aspects of the job insecurity climate: Scale validation	[ "Job insecurity climate", "Psychological collective climate", "Qualitative job insecurity", "Quantitative job insecurity", "Referent-shift", "Scale validation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The increasing pace of organizational change and demands for flexibility in work life, along with the increasing use of temporary employment are interpreted to reflect a more insecure work force (Heery and Salmon, 2000). Hence, job insecurity is a work stressor that many employees encounter during their careers (cf. De Witte, 2005). At the same time, job insecurity has been consistently associated with poor health and more negative work-related attitudes and behaviors (for meta-analytic reviews, see Cheng and Chan, 2008; Sverke et al., 2002). Whereas the vast majority of job insecurity research has focussed on job insecurity as an individual-level phenomenon, the construct has also been conceptualized as a job insecurity climate, defined as \"[...] a set of shared perceptions of powerlessness to maintain the continuity of threatened jobs in an organization\" (Sora et al., 2009, p. 130). In other words, job insecurity is more than a private, individual concern; it can be considered a facet of the social climate in an organization.\nJob insecurity climate: In trying to make sense of things happening in their surroundings, individuals look both to their own impressions and to those of others' (Augoustinos et al., 2006). For instance, perceptions of uncertainty can arise in an organization undergoing downsizing, even for those employees whose jobs are not objectively being threatened (e.g. Mishra and Spreitzer, 1998). The percentage of temporary workers in an organization can also affect perceptions of job insecurity climate among employees with a permanent contract (De Cuyper et al., 2009). This suggests that what happens around a person contributes to the interpretation of the situation as being uncertain, and thus in the formation of job insecurity perceptions. Therefore, arguing that interpretations can be influenced by sensemaking around events in social situations at work (Weick et al., 2005), implies that job insecurity has both individual- and climate-level properties. This means that job insecurity can be conceptualized as individuals' perception of their own situation, and as their perceptions of the surrounding climate. To illustrate this, picture that many employees worry about the future of their jobs at your workplace. There could be empty desks in the office landscape. Or just a general impression that there are either large changes ahead, or that the organization is not doing well. Some employees might try to position themselves just in case of layoffs while others might be extra wary of organizational events and fully engaged in making sense of such cues. In any case, the atmosphere at the workplace would be tense. Altogether this is an entirely different experience than that of yourself being the only one to worry about your own job.\nJob insecurity climate and outcomes: Validating a new scale is not only dependent on the psychometric properties of the scale alone, but also on how the scale relates to other relevant factors, i.e. placing the construct in a nomological net (Cronbach and Meehl, 1955), which provides guidelines for how the constructs can be expected to relate to each other. For job insecurity and job insecurity climate, the relationship with possible outcomes can be framed within transactional stress theory that focusses on individuals' interpretations of their surroundings (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984). When individuals appraise the work environment to pose threats to their job security, and find that these threats are beyond their coping abilities, they experience stress (e.g. Sverke and Hellgren, 2002). Similarly, the individual's perception of a job insecurity climate is expected to act as a stressor as well. Hence, it could be argued that when the surrounding climate is perceived as tense and volatile, this disturbance may have a direct impact on the individual's work environment, in terms of their general experience of stress and higher demands, as well as on health and well-being (Nieuwenhuijsen et al., 2010; Stansfeld and Candy, 2006).\nMethod: Participants\nResults: Dimensionality of job insecurity climate\nDiscussion: This study set out to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a measure of job insecurity climate, with quantitative and qualitative dimensions, conceptualized as a psychological collective climate, in line with a referent-shift model. In contrast to previous studies on job insecurity climate this measure encompasses individuals' perceptions of a climate of job insecurity. So the question is: does it matter if respondents are asked to report on how they perceive the job insecurity climate, or could one just as well ask them about their own job insecurity? Overall, the results from the present study support the assumption that the job insecurity climate scale measures perceptions that are distinct from what is captured by an individual job insecurity scale. This implies that employees differentiate between their own and others' job insecurity perceptions. And further, since job insecurity climate perceptions could be aggregated to represent an organizational climate, these results can also have implications for job insecurity at the organizational level.\nConclusions: By testing a new measure in a sample of women and men working in Sweden, this study demonstrated that job insecurity climate is a construct which is distinct from that of individual job insecurity. Further, the measure tested here had sound psychometric properties and also provided preliminary support for the validity of the two sub-scales. Validating the job insecurity climate measure helps to further our understanding of the job insecurity climate construct by clarifying a theoretical nuance between different climate constructs and their meaning and application in job insecurity research.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a measure of job insecurity climate by: first, testing whether job insecurity climate and individual job insecurity are two separate constructs; and second, investigating the relative importance of individual job insecurity and job insecurity climate in predicting work-related and health-related outcomes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data were collected by questionnaires in a simple stratified random sample of 1,380 white-collar workers in Sweden. The response rate was 56 percent.\nFindings: Confirmatory factor analyses showed that job insecurity climate was distinct from individual job insecurity. Four separate ridge regression analyses showed that qualitative job insecurity climate was a significant predictor of demands, work-family conflict, psychological distress, and poor self-rated health and that quantitative job insecurity climate predicted demands and work-family conflict.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study is based on self-reports, which may involve common method bias. The cross-sectional study design limits the possibility to make causal inferences regarding the relationship between job insecurity climate and outcomes.\nPractical implications: Future studies may consider measuring job insecurity climate in line with a referent-shift model. Work environment surveys in organizations that include measures of individual job insecurity and job insecurity climate can provide practitioners with a fuller picture of the psychosocial work environment.\nOriginality/value: The present study adds to previous research by introducing a new approach to measuring and conceptualizing job insecurity climate.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
IT-adaptation challenges in the process industry: an exploratory case study	[ "Integration", "Communication technologies", "Paper industry", "Sweden" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: For contemporary organizations the dream of managing their use of information technology (IT) through the establishment of an IT strategy, and aligning the IT infrastructure with existing business strategies, has seldom come to be realized. Practical evidence of integration of large-scale IT infrastructure in complex organizations show that the integration process does not follow a rational and waterfall-like process (Hanseth et al., 1997). While managerial handbook recipes imply that IT infrastructure are highly malleable and enabling, and can be deployed by means of a rational decision-making process by the management this perspective to IT strategy has been criticized for undermining the role of organizational and social issues (Ciborra, 2000; Knights et al., 1997).This paper builds on the idea that large-scale IT infrastructures deployed in an organizational setting should be characterized as \"infrastructures\" rather than \"tools\" because their deployment is often constrained by an installed base. An installed base can be defined as the interconnected practices and technologies that are institutionalized in the organization (Rolland and Monteiro, 2002).The purpose of this paper is to identify and explore critical challenges for the process industry in IT infrastructure integration and adaptation. As an example of a process industry, the study presented in this paper is focused on IT integration in an organization in the paper and pulp industry. The paper builds on a growing literature on information infrastructures (Ciborra, 2000; Hanseth et al., 1997; Star and Ruhleder, 1996), and in particular the picture painted in this literature of IT infrastructure as stable rather than flexible, as they have been recognized as hard to change due to the inertia of the installed base (Monteiro, 1998).The remainder of this paper is outlined as follows: First, we present a theoretical framework we argue is a useful perspective on IT integration, in the following section the case is presented. In the fourth section, we suggest four critical challenges that organizations in the process industry need to address. In the concluding section we, discuss the implications of our study, for the process industry and for future research.\n2 Theory: The question of what comprises the key object of study in IS research is as important as it is continuously discussed (Avgerou et al., 2004). One possible explanation to the apparently elusive key object is that it changes, or evolves, over time due to technical innovations and innovative ways of using technology. The convergence of information and communication technology (ICT) is one example of a relatively recent technical and social innovation which has challenged the incumbent key object concept in IS research. It reflects not only the convergence of technologies, but it also captures the growing integration of hitherto different systems. This does not mean that the idea of systems as the key object is rendered irrelevant, but at least it broadens the reach and scope of the research arena. The change in perspective implies we should reconsider several fundamental concepts (coupled tightly with the incumbent notion).Replacing (information) system with (information) infrastructure as a fundamental concept has been proposed as a way to build a theory more useful for approaching the change in the characteristics of technology and our way of using it (Hanseth et al., 1997). Infrastructure as a concept captures the integrated nature of the technology and suggests a perspective allowing us to approach questions of, e.g. design, strategies and methodologies not possible with system as a core concept.As noted by Walsham, quoted by Angell and Ilharco (2004), theory is \"both a way of seeing and a way of not seeing\". This paper does not argue that a theory of infrastructure is the right or the only one, but rather that it is a useful perspective which makes it possible to see important aspects of the world we aim to explore in this paper. Aspects that are undetectable or uncapturable when using a systems perspective. The quote from Walsham also highlights the impact a changed perspective can have for management. How IT is regarded by the actors controlling the organizational means is an important factor in how you can manage difficulties.2.1 Infrastructure\n3 Case: The purpose of this paper is to identify and explore critical challenges for the process industry in IT infrastructure integration and adaptation. In this section, we present the main outcome of our empirical study at SCA - a Swedish based multi-national organization in the paper and pulp industry, and their main IT-vendor ABB (ABB has, e.g. supplied the control system for the mill).3.1 Methodological considerations\n4 Discussion: In this section, we discuss the case finding in relation to the theoretical background to get a identify and explore critical challenges for the process industry in IT infrastructure integration and adaptation.4.1 Integration as an ongoing process\n5 Conclusion: The purpose of this paper was to identify and explore critical challenges for the process industry in IT infrastructure integration and adaptation. To this end we identified four critical challenges: integration as an ongoing process; maintaining stability in the installed base; locking the right stuff in; and balancing user value, continuity of production and compatibility. Given the centrality of IT infrastructure in today's process industries the importance of dealing with these challenges must be emphasized. How do we deal with them then? How do we change the IT infrastructure in a way that is feasible and desirable?Hanseth (2002) has described two generic strategies for changing an information infrastructure:1. Evolutionary: slow, incremental process where each step is short and conservative.2. Radical: fast changes, a radical break with the past.The radical strategy is difficult to implement in practice due to the role and nature of the installed base and network externalises. The evolutionary strategy, on the other hand, consists of changing a small part of the network, then making sure the newly added parts work properly. This means that the change effort is spread out over time, each step being small. In information infrastructure theory, the strategy of change and development is called cultivation (Hanseth, 2002). Cultivation requires a close analysis of the way behaviour is inscribed in the already existing elements of an infrastructure, the installed base.The four challenges identified in this study are of such a complexity they can only lend themselves to the evolutionary strategy. Such a strategy is in concert with the sensibility towards risk we find in the paper industry. A breakdown in IT infrastructure will probably lead to a breakdown in production, which will extremely costly. To this end the evolutionary approach to changing the IT infrastructure is synonymous with a risk-management approach.An evolutionary approach has the benefit of being sensitive towards \"that which already exists\" in the plant - both people and technology. We have discussed the need for a sensitivity towards technology - the installed base - in some detail. A similar sensitivity has to be addressed towards the people working in the plant and how the institutionalized professional identifies shape the work process in the plant. As noted by Rolland (2003), IT infrastructures that contradicts deep-seated local professional identity by the assumptions articulated by/inscribed in the infrastructure a feeling of \"meaninglessness\" and \"existential anxiety\" among the users. This underscores a critical risk associated with IT infrastructure projects - to balance the local with the global in such a way that empowers, rather than disempowers, local staff (Jonsson and Holmstrom, 2005). Such risks are characteristic for \"the risk society\" (Beck, 1999; Beck et al., 1994). Beck maintains that \"latent side effects strike back even at the centres of their production\" (Beck, 1992). For the process industry, the attempts to gain better control over production processes by means of more sophisticated technologies can encounter such a side effect of the process operators feel as if they are disempowered by new technology.5.1 Theoretical and practical implications\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper seeks to identify and explore critical challenges for the process industry in information technology (IT) infrastructure integration and adaptation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - An exploratory case study was conducted at a paper mill and their main IT-vendor. Using a qualitative approach eight semi-structured interviews were carried out with representatives from both organizations.\nFindings: - The paper identifies four critical challenges in the integration and adaptation of IT-infrastructure in the process industry: integration as an ongoing process; maintaining stability in the installed base; locking the right stuff in; and balancing user value, continuity of production and compatibility.\nPractical implications: - Given the centrality of IT infrastructure in today's process industries, the importance of dealing with these challenges must be emphasized. The four challenges identified in this study are of such a complexity that they can only lend themselves to the evolutionary strategy. Such a strategy is in concert with the sensibility towards risk found in the paper industry.\nOriginality/value: - This paper contributes by building on and expanding IT-infrastructure literature, as a result of exploring IT-adaptation challenges in process industry organizations. The findings also provide managers with a valuable insight into recognizing and handling these challenges.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The impact of e-commerce capabilities on agricultural firms' performance gains: the mediating role of organizational agility	[ "E-commerce capabilities", "Organizational agility", "Performance gains", "Agricultural firms" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: While e-commerce is common in the retail and service sectors, it has not been widely adopted in the agricultural sector where businesses focus on growing, harvesting, packaging and shipping fruits and vegetables. The agricultural sector has unique characteristics that distinguish it from other industries. Specifically, market risks often occur due to the high degree of uncertainty in the agricultural supply chain (Zeng et al., 2017), long industrial chains leading to difficulty in maintaining a stable level of quality in agricultural products (Lin et al., 2019), agriculture production's reliance on the environment (Leong et al., 2016) and the fragility and perishability of agricultural products which may increase due to high circulation costs (Cui et al., 2017). All these characteristics can cause uncertainty and operational difficulties in the agricultural sector.However, in this sector, e-commerce has the potential to eliminate middle layers in the value chain, reduce production and operational costs, lessen information asymmetry and improve the connection between agricultural production and market demand (Lin et al., 2019). Such advantages are of vital importance as many agricultural firms struggle financially. For example, only 1% of agricultural firms in China are profitable (Zeng et al., 2017). Therefore, there is a pressing need to examine the drivers of e-commerce adoption by agricultural firms as well as the process of creating performance gains through the use of e-commerce in agricultural firms after it is adopted. Most of the existing research studies in this domain focus on customer's adoption factors rather than assessing the value or the impact of e-commerce on firms (Picoto et al., 2014; Krell et al., 2016). To advance this line of research, we focus on the second need and examine the mechanisms that afford the translation of e-commerce capabilities into agricultural firms' performance gains.E-commerce is regarded as being a universally available resource (imitable or mobile) as well as being unable to provide agricultural firms with a competitive advantage. However, the capabilities that reflect firms' ability to use e-commerce for managing business processes (i.e. e-commerce capabilities) are valuable, heterogeneous and immobile, which can provide a competitive advantage for agricultural firms (Zhang et al., 2016a, b; Irfan et al., 2019). For example, it has been posited that e-commerce can help agricultural firms integrate the production, supply and marketing of agricultural products, shorten the circulation link and expand the agricultural chain's value and increase market competitiveness (Zhu et al., 2015).Consequently, such capabilities and their efficacy in impacting firms' performance gains have not been ignored by current research. Nevertheless, the extant body of work in this domain has two limitations, which we intend to address in this study. First, previous studies have presented inconsistent conclusions regarding the impact of e-commerce capabilities on performance gains (Liu et al., 2013). Some scholars have shown that e-commerce capabilities have a positive impact (Chen et al., 2014), while others have found that e-commerce capabilities have no significant effect on firms' performance (Chae et al., 2014). This inconsistency can be explained through understanding the mechanisms (e.g. mediation processes) that translate e-commerce capabilities into performance gains. Organizational agility captures a firm's ability to respond quickly to unexpected changes (Lu and Ramamurthy, 2011). It can help firms rapidly adjust their internal processes and capitalize on market opportunities to gain competitive advantage (Cheng et al., 2020). Furthermore, when e-commerce is integrated into the market operation, e-commerce capabilities can help firms obtain and analyze information related to changes in the external environment, help firms improve business processes and thus achieve organizational agility (Ravichandran, 2018). Although organizational agility may play a mediating role in the impact of e-commerce capabilities on firms' performance gains, empirical evidence of its role as a mediator is scarce. Hence, we intend to explore it further in this paper. Second, existing studies have treated e-commerce capability as a unidimensional concept (Cui and Pan, 2015). This perspective ignores nuanced differences among various e-commerce capability facets. Thus, viewing e-commerce capability as a multidimensional concept can be beneficial and assist in exploring more specific effects of e-commerce capabilities on performance gains. This is the second objective we intend to address in this paper; it can also elucidate reasons for inconsistent findings in previous studies as averaging across e-commerce capability facets may mask important nuances.To address the above described research gaps, we draw on the perspective of dynamic capability theory to develop a model that explains the impacts of e-commerce capabilities on agricultural firms' performance gains and the mediating role of organizational agility in the linkages between them. This paper makes three key contributions to current research. First, this study reveals the mechanism through which e-commerce capabilities influence agricultural firms' performance gains, identifies the mediation role of organizational agility and provides a new way for agricultural firms to effectively develop e-commerce capabilities to obtain performance gains. Second, this study supplements the applicability of dynamic capacity theory and finds that e-commerce capabilities (i.e. low-order organizational capabilities) can promote organizational agility (i.e. high-order organizational capability). Third, this study considers both financial and nonfinancial performance gains as the reflection of agricultural firms' overall performance gains, expanding previous studies that only focused on one dimension.\n2. Theoretical background: 2.1 Dynamic capability theory\n3. Theresearch model and hypotheses: Integrating discrete cosine transform (DCT) with the perspective of organizational agility, we propose the following model (Figure 1) that explains how key e-commerce capability facets help agricultural companies to become agile and, ultimately, help them perform efficiently. 3.1 E-commerce capabilities and agricultural firms' performance gains\n4. Theresearch design: 4.1 The sample and procedures\n5. Thedata analysis and hypotheses testing: 5.1 The common method bias test\n6. Discussion: We examined the role of e-commerce capabilities in building organizational agility in agricultural firms. Although previous studies have discussed e-commerce capabilities, there has been a rather inconsistent understanding in the literature (Cui and Pan, 2015; Zhu et al., 2015). We enrich the existing research study by identifying three key dimensions of e-commerce capabilities, namely talent, managerial and technical capabilities, and revealing their different impacts on the two dimensions of organizational agility. Specifically, talent capability has stronger effects than managerial and technical capabilities. This demonstrates that professionals with e-commerce knowledge can help firms manage and maintain their data more efficiently and help firms respond faster to changes in the market. Therefore, talent capability can help firms seize market opportunities as well as arrange and adjust their internal operations, such as rapidly expanding or reducing the scales of production and services to adapt to market changes.We note that managerial capability has a positive impact on market capitalizing and operational adjustment agility in agricultural firms. This finding is consistent with that of Tallon (2008), who found that IT management capability accelerates an enterprise's speed of response to market changes and positively affects operational adjustment agility. Therefore, high managerial capability can help agricultural firms respond quickly to market changes as well as improve system development and project management by effectively executing plans and adjusting internal operations to respond to market demands.Third, we also note that in agricultural firms, technical capability increases market capitalizing agility but has no effect on operational adjustment agility. These findings extend the research study of Panda and Rath (2016), who found that technical capability has a positive impact on market capitalizing and operational adjustment agility in financial firms. Technical capability has a driving effect on market capitalizing agility. It shows that agricultural firms with high technical capability can use advanced technology methods (e.g. big data analysis and cloud computing) to quickly capture and respond to changes in market demand and seize the opportunity to gain competitive advantage. We also find that technical capability has no significant influence on operational adjustment agility, but this could be a specific artifact of the sample. Alternately, there may be unique features of agricultural firms in China that weaken this link (e.g. barriers for operational adjustment). Specifically, agricultural characteristics (e.g. perishability, low standardization and seasonality) place high demands on e-commerce technical capability, but e-commerce in China's agricultural firms started late, and their technical level is relatively low. Thus, due to the constraints of low-level technology, it is difficult for agricultural firms to quickly and effectively improve or update their internal business processes. Further, exploring this null effect is a fruitful area for future research.Fourth, market capitalizing and operational adjustment agility increase financial and nonfinancial performance gains of agricultural firms. Previous studies have focused on the impact of organizational agility on firms' financial performance gains (Chakravarty et al., 2013), ignoring the importance of nonfinancial performance gains. We extend previous research and find that there is no significant difference in the effect of the two dimensions of organizational agility on financial and nonfinancial performance gains. This indicates that in the changing market environment if firms want to improve nonfinancial performance gains (e.g. customer satisfaction, processing cycle or employees' sense of achievement) and increase financial performance gains (e.g. turnover of funds, return on assets or sales profit), they need to not only respond quickly to market changes and formulate new strategic plans but also adjust internal operations immediately to support the implementation of the new strategy.Fifth, the results indicate that organizational agility partially mediates the effects of e-commerce capabilities and firms' performance gains. This finding is consistent with the leveraging effects of IT capabilities on dynamic capabilities, identified by Pavlou and El Sawy (2006). Organizational agility, as a type of dynamic capability, can adapt, integrate and reconfigure clusters of resources to match changes in the business environment. E-commerce capabilities can build a competitive advantage through organizational agility in a turbulent environment. The results also support the research study of Liu et al. (2013) by positing that the impacts of IT capabilities, as low-order capabilities, on firm performance are mediated by organizational agility, as high-order capabilities. From the view of the hierarchical structure of dynamic capability, the low-order capabilities can help a firm develop high-order ones, thereby gaining a competitive advantage. Hence, the finding reinforces the idea that e-commerce capabilities directly affect firms' performance gains as well as create and strengthen dynamic capabilities to achieve performance gains. 6.1 Theoretical contributions\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the impact of e-commerce capabilities on agricultural firms' performance gains through organizational agility.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A survey was used to collect data from 280 managers of agricultural firms. The proposed model was tested via structural equation modeling.\nFindings: The empirical results indicated that organizational agility plays a mediating role in conveying the positive influences of e-commerce capabilities on agricultural firms' performance gains. Specifically, managerial, talent and technical capabilities have different effects on market capitalization and operational adjustment agility, with talent capability performing the most important role. Market capitalization and operational adjustment agility have positive impacts on financial and nonfinancial performance gains, respectively.\nOriginality/value: This study provides a new framework to understand the relationships between e-commerce capabilities, organizational agility and agricultural firms' performance gains.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Innovation in a globalized world: Proximity-focused policy and border-crossing innovation projects	[ "Resources", "Innovation", "Development", "Policy", "Proximity", "Mediator" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In the contemporary era of globalisation, in which innovation implies establishing interfaces in using, producing and developing settings that most often transcend organisational, company and legal borders (Waluszewski, 2011; Hakansson and Waluszewski, 2007), why does OECD and EU policy still rely on proximity? The basic explanation is policy's assumption that innovation investments will create benefits in close spatial relation to where these were made.\n2. Research design: The study of how policy copes with the idea of proximity in practice, including how the outcome is captured and estimated, and furthermore, how it is related to the spatial pattern and outcome estimations of an innovation project, rests on IMP's understanding of exchange as a process with a content (Hakansson, 1982) of resource heterogeneity (Hakansson and Snehota, 1995) and of innovation as an entangled process (Hakansson et al., 2009; Eklund and Waluszewski, 2015).\n3. Empirical study--innovation opportunities and obstacles identified by policy and business: What is needed for a policy-supported innovation project to succeed and to create benefits in close spatial proximity to where the policy investments were made, and how is the outcome estimated? Moreover, in what way does the supported innovation project encounter difficulties in getting the new solution that is under development embedded into using and producing settings, and how is the outcome estimated? The empirical study presented in this section will shed light on these issues from the perspective of the national policy actor Vinnova; the policy mediators BIO-X and UIC; and the focal business actor Q-Linea. We will start by offering a detailed presentation of these actors.\n4. The national policy actor's measures to support innovation: Vinnova's mission is defined as \"to promote sustainable growth by improving the conditions for innovation, as well as funding needs-driven research\" and to realise this by promoting \"collaborations between companies, universities, research institutes and the public sector\" (Vinnova, 2016b, p. 2). In order to initiate and promote such public-private collaborations the national innovation agency invests in regional systems of innovations or innovation milieus (Vinnova, 2016a). The aim is to foster collaborations on a systemic level mainly among university research and businesses. The underlying assumption is that organised interaction among the state, industry and academia is a distinct means to create regional knowledge diffusion and a regional innovation milieu (Vinnova, 2016b, 2015, 2016a). Or, as the general goal of Vinnova is expressed by one of their managers, to build new knowledge and people.\n5. The policy mediator's measures to support innovation: Vinnova's main ambition to support collaborations among a region's university/institute research and businesses is mediated by the regional policy actors; in this case, they are Uppsala BIO and UIC. Uppsala BIO's mission is to \"bring together academy, industry, healthcare, and local authorities to strengthen the life science sector's competitiveness\" (www.uppsalabio.com). UIC's goal is to \"support entrepreneurs, scientists, innovators and management in their efforts to commercialise their ideas\" (https://uic.se/en/about-uic).\n6. The business actor's innovation measures: The Q-Linea innovation project, which both the national policy agency and the policy mediators have referred to as successful, also receives different types of support from these actors, and has its origin in research advances made in close spatial proximity to where the Q-Linea project was established.\n7. Concluding discussion: This papers' presentation of how policy, and specifically an innovation-policy-supported business actor, copes with the idea of proximity in practice has outlined two rather diverging views. There is a disparity between the understanding of policy and business actors' of how to relate to social and material resources in place in the producing and using settings, and furthermore, of the consequences for spatial proximity. In the discussion below we would like to draw attention to some main aspects related to these diverging views.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Previous IMP research has shown that innovation benefits tend to gravitate across organisational, company and legal borders. However, OECD and EU policy assume that innovation investments will create benefits in close spatial relation to where these were made. The overall purpose of this paper is to consider how opportunities and obstacles of innovation appear from the perspective of: a national policy actor, its regional mediators and a policy supported and research-based firm engaged in innovation. A specific interest is directed to what interactive aspects that are considered by these actors; in the using, producing and developing settings.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Influenced by the research question and theoretical point of departure the authors investigate what type of interfaces our focal actors recognise in the using, producing and developing settings. A total of 41 face-to-face and phone interviews focusing on each actor's approach were conducted; 23 interviews in order to investigate the \"policy side\" of innovation attempts, while 18 interviews have been performed in order to understand a single business actor's innovation approach.\nFindings: The study shows that both the national policy agency and the regional policy mediators primarily operate within a developing setting, and furthermore, applies a rather peculiar interpretation of proximity. As long as the developing setting of the innovation journey is in focus, with the task to transfer academic knowledge advances to commercial actors, the proximity aspect is rather easy to fulfil. However, as soon as the producing and using settings of the innovation is taken into consideration, the innovation, if it survives, will gravitate to a producing setting where it can contribute to investments in place.\nOriginality/value: The study investigates the opportunities and obstacles of innovation; the spatial aspects included, and how these are considered by: a national policy agency, a regional mediator and a policy-supported innovating firm, in order to juxtapose the policy doctrine with the experience of the business actors such policy wishes to support.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Informality and macroeconomic volatility: do credit constraints matter?	[ "Tax evasion", "Informal economy", "Credit constraints", "Macroeconomic volatility" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: This paper addresses the implications for macroeconomic volatility of credit constraints characterizing the informal economy. It has been well documented that firms in such an economy typically under-report their operations and do not resort to formal capital markets (Straub, 2005). While this modus operandi enables them to hide their activities from tax collectors, it also reflects information asymmetries between borrowers and lenders that reduce incentives for financiers to loan. This argument is formalized here through a simple dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model featuring several attributes observed in corporate income tax structures and debt enforcement procedures around the world. In such a framework, the extent of unrecorded production is endogenized allowing for computational experiments to analyze how the extent of undeclared activity and its determinants affect the cyclical volatility of macroeconomic aggregates like consumption and investment.\n2. The model: This section develops a simple dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model with credit constraints and tax evasion opportunities. The model is similar to the one of Jermann and Quadrini (2012) in that the tax structure matters for the relevance of the borrowing constraint. Such a feature is aimed to bring the financially constrained informal sector into the picture while conveying a likely representation of tax policy as observed in both developed and developing countries (see Gordon and Li, 2009).\n3. Calibration: The system of equations used to compute the dynamic equilibria of the model depends on a set of 12 parameters. Of these, 11 can be obtained by resorting to related studies: the subjective discount factor (b), the capital income share (a), the depreciation rate (d), the degree of financial development (), the corporate income tax rate (t), the steady-state share of activity left \"off the books\" (e\n4. Results: The following experiments consider the implications for macroeconomic volatility of variations in key parameters of the model. It is worth noting that the main purpose of these experiments is not to determine whether the model can capture particular stylized facts about the US economy, but to make a specific point through a series of numerical simulations. Overall, the results confirm the underlying intuition explained in previous sections and reveal some suggestive connections.\n5. Concluding remarks: The present paper addresses the implications for macroeconomic volatility of borrowing constraints characterizing the informal sector. To this end, it develops a simple dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model featuring financial frictions and tax evasion opportunities. In the model, firms operating unofficially are subject to credit rationing, which reduces loans in relation to their non-payment of taxes. This assumption is consistent with the observation that it may be more difficult for tax evaders to access external finance because doing so entails official documentation, especially if lenders require collateral and if the process of hiding economic activity involves concealing the true ownership of assets. After identifying the determinants of the extent of the unrecorded sector, some computational experiments allow one to examine how informality and its determinants affect aggregate volatility.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the implications of borrowing constraints characterizing the informal sector for macroeconomic volatility.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To this end, the author develops a simple dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model wherein registered activity not only is the basis to determine tax liabilities, but also serves as collateral for securing debts. Such a framework allows for computational experiments to analyze the effect of informality on aggregate fluctuations.\nFindings: The experiments show that the credit-constrained informal sector does exert a significant influence on the cyclical volatility of consumption and investment.\nOriginality/value: There are not many studies addressing the implications of informal economic activities for macroeconomic fluctuations. This paper contributes to the literature by developing a theoretical model showing that credit constraints characterizing these activities might play a non-negligible role in explaining the cyclical volatility of some important aggregates.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Quality management benchmarking: FDA compliance in pharmaceutical industry	[ "Benchmarking", "Quality management", "Process management", "Pharmaceuticals industry", "Germany" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Companies must continuously search and exploit potential to improve their competitiveness (Mertins et al., 2004). Benchmarking means orienting a company in the best market position, aiming to be the best of the best in the business field. To meet this goal the objectives are to:* analyze the organization's strengths and weaknesses;* compare the company's position with its competitors';* define success factors; and* implement performance improvements (Schuster and Mang, 2001).After analyzing the organization's and market competitor's positions, new and promising enterprise strategies can be developed (Mertins and Kohl, 2004). To make profits a company is constantly forced by today's buyers' market to supply competitive products and services. This only succeeds if a company acts effectively and orientates its processes according to value streams or value chains. Otherwise, company results decrease and investment benefits are not realized.To be a global active company means not only overcoming cultural or logistic barriers but also integrating company and product requirements. The pharmaceutical industry ranks world-wide among businesses with the largest regulation and information density. Millions of documents and strict guidelines must be followed, which are issued by regulatory authorities; for example in the US by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA's mission includes ensuring that human and veterinary drugs are safe and effective. The security and effectiveness of devices intended for human use must be ensured. In order to sell food and medications in the USA, production plants must correspond with FDA regulations (Benson, 2005; FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, 2003). Enterprises wanting to enter the US market not complying with FDA requirements can learn from other US companies by benchmarking - the search for solutions based on industry best methods and procedures used by leading and top performing companies (Camp, 1994). Benchmarking helps goal-oriented staff to use new ideas, methods, procedures and processes. The method answers questions about strategic adjustment by companies outside the company's organization or exterior to its business. The benchmarking project helps staff understand business procedures, strengthens competitive ability and supports continuous improvement processes. This enables staff to offer superior services with a competitive advantage to the customer's benefit (Figure 1). For that reason, benchmarking is an interesting business process management method.Our project's goal was knowledge exchange between two pharmaceutical companies concerning FDA compliance and quality management. The two companies learned from the experiences and the competences of each other. In this case, the competence of one company was the accomplishment of the FDA compliance and the strength of the other company was executing quality management. Learning efficiently and effectively from each other means that structured proceedings are necessary. The benchmarking procedure orients itself within the five-stage model (Figure 2), which is a structured and process-oriented approach. For goal-oriented procedures, it is necessary to specify benchmarking methods and requirements. With this short but effective model, it is possible to modify the five main processes depending on language and the project's intentions. The modified model supports benchmarking method understanding and compliance. Using the structured procedure, milestones can be defined and processes controlled (Mertins and Kohl, 2004).\nProcedure: A temporal project overview is represented in the project plan (Figure 3) - the individual project phases.To define project results and specify strategic targets, it is necessary to involve all participants in a target-setting workshop (Mertins et al., 2004). This is why projects start with a workshop on organizational issues and objectives (project definition). Leading the team to a common understanding about targets and assessment criteria for project success are important parts of the workshop. During stage 1, the workshop is part of the benchmarking goals, which informs the processes' exact scope. These targets were used for project control and deciding success at the end of the project (Mertins et al., 2004). Briefly, common processes include:* change management;* change control;* re-qualification (new accreditation); and* maintenance.With benchmarking partners, we identified these project goals:* Identifying key performance indicators (KPI), making sure processes are measurable and comparable.* Analyzing and optimizing standard operation procedures (SOP).* Exchanging experiences regarding FDA compliance.Basic process-oriented benchmarking is about visualizing partner business processes for resolving problems (Steven and Werding, 2001). Well directed business process identification and documentation is a basic benchmarking condition. The process model works as a reference for benchmarking partner company analysis (Mertins and Jochem, 2000). For comparing in a benchmarking project, we need at least two companies described by their processes in the same manner, if not then you will compare apples and berries. In this case you cannot achieve project target desired results.And so the focus of stage 3 (internal analysis) is defining and modeling business processes for the comparison, which were taken up with the help of company managers and their SOPs. These analyses are supported by software, which determines exactly where and which data are recorded, processed and passed on. Process modeling is based on benchmarking project targets (Binner, 2005). One process model example is provided in Figure 4. The horizontal bars represent process parts, while representing the business process temporal and operational sequence. Individual process activities are represented by a rectangle. Process inputs (information, services, products etc.) as well as outputs (data, information, products, etc.) are embodied as a process step in arrow form. Sub processes are illustrated by shading. Process decisions are represented by hexagons. Other key performance indicators in the process are embodied in dark gray and explicitly as text.This makes operational sequences transparent. The processing concepts were presented to benchmarking partners and two processes were selected: re-qualification and maintenance. In tandem with interviewing and process modeling, a questionnaire was constructed so that two companies in stage 3 could be compared, key performance indicators were generated and key indicators defined and aligned to fixed goals along with their success factors (Nagel, 2007). Collecting and evaluating key indicators in all participating companies took place. By comparing KPIs, company potential can be identified. Additionally, exchanging FDA experiences occurred. The benchmarking partners audited themselves to underline their potential. After this comparison phase and results analyzed appropriate measures were generated (stage 4) and implemented (stage 5).\nKPI description: Company 1\nResults: Best practices are documented and evaluated by benchmarking. Knowledge exchange between pharmaceutical companies concerning FDA compliance and quality management is supported by key performance indicators and mutual auditing. Company potential is catalogued and by identifying and realizing improvements, companies improve their processes and became top performers which are based on the results of the benchmarking project and respectively knowledge exchange by staff in the two companies. By exchanging experiences, company 2's FDA requirement endeavors will find entering the US-market easier, while company 1 confirmed its quality assurance processes. All findings were communicated in a final presentation to benchmarking partners.The five-stage model supports an efficient and effective learning process in two different companies. During the workshops, better understanding and new business processes emerged. The model's structured approach was helped by a transparent step-by-step process analysis. Furthermore, key indicators, placed directly in business processes to make them measurable, helped the companies achieve a zero-error strategy. Consequently, productivity and quality increased. With this information, performance deficiencies were identified; new resolutions were defined and implemented. In short, the benchmarking project benefits were higher than its costs for both companies.Benchmarking participants expect their relationships to continue and increase their potential. Benchmarking makes organizational learning possible; new findings help to boost economic success. Benchmarking projects are an important step in the continuous improvement process. Benchmarking's goal-oriented approach highlights new ideas, methods, procedures and processes, which increase company competitiveness.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - By analyzing and comparing industry and business best practice, processes can be optimized and become more successful mainly because efficiency and competitiveness increase. This paper aims to focus on some examples.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Case studies are used to show knowledge exchange in the pharmaceutical industry. Best practice solutions were identified in two companies using a benchmarking method and five-stage model.\nFindings: - Despite large administrations, there is much potential regarding business process organization. This project makes it possible for participants to fully understand their business processes. The benchmarking method gives an opportunity to critically analyze value chains (a string of companies or players working together to satisfy market demands for a special product).\nPractical implications: - Knowledge exchange is interesting for companies that like to be global players. Benchmarking supports information exchange and improves competitive ability between different enterprises. Findings suggest that the five-stage model improves efficiency and effectiveness. Furthermore, the model increases the chances for reaching targets. The method gives security to partners that did not have benchmarking experience.\nOriginality/value: - The study identifies new quality management procedures. Process management and especially benchmarking is shown to support pharmaceutical industry improvements.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Antecedents to consumers' showrooming behaviour: an integrated TAM-TPB framework	[ "Anticipated regret", "Showrooming", "Free riding behaviour", "Multi-channel retail" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: A relatively recent trend in multi-channel retailing is \"showrooming\", which has emerged as one of the critical issues in the present retailing dynamics (Bhattacharjya et al., 2016). In showrooming, a shopper makes an intentional visit to an offline store before making a purchase online (Rapp et al., 2015; Gensler et al., 2017). This phenomenon has mainly emerged because of the growth and advancement in technology, which has also led to the emergence of multiplicity of channels (Van Bruggen et al., 2010) and which has empowered shoppers to cross-switch channels as they move through the distinctive phases of the purchase process (Chiu et al., 2011). Brynjolfsson et al. (2013) have claimed that it is not at all uncommon amongst the shoppers today to first experience products offline and later make the purchase online. The combination helps consumers maximize the benefits of shopping by reaping the benefits from both online and offline channels (Verhoef et al., 2007; Kalyanam and Tsay, 2013). According to Statista (2016) Reports, 68 per cent of the shoppers in the USA agreed on following the showrooming sequence. Rejon-Guardia and Luna-Nevarez (2017) have claimed that 48.5 per cent of respondents first tried products at a physical store before purchasing online. The National Retail Federation has proffered showrooming to be one of the most crucial and \"trending\" challenges being faced by the retailers globally (Smith, 2013), while Machavolu and Raju (2014) have proffered it to be a next big threat to Indian retail. Despite the endorsed negative impact of the showrooming behaviour on profitability (Mehra et al., 2017; Bhattacharjya et al., 2016), as well as the overall performance of the brick and mortar retailers (Rapp et al., 2015), \"showrooming\" as a phenomenon has not been given much consideration. Verhoef et al. (2015) have posited showrooming as an important area for future research which calls for an immediate attention to assess as to what drives shoppers to showroom (Rapp et al., 2015).\n2. Literature review and theoretical background: 2.1 Connecting threads to understand the showrooming behaviour\n3. Research model and hypothesis: The proposed model is grounded on the TPB (Ajzen, 1991) and TAM (Davis, 1989). The model postulates that consumers' intentions towards showrooming behaviour will act as an immediate antecedent to the actual showrooming behaviour, which in turn depends upon attitude towards behaviour (Ajzen, 1991; Davis, 1989). As already mentioned, a showrooming sequence leads to relative search benefits offline and relative purchase benefits online, and this determines the attitude towards behaviour, along with perceived ease of purchasing online and perceived usefulness of the behaviour. The positive impact of the usefulness of showrooming sequence is also foreseen on intentions towards the behaviour. Subjective norms and PBC are expected to positively affect consumers' intentions towards showrooming behaviour (Rejon-Guardia and Luna-Nevarez, 2017). The study also proposes the role of anticipated regret in determining intentions towards showrooming behaviour (Gensler et al., 2017). The mediating role of trust has also been proposed as the shopper switches to an online store from an offline store to finally purchase the product (Rapp et al., 2015).\n4. Research design: 4.1 Instrument development\n5. Results of the study: 5.1 Reliability and validity measures\n6. Findings and discussion: Results of the study provide a firm basis of understanding as to what triggers customers to experience electronic products offline before making their purchases online. It was identified that 41.86 per cent of mobile shoppers, 31.78 per cent of laptop buyers, 22.48 per cent of home electric appliances buyers, 39 per cent of DSLR and digital camera buyers and 24.03 per cent of computer accessories buyers visited an offline store before purchasing these online. Consumers mainly visited an offline store to gain access to the \"touch and feel\" of the product and for sales-staff assistance to make better product choices (Gensler et al., 2017). This helped customers gain choice confidence and reduce uncertainties with respect to purchasing products online (Flavian et al., 2016). The assistance offered by the sales staff also helped consumers in making the right product choices (Mehra et al., 2017). Socialization did not emerge as a significant benefit for showroomers. Consumers later switched to an online store because of lower prices online (Rejon-Guardia and Luna-Nevarez, 2017), regular deals and discounts online (Kim and Hahn, 2015), better online service quality (Wang et al., 2015) and better product assortment online (Verhoef et al., 2007). Also, consumers found it easier to purchase and return products online (Wang et al., 2015). This could be attributed to the fact that while returning products, online consumers just need to make the request online, and the product is collected from the place of the shopper itself. Timely processing of returns and refunds further makes it attractive for consumers to make online purchases (Wang et al., 2015). Consumers can see and have access to a broad array of products in an online store as compared to the offline store, as there is no limit to the shelf space.\n7. Theoretical and managerial implications: The research conducted makes a rich contribution to marketing literature by enhancing the understanding of consumers' showrooming behaviour, which has not been given much attention by the researchers (Rapp et al., 2015). In the present piece of research, the scholars have tested the suitability of an integrated TAM-TPM framework for analyzing the showrooming behaviour. The model proposed also derives support from the anticipated regret view (Sheeran and Orbell, 1999) and uncertainty reduction theory (Berger and Calabrese, 1975) to augment an understanding of consumers' showrooming behaviour.\n8. Limitations and future scope of research: This research suffers some limitations which can be addressed by future researchers. The proposed study can be extended to other product categories apart from consumer electronics to analyze the showrooming conduct across various product categories. There is also a need to bring in the element of consumer involvement to examine if consumers are more likely to showroom for high involvement products as compared to low involvement products. The current study only addresses showrooming behaviour, and a comparative analysis with webrooming behaviour would provide a better understanding of the multichannel retailing dynamics. Also, the small sample size of the respondents limits us from drawing generalizations, and a larger sample size would not only allow us to draw generalizations but also would provide a scope for using other statistical methods for verification of results. Further, there is also need to analyze the impact of demographic factors on the showrooming conduct of the shoppers. Finally, as increasing penetration of smartphones is expected to give a huge push to showrooming behaviour, in-store mobile usage can be considered by future researchers.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study is to propose an integrated framework utilizing the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and technology acceptance model (TAM) to augment the understanding on consumers' showrooming behaviour.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Selective sampling was used for data collection. The integrated TAM-TPB framework led to 12 propositions, which were tested using partial least squares-structural equation modelling.\nFindings: Both perceived relative search benefits offline and relative purchase benefits online significantly determined the consumers' showrooming behaviour along with perceived ease purchasing online and the overall usefulness of the showrooming sequence. Results of the study revealed that the showrooming sequence helped consumers avoid the regret of making suboptimal product choices and paying a higher price for the same product. Online trust was found to partially mediate the relationship between consumers' intention to showrooming and the actual showrooming behaviour.\nResearch limitations/implications: Notwithstanding the fact that further research is required to arrive at definitive conclusions, this study is an initial move towards understanding the consumers' showrooming behaviour, and the research provides meaningful insights.\nPractical implications: As showrooming substantially erodes profits, devising strategies to defend showrooming customers becomes crucial. The findings of the study provide the basis for formulating strategies to counter showrooming customers.\nOriginality/value: The paper is amongst the first studies which helps enhance the understanding of consumers' showrooming behaviour, which is an emerging area in the present multi-channel retailing environment.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Professional development of sustainability competences in higher education: The role of empowerment	[ "Higher education", "Professional development", "Empowerment", "Sustainable development", "Competences", "Human factors" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Higher education (HE) in Western Europe has become increasingly competence-based and competence-oriented. A variety of policy initiatives, both at the international and regional levels, have been focusing on competences for sustainable development (SD), for example, the UNECE (2011) competences for educators. Also at the national level, sustainability competences have been defined and integrated in policy frameworks. Sustainability competences can be defined as the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes that enable graduate students to cope with the complexity and uncertainty of sustainability issues in society (Lambrechts and Van Petegem, 2016). Many authors have developed models and lists of such competences (Barth et al., 2007; de Haan, 2006; Rieckmann, 2012; Wiek et al., 2011). Furthermore, the integration of sustainability competences has been analysed (Cebrian and Junyent, 2015; Lambrechts et al., 2013; Segalas et al., 2009), as well as its implications for HE curricula (Cotton et al., 2009; Lambrechts and Van Petegem, 2016; Lans et al., 2014; Sterling, 2004; Tilbury and Mula, 2011).\n2. An organisational change perspective: barriers to change and empowerment: In the Higher Education for Sustainable Development (HESD) literature, considerable attention has been paid towards barriers to change, preventing a systemic integration of sustainability in HE. Pittman (2004) indicates that the lack of sufficient money, time and commitment are the most commonly cited causes in HEIs as barriers to the integration of SD. Other authors point towards such factors as well and see the specific disciplinary structure and conservative culture of HE as key barriers (Disterheft et al., 2015; Filho, 2011; Hoover and Harder, 2015; Lozano, 2006). Verhulst and Lambrechts (2015) give a detailed overview of barriers and distinguish three main groups:\n3. Method: As argued in Section 2, this paper connects the concepts of PD initiatives regarding sustainability competences with change processes. Although these two concepts (sustainability competences and change processes) are being strongly developed in HESD literature, they are evolving as rather separate tracks. Therefore, this paper seeks to answer the following research question:\n4. Context: This section describes the context and provides the necessary background for the research analysis. Section 4.1 presents the reception of sustainability competences in Flanders, and Section 4.2 focuses upon the PD initiatives both at the broad Flemish level and at the level of the single HEI.\n5. Results: empowerment in professional development: The subsequent paragraphs describe how the operational measures of empowerment (authority; resources and specialisation; self-determination) have been applied in the PD initiatives described in Section 4 and how this has supported the presented PD approaches.\n6. Discussion: In this section, we revisit the results of the analysis of PD initiatives and connect them to the insights from the literature on change management and human factor approaches. The specific focus on empowerment enables us to frame the results within the current HESD literature, focusing on the many barriers for change towards sustainability in HE.\n7. Conclusion and recommendations: This paper highlights the importance of connecting PD initiatives to the aspects of organisational change within HE. The different initiatives in the Flemish context and the longitudinal overview of the HEI reveal a focus on sustainability competences and attention towards organisational conditions as well. From a change management perspective, human factors are an important aspect within change processes, whereby empowerment and involvement of employees are important drivers. PD initiatives show relevant opportunities to enhance empowerment and to strengthen the integration of sustainability competences in practice. Furthermore, an important asset is that empowerment diminishes resistance against change. The different examples of PD initiatives in this paper indicate that they already incorporate elements of empowerment. This in turn can have an effect on the success of the initiative itself and the wider integration process of SD in HE.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to provide insights into the relation between professional development (PD) and organisational change processes towards sustainability, with a specific focus on empowerment.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper builds upon a constructivist approach, combining a literature review, a desk research on key publications and reports and a socio-political analysis to reveal the specific context in Flanders, Belgium. Findings are then connected to earlier insights from research on organisational change for sustainability.\nFindings: The paper provides a number of PD initiatives that focus on sustainability in general and in a single higher education (HE) institution. Framing such initiatives as an organisational change process offers insights on how elements of empowerment are currently incorporated in PD initiatives and how it can strengthen them to lead to the further integration of sustainability competences in HE.\nResearch limitations/implications: Limitations are linked with the kind of sources used in the constructivist approach. The analysis only looks at written reports on the topic, albeit it also builds upon the first-hand experiences of educators in the HE institution focused upon in the case.\nPractical implications: There is a need to frame PD initiatives as an organisational change process towards sustainability with specific attention towards empowerment. Without this framing, PD approaches comprise the risk of being left in the margins or being understood as single initiatives without any connection to the bigger picture, i.e. the transition towards sustainability in HE.\nSocial implications: Interlinking PD and organisational change provides opportunities to frame the sustainability transition within the university in a wider societal context.\nOriginality/value: The paper provides an original contribution to the debate on sustainability competences, as it frames the PD within an organisational context, rather than focusing on the individual role of educators.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Inflation and financial sector development in Sub-Saharan African countries	[ "Inflation", "Sub-Saharan Africa", "Financial development" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: 1.1 Inflation and financial development\n2. Methodology: There are several econometric models which might be used to evaluate the relationship between inflation and financial development. Cross-country regressions are some of the commonly used techniques. The challenges with using above techniques are that they assume countries possess similar structural characteristics. When structural differences, be it political, economic or social exists between countries, as is common for SSA countries, they condition financial development process and their differences will most likely not be randomly distributed with zero mean. Thus, the cross-country regressions estimate of financial development coefficients (bi) might end up been potentially flawed or biased. The bias can include measurement error, reverse causation and omitted variable. There is, therefore, a need to ensure that the estimation method used will generate unbiased, consistent and efficient estimates of the financial development coefficients (bi). One methodology that has been utilized by researchers to deal with these biases is the dynamic panel regression with lagged values of the endogenous explanatory variables as instruments (Beck et al., 2000).\n3. Data description: This section provides a brief description of the variables used in this study. The analysis is based on data from 22 SSA countries over the period 1980-2013. As is standard in the literature, the data for inflation are measured by the percentage change in the consumer price index (CPI). To investigate the inflation-finance relationship, we employ the different measures of financial development.\n4. Results and discussion: Dynamic panel GMM was used to estimate Equations (2)-(4) using Arellano and Bond (1991) estimator and results are shown in Table III. FE model results for robustness comparison are presented in Table IV. The study used STATA 11.0 software package for analysis and the results are summarized next.\n5. Conclusion: The study considers the relationship between inflation and financial sector development in 22 countries of SSA region during the 1980-2013 period. The study examines three indicators of financial development which are liquid liabilities, bank assets and credit to the private sector. Other determinants under consideration include macroeconomic fundamentals (GDP growth, inflation and trade openness), a fiscal policy indicator (government spending) and institutional quality indicator (corruption).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the link between inflation and the financial sector performance in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study analyzes the relationship between inflation and the financial sector performance for selected 22 Sub-Saharan countries from 1980 to 2013. The study used panel data and the dynamic panel generalized method of moments econometric method. The study concentrates on the link between inflation and the development of the banking sector.\nFindings: The findings suggest that inflation does not promote financial sector development in SSA region while trade openness has a positive impact on the selected financial development indicators. Other variables that enhance financial development in SSA include government expenditure and good governance.\nPractical implications: The main policy implication of the study is that in order for SSA countries to benefit from a deeper and more active financial sectors, the rates of inflation must be maintained low and be consistently under control. Also, for SSA region financial sectors to become deeper and more active it is crucial to develop stronger economic institutions including independent central banks and sound fiscal authorities.\nOriginality/value: The study differs from previous studies as it includes more (22) countries from SSA region while previous studies were either regional or country specific. The study also incorporates trade openness and the role of institutional quality in enhancing financial development. This differentiates the study from previous studies on the subject from the region.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Relationships between lifestyle of health and sustainability and healthy food choices for seniors	[ "LOHAS", "Senior", "Healthy food choices", "Partial least squares", "Trust", "Emotional loyalty", "Elderly people", "Food products", "Hospitality services" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The consumer demand for environmentally friendly food has steadily increased over the past several decades (Jang et al., 2011). Sustainable food consumption can be defined as \"access and use by all present and future generations of the food necessary for an active, healthy life, through means that are economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable\" (Barber, 2001, p. 2). According to a report by Consumers International (2004), due to the increased marketability of sustainable food production and consumption, there has been a proliferation in the demand for a wide variety of green and eco foods. Considering the increasing trend in the demand for \"green food,\" lifestyle of health and sustainability (LOHAS) consumers have emerged as an important customer group in the foodservice industry (Cortese, 2003; Rogers, 2005).LOHAS consumers can be defined as people who focus on enhancing a lifestyle of health and sustainability by promoting movements that support the production of local, organic, and low-carbon foods (Chou et al., 2012). LOHAS consumers also purchase products such as organic food, natural skin care, and energy-efficient household appliances. LOHAS consumers in Korea are estimated to be approximately 37 percent of the total population (Korea Standard Association, 2010). LOHAS consumers are becoming an important market segment for restaurants. Furthermore, growing numbers of LOHAS diners are not only concerned about the environment and natural resources but also about healthy food choices. These LOHAS diners prefer to visit restaurants that adopt environmentally friendly practices and provide naturally healthy food (Colorado Restaurant Association, 2008).Despite the growing number of LOHAS consumers in the wider sectors of the foodservice industry, only limited research (Joo et al., 2008; Kwon and Song, 2006; Kwon et al., 2007) has been conducted to explore the healthy food choice behavior of LOHAS diners within a restaurant context. Jang et al. (2011) demonstrate that a food-related lifestyle (e.g. adventurous, convenience-oriented, health-conscious, and uninvolved) serves as a significant predictor of consumers' attitudes and behavioral intentions, but no connection to LOHAS consumers is made in the study. A previous study (Kozup et al., 2003) clearly demonstrates that health claims and nutritional information labeling are positively associated with consumers' evaluations of restaurant menu items, as with Jang et al. (2011), although LOHAS diners do not receive exclusive treatment in that study. Chou et al. (2012) note that LOHAS diners actively seek healthy food when eating out; however, the specific connections between LOHAS diners' other lifestyle decisions and the effects of those decisions on food choices are neglected.The life-cycle concept in marketing has been used as a compelling independent variable (Wells and Gubar, 1966). Based on Yoon (1997) and Yoon et al. (2009), age differences are crucial factors with moderating influences on consumer decision-making. Namkung and Jang (2009) examine the moderating role of age differences in the relationship between interactional fairness, satisfaction and behavioral intentions in the restaurant context. Seniors may dine out for different reasons than those of their younger cohorts; therefore, the restaurant industry is concerned about age differences (Kim et al., 2010; Knutson et al., 2006a; Moschis et al., 2003).The senior population comprises 31.0 percent of the total Korean population as of 2011, and the proportion is predicted to increase to 54.3 percent by 2040 (Korean Statistical Information Service, 2010). The disposable income of seniors is higher than that of non-seniors (Caballero and Hart, 1996), even though the income for seniors is low compared to their younger counterparts. Additionally, most seniors do not have children to support, as their children are grown (Shortt and Ruys, 1994), and they often place a greater priority on dining out than non-seniors (Rainville, 2008).Even though understanding the relationship between LOHAS, food quality, and restaurant patrons' behavioral intentions is critically important to restaurant operators, research has not sufficiently explored this topic. Previous studies (Joo et al., 2008; Kwon and Song, 2006; Kwon et al., 2007) indicate that LOHAS diners are quite different from non-LOHAS diners in their food choice behaviors. This study augments the current research in this area by focusing on seniors, a key group of restaurant patrons. Specifically, this study examines the moderating effect of age on the relationship between LOHAS, healthy food choices, attitude, and behavioral intentions in specialty restaurants. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the structural relationships among LOHAS, healthy food choices, trust, and emotional loyalty and the moderating role of age between senior and non-senior diners in restaurants.\nLiterature review and hypotheses development: Consumer trends in LOHAS\nMethod: Measurements\nResults: PLS-Graph Version 3.0 was used to analyze the measurement and structural models. To model both formative and reflective constructs in the empirical test of our research model, we employed a PLS regression. We treated the LOHAS construct as a second order construct, whereas the three dimensions of environmentalism, green consumerism, and conserving resources were treated as first order constructs on a formative scale. PLS regression makes a minimum of assumptions about the measurement scale, sample size, and distribution of residuals (Chin, 2004).Group analysis\nDiscussion and conclusions: The LOHAS had a positive effect on the perception of the healthy food choices in the entire group, senior group, and non-senior group. Our findings offer new insights into LOHAS diners and are somewhat consistent with those of previous studies (Kwon and Song, 2006; Kwon et al., 2007). Healthy food choices have a positive effect on the trust levels and emotional loyalty of the entire, senior, and non-senior groups, which is partially consistent with the findings of Kim and Han (2008). In addition, the influence of trust on emotional loyalty was significant for the entire, senior, and non-senior groups, which is slightly similar to previous studies (Hyun, 2010; Kim et al., 2009). The moderating role of age was confirmed between LOHAS/healthy food choices, healthy food choices/trust, and healthy food choices/emotional loyalty.From a managerial standpoint, this study reflects restaurant patrons' increased awareness of, and interest in, healthy food. It may be an effective strategy for restaurateurs in the specialty-restaurant setting to incorporate healthy food items that support LOHAS. This study stresses a variety of health-food factors and the value of fresh and natural or organic ingredients. Consumers might believe that natural and organic products are more nutritionally beneficial than conventional food; therefore, people who prefer healthy food and LOHAS are more likely to order health-oriented dishes. Restaurant managers should emphasize light and healthy food options, organic ingredients, and healthy cooking methods to earn customers' trust, thereby enhancing the customers' intention to revisit and increasing word-of-mouth referrals.Because the aging population is growing in many developed countries, awareness regarding health issues caused by the growing problems of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes is rising. The senior segment investigated in this study differs from non-seniors in the following ways: the magnitude of the impact of LOHAS on healthy food choices is much stronger for seniors than for non-seniors, and the impact of healthy food choices on trust and emotional loyalty is stronger for seniors than for non-seniors. The senior group is one of the most promising market segments and provides significant revenues for health-oriented restaurants. Restaurant marketers should develop strategies for market segments with different values, needs, and lifestyles by appealing to specific target markets rather than focusing on the entire market (Bojanic, 2007). Restaurant marketers should treat age as an important market segmentation criterion. Specialty-restaurant managers should implement market segmentation strategies by differentiating the senior segment from others. Restaurant managers should have an improved understanding of how restaurants' healthy food choices can contribute to eliciting trust and how trust can eventually affect LOHAS consumers' emotional loyalty. This information can help restaurant managers develop more effective customer relationship management (CRM) strategies, which can lead to both higher customer retention and higher profits.This study offers relevant insights for foodservice operators and marketers regarding the growing needs of specialty-restaurant consumers and their healthy food choices. This study provides restaurant operators with practical suggestions for satisfying the needs of senior and non-senior groups differently; specifically, health-oriented restaurants should focus on highlighting environmentally friendly menus for seniors while stressing environmentally friendly practices for non-seniors. Restaurant operators should develop and advertise healthy menu items that emphasize natural and organic ingredients. They may also disclose information regarding the origins and nutritional values of organic products. Such marketing strategies may prove effective in attracting senior diners, who are more likely to purchase environmentally friendly products and organic foods and beverages. On the other hand, restaurant operators must actively inform non-senior LOHAS diners of their environmental practices (e.g. recycling, donations to environmental organizations) through public relations because these diners pay attention to environmental practices when eating out.In terms of contributions to the industry literature, this study was successful in verifying the positive relationships between LOHAS, healthy food choices, attitudes, and behavioral intentions in specialty restaurants, and it likely represents the first such attempt to accomplish this in the hospitality literature. In addition, the use of a PLS approach rather than traditional structural equation modeling (SEM) represents an important methodological contribution of this study. Another important contribution of this study is the development of a research model that employs a combination of an emergent construct (LOHAS) with formative indicators and latent constructs with reflective indicators, which distinguishes it from the traditional conceptual model that comprises reflective or formative indicators. When both reflective and formative indicators are mixed, the PLS approach is superior to the popular SEM technique. This study also contributes to hospitality literature by exploring the moderating role of age between LOHAS and healthy food. Although the relationship between trust and loyalty is well documented in the marketing literature, the relationship between health food choices, trust, and emotional loyalty has not been investigated in the context of specialty restaurants.Limitations and future research directions\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to examine the structural relationships among lifestyle of health and sustainability (LOHAS), healthy food choices, trust, and emotional loyalty and the moderating role of age between seniors and non-seniors in restaurants.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Partial least squares (PLS)-graph software (version 3.0) was used to analyze the measurements and structural models. The authors employed a PLS regression analysis for both the formative and reflective constructs in the empirical test of the research model.\nFindings: - The study revealed that the senior market segment differs from the non-senior market segment in the following ways: the magnitude of impact of LOHAS on healthy food choices is much stronger for senior diners than for non-senior diners and the impact of LOHAS on trust and emotional loyalty is greater for seniors than non-seniors.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The results of this study can guide the restaurant industry in its research on the implications of LOHAS for seniors.\nPractical implications: - Restaurant marketers should develop different strategies for the senior and non-senior market segments, and they need to focus on target segments rather than attempting to appeal to the market as a whole.\nOriginality/value: - This paper assists researchers and practitioners by shedding light on the differences among LOHAS, healthy food choices, trust, and emotional loyalty between senior and non-senior diners.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Lean manufacturing implementation, context and behaviors of multi-level leadership: A mixed-methods exploratory research	[ "Lean manufacturing", "Leadership", "Lean" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Lean manufacturing (LM) implementation entails fundamental changes in companies' managerial systems, across the organizational and department levels (Karlsson and Ahlstom, 1996; Wan and Chen, 2008). LM implementation is about changing both technical and socio-cultural aspects (Tortorella and Fogliatto, 2014), which can be seen as the essence of leadership, since such implementation creates expectations regarding leaderships' attributes and behaviors (House et al., 2004). Furthermore, it is important to approach the underlying culture of lean implementation, considered as a key element for its long-term sustainability (Hines et al., 2004; Bhasin and Burcher, 2006). Thus, leaders play a crucial role in the establishment of such lean culture (Shook, 2010), since they are responsible for influencing individuals and teams toward the achievement of strategic objectives (Sethuraman and Suresh, 2014). Furthermore, the implementation of any change process, such as LM, generates expectations regarding leadership' behaviors (House et al., 2004). Particularly in a lean change, usually 20 percent of the effort is related to the implementation of lean practices, while 80 percent focuses on changing leaders' behaviors (Mann, 2009).\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Leadership styles\n3. Research method: The proposed framework is comprised of two empirical and complementary studies, as presented in Figure 1. These studies are detailed in the sections to follow.\n4. Results: Table IV shows the results for the first study with regard to leadership behaviors along the LEM roadmap. According to experts' opinion, middle managers' behaviors appear to be more task than relation oriented at the early phases of the LEM roadmap. Furthermore, as the implementation advances throughout the phases, experts suggest that middle managers might shift their focus from task to relation. Such behavioral trend is coherent with Hersey and Blanchard's (1996) recommendations, which state that when the followers cannot do the job and are unwilling or afraid to try, then the leader takes a highly directive role, telling them what to do but without major concerns for the relationship. The leader may also provide a working structure, both for the job and in terms of how the person is controlled. This scenario is especially true when companies are adopting the lean paradigm and decide that they need to change the current management systems toward a lean enterprise (Womack and Jones, 2003). However, when followers can properly perform the job but show insufficient commitment, leaders need to concern on finding out why they are refusing to cooperate and, hence, persuade them. This is the point of the LEM roadmap in which middle managers may spend time listening, praising and making followers feel good when they show the necessary commitment to sustain the improvements achieved so far (Mann, 2009; Rother, 2009).\n5. Conclusions: This paper reports an empirical research that aimed to examine the relationship between the behavioral orientation of leaders from different hierarchical levels and the implementation phases of the LEM roadmap, as well as to analyze the influence of the inherent contextual variables of leadership. This research brings two major findings. First, the context does matter with regard to leadership style orientation along the LEM roadmap phases, although not all variables present the same impact. Overall, in companies with higher levels of LM practices implementation, the contextual variable that must be mainly observed by senior managers and directors is the number of followers that both middle managers and frontline leaders are responsible for. Despite the fact that results suggest that this association may not always happen as expected, senior management must take into account this variable and the current phase of the lean implementation in order to better comprehend the desired behaviors of these hierarchical levels. Hence, this comprehension allows companies to plan and design the organizational structure (size of teams and hierarchy levels) according to expected outcomes for the LM implementation. The identification of context's influence on leaders' style orientation helps senior management to anticipate leadership development initiatives in order to fulfill the current LEM phase requirements and outputs, setting and stimulating proper behaviors and even planning and designing leadership development programs accordingly.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationship between the behavioral orientation of leaders from different hierarchical levels and the implementation phase of the lean manufacturing (LM) roadmap. In addition, it also aims at analyzing the influence of inherent contextual variables related to leadership.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The proposed method relies on both qualitative and quantitative approaches, since it combines and numerically assesses the results of semi-structured interviews with lean experts, in addition to evaluating a cross-sectional survey with 225 leaders from different Brazilian companies that are undergoing LM implementation.\nFindings: The findings support the existence of a transient leadership style along the LM implementation, which is evidenced in terms of task and relation orientation and may vary according to the hierarchical level. Furthermore, the context does matter with regard to leadership style orientation along the LM roadmap phases, although not all variables matter to the same extent.\nOriginality/value: LM implementation is about changing both technical and socio-cultural aspects, which can be seen as the essence of leadership. The relevant question that arises is whether leaders' behaviors from different hierarchical levels should be adapted according to the maturity of LM implementation and the contextual variables that surround leadership.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Adoption of smart TVs: a Bayesian network approach	[ "Consumer behaviour", "Decision making", "Buying behaviour", "Television", "Smart TV", "Innovation diffusion theory", "Bayesian network" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: The advent of smart phones, smart pads, and smart TVs in the late 2000s has opened a new age of smart medias. Smart TV, especially, is expected to radically change the television broadcasting industry. Conventional TV was a device that provided most of the entertainment and information in a normal household. With a combination of internet, applications, and contents, it has evolved to smart TV and its role is ever expanding.The smart TV can be defined as a TV platform with operating system that not only provides the broadcasting function of conventional TV but also application stores, searching, game and SNS service via internet connection (Kim, 2010; Jung, 2011). Others claim that it is not sufficient to view smart TV as a two-way service TV with internet access. The concept of smart TV, according to them, indicates that consumers must be able to install/execute various applications on TV, and they must be able to share and consume desired contents and information (Han, 2010).The advent of smart TV is expected to change the passive Boob tube and lean-back behavior of consumers. Traditionally, TV was a low-involvement device for families where consumers lean-back and relax while watching audiovisual content (Jung, 2010). Smart TV, on the other hand, allows users to enjoy various functions other than conventional TV. For instance, web surfing, checking e-mail, chatting, watching photo gallery, and playing game via internet. In addition, users can download applications from app stores and simultaneously access SNS to chat and/or search about TV program he/she is watching. Users can now take an active role in watching TV and they act as both consumer and supplier of contents and applications.By 2013, global smart TV market is expected to grow to supply 50 percent of new TV: 1.31 million units (DisplaySearch and iSuppli, 2010). Such optimistic forecast and the attractive TV market (with 4 billion users) is inducing many companies to the market. Suppliers of smart TV can be classified into two groups: platform firms (Apple and Google) and digital appliances firms (Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics). Apple released AppleTV, which is the smart TV in a settop box, in 2007 but it did not bring about commercial success due to lack of contents and participating partners. In 2010, Apple released a new version of smart TV in the form of settop box. Users can enjoy movies, TV programs in HD quality and watch streaming contents. Like Apple, Google also released standalone smart TV with Android OS but has formed partnerships with various firms to establish a major portion of hardware and software. Samsung electronics and LG electronics both have their own OS on standalone smart TV, and are emphasizing hardware features, such as design and 3D functions, to exploit their competence as appliance firms.The smart TVs industry is overheating. The success of smart TV, however, is doubtful, and manufacturers are confused with the attributes of smart TV. It is necessary to figure out the characteristics and attributes which consumers want. In other words, the success of smart TV will be determined by consumers rather than suppliers. This study focuses on functions and perceived attributes for smart TVs from potential consumers. The previous literatures, however, were focused on the contents of smart TV and service, restructuring of broadcasting industry, and changes in the competitive landscape. The potential consumers for smart TVs have not been discussed in detail yet.This research attempts to identify factors that determine smart TV buying decisions of users, and analyze the relationships among the factors by using Bayesian network approach. Smart TV is a fusion technology which integrated with many \"smart.\" Thus, it is important to figure out the needs for smart TVs from potential consumers that have experiences of other smart devices. The results ultimately provide a fundamental base for functions and positioning strategy of smart TV in the future.This research employs Bayesian network model, which describes non-linear interdependence among attributes of highly uncertain data and predicts classes based on the interdependence (Jensen, 1996). The most frequently used methodology in conventional new product adoption researches is technology acceptance model (TAM) which has been analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) (Davis, 1989). Since SEM assumes linear relationship, it is not suitable for diagnosis and forecast. This is because it cannot precisely identify the latent effects of independent variables in describing non-linear relationship and/or variances of dependent variables (Gupta and Kim, 2008). This research uses Bayesian network, instead of TAM, to identify the probability distribution of variables that affect future buying decisions and interdependence among variables.This research contributes to the literature in two ways. First, it can indicate a future direction for developing services and functions of smart TV by deducing buying decision factors in a market that is still evolving. Second, it suggests a new methodology of Bayesian network in determining consumer buying factors.The paper is organized as follows. Section 2 reviews and considers the existing literatures on innovation adoption. Section 3 introduces the readers to the Bayesian network model. Section 4 describes the research methodologies including variables and data collection, and Section 5 presents the research results. Finally, conclusions and implications are discussed in Section 6.\n2 Theoretical background: 2.1 Technology adoption model\n3 Research design: 3.1 Research model\n4 Results: 4.1 Correlation analysis\n5 Discussion and conclusion: With Google's announcement of smart TV in 2010, Apple, Samsung, and LG have entered into the TV market and the market is radically shifting from conventional TV to smart TV market. With the release of smart TV, many business intelligences are releasing optimistic forecast of diffusion and sales of smart TV (DisplaySearch and iSuppli, 2010; KT Economics and Business Research Institute, 2010). Smart TV market still yet to develop and it is difficult to decide whether it has succeeded or not. It is true, however, that increasing sales of smart TV does not necessarily lead to increasing usage of smart TV service. In Korea, Samsung and LG, top two appliance firms, are releasing smart TV and aggressively engaging in marketing activities to approach consumers. Consumers may prefer the most up-to-date TV with smart functions in this market with supplier-centric sales strategy. It is, however, difficult to predict how consumer's behavior will change.This research focuses on the effects of perceived innovation attributes on consumers' intention to purchase to suggest future direction for smart TVs in consumers' point of view. In other words, it is not that consumers choose smart TV because smart TV is the latest model of TV, but it is that consumers the degree of understanding of the \"smart\" nature of smart TV and how the understanding affects purchase intention. The functional and service attributes that affect smart TV adoption are web-browsing, n-screen, VOD, communication, entertainment, information, shopping and banking, and smart home, while perceived innovation attributes, based on IDT, are relative advantage, compatibility, observability, complexity, trialability. The adoption has been divided into three groups: buy within a year, buy within three years, buy after three years, and no intention to buy.We applied Bayesian network model to analyze factors of intent to purchase smart TV. In order to apply Bayesian network instead of SEM which has been a popular approach for analyzing technology adoption, we make up for Bayesian network's weakness with selecting variables based on prior theories. There are seven major technology adoption models: TRA, TPB, IDT, TAM, TAM2, UTAUT, and TAM3. We select variables following IDT among them. We first used correlation analysis for figure out the significant correlation among each variable. The functions and perceived innovation attributes of smart TV, the independent variables employed in this research, are partly independent and partly correlated. The correlation analysis, before applying Bayesian network, was used to deduce statistically significant factors. The analysis indicated that complexity and trialability had low correlation with consumer adoption and therefore were excluded in the constructed Bayesian network. Then, we used Bayesian network with causal relationship reflected by the result of correlation analysis. The Bayesian network model also allowed this research to see how the factors varied as the adoption pattern. The results of Bayesian network showed the probability distribution, and simulated conditions on intention to buying smart TVs. The most influential variable was relative advantage, followed by compatibility, entertainment, web-browsing and n-screen. This indicates that consumers are more willing to adopt smart TV if expected utility is high and is expected to be suitable for consumers' everyday life. Being excellent in entertainment, information, web-browsing and n-screen functions also accelerates adoption of smart TV.This research also compared the means of functional attributes and perceived innovation attributes for each adoption pattern. All variables, other than smart home, are statistically significantly different for each adoption pattern. The variables that show greatest difference in mean are relative advantage and compatibility. This result is consistent with the results of Bayesian network analysis and the two factors are important in determining adoption pattern of smart TV.\n6 Implications and limitations: Smart TVs was released in earnest in 2010. It is certain that smart TVs are changing the paradigm of TV industry. TVs had been a tool of watching broadcasting programs. They, however, are evolving into \"smart\" TVs which are connected with internet, computers, smart phones, and digital cameras (Jung, 2011). As the functions of TVs are wider and wider, needs of consumers are also increasing. Manufacturers of smart TVs break into new competition with software of internet services and applications instead of hardware of image quality and design (Jung, 2011). The features of smart TVs are not clearly established yet because of the early stage. The manufacturers of smart TVs wonder which features of smart TVs attract consumers' attentions.There is a doubt over the success of smart TV because it provides a service different from the one of conventional TV. For example, there is a doubt over the number of smart TVs consumers will purchase and the drivers of consumer adoption. Reports from business intelligence on sales and diffusion of smart TV are relatively optimistic because they consider the replacement of conventional TV in the context of evolution and development of TV, but the reports do not reflect the service and utility provided by smart TV.This research deduced determinants of purchase intention and analyzed, in the perspective of consumers, how function attributes are reflected in innovation attributes perceived by consumers. Furthermore, simulation allowed observation of changes in relevant variables as adoption pattern changed. The research, rather than pursuing supplier-centric marketing strategy where high-end products replace low-end products regardless of the consumers' utility, provides a guideline for fundamental marketing strategy that identifies the functions and services that consumers want.We provide some future strategies for Samsung's smart TVs based on the results. Samsung Electronics is a leader of conventional TV market, and has manufacturing strengths of TV. Saumsung Electronics emphasize the functions of 3D technology and slim design using these strengths. They also concentrate their energy on developing contents using application contests. Their relative advantages are broadly categorized by 3D technology, design, and contents. In other words, relative advantage is the final attribute which consumers think a new product is more superior than existing products at the perspective of hardware and software. Samsung Electronics have to put through technical improvements of security of basic technologies, a diversity of contents, and hardware of TV sets. Manufacturers stress the utilities of additional functions with maintaining the utilities of existing TVs to acquiring compatibility. Namely, users have to feel that smart TVs are necessary for my life undoubtedly. Entertainment is chosen as a favorite service. Samsung Electronics entered into a partnership with CJ Hellovision to providing entertainment services, i.e. music, game, and extreme sports. Manufacturers have to offer various contents, and update the contents to improve consumer satisfaction. Web-browsing is the most important function of smart TVs which offer internet service with operating system. Complementary technologies are necessary to use web-browsing. One of the technologies is a remote control. Samsung Electronics provide application of \"Samsung Remote\" as well as a basic remote control. Users control channels and volume, and they type in the search words. LG Electronics provide \"magic remote control,\" and it enables users to move the cursor like a mouse and a laser pointer from a distance. Manufacturers seek for changing of remote control to offer convenient interfaces. Users, however, find it more inconvenient than QWERTY keyboard. It is necessary to improve peripheral devices for using the web-browsing function easily. Finally, at the perspective of n-screen, Samsung electronics provide the service of \"Allshare\" which is the sharing data with other electronic devices like home theaters, blu-ray players, smart phones, and digital cameras using DLNA. We found that Samsung Electronics have implemented strategies for smart TVs well. The important success factor with various services and technologies is to help users to use easily. There is no point in expanding services without securing user interfaces.This study has some limitations. First, we conducted the survey of smart phone users which know the \"smart\" functions. It is possible that the result was biased, and it could be difficult to generalize. Second, we focused on Korean consumers, and the result ignored cultural differences. Third, the sample size is only 316. It is difficult to represent all potential consumers. In spite of these limitations, this study has theoretical and practical contributions. We suggested new methodology which offers additional analysis such as diagnosis and prediction for technology adoption. We predicted the change of each variable by the time of adoption. The result is useful for smart TVs industry. From a practical perspective, manufacturers design marketing strategy focusing on relative advantage of smart TVs.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This study aims to identify factors that determine the smart TV buying decisions of users and analyze the relationships among the factors by using Bayesian network approach.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This study investigates smart TV users' perception based on innovation diffusion theory (IDT) which includes five innovation attributes: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability. The authors employ Bayesian network to identify causal relationship among the innovation attributes and analyze the sensitivity of the intentions to changes in factors.\nFindings: - The results show that relative advantage has the greatest influence on the purchase intention of smart TV, followed by compatibility, entertainment, web-browsing and n-screen.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The reliability of the results is limited as the survey is not carried out on a large number of samples. The study, however, suggests a future direction for smart TV in consumers' point of view.\nPractical implications: - According to the findings, companies should focus on enhancing relative advantage, rather than other attributes and entertainment service, to encourage the adoption of smart TV.\nOriginality/value: - Smart TV is an evolving technology in the phase of market introduction. The definition and characteristics of smart TV are still uncertain. The previous literatures, however, were focused on the contents of smart TV and service, restructuring of broadcasting industry, and changes in the competitive landscape. The consumers have not been discussed in detail yet. This paper's contributions are twofold: first, it identifies important attributes for the adoption of smart TV in consumers' intention; second, it suggests a new methodology of Bayesian network in determining consumer buying factors.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Competitive strategies and value creation: a twofold perspective analysis	[ "Social capital", "Management", "Stakeholders", "Value creation", "Stakeholder value", "Corporate social responsibility", "Value", "Competitive strategies", "Entrepreneurship and management", "Shareholder value" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: One of the key issues in the field of management research is to understand and explain why some companies are more successful than others. When this issue is examined, some criteria for corporate evaluation must be identified. In line with the strategic management literature, it is appropriate \"to define the ultimate purpose of a corporation as long-term value creation\" (Monks and Minow, 2008, p. 43). But what is long-term value creation? Value creation is a highly employed concept in a number of academic fields. However, it is also a concept for which there is no common definition, especially in relation to those who could benefit from this process. Establishing the beneficiaries of value creation is essentially defining the purpose of a company in the society in which it operates. In this sense, the observation of the society itself provides guidance in defining the role of a corporation (Lacy et al., 2012). The economic and financial crises of 2000-2001 or 2007-2009, the social and religious tensions that violently impact several countries, the globalisation forces that have failed to produce a more equal income distribution and welfare, as well as the unsolved climate issues have to some extent changed the concept of value creation (Lysandrou, 2011). If a company is viewed as a social institution, then it must strive towards sustainability and improving the working conditions in its operating environment, while pursuing the interests of the stakeholders and acting in a responsible manner on multiple levels (Mason et al., 2007). However, balancing a multiplicity of interests in a sustainable manner is also a relatively more complex and challenging task, compared to the traditional approach, which is focused on shareholders' profitability. In addition to the stakeholder value theory, which basically is that a firm's operations are a balancing act between value creation for shareholders and societal and environmental interests, social capital theory is also interesting, especially with regard to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which have the capacity to bring considerable value to them. Thus, value creation can be articulated around two main ideologies.\n2. Theoretical background: When a company creates value, it distributes it to its various stakeholders: to its primary stakeholders - the shareholders - in the form of dividends, to its employees, in the form salaries, and to its customers through goods and services, just to mention a few examples (Bansal, 2005; Howard, 2010; Teti and Andriotto, 2013). The crucial implied issue is the need to establish for whom the value should be primarily created and distributed (Mainardes et al., 2011). Prioritising the recipients of the value created by a firm has been the object of debate, as it represents essentially an attempt to define the role of firms.\n3. Competitive strategies and hypotheses: Competitive strategy \"is the search for a favourable competitive position in an industry, the fundamental arena in which competition occurs\" and \"aims to establish a profitable and sustainable position against the forces that determine industry competition\" (Porter, 1985, pp. 1-2). In other words, a competitive strategy enables a company to build a competitive advantage, which is the essence of competition and the main determinant of performance, in that it helps a company to strengthen its position in the operating environment. Many taxonomies have been elaborated to map a firm's competitive strategy; Ansoff's (1957) \"product-market matrix\", Miles and Snow's (1978) \"adaptation strategies\", Porter's (1985) \"generic strategies\", Robinson et al.'s, (1988) \"venture strategy framework\", Hamel and Prahalad's \"resource-based view\", Teece et al.'s (1997) \"dynamic capabilities\", and Andriani's (2001) \"diversity, knowledge and complexity theory\". Porter's framework is still extensively used in academic research and probably represents the most influential taxonomy used to analyse firms' strategic behaviour. Within this framework, competitive strategy arises from the combination of two dimensions: the type of competitive advantage (cost leadership or differentiation) and the scope of activities (broad or narrow). Hence, there are four typologies of competitive strategies, defined as \"generic strategies\". Companies operating within a broad market scope can leverage a cost-leadership or differentiation generic strategy, while companies that operate within a narrow market scope can pursue a cost focus or a differentiation focus generic strategy.\n4. Methodology and data: Data about 2,141 European companies has been extracted from the database Amadeus (Bureau Van Dijk), which covers public and private companies across Europe. Eight industries were chosen for the study: cloth manufacturing, accessories, pharmaceutical, automotive, electronics, coffee, food, and mass retailing. A sample of 169 companies was built and divided into two groups: differentiation-driven and cost-driven, to reflect the competitive strategy adopted. The final sample is represented only by those industries for which two distinguished groups, one composed of a statistically adequate number of cost-driven firms, and the other composed of a statistically adequate number of differentiation-driven firms could be constructed. We only considered firms with complete and reliable indicators to assess shareholder and stakeholder value. Once the relevant dependent variables were chosen and calculated, simple linear regressions and t-tests for the equality of means were employed to test H1 and H2. The same techniques have also been used to analyse the findings at a deeper level and to provide further support for the following discussion of the results.\n5. Results: 5.1 The hypotheses tested\n6. Discussion and implications: 6.1 Competitive strategies and value creation approaches\n7. Conclusion: This study has shown that while differentiation and cost leadership do not substantially differ in the creation of shareholder value, significant differences are found when stakeholder value and social capital are evaluated. The results on the latter concepts find a possible explanation in the different resources and capabilities for a competitive strategy, and in considerations of current or past choices affecting value. Furthermore, size and reputational considerations play a significant role in explaining the value performance for the different stakeholder groups. Superior stakeholder value is more likely to be found among large enterprises that adopt the stakeholder value theory approach, along with exploitation of their social capital, and with a generalised focus on the most externally oriented dimensions of the stakeholder value concept (Murillo and Lozano, 2006). Our research also points out a dichotomy between the creation of social value and stakeholder management. Indeed, we still need a better understanding of how enlarged stakeholders influence value creation through areas other than just the management of social issues, and how these items all impact corporate long-term success. This paper indicates that social capital matters, and that sustainable corporate strategies to create value should focus on some key social factors: social networks, confidence, loyalty, legitimacy and all the drivers on which social capital theory is grounded. Therefore, companies should draw from both the stakeholder value theory and social capital to address a corporate sustainable strategy. The goal is that shareholders will invest in organisations that operate in networks that have the ability to generate considerable value (Lin et al., 2001).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the implementation of a defined competitive strategy - differentiation or cost leadership - brings about different value creation levels, where \"value\" is defined in a twofold perspective as \"shareholder value\" vs \"stakeholder value\" and \"social capital\".\nDesign/methodology/approach: A sample of 169 European companies is investigated. Simple linear regressions and t-tests for the equality of means are conducted.\nFindings: While no significant differences are found in the creation of value for the shareholders, firms following differentiation strategies generate considerably higher value for all the stakeholder groups than companies pursing cost leadership strategies. Results also show that size and reputational considerations play a significant role in explaining the different stakeholder value performances.\nResearch limitations/implications: Some data such as off-balance sheet items could have influenced the calculation of the discriminant values for strategy classification.\nPractical implications: Although the two groups manage to achieve comparable levels of profitability, the differentiators, presumably because of their structural outward-facing orientation, seem to be better positioned to meet the challenges of the next wave of growth, which resides in the substantial interconnection between economic and societal value. Companies need a better understanding of how the stakeholder value theory and social capital can influence value creation and long-term success.\nOriginality/value: In light of the importance of competitive strategy as a value-creation tool, the paper sheds new light on the relationship between competitive strategies and value creation.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Physician verbal compliance-gaining strategies and patient satisfaction	[ "Interviews", "Compliance", "Health education", "Patients", "Communication", "Satisfaction", "Qualitative methods", "Strategies", "Doctor", "Health psychology", "Provider-patient communication" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nBackground: Medical adherence can be defined as the extent to which a patient's behaviour coincides with the recommendations of a healthcare provider (World Health Organization, 2016). Although medical adherence is a critical aspect of patient health, between 30 and 50 per cent of patients show poor compliance to medical or lifestyle advice (Brown and Bussell, 2011; Cutler and Everett, 2010; Jimmy and Jose, 2011; Vermeire et al., 2001; World Health Organization, 2003), which can result in negative outcomes such as higher healthcare costs and deterioration of health (Jimmy and Jose, 2011; Roebuck et al., 2011). Despite the topics of health education and health behaviour receiving increasing attention in recent years (Price et al., 2014), the nature of the patient-provider relationship and their interactions turn out to be complex and thus require further research. There is an impetus to explore ways in which physicians can encourage and increase patient compliance with healthcare advice.\nMethods: Data collection took place between 2003 and 2004 at a Family Practice Clinic in Northern British Columbia.\nResults: Descriptive statistics of reported compliance\nDiscussion: Rate of verbal strategies\nLimitations: A limitation of the study is that patient compliance was not directly assessed, therefore, it was not possible to analyse whether the verbal strategies were related to actual compliance. Future research is needed to include a compliance assessment component to reveal whether the coding scheme is predictive of actual behaviour. Additionally, the use of compliance-gaining strategies by physicians in medical consultations may have changed over the past decade since data were collected. As such, findings should be interpreted with caution. Finally, the sample consists of relatively inexperienced physicians, and therefore generalization of the findings should be cautious. It should be noted that although we use the term \"compliance\" in this paper, the patient should be an active participant in, and take ownership of, their own medical care. Medical care involves aspects such as compliance, but also involves collaboration and shared decision taking.\nConclusions: The in-depth analysis of resident physician verbal compliance-gaining strategies provided in the present study expands and addresses limitations of previous research. A major contribution is the creation of a useful and straightforward coding scheme that may be used in future analyses of actual physician-patient interviews. Furthermore, our findings have provided support for the relationship between verbal strategies, satisfaction, and compliance and the interaction of gender. As indicated by Stein et al. (2005), such research can be used to enhance physician-patient communication through the development of teaching models, which could be introduced to resident physicians in medical school.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The patient healthcare experience is a complex phenomenon, as is encouraging patient compliance with medical advice. To address this multifaceted relationship, the purpose of this paper is to explore the ways resident physicians verbally encourage patient compliance and the relationship between these compliance-seeking strategies and patient satisfaction.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A total of 40 medical interviews between resident physicians and patients were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded, and analysed. Patient questionnaires were also administered and analysed.\nFindings: It was found that resident physicians used indirect orders most frequently, followed by motivation, persuasion, scheduling, and direct orders. It was also found that female patients received (marginally) more messages than male patients; female residents used more messages with female patients than with male patients; female residents used more persuasion messages with female patients than with male patients; male residents were less likely than female residents to use motivational messages with female patients; and compliance was significantly correlated with expertise satisfaction, overall satisfaction, and communication satisfaction.\nOriginality/value: This study advances existing research by examining various ways in which residents verbally encourage patient compliance and the relationship between these messages and patient satisfaction. Findings can be used to inform physicians on strategies to encourage patient adherence to medication regimen, appointments, and lifestyle changes.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Comparing crisis management practices in the hotel industry between initial and pandemic stages of COVID-19	[ "Hotel industry", "Importance-performance analysis", "COVID-19", "Tourism crisis management", "Epidemic prevention" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Research on the tourism crisis has become a hot topic after the outbreak of COVID-19 (Zhao and Xu, 2020). This unparalleled crisis has sent the tourism sector, especially the hotel industry, into an unprecedented recession. Indeed, 150 Hilton hotels in China were closed during the COVID-19 outbreak (HNN, 2020). Although some studies have considered them as tourism crises (Backer and Ritchie, 2017; Ritchie and Jiang, 2019), most previous studies were based on crisis management preparedness (Hilliard et al., 2011; Novelli et al., 2018). There are very few studies focussed on the hotel industry, especially on how to cope with an epidemic crisis. Hotel industry stakeholders are now looking for executive strategies for crisis management practices in response to the pandemic. There is thus, an urgent need to fill this research gap.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Tourism crisis management in the hotel industry\n3. Research method: 3.1 Measurement and questionnaire design\n4. Results: 4.1 Descriptive analysis\n5. Discussion and conclusions: 5.1 Conclusions\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Given the increasing number of travel restrictions, the COVID-19 outbreak has dealt a crippling blow to the hotel industry, and the crisis management practices supporting the industry needs are changing as the pandemic continues. This study aims to compare how the hotel industry has responded to this crisis at the initial stage and the pandemic stage.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data were collected from hotel managers in Macau in two occasions, namely, early February and early April 2020. Importance-usage-performance analysis was conducted to classify six categories of practices (pricing, marketing, maintenance, human resources, government assistance and epidemic prevention) into four executable crisis management strategies (priority, maintain, low priority and possible overkill) for each stage. Follow-up in-person interviews were conducted to validate the results of the study.\nFindings: In the initial stage, priority strategies should be applied in all epidemic prevention, pricing and maintenance practices and in two governmental assistance and human resources practices. In the pandemic stage, all epidemic prevention practices remain at the priority quadrant, but two pricing practices are downgraded. Hotels tended to force labour into unpaid vacations (furlough) and postpone office and system maintenance. Governmental assistance should be at a low priority.\nOriginality/value: This study contributes to the knowledge of contingency planning for crisis management across crisis periods. It also demonstrates the processes of importance-usage-performance analysis for researchers to undertake further studies in tourism crisis management. Timely recommendations for governments and hotel industry stakeholders are provided to cope with this crisis.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Gorilla makes an impact at business-transformation and people-development firm: ... and helps an employee to win the Silver Screw award	[ "Recruitment", "Induction", "Retention", "Job satisfaction", "Organizational culture" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: An off-duty police officer who arrested a man in a gorilla suit in a public park did not believe the man's claim to be part of a team project with business-transformation and people-development company Impact. But team members who had been expecting to receive information from the gorilla never got it as the beast was escorted to a police cell.\nThe recruitment process: The company received around 200 job applications and many more prospective CVs last year. Most prospective employees said they wanted to work for Impact as they believed that their values aligned with those of the organization.The company values cultural fit as much as specific skills during recruitment. \"We need people who are skilled at, and enthusiastic about, working with groups of people; who are passionate about developing people and changing people's lives; and who are willing to do whatever it takes to get a positive and practical result for individuals, groups and the client organizations we work with,\" said David Williams.Impact runs selection events for possible new development consultants. The company first assesses their skills and experience, based on their CV. It may then invite them to a selection event. During this 24-hour experience, the company asks potential recruits to deliver a learning session to a group of other candidates and Impact staff. The event also includes an interview and opportunities to find out more about the business.Following this, each prospective employee meets the managing director, the head of Impact UK and other key people, before the company decides whether to offer the candidate a job.Applicants interested in a sales or business-development role are asked to send through a CV. \"If we like what we see, we will invite them to come and see us,\" said David Williams.\"We recruit for attitude rather than qualifications. If any employee, in any role in the business, spots someone he or she is impressed with, we will meet the person with a view to employment. We bring people in on a trial basis, on a secondment or short-term contract, to see how they fit in and if they like us.\"In summary, if people think they have something amazing to offer Impact, we want to hear from them and we take it from there.\"\nThe induction process: The company invites new employees to meet their colleagues at the workplace, or during company events such as parties or training sessions, before they formally begin work.On their first formal day of work they have lunch out and get a tour of the offices. The following days are devoted to inductions about the company (from the managing director), health and safety, facilities, and the in-house welcome program.During their first couple of weeks, new starters learn about Impact's products, systems and processes, and are familiarized with the job they have been employed to do. They meet their line manager weekly for the first three months to ensure that any development needs are addressed quickly.New starters are assigned a buddy - a senior member of staff but not their line manager - to guide them through their work and take an interest in their social activities.\"Despite having a system in place, we do recruit a great variety of people with very different induction needs so we like to be flexible with all aspects of the induction,\" said David Williams. \"Recent innovative inductions have included postings in our global offices and exciting project-management opportunities such as a specific marketing and sales initiative to target the graduate market.\"Every recruit, wherever he or she will be based, visits the UK headquarters to experience a full induction into all aspects of the business. \"This allows recruits to meet all the key people, experience where Impact began, what makes it different, and gain an understanding of our services and learning methods early in their career,\" David Williams explained. \"They also take back a wealth of Impact knowledge and contacts to their country offices.\"This has already proved to be incredibly beneficial in building international relationships and global working practices, not only for the new employee, but also for existing employees based in the UK offices.\"\nA culture of fairness: All Impact employees have a basic salary that relates to a job ladder. The job ladder has a number of pay rungs that employees can climb, based on their level of competence and performance. There are clearly stated bottom and top rungs so that employees know that once they have reached the top of their ladder they are limited in their ability to earn more in that particular job. All new job opportunities are advertised internally to allow people to register an interest in new roles.The generic ladders are open for everyone to see and pay is reviewed twice a year to ensure that employees are receiving fair remuneration. A bonus scheme is available to delivery staff, based on their performance and Impact's overall performance.\"We believe that our pay is upper quartile in both our industry and geographic community, although our competitors are so varied that it is very difficult to benchmark,\" said David Williams.Employees receive 27 days of holiday, regardless of experience or role. All receive a 5 percent pension contribution once they have been in the job for 12 months. Reduced rates at Impact hotels, stays at the Impact London flat, access to equipment and instruction in most outdoor pursuits, and a merchandising department offering discounts on clothing and equipment, are among the benefits available to all employees.\"Our business is all about relationships,\" said David Williams. \"Our low turnover of people means that we can maintain important client partnerships. People stay at Impact because they like the culture and this spills out to our clients.\"\nThe challenges provided: The company's geographical reach and diverse range of clients open challenging opportunities to Impact employees. \"For example, our consultants have operated in Ethiopia and Afghanistan on humanitarian-aid projects. Our work has also taken us into even more diverse parts of society, very different from our original client base of banks and manufacturing companies. We are now regularly working with charities, non-governmental organizations and smaller humanitarian or environmental organizations, where Impact staff are able, through both core skills and stretch activities, to make a significant and telling contribution.\"\"These opportunities lead to personal satisfaction and development, and motivate and inspire other employees who are proud to be working for a company that carries out such projects.\"Impact employees are also encouraged to take part in work outside their normal skill set and to work across cultures different from their own, providing significant opportunities for those who wish to grasp them.\"An exciting development over the last few years is that our marketplace has become more interested in who we are and what we stand for than it ever used to be. We find that, when we pitch for work, our values and culture can be a key reason that we win a contract. One recent example is a PS500,000 piece of work that we won with a utility company. One of the stated reasons was our culture and commitment to long-term sustainable practices.\"The culture goes down well with employees, too. Simon Wagstaff, senior consultant at Impact UK, recently completed 25 years with the firm. \"Every day is different - challenging, fun, interesting, developmental, scary, intriguing, stimulating - and I'm surrounded by talented, inspirational people. Why would I leave?\" he asked.\nNote: David Pollitt, Human Resource Management International Digest editor, wrote this article.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Forms the first of two articles examining how the unusual organizational culture contributes to business success at business-transformation and people-development company Impact.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Focuses on some of the ways in which the company recruits and retains top talent. Details the 24-hour selection events for possible new training consultants, the two-week induction process, the culture of fairness the company emphasizes and the challenging projects it can offer to employees.\nFindings: - Reveals that staff turnover is low, at around 7 percent a year, and job satisfaction is high at this Financial Times Best Company to Work For organization.\nPractical implications: - Reaffirms that low employee turnover helps organizations to win and retain clients.\nOriginality/value: - Gets inside an organization where \"people are our greatest asset\" is more than simply a mantra.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Dell's technical-support staff have the power to do more: Recruitment and training ensure quality customer service	[ "Training", "Recruitment", "Computer industry", "Customer support", "Dell" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Fixed graphic\nThe types of employee that the company seeks: Dell's talent-acquisition team has an elaborate and exhaustive checklist for hiring the technical-support associates who help customers around the globe. They include:\nSources of candidates: Dell relies heavily on the following for hiring customer-support staff:\nCompetency-based philosophy: Dell believes that a candidate's recent experience is the best indicator of future success. The company designs its interviews as a conversation, focusing on the candidate's experience and how it relates to the vacancy.\nNew employees get 12 weeks of training: Newly recruited employees received 12 weeks of training before being allowed to field customer calls. The training covers:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to describe how computer giant Dell recruits and trains its technical-support staff.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper reveals the competencies the company seeks in its recruits and how the recruits are developed.\nFindings: It highlights the importance of being tech-savvy, patient and adaptable and having a positive attitude, good communication skills, empathy with customers and loyalty to the organization.\nPractical implications: It explains that the company's competency-based interview questions are designed to elicit details about the work the candidate has done, the way he or she has completed that work and the environment in which he or she worked.\nOriginality/value: It provides a good insight into the recruitment and training of technical-support staff at a major international organization.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Creating shared service centres for public sector accounting	[ "Estonia", "Shared service centres", "Accounting reform", "Consolidation of financial accounting", "Public sector accounting", "Public sector reform" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In the current era of austerity measures and cutbacks in the public sector, governments in Europe and elsewhere are on the lookout for instruments that can help them reduce costs. One such \"instrument\" that has increasingly caught the eyes of government decision makers is the model of shared service centre (SSC) (Janssen et al., 2012; Ulbrich, 2010b). In the public sector context, establishing a SSC entails the consolidation of support functions (e.g. finance and accounting, human resource management, IT, procurement) from several organizations (e.g. agencies and/or ministries) into a single organizational entity, supported by a sharing arrangement (see, e.g. Burns and Yeaton, 2008; Joha and Janssen, 2011; Miskon et al., 2010; Schulz and Brenner, 2010)[1]. Broadly speaking, SSC has been conceived of as a sourcing arrangement, which takes the form of in-sourcing rather than out-sourcing. Despite its increasing popularity among governments, there are surprisingly few studies on public sector SSCs (or other sourcing arrangements) in both the public administration and accounting literatures (for exceptions see Dollery and Akimov, 2008; Dollery et al., 2009; Hyvonen et al., 2012; Walsh et al., 2008). Given its promises to save costs and to enhance the quality of accounting, the idea of a SSC should be of particular interest to researchers and practitioners in these fields, especially since the real-world implementation of the idea may not live up to the high expectations (see, e.g. Wagenaar, 2006; Borman and Janssen, 2013).\n2. Theoretical framework: 2.1. The concept of SSC in the public sector\n3. Case study: consolidation of support services in Estonia: The case study investigates the creation of SSC(s) for financial accounting in the Estonian central government, with a specific focus on different SSC reform models that were tried out between 2009 and 2013, the motives of reform actors behind these initiatives and the challenges that emerged in initiating, designing and implementing these models. Given that in Estonia four different reform models (see Table I) have been tried out (see the timeline in Table II), the case study can be used for testing the conjectures outlined in the theoretical discussion concerning the motives and challenges associated with different reform models.\n4. Motives and challenges of the SSC initiatives: 4.1. Motives for creating SSCs in Estonia\n5. Discussion: The Estonian case demonstrates that the typology proposed in the theoretical section is helpful in conceptualizing the different SSC reform models. As indicated by the Estonian case, the distinctions between horizontal and vertical SSCs (as outlined by Janssen and Joha, 2006a) and the modes of implementation - mandated vs optional and also big bang vs incremental (as pointed out by Wagenaar, 2006) - are important to keep in mind when different reform experiences are analysed.\n6. Concluding remarks: Because of its promise to deliver a number of important benefits, it is likely that SSCs will remain on the public sector reform agenda for some time. As it is the case with other public management reforms, it is important to examine how the normative ideal plays out in reality and what kind of challenges and even negative consequences it can entail.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it aims to contribute to the theoretical discussion on shared service centres (SSCs) for public sector accounting by putting forth a novel typology of different SSCs and their creation modes, and outlining the challenges these specific models are likely to face. Second, it uses the Estonian case study to test the theoretical conjectures.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Since in the Estonian central government different reform models for creating SSCs for public sector accounting have been tried out, the Estonian case offers an opportunity for exploring what the motives behind the creation of different forms of SSCs can be and what kind of challenges reform actors can face when opting for different reform models. The sources of data for the qualitative case study included official documents, media articles and interviews.\nFindings: The Estonian case study demonstrates that the distinct reform models for creating SSCs in public sector accounting can indeed have different motives and also face various challenges to different degrees. Some challenges, however, are present in all reform models (e.g. difficulties in achieving customer orientation and reduced input to managerial decision making).\nOriginality/value: This paper puts forth a novel typology of public sector SSC reform models and analyses the challenges these different reform models are likely to face. The theoretical contribution and the Estonian case study are valuable for both academics and practitioners analysing or considering the creation of SSCs.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Epistemological role of case studies in logistics: A critical realist perspective	[ "Distribution management", "Case studies", "Epistemology" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: A multiplicity, and perhaps fragmentation, of research approaches (Naslund, 2002; Gammelgaard, 2004; Kovacs and Spens, 2007) and theory application (Stock, 1997; Miles and Snow, 2006; Halldorsson et al., 2007) seems to be emerging within logistics. One branch of this gradually increasing debate is the use of case studies as a research approach (Ellram, 1996; Naslund, 2002). Larson and Halldorsson (2004) asked logistics researchers about their \"preferred research method\" and found that case studies and interviews were rated as high as surveys. However, this level of \"preference\" does not necessarily correspond to publications based on cases, e.g. in Journal of Business Logistics (Mentzer and Kahn, 1995; Frankel et al., 2005).The importance of case study research in social sciences and management is widely acknowledged. According to Yin (2003, p. 2), the \"distinctive need\" of conducting case study research is derived from the \"desire to understand complex phenomena\". Similarly, Flyvbjerg (2006) asserts that case study research can develop a \"nuanced view on reality\" and the case study is \"well-suited\" to produce context-dependent knowledge; \"human behaviour cannot be meaningfully understood as simply the rule-governed acts\".Logistics researchers have also advocated the use of case study research as an approach to scientific inquiry; for theory building, and for change and business impact. Informed by Yin's earlier work, Ellram (1996) concludes that \"case studies are excellent for theory building, for providing detailed explanations of 'best practices', and providing more understanding of data gathered.\" Naslund (2002) develops the notion of using case studies for action research, i.e. in the context where intervention into business processes is expected from the researcher; results of research are considered on the basis of usefulness for the practitioner.The justification of this paper has it's roots in the tension in logistics research between the heavy reliance upon rule-governed acts, or causality, as scientific explanation on one hand, and on the other hand the increasing uses of case studies as a research approach. Such discussions must relate to the research paradigm (Naslund, 2002; Arlbjorn and Halldorsson, 2002; Kovacs and Spens, 2007) for the justification of benefits of research approaches that are non-traditional to be understood. In this paper, we shall develop further the understanding of why logistics researchers should use the case study research approach. To do so, we will discuss the qualities or attributes of the case study approach from a perspective that replaces the predominant regularity-based causal and functional explanations; a critical realist (CR) approach that seeks to understand the generative structures and mechanisms that underlie events. The objectives are twofold: Firstly, to explore a complementary reasoning to logistics inquiry by releasing the focus on law-like regularity in causal and functional explanations, and introduce the notion of mechanisms that generate an observable reality (Sections 2 and 3). Second, to develop a paradigmatic justification of conducting investigations by case studies in the context of logistics. The argument will be illustrated by discussing the explanatory attributes of CR (Section 3) within selected areas of logistics (Section 4).\n2 Symptoms of limitations and opportunities: The prevalent thinking in logistics, problems and opportunities will be discussed in two layers. First, we characterise the dominating metaphor in the logistics field as one based on closed systems and functionalism with some obvious advantages but also limitations in this heritage. Second, to give case studies an epistemological coherence and \"... to avoid an 'anything goes' approach to material\" (Watson, 1997), we shall identify symptoms of tensions and misconceptions in the logistics literature that require an elaborated discussion of the epistemological groundings of the use of case study approaches. This is in particular relevant since \"the logistics discipline is diversifying its research efforts and expanding the array of issues addressed\" (Craighead et al., 2007).2.1 The heritage and limitations of causality and closed systems\n3 Critical realism and logistics: The CR position represents an ontological realism, an epistemological relativism and a judgemental rationality (Bhaskar, 1998). The position claims the existence of \"reality\" while emphasising the relativity of our knowledge of it as always being theory-dependent. In order to illustrate the CR terminology the following example will be referred to throughout the next Sections 3 and 4: a supermarket chain comprised of independent grocery stores experiences and perceives too high OOS rates on shelves. The supply chain consists of chain head office, main wholesaler and 200 independent stores, and it is by wholesaler and chain office being considered to implement automatic store ordering.3.1 Domains of reality and causal explanations in critical realism\n4 Inference from case studies in logistics research: This section will synthesise the symptoms from Section 1 and the opportunities addressed in Section 2 into implications for logistics research. Relative to the current dogmas of logistics, this paper contributes by explicating status and justifications of case studies in logistics. First, dichotomy: a review of how research methodology is discussed in logistics (Mentzer and Kahn, 1995; Naslund, 2002; Gammelgaard, 2004; Halldorsson and Arlbjorn, 2005; Spens and Kovacs, 2006) reveals a tendency to a dichotomised approach; the positivist position is defined relative to another alternative, but articulated implications for the use of case study remain unclear. Second, status of case studies: In our review of literature, it is still not clear whether case studies are recent in logistics research or not. Mentzer and Flint (1997, p. 200) talk of case studies as \"... more traditional logistics methodologies\" whilst Ellram (1996, p. 93) leaves a different impression: \"... the case study method is not well understood ... in purchasing and logistics management in particular\". Third, absence of, but need for, epistemological justification: literature using case studies tends to refer to generic reasoning, lacking the epistemological justification. According to Meyer (1997, p. 329), this seems to be a prevalent opinion: \"... there are virtually no specific requirements guiding case research\". The arguments are broad an open ended. This leaves a picture of the case study having no explicitly recognised epistemological justification. Based on the previous sections, we argue that we must be more explicit and substantive about methodological choices. Critical realism is essentially pluralist when it comes to research methods (Sayer, 2000; Mingers, 2000). Sayer (2000) distinguishes between extensive (e.g. surveys and statistical analysis) and intensive (e.g. qualitative analysis, ethnography) methods: \"extensive research shows us mainly how extensive certain phenomena and patterns are in a population, while intensive research is primarily concerned with what makes things happen in specific cases\". These methods hold complementary strengths and weaknesses and both have a role in research according to critical realism. We can now address some epistemological justifications for case studies in logistics.4.1 Causal depth - revealing the real domain\n5 Conclusions and implications: Case studies are increasingly applied in logistics research, and studies are also conducted under circumstances that are challenging but have not been discussed. The purpose of this paper has been to provide epistemological reasoning for the use of case studies. To understand what the case study can actually do, we have taken refuge in a CR approach, the scientific explanation of which is to understand generative mechanisms that underlie practice and performance. By this, the current dominance of law-like regularity in causal and functional explanations was released.Use of case studies in logistics research is inherently limited to a complementary rather than an independent role for two reasons. Firstly, a narrow view on justification of the use of research methods stems from the (value or supply) chain metaphor that favours causality and law-like regularity as scientific explanations. Also, a closed system also favours a deterministic approach to the research. Secondly, the justification and understanding of what case studies have to offer logistics researchers is limited by tensions; the myth of the positivism, the quest for generalisation, and a lack of mobilisation across the levels of research methods and epistemology. Critical realism distinguishes between three domains, the real, the actual and the empirical. The raison d'etre is revealing the linkages of mechanisms and structures (real domain) generating logistics events and outcomes (actual domain). When dealing with social (logistics) structures, the CR position emphasises a view on open structures in which material circumstances, social and meaning structures, as well as the agents' choices and intentionality are only loosely coupled; they are not inferior to the logistics systems \"objective\". Based on this, a paradigmatic justification for the use of case studies was developed, illustrated by OOS situations as for practical application; logistics structures have material and non-material elements that must only be seen as loosely coupled; logistics structures are influenced by the choices and intentions of agents; actors learn; interplay between agents and structure. Based upon this understanding, the justification for doing case studies lie in their ability to:* reach a causal depth required for revealing the real domain of logistics activities and performance;* reveal the working of mechanisms in loosely coupled structures showing open systems characteristics (i.e. uncover causes and causal powers in open systems);* include the causal powers and effects of meanings ascribed to agents; and* revisit the notion of generalisation.Although CR thinking offers a view in which case studies should be seen as a more legitimate method in logistics inquiries, further research must consider at least two issues. Firstly, the inter-organisational scope; the ramification of logistics into a more complex level of analysis of supply chains challenges the idea of research of controllable factors, law-regular conditions, deterministic view on behaviour led by the logic of the system and ignoring agendas and objectives of social agents. The attributes of case studies must be explored in more details so as to understand the different agendas of agents in supply chains. Secondly, application; the justification must be brought into application. By developing a paradigmatic justification we also recognise limits in the prescriptions offered by Yin (2003) and Ellram (1996) that must be explored further. That is, how should we now conduct case studies within logistics on the basis of a CR approach?\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to develop the paradigmatic justification for the use of case studies in logistics research. The argument is based on a critical realist (CR) ontology and epistemology. The current logistics paradigm's flat ontology - based on regularity - is replaced by an ontology emphasising structures and mechanisms underlying actual events in the form of logistics practice and performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The approach takes the form of desk research, conceptual work and theorizing.\nFindings: - Based on this CR view of the logistics domain it is argued that the justifications for conducting case studies lie in their ability: to reach the causal depth required for revealing the real domain of logistics activities and performance: to reveal the working of mechanisms in loosely coupled structures showing open systems characteristics through a constant alternation between abstract and concrete reasoning and; to include the causal powers and effects of agents' ascribed meanings. Also, it is argued, in contrast with Yin's work which refers to the possibility of generalising case studies, that the justification of case studies not only must refer to their complementary role in research but also must build on groundings that allow this form of research to take a primary role in knowledge creation.\nPractical implications: - The arguments have direct implications primarily for the scientific justification for case studies in logistics. CR thinking in this respect offers a view in which case studies should be seen as a more legitimate method in logistics inquiries. Second, the paper has implications for further work on the methods of using case studies in logistics: between what types of case studies can one distinguish, and which practical guidelines regarding design and reasoning can be developed based on the CR view?\nOriginality/value: - The paper problematizes current research methodology in logistics. Based on critical realism, it presents a thorough and systematic justification for using case studies as a research approach.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Employee reactions to talent pool membership	[ "Employee attitudes", "Public sector organizations", "Career development", "Talent management", "Human resource management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: As a relatively recent innovation in managing people, talent management continues to attract substantial research interest and a sizeable practitioner following (for reviews see Al Ariss et al., 2014; Collings and Mellahi, 2009; Tarique and Schuler, 2010). Contemporary interest in the field is grounded in the idea that talent is scarce and that organizations are competing in a war for talent (Michaels et al., 2001). Surprisingly, one under-researched aspect of talent management concerns the experiences, identity and attitudes of employees named as talent in relation to employees outside the talent pools who form the bulk of the workforce. Furthermore, most research on talent management is carried out in profit-seeking and multinational contexts and there is little on talent management in public sector, unionized contexts.\nTalent pools: theoretical perspectives: Workforce differentiation\nResearch methods: The participant organization was a large company operating in the chemical processing industry in Northern Europe (ChemCo). To protect anonymity, job titles and the titles of the talent programmes that were operating have been changed. It is essentially a public organization and as such provided a suitable setting to explore employee attitudes and expectations given that theory (see above) suggests that differences could be accentuated in public organizations because of greater sensitivity to differentiation, equality and inclusion.\nChemCo and the talent programmes: ChemCo has operated for over 50 years and it employs several thousand people. Employee turnover is typically around 1-2 per cent and the employee-employer relationship remained largely unchanged until relatively recently when a series of changes to the control and organization of the business was introduced. Although ChemCo is a public organization, the management operation and control are now provided by the private sector. The national government remains the primary stakeholder for whom the management company operates ChemCo on its behalf. The primary government interest is in continued cost-effective and safe operations. The management changes signalled a change of philosophy towards greater infusion of private sector thinking and the recent history is characterized by attempts to change the culture from a Civil Service mindset to one of commercialization with a largely static workforce. The historic focus on world-class scientific excellence remains strong but has been tempered by an overlay of cost-efficient service delivery. As a high technology company, ChemCo employs graduates from a wide range of scientific and engineering disciplines. A high proportion of employees are members of a trades union. The newly installed operating company renewed interest in management development at ChemCo and talent pools were a visible expression of that commitment.\nResults: In total, 29 per cent of talent pool members were women compared to 18 per cent of the control group. The age groups of pool members were 29 per cent 21-29, 59 per cent 30-39 and 12 per cent 40-49. The control groups featured fewer employees in their 20s and more employees aged in their 50s and this is put down to the random sampling process involved. A consequence is that employees outside the talent pools tended to have longer tenure. While a better age match was anticipated, it is not surprising that the non-pool group was, on average, older given the appeal of the talent programmes to different career stages. Employees in the Emerging Talent pool were much younger, and while employees in the scientists and the leadership groups could be any age, older workers were less likely to be nominated for the talent pools. Almost 90 per cent of talent pool members had a first degree with some also holding a postgraduate qualification and the same proportion held full membership of a professional body. In comparison, 41 per cent of the non-pool sample had a first degree or higher and 42 per cent were full members of a professional body. The main characteristics of the participants are shown in Table I.\nDiscussion: Our hypothesis was supported by some of the quantitative survey results which showed differences on some attitudes but not others. Employees who were not in talent pools felt they had less support from their line manager, had more concern that access to pools was unfair, had less positive feelings about accessing development and lower access to opportunities for development, lower impressions of their recent personal development, lower motivation towards career development and reduced perceptions of the organization's commitment to their development. Given that participants did not know who else took part in the survey, and thus there is no possibility that they were consciously comparing themselves with employees in the talent pools, these differences are important.\nLimitations and further research: The quantitative analysis is based on a small sample but, given that talent programmes do not usually contain large numbers of employees, the sample is realistic and we suggest that the unique design of the study goes some way to offset the sample size. Furthermore, in small samples only large differences appear as significantly different hence non-trivial differences were detected between the two groups. Our results, derived from directly comparing matched groups in the same organization, add to suggestions (Bethke-Langenegger, 2012; CIPD, 2010; Pfeffer, 2001) that there can be a downside to talent programme operations in which those on the outside develop feelings of exclusion. Our research design, however, could not ascertain the cause and effect relationships between talent pool creation and attitudinal change. All we can say is that, when the survey was undertaken, employees outside the talent pools had less positive attitudes on some factors. It is not possible to show that the creation of talent pools had been a causal factor in depressing their attitudes nor was it possible to confirm that being selected for a talent pool amplified certain attitudes, although this is theoretically attractive. Rather than acting to depress attitudes, an alternative interpretation is that the attitude levels observed in the outsider group reflect the general background level in the organization and the attitude levels in the insider group reflect an enhanced state of mind brought about by organizational recognition.\nConclusions: This study adds to the small body of research on Pygmalion-type effects in work organizations as the findings support the notion that talent management leads to differential attitudes in workplaces. Of particular interest, however, is the likelihood that eventual exit from talent pools brings about the end of Pygmalion effects and this phase of the talent process requires careful thought in programme design. To minimize adverse outcomes, it is important, that organizations consider aspects of workforce democracy when evaluating the impact and effectiveness of current and planned talent programmes. This could manifest as democracy around the design and acceptance of the organizational image of what being talented means, for example, in terms of the skills and behaviours displayed by the talented. Processes of nomination and selection for talent pools also need to be democratic with all employees getting a fair chance. In addition, the findings emphasize the importance of understanding how people who fall outside the talent pools feel about their exclusion, about organizational support and about the talent identification process. Programme evaluation should also consider how employees outside the programme are benefitting, for example, through better business performance in relation to the resources that are being diverted into talent pools. A clear understanding of how outsiders are reacting is an important component of talent programme evaluation and should help organizations minimize potentially damaging adverse reactions.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Despite a large literature on talent management there is very little research on the comparative attitudes of employees in talent pools with those not in talent pools. This is an important omission as employee reactions should influence how effective talent programmes are and how they can be designed and evaluated. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to explore the work-related attitudes of employees who are members and non-members of talent pools.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Matched samples of employees working in a single public sector, scientific organization were surveyed using a standard survey and open questioning to elicit and compare the voices of included and excluded employees.\nFindings: Employees in talent pools were more positive about their future prospects than employees outside talent pools who reported feelings of lower support from the organization, stronger feelings of unfairness and had lower expectations of the organization's interest in them.\nResearch limitations/implications: More matched-sample studies are necessary to further understand how employee reactions to talent pool membership are mediated by context.\nPractical implications: Organizations should consider how employees will react to the design and implementation of talent pools and try to alleviate any adverse reactions. Two threats in particular are the depression of affect among excluded employees and failure to sustain positive affect among the included employees.\nOriginality/value: This is one of very few studies to explore employee reactions to talent programmes in a single organization. The single-site design controls for a large number of variables that confound inter-organizational studies of talent pool membership.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Processes, characteristics, and effectiveness : An integrative framework for successful knowledge transfer within organizations	[ "Knowledge management", "Knowledge transfer", "Knowledge articulability", "Knowledge embeddedness" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: For more than two decades, organizational knowledge has been the source of competitive advantages for firms in an increasingly dynamic business environment (Grant, 1996). Indeed, many firms find managing organizational knowledge to be challenging, although success is often critical in organizational change-related activities, such as technological innovation, strategic renewal, and business model development (Huber, 1991; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Argote et al., 2000; Cummings and Teng, 2003; Goh, 2002; Kwan and Cheung, 2006). Previous studies on knowledge management have argued that effective knowledge transfer is the key determinant for the successful improvement of organizational knowledge management outcomes (Argote et al., 2000). Although most organizations can achieve remarkable performance benefits by effectively transferring knowledge from one unit to another, improved knowledge transfer effectiveness (KTE) can be difficult to achieve (Argote, 1999). This raises a serious question: why can some firms achieve better KTE within their organization but others cannot?\nTheoretical model and hypotheses: Knowledge transfer processes\nMethodology: Sample and data collection\nAnalysis and results: The descriptive statistics in Table II show the basic information on each construct and the correlations between these variables. We used the statistical software SPSS 13.0 and followed the two-stage procedure recommended by Anderson and Gerbing (1988) to estimate our conceptual model. We estimated the model's reliability and validity, which ensures that the constructs used in this study are reliable and valid. We then tested our conceptual model using a regression method.\nDiscussions and conclusions: The implications of knowledge transfer on firm-level performance have been an enduring research theme in the fields of knowledge management and organization theory. The literature has, however, paid limited empirical attention to the question of how to achieve better KTE within organizations and to the key variables proposed in this study. This study fills these gaps by developing a framework for studying the simultaneous relationships between knowledge transfer processes, knowledge characteristics, and KTE. Focussing on the specific characteristics of the knowledge transfer process rather than other factors, this study provides new empirical evidence for the key role played by knowledge transfer processes coupled with different knowledge characteristics in promoting intra-organizational knowledge management outcomes. Both SKT and UKT were found to have a positive effect on KTE. The two knowledge transfer processes must be significantly moderated by different knowledge characteristics for successful knowledge transfer within organizations.\nConclusions: We began with the perspective that effective knowledge transfer is crucial to organizations' competitive advantage. Organizations succeed at knowledge transfer by using appropriate transfer processes pertaining to transferring distinct knowledge. We presented a discussion of knowledge transfer processes, characteristics, and effectiveness. Two kinds of knowledge transfer processes coupled with different knowledge characteristics were identified for achieving higher effective knowledge transfer. Both transfer processes facilitated effective knowledge transfer and the characteristics KE and KA differently moderated the relationship between transfer processes and effectiveness.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to address important but unresolved questions regarding how different knowledge transfer processes and characteristics affect knowledge transfer effectiveness (KTE). This study, which draws on an integrative knowledge management framework, forces us to reconsider successful knowledge transfer within organizations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The data for this study were obtained through an interview survey of 117 firms in China. The questionnaire was adapted from several previous studies on processes, characteristics, and effectiveness of knowledge transfer. A regression method was conducted to test all hypotheses.\nFindings: The findings show that both structured and unstructured knowledge processes has positive effects on KTE. Furthermore, knowledge embeddedness and articulability differently moderate the relationship between transfer processes and effectiveness.\nOriginality/value: The paper contributes to knowledge management theory by providing an integrative framework on how organizations can facilitate KTE by conducting appropriate transfer processes aligned with differentiated knowledge characteristics. Further, this study investigates the \"fit\" between knowledge transfer processes and characteristics.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Investigating onsite restaurant interactive self-service technology (ORISST) use: customer expectations and intentions	[ "Restaurant type", "Moderated mediation model", "Hedonic/utilitarian expectation", "Onsite restaurant interactive self-service technology", "Value attitude-behavior model" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Onsite restaurant interactive self-service technology (ORISST) refers to technological interfaces inside a restaurant that provide consumers with the ability to engage in mediated communication to plan, produce and complete services without the help of restaurant employees (e.g. tabletop tablets, kiosks; Ahn and Seo, 2018; Meuter et al., 2000; Varadarajan et al., 2010). ORISST differs from general self-service technology (SST; e.g. merchant website or mobile application), as it denotes a device exclusively provided onsite by a restaurant. It also differs from interactive restaurant self-service technology (IRSST; Ahn and Seo, 2018), as it comprises any onsite two-way computational terminals that can respond to customers' input and mediate the communication between diner and operator. The interactive aspect of this technology represents its communicative feature that is bidirectional, timely, mutually controllable and responsive (Varadarajan et al., 2010).\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Models in technology adoption\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Research instrument\n4. Results: 4.1 Sample profile\n5. Conclusions: 5.1 Summary\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to investigate consumers' intention to use onsite restaurant interactive self-service technology (ORISST) using a modified value attitude-behavior model. To extend the understanding of how consumers' dining value focus could influence their intention to use ORISST, this study examines the conditional indirect effects of restaurant type (quick-service vs fine-dining) within the proposed model.\nDesign/methodology/approach: An online survey was developed and distributed to randomly selected respondents in the USA. A total of 588 (quick-service: 295; fine-dining: 293) responses were used for the data analysis. Structural equation modeling with a robust maximum likelihood method was used to examine the proposed model. To investigate the moderated effects of restaurant type, a latent moderated mediation model was used.\nFindings: The results showed that consumers' value perceptions toward technology use in restaurants influenced their intention to use ORISST via both hedonic and utilitarian expectations. Latent moderated mediation analyzes revealed that the mediation effect of hedonic expectation between perceived value and the intention was stronger in fine-dining than in quick-service restaurants.\nOriginality/value: This study extends the understanding of consumer intentions to use interactive self-service technology in restaurants by building on a model that is customer-oriented instead of tech-specific. Furthermore, the conditional effects of restaurant type are investigated using the latent moderated structural equation method. The findings of this study provide guidelines for managers of quick-service and fine-dining restaurants to better incorporate ORISST in their restaurants, to boost customer experiences and to increase operational efficiency.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The Value Scorecard	[ "Performance", "Measurement", "Advocacy", "Value", "Libraries", "Organizations", "Scorecards" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nAim: [...] the value of a [library] service must ultimately be judged in terms of the beneficial effects accruing from its use (Orr, 1973, p. 318).\nMethodology: The appreciation of a different future context for research and therefore for research libraries, and the need to take a leadership and advocacy perspective on the assessment of library value set the context for the study (Town and Kyrillidou, 2013, pp. 9-11). The position of the author as both researcher and library leader provides a unique vantage point. This perspective of the leader of the library might be described as situated (Lave and Wenger, 1991); those involved in the Scorecard development and its application had a real-world relationship with the investigations and actions and with the researcher as leader.\nUnderstanding and measuring value: Exploration of the meaning of value was the first step in this study, leading to the idea of the research library making a \"transcendent\" contribution (Town, 2011a, 2011b). This builds on earlier ideas; for example Landau (1961, p. 5) identifies this broader contribution as \"realiz[ing] the potentialities of the libraries as an active agency in the fields of education, self-improvement and moral reform\". Gelfand, quoted in Thompson (1974, p. 11) suggests \"the fundamental role of the library is educational [...] not a mere storehouse [...] but a dynamic instrument of education\". Orr (1973, p. 317) is a key influence on the intent of this study to extend library measurement to the assessment of transcendent value. Orr makes clear the distinction between the goodness of a library and the good it does, the latter pointing unequivocally towards a requirement to measure post-utilization beneficial effects. The identification of this as \"value\" in contrast to \"quality\" (\"the capability for meeting user needs\") is key. Orr rejects the terms \"effectiveness\" and \"benefit\" as jargon, in favour of these simpler terms.\nThe Scorecard proposition: The Value Scorecard is the main deliverable of the study (Town and Kyrillidou, 2013). It is hospitable to all previous strands of library performance measurement described above, resolves the reductionism of quantitative statistical measurement and reconciles measurement of both good and goodness (Orr, 1973). It is future proofed against potential research scenarios. A key insight is that centring the framework on values allows its use to be varied according to cross-pressures from the hardest economic to the softest social perspectives. It is proven through application in a research library setting across more than two years (Town, 2015c). In practice, the Scorecard collates quantitative, qualitative and narrative data, according with Sveiby's (2010) view that scorecards need not estimate monetary values or achieve a single composite index.\nDimensions of the Scorecard: The Scorecard is conceived and expressed to measure capital, defined here as both the investment of resource into the library and the additional value generated by the library (using the term \"additional\" instead of \"surplus\" in the Marxist explanation of capital). The dimensions of the Scorecard must therefore be capable of representing both the more traditional formal capital value of the library and the less tangible social capital benefit. From a leadership perspective, a research library leader is likely to have formal explicit accountability for some forms of capital under their control, for example stock, buildings, projects and staff. Historically there has been a much less explicit requirement to account for achieving impact, being fair, enhancing reputation or managing relationships. Measurement and assessment attention to these elements has been correspondingly lower. The Scorecard framework recognizes and elevates these elements to recognize their much stronger contemporary importance, and to encourage collection of relevant data.\nConclusions: The Value Scorecard is a new and potentially important conception and tool for academic and research libraries as organizations. The study as a whole demonstrates that the application of this tool within a context of commitment to organizational development can generate achievement and success. The organizational performance achievements over the period in the case library are described briefly in Town (2015b, p. 641), and demonstrate the benefits of using the Scorecard to frame measurement, assessment and advocacy activities.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the Value Scorecard framework for performance measurement and advocacy in academic and research libraries.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study used a leadership perspective and an autoethnographic approach to develop and test the theory and practice of value measurement in a case study research library. A constructivist approach was taken for developing the framework, followed by quantitative and qualitative methods to develop, deepen and implement the full description.\nFindings: The Scorecard proposition is summarized as previously elaborated in five papers, covering the overall framework and its implementation and more detailed theory and practice from the case library on human and relational capital assessment.\nResearch limitations/implications: The paper provides a new ontology for research libraries. Implementation has been undertaken in one case library, but the learning should be transferable to others and also potentially to other public sector or values-based organizations.\nPractical implications: The Value Scorecard is shown to be applicable to organize measurement and assessment in research libraries for the demonstration and advocacy of a library's value. It is hospitable to pre-existing data collection approaches.\nSocial implications: The Scorecard addresses the need to prove the social value and worth of libraries.\nOriginality/value: The Value Scorecard is a unique and unifying contribution to the frameworks and methods for performance measurement and advocacy in academic and research libraries. The study covers 10 years of research work to understand the concept of value in libraries, as well as 8 years of organizational development to apply this learning.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Tariffs, rail rates and social welfare in the USA, 1887-1914	[ "Interstate Commerce Commission", "Tariffs", "Rail rates", "Combined land–sea transport", "Value of service", "Rate subsidisation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Scholars have long investigated the Interstate Commerce Commission's (ICC) efforts to control monopoly by promoting rate equity and fair competition within the railroad industry. Our study initiates a new tack by evaluating the unexplored question of how the ICC also promoted regional economic welfare within the USA by condoning subsidies that affected sea-rail transport in global trade. The paper explains how subsidized global rail-sea transportation contracts shaped US foreign trade patterns from the ICC's formation in 1887 (under the Act to Regulate Commerce, also known as Interstate Commerce Act, 1887) until the disruption of ocean transport conditioned by the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914. This policy had two basic elements. First, special rate policies facilitated exports by subsidizing the transportation of overseas shipments of food and fuel staples to build up the income of economically underdeveloped South and West. Second, the agency also sought to benefit these same regions by allowing preferential accounting rail-sea contracts that offset part of the economic burden of a protective tariff system.\n2. Interior development's connection to rail-sea transportation: The policies implemented by the ICC to reconcile national economic objectives and the control over sea-rail transportation reflected sensitivity to a variety of beliefs about the USA and its changing position in the world during the transition from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. A central concern was how to economically integrate interior regions into the mainstreams of national economic development (Larson, 1987). Federal legislation facilitated this goal. The US Congress, long dominated by agricultural interests (Appendix), had earlier authorized the formation of the Departments of Interior (1840) and Agriculture (1862), agencies that contributed to the development of the heartland. Later, Congress's 1862 passage of the Homestead Act encouraged the population of vast tracts of federal lands, and the Morrill Act furthered development here by its provision of education in agricultural and mechanical sciences in all states.\n3. Exports: The subsidization of rail rates that built up the income of interior regions of the USA preceded the organization of the ICC in 1887. The railroads serving these regions had a strong interest in promoting regional economic development to increase service demand and profits. One aspect of this was enhancement of the economic viability of the land-locked interior by establishing connections to the sea. Rail enterprises functioned as vital links that interfaced with maritime shipping in establishing global supply chains. Most of the nation's major urban markets and terminal centers were contiguous with major bodies of water. These locales benefited from access to low-cost transportation because of the intersection of multiple rail and sea carriers. Some successful examples of railroads exploiting these connections included: the Erie and New York Central connecting the mid-western locales east of Chicago to New York port; the Illinois Central linking New Orleans on the Gulf Coast; and the Chicago and the Union Pacific linking locations in the Central West beyond the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers to San Francisco and Los Angeles.\n4. Imports: A common plaint of agricultural interests in the nineteenth century was that they bore an unfairly heavy burden under the American System for protecting infant industries through high customs barriers on imported goods. The tariff barrier, however, proved to be somewhat porous and susceptible to penetration through the offering of special rates on some imported goods. Moreover, the ICC often proved receptive to accepting import contracts that fostered the economic development of the South and West.\n5. Conclusion: By the close of the Progressive Era, the ICC had resolved relationships between seaborne and rail transportation in ways that were broadly supportive of its basic welfare objective of building up the economies of the interior West and South while also furthering its primary goal of controlling monopoly. The mechanism for interregional income reallocation involved the operation of special import and export rates that also responded to inter-port rivalry, competition in foreign markets and to the low cost of oceanic transport. While all regional rail systems used such special rates to varying degrees, it was a practice most aggressively pursued in the Gulf ports. These communities needed special contractual inducements to overcome their relative disadvantage accruing from their great distance from the primary overseas markets of Europe and Asia. The outbreak of war in Europe in 1914 and the subsequent entry of the USA in 1917 interrupted the operation of the linkages between rails and oceanic freight haulage. New federal agencies emerged to govern customs and to control the national railroads during the war, and in the post-war years, the thinking about these matters would evolve in ways that go beyond the bounds of this study.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to explain how the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) used its power over rail rates as part of an effort to promote the growth of economically underdeveloped regions of the USA. This was accomplished by subsidizing shipments of food and fuel staples to major domestic and world markets and by offsetting the burden of high protective tariffs through low transportation rates on imported goods, from its inception in 1887 until the disruption of ocean transport with the outbreak of First World War in 1914.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Through examination of contemporary ICC studies and cases, this study shows how the ICC condoned rate practices that promoted the socioeconomic welfare of sparsely populated regions primarily in the Southern and Western USA.\nFindings: The study illustrates that the ICC facilitated exports by authorizing rates that subsidized the transport of overseas food and fuel staples from the interior while at the same time allowing preferential rail-sea contracts on imports that partially offset the burden of protective tariffs on these regions. The focus on regional social welfare within the ICC largely ended by 1914, with the end of protective tariffs and the start of First World War.\nOriginality/value: This new interpretation explains how international trade patterns in the USA were influenced in significant ways by the ICC to achieve regional social welfare objectives and to promote greater national economic integration.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Energy-led refurbishment of non-domestic buildings: ranking measures by attributes	[ "Professionals", "Decision support", "Energy saving", "Assessment", "Refurbishment", "Non-domestic buildings" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Against a global context of reducing CO2 emissions, the UK Government has set a target of 80 per cent reduction from 1990 levels by 2050 (DECC, 2008). Since about 40 per cent of the UK's energy use and CO2 emissions is associated with existing buildings (Carbon Trust, 2009), and 18 per cent of this is from the non-domestic sector (CIOB, 2017), refurbishment has a major role to play in achieving these reductions. Buildings of traditional construction are considered hard to treat (Roaf et al., 2008), and these are defined as those built before 1919, with solid walls constructed of mass masonry, originally single-glazed and without insulation materials built into the fabric and likely to have high air infiltration levels. This traditionally constructed non-domestic property type is commonly seen in major towns and cities throughout the UK and northern Europe, and such buildings typically provide an urban-central location for many organizations. As an indication of the prominence of this type of building, in 1994 in England and Wales, 29 per cent of offices and 40 per cent of retail premises (by floor area) were built pre-1918 (Bruhns et al., 2000). This represents 50 x 106 m2 floor area.\nMethodology: Attributes of energy performance improvement measures\nResults: The 22 agreed attributes listed in Tables III and IV are largely self-explanatory, but some comments may be helpful. It can be seen from Tables III and IV that the attributes of each EPIM are framed in neutral terms, such as \"impact on [...]\" or \"level of [...]\" to avoid prejudicing the experts' comparisons. However, because the objective of an EPIM is to save energy and reduce carbon emissions, Number 9 was framed explicitly as \"potential energy/carbon savings\". The word \"significant\" is included in Number 4 (loss of fabric) because it discourages the user from being too cautious and rejecting a beneficial EPIM because of a loss of fabric that would not be considered important in heritage conservation terms. Some separate attributes were merged when it became obvious that, for example, payback period and financial savings are essentially equivalent, leading to attribute 10 \"financial payback\" but are, however, unconnected with maintenance costs, thus retaining attribute 11 \"change to maintenance costs\".\nDiscussion: Attributes\nConclusions: Decision makers, who are faced with the challenge of energy-led refurbishment of traditionally constructed non-domestic buildings to meet targets set by regulations or corporate policies, have to use MADM to prioritize different EPIMs. As a contribution to the decision-making process, this work elicited the views of expert professionals to identify and prioritize 22 attributes of EPIMs that need to be considered in the process. These 22 attributes cover the installation, operation and disposal stages of the life cycle. A pairwise comparison questionnaire using a panel of 11 experts revealed weightings of the relative importance of each attribute, and this can be used by decision makers to score the refurbishment options in terms of appropriateness to their own building. The top three attributes - capital cost, potential energy/carbon savings and financial payback - contribute only 30 per cent of the decision's weight, with the remaining 70 per cent spread among 19 other attributes.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: In the context of the energy-led refurbishment of traditionally constructed non-domestic buildings, the purpose of this study was to identify the attributes that professionals consider to be important in the selection of energy performance improvement measures (EPIMs) and to establish their relative importance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A questionnaire-based Delphi exercise was carried out to draw up a set of attributes agreed among a small panel of experts. Subsequently, a paired comparison questionnaire was completed by the experts to establish the relative importance ascribed to the attributes.\nFindings: In total, 22 assessment attributes, relevant to different stages in the building's life cycle, were agreed as important by the expert panel. Measures fell into one of three broad groups, expressed on a weighting scale of 0-100, such that the sum of the weights of all 22 measures was 100. Measures of relatively high importance (7-9 per cent) included capital cost, potential energy and carbon savings, financial payback and impact on the building's vapor permeability. Measures of medium importance (4-5 per cent) were impact on internal air movement, loss of significant original building fabric, impact on internal layout, appearance and occupant comfort, environmental impact and availability of grants or subsidies. Eight further measures were ranked of low importance (2-3 per cent).\nOriginality/value: This paper is the first attempt to draw up a ranking order of the attributes of EPIMs applicable to non-domestic buildings. It confirms that more attributes must be considered by professionals with decision-making responsibility than merely cost, energy performance and payback on investment and suggests that policy instruments targeting or incentivizing a single or a restricted range of attributes risk failure to deliver the desired improvements.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
How hybrid managers act as "canny customers" to accelerate policy reform: A case study of regulator-regulatee relationships in the UK's tax agency	[ "Professionals", "Customer", "Public services", "New public management", "Hybrid manager", "Tax agency" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Recent studies of the nature of professionalism have focused on its increasing hybridisation, encompassing a commercial orientation and a client discourse that challenges a public service ethic in which professionals exhibit independence (Anderson-Gough et al., 2000; Carter and Spence, 2014; Grey, 1998; Spence and Carter, 2014; Suddaby et al., 2009). Such challenges to professionalism are increasingly evident within tax agencies expected to regulate the affairs of multinational corporations (MNCs). MNCs have increasingly come under scrutiny for their tax avoidance in the face of global austerity. Politicians, media and the wider public are concerned that tax professionals no longer effectively regulate MNCs to maximise tax revenue. Drawing upon studies of accountants (Anderson-Gough et al., 2000; Carter and Spence, 2014; Grey, 1998; Spence and Carter, 2014; Suddaby et al., 2009) and drawing out implications for accountant professionals, our study explains how exogenous policy pressures and the dynamics of professional organisation shape the responses of tax professionals towards role transition, where they are expected to be commercial-professional hybrids who exhibit greater customer orientation.\nResearch design: Our study is a single case, to generate rich description and explanation of organisational processes, which can be theoretically generalised to other settings (Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 2003). The regulatory agency (HMRC) we examine is set in the UK, which is subject to neo-liberalist policy reforms, under the rubric NPM. These are evident globally, but in the UK have been described as \"fast moving\" (Martin et al., 2009).\nFindings: Our empirical study highlights varied responses from tax professionals in the enactment of their role in the face of managerial intervention. A degree of self-interest in the professional response to managerially imposed change is evident. This is reflected in this rich extract from a long-serving tax inspector, who had been placed in a hybrid managerial role, but who left HMRC two years prior to our fieldwork:\nDiscussion: Our analysis shows how, for tax inspectors, the ground has shifted in the wake of policy intended to change the nature of their profession. This has had a significant impact on those senior amongst their ranks transitioning into hybrid manager roles. Their specialist expertise was becoming diluted as they were expected by policy makers and senior managers to become more generalist managers of customers. The tax inspector has traditionally behaved as a technical expert, predisposed towards ensuring that standards, rules and regulations are tightly adhered to; i.e. a regulator role. Within this role, tax inspectors have traditionally orientated their efforts towards those taxpayers failing to comply. We found they are now being required to orientate towards those taxpayers that aspire to comply, as much, if not more than, those that non-comply, in their role as \"customer relationship managers\". As noted in studies of other professions, such as accountancy, the role transition towards hybridity for tax professionals is supported by a plethora of organisational-level interventions, such as competence-based selection criteria and managing performance around customer-orientated behaviours.\nConclusion: In summary, our study supports established accounts of the effect of NPM reform in hybridising professional expertise and organisational forms (Kuranmaki and Miller, 2006, 2011), specifically how customer-orientated reform becomes embedded in governance practices (Wiesel and Modell, 2014). Co-operation and partnership between organisations, including regulatory agencies and their clients, is emphasised within such reforms, linked to which are distinctive managerial control practices in co-opting professionals towards hybridisation (Kuranmaki and Miller, 2011). Our study extends analysis of how local practitioners respond to demands for hybrid roles, highlighting co-option of professionals towards hybridisation. It emphasises variation in the enactment of new roles oriented towards managing the client and fellow workers amongst professionals on the frontline of regulatory practice (Kuranmaki and Miller, 2006) - some hybrid managers resist, others embrace reform (Burgess and Currie, 2013; Currie and Croft, 2015; McGivern et al., 2015). Our study highlights how hybrids seem the norm amongst professionals, rather than the exception, including professionals such as accountants (Anderson-Gough et al., 2000; Spence and Carter, 2014).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse role transition for professionals moving towards hybrid managerial roles. Specifically, the authors examine reforms to the national tax agency in the UK, focusing on attempts to shift hybrid managers away from a focus on tax compliance, to a greater customer focus. This extends understanding of the relationship between New Public Management (NPM) and the public professions, by offering greater insight into the dynamic between regulators and regulatees, as professionals are co-opted into management roles that encompass greater customer orientation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors draw on documentary data relating to reform from 2003 to 2012 and 43 semi-structured interviews with senior tax inspectors co-opted into hybrid manager roles.\nFindings: The findings support established accounts of the effect of NPM reform to public professions, as these professionals are co-opted into hybrid management roles. Some hybrid managers resist, others embrace the demands of the new role. Linked to a hitherto neglected aspect of analysis (the extent to which hybrid managers embrace a greater customer orientation) the findings also show a more novel third response: some hybrid managers leave the national tax agency for opportunities in the private sector. These public-to-private professionals the authors call \"canny customers\". Canny customers are ideally placed to exploit aspects of NPM reform, and thereby accelerate changes in the governance of public agencies, but in a way that might undermine the function of the tax agency and tax professions.\nPractical implications: In regulatory settings, policy reform to co-opt professionals into hybrid managerial roles may have mixed effects. In settings where a focal dynamic is the regulator-regulatee relationship, effective governance will require understanding of the labour market to temper excess influence by those hybrid managers who become canny customers, otherwise, in settings where it is easy for individuals to move from regulator to regulatee, the pace and consequences of reform will be harder to govern. This runs the danger of eroding professional values. The specific case of tax professionals reflects themes in the literature examining hybridisation for accountants, and provides novel insight into the dynamics of professionalism that extend to the case of accountants.\nOriginality/value: The contribution is to extend the literature on role transition of professionals. The authors focus on hybrid managers in the context of a regulatory agency: the UK national tax agency. Policy reforms associated with hybridisation emphasised customer orientation. The authors highlight labour market characteristics impacting the regulator-regulatee dynamic, and an as yet unexplored, unintended consequence of reform. The public professional who leaves for the private sector becomes a \"canny customer\" who can exploit and accelerate reform.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
What makes people send gifts via social network services? A mixed methods approach	[ "Consumer behaviour", "Mixed methods", "Communications technology", "Communication", "Buyer behaviour", "SNS gifting", "Gift giving", "Social network services", "Customer value theory" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Social network services (SNS) have come to be widely used for online communication (Lee et al., 2018; Walrave et al., 2018; Xue et al., 2018) and are significantly changing the way people interact (Pegg et al., 2018; Yang et al., 2016). The main goal of SNS is to engage people which leads toward a desired action (Kim et al., 2015; Safko and Brake, 2009). Firms have considered several business models with SNS. Gift giving has been a commonplace phenomenon in social relationships, and one new business model is gift giving via SNS (Kim et al., 2018). Buying and giving gifts through SNS is referred to as SNS gifting and it is reshaping online markets. SNS gifting allows people to send gifts to their friends without meeting them in person. Some SNS gifting companies allow people to buy goods to be delivered, while many others offer digital gifts, such as gift cards and coupons, to be sent via SNS. The digital gifting segment accounted for US$62bn in sales in 2016, indicating a year-on-year growth of 26 percent. The market size of global digital gift cards continues to expand and is expected to reach US$160bn by 2020 (Paynxt360, 2016).\nConceptual background: SNS gifting\nQualitative study: Research method\nQuantitative study: Customer value theory and theoretical framework\nDiscussion and implications: Discussion of findings\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Social network services (SNS) gifting is a new business model, but many SNS providers continue to face challenges as they explore ways to increase their revenues from gifting. The purpose of this paper is to examine the key factors involved in gift giving via SNS platforms.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study adopts a mixed methods approach through qualitative and quantitative research. In the first stage (qualitative study), the authors extract factors from interviews with users of SNS gifting services. In the second stage (quantitative study), the authors interpret decisional factors explored in the first stage on the basis of customer value theory, develop a research model and empirically test it.\nFindings: The results show that five factors - convenience of SNS gifting, symbolic representation of SNS gifting, relationship support of SNS gifting, pleasure of SNS gifting, and an SNS gifting norm - directly or indirectly affect SNS gifting decisions.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study contributes to electronic commerce research by extending the customer value theory and adding to the literature on SNS gifting and gift giving in general.\nPractical implications: The study informs SNS providers regarding the promotion of SNS gifting services for revenue generation.\nOriginality/value: This study is among the first to comprehensively examine decision-making in SNS gifting through the lens of customer value theory.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Gamification in aquarium context: Intention to play game that imparts knowledge and promotes marine animal conservation	[ "Tourism", "Behaviour", "Computer games", "Informal learning" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Gamification refers to the use of game mechanics and dynamics in non-game contexts (Baptista and Oliveira, 2017; Werbach and Hunter, 2012). According to the Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics Model (Hunicke et al., 2004; Zichermann and Cunningham, 2011), a theoretical foundation of gamification, the careful design of game mechanics such as points, badges and leaderboards (Seaborn and Fels, 2015) generates game dynamics that connect the player with the system (Xu et al., 2017) so that players generate emotional responses (Werbach and Hunter, 2012).\nLiterature review and hypotheses development: Gamification\nResearch method and data analysis: The National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium (the Aquarium) located in Kenting National Park, Pingtung, Taiwan was the subject of this study. The Aquarium is a suitable candidate because it is dedicated to research in marine biology and ecology, and has been assigned by the Taiwanese authorities the task of communicating the message of marine conservation among its visitors. As a popular tourist destination, the Aquarium is an excellent venue for visitors to learn about marine animals and their habitats and conservation. It covers more than 90 hectares and comprises three exhibition areas: Waters of Taiwan (which shows the diversity of aquatic animals that are native to Taiwan), Coral Kingdom Pavilion (which presents different coral reef habitats and the popular 80-meter underwater tunnel) and World Waters Pavilion (which covers the history of ocean formation and exhibits marine creatures from other parts of the world). The Aquarium also offers a touch tank area and holds routine animal shows. The marine animal and conservation information is mostly offered through animal exhibits, text and picture posters and short video clips.\nDiscussion: Through considering the application of gamification in the non-game context of aquarium visitors learning about marine animals and their conservation and the antecedents leading to gamification usage, this study illustrates the context-sensitive nature of gamification, the importance of passive enjoyment visit motivation and intrinsic benefits as drivers of usage of gamification, the pre-conceived attitudes and ideas of aquarium visitors regarding the non-game domain could affect gamification and the limitations of gamification.\nConclusion: Gamification is a new research field. By using tourists who have visited the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium in Pingtung as the context, this study has provided further insights into the antecedents leading to the use of gamification, the dynamics of gamification and has also addressed the literature gaps. This study has provided a better empirical understanding of the drivers of the intention to play the game. This study showed that gamification is context sensitive and the antecedents of intention to play a game are dependent on the specific context of the non-game domain. By examining non-technology-related antecedents, it was found that an aquarium visitor's intention to play the game that imparts knowledge about marine animals and promotes the conservation of these animals while visiting the aquarium is influenced by the aquarium visitor's attitude toward marine animals and their habitat. The influence of the visitor's desire to enjoy the aquarium also extends to the intention to play the game. In addition, this study has further showed the limitations of gamification and gamification should not be seen as a silver bullet for every situation and visitor. For example, the usefulness of gamification is limited if the aquarium visitors look for relaxation during the visit. In addition, gamification could also be limited by what players bring with them when considering playing the game. In the context of this study, visitors' attitude toward marine animals has an impact on the gamification intention. Thus, this study advances our understanding of why people use gamification services, albeit restricted to this study's context. In addition to supporting the argument that a player's perception of the benefits of the game affects gamification intention, this study has addressed the varying views on the role of extrinsic and intrinsic motivations in gamification and supports the calls by researchers that gamification should focus on intrinsic rather than extrinsic benefits. The intrinsic and extrinsic concerns of players are studied empirically, and it is found that players expect more intrinsic than extrinsic benefits from the game. The importance of intrinsic benefits over extrinsic benefits is confirmed as only the former benefit influences intention to play the game positively. Thus, this study has addressed several gaps in the gamification literature.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to consider issues related to gamification through the non-game aquarium context and explore how the intention of aquarium visitors to play a game that imparts knowledge about marine animals and promotes the conservation of these animals is influenced by visitors' attitudes toward marine animals, motivations to visit the aquarium and perceptions of the game's benefits.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study surveyed individuals who have visited Taiwan's National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium at least once in the past three years and who use smartphones. They were shown a description of a hypothetical game scenario that they were asked to imagine to be available while at the aquarium. The partial least squares method was used to analyze the data from 225 returns.\nFindings: The study shows that gamification can satisfy a visitor's desire to learn and enjoy the aquarium simultaneously. Gamification is limited by the visit motivation and the attitudes toward marine animals that visitors bring with them. The usefulness of gamification is limited when visitors desire relaxation during the visit.\nOriginality/value: This study considers the application of gamification in the context of aquariums and the tourism field and the non-technology-related antecedents to the use of gamification. Gamification is not silver bullet for every situation, and a good understanding of potential users is important for its success and targeting of players. The importance of intrinsic benefits over extrinsic benefits is confirmed. Thus, this study addresses several gaps in the gamification literature.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Why it pays to be ethical: Organizational culture and business success	[ "Employees", "Innovation", "Organizational culture" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nGood company, bad company: Consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about the world they inhabit. One major consequence is that the onus on business organizations to operate in a socially responsible manner has never been greater.\nCustomer response to ethical firms: Few would argue that positive customer relations are vital for any business concern. If the organization is ethical, then such associations become likelier to occur. Customer satisfaction will be high on the agenda for employees of such companies, meaning that their commitment to providing quality service can be all but guaranteed.\nEthics and innovation: Today's competitive environment means that innovation is deemed vital in the quest to achieve sustainable success. Employee perceptions of their organization are important in this respect. A belief that idea generation is actively encouraged can produce the creative sparks that can inspire breakthrough products, processes or technologies. It is hardly rocket science to realize that people are much likelier to think creatively and offer suggestions when they are granted the autonomy to do so.\nComment: The review is based upon: \"How an organization's ethical climate contributes to customer satisfaction and financial performance: Perceived organizational innovation perspective\" by Moon and Choi (2014). The authors argue that succeeding in business is likelier if ethics are a fundamental part of organizational culture. It is argued that an ethical climate positively impacts on employee commitment and ultimately on the firm's ability to satisfy its customers and deliver financial success. Support for the different hypotheses proposed is found in a study of a South Korean conglomerate operating within various industries.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.\nFindings: Consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about the world they inhabit. One major consequence is that the onus on business organizations to operate in a socially responsible manner has never been greater. Yet, many operators still regard ethical behavior and business accomplishments as mutually exclusive. Profit rules the roost, and focus is firmly on making short-term gains. Unscrupulous practices come packaged with a heavy price though. Any exposure of questionable actions invariably means a lengthy uphill battle to restore tarnished reputations. Is such a risk really worthwhile?\nOriginality/value: The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Revisiting leadership styles and attitudes towards women as managers in Greece: 15 years later	[ "Gender", "Leadership", "Women executives", "Greece" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: Limited participation of women in managerial and decision-making positions is a common phenomenon in most developed countries (Noble and Moore, 2006). This phenomenon is a matter of serious concern for policy makers trying to enhance women's participation, for companies trying to improve equal opportunities and for researchers trying to explain the phenomenon and to propose measures to face it. This serious concern is due to the fact that low participation constitutes a waste for a society where a lot of resources are invested in training and development of both sexes. As both genders tend to be equally gifted (Robeyns, 2003; Unterhalter, 2005), it is to the advantage of modern societies, as well as firms and organisations for which they work, to fully benefit from their input.According to previous research and governmental publications (European Commission, 2006), there are many factors which keep the majority of women at the edge of decision-making posts. Stereotypes and discrimination (Mihail, 2006a, b; Orser, 1994), biased recruitment and promotion systems (Fowler et al., 2007; Powell, 1987; Strauss et al., 2008; Weyer, 2006), and gender segregation in work and in education (Robeyns, 2003, 2005; Unterhalter, 2005) are just some of them. And then, there is the lopsided division of work and family responsibilities (Major et al., 2002; Moore et al., 2007; Ruderman et al., 2002).On the other hand, under-representation of women in positions of power is an issue closely connected to the issue of high unemployment rate among women. In the EU-27 area, 8.9 per cent of women are unemployed, compared to 7.6 per cent of men. This image is far worse in Greece where 13.6 per cent of women, as opposed to 5.6 per cent of men, are unemployed (European Commission, 2008).Improvements in labour law have taken place and institutional initiatives were taken during the last 20 years throughout the EU area, in order to promote equal opportunities in employment and advancement. Even if recent, such measures have proved quite efficient (General Secretariat for Equality, 2005) but under-representation of women in positions of power prevail.The above-mentioned problem, especially in terms of career advancement and equal representation of both genders in decision-making positions, has become the subject of various research projects, focusing on attitudes towards the two genders, differences in leadership styles of the two genders, family or other roles and responsibilities preventing women from pursuing more responsibility in work, etc. In response to this problem a study was carried out in the early 1990s in Greece (Bourantas and Papalexandris, 1990; Papalexandris and Bourantas, 1991). This study focused on the attitudes towards women as managers, the satisfaction from the supervisor and the leadership style that the two genders prefer to adopt as leaders and to experience as followers. Recently, the study was replicated in order to pinpoint the progress and the changes which occurred during the past years.\n2 Literature review: Glass ceiling\n3 Objectives of the present study: The present study aims at repeating the 1990-research and accomplishing some cross-time comparison, 15 years after. There is a threefold objective in this effort:1. To revisit gender stereotypes in the workplace, and explore how these are related with demographic characteristics of the respondents, such as gender, education, family status and of the working environment, such as sector, public or private company, multinational or not, etc.2. To establish whether gender stereotypes affect the satisfaction with supervisors of different genders, by their subordinates.3. To revisit the question on the existence of a \"female\" and a \"male\" leadership style and whether some leadership style proves more effective for each gender's managers, in the eyes of their subordinates.\n4 Research methodology: In order to reach a wide sample, a survey was conducted. Trained research associates (mostly postgraduate students) assisted respondents in completing a short questionnaire, during a five to ten-minute meeting. Quota sampling was used, in the sense that an equal number of male and female middle managers were reached by each research associate. In addition to that, the public and private sectors were represented to the same quota in the sample as the overall Greek market composition. Apart from these two quotas consciously pursued, research associates were left free to choose whom to reach, as long as the respondents from one particular organisation did not surmount the number of 8 (convenience sampling).Exactly the same completion technique and set of questions was used in the 1990 and 2006 surveys. The questionnaire, apart from some demographic questions, included three basic research scales:1. \"Attitudes towards women as managers\", or the \"WAMS\" scale was developed by Peters et al. (1974) and has been broadly used by other researchers thereafter (Terborg et al., 1977; Cordano et al., 2002; Mostafa, 2003; Mihail, 2006a, b). It is a 20-item, seven-point Likert type scale, with quite high reliability, according to its developers. It had a Cronbach's a=0.847, n=20, in our research in 2006. For the sake of the current research, the scale was translated in Greek and back-translated in English for content reliability purposes.2. The \"satisfaction with supervisor\" scale was developed by Scarpello and Vanderberg (1987) and has also been broadly used. It is also a seven-point Likert type scale and numbers 18 items. In 2006, it had a Cronbach's a=0.902, n=18, for our sample. Again, for the sake of content reliability, the scale has been translated and back-translated, before being used among Greek respondents.3. For the \"leadership style of the supervisor\" (actual and desirable) it was asked from the respondent to choose between four leadership styles, the one that best fitted the actual style that their supervisor presented, and the one they desired for him/her. A description of four styles was presented to respondents: autocratic, persuasive, consultative and participative. This description corresponds to an exact translation of Hofstede's (1976) description and it actually includes a shortened version of the Tannenbaum and Schmidt's leadership continuum (Tannembaum and Schmidt, 1973).\n5 Sample: The sample consisted of 294 middle managers in 1990 and 229 in 2006. In both rounds, respondents worked in both private and public organisations, operating in Greece. The following Table I presents the main characteristics of the 2006 sample, in relation to the one of 1990.The sample consisted of four types of combination between the gender of the supervisor and that of the subordinate. As expected, although compared to 15 years ago more respondents report a previous working experience with a female supervisor (41.5 per cent as opposed to 37.2 per cent in 1990), only 19.5 per cent of the total sample actually had a female supervisor (of whom, 9.3 per cent female and 10.2 per cent male; Figure 1).\n6 Findings: 6.1 Attitudes towards women as managers (WAMS)\n7 Discussion of findings: In the 15 years that have lapsed since our first study, scientists kept on dealing, more and more intensively with the issue of under-representation of women in positions of power, a phenomenon that is widespread even in countries where the equal participation policies have been adopted for a very long period, such as the USA or the UK.The present study reveals some interesting tendencies for Greece. To begin with, more respondents report prior experience with a female supervisor, notably in the public sector. This, however, does not seem to translate to a higher participation of women in decision-making or power positions, notably in the private sector, where working conditions are usually more demanding.Neither should one be very optimistic about a positive change regarding the participation of women in positions of power, as the percentage of respondents with a female supervisor, although almost double than in the 1990 sample, is still lower than 20 per cent of the total middle managers sample.a. Attitudes towards women as managers\n8 Conclusions - recommendations: From the above, it seems that professional opportunities for women in Greece have improved. According to the findings of the current research, attitudes towards women as managers in relation with their capability to assume leadership roles and their \"female\" traits, can mostly be barriers to undertaking positions of responsibility. But given the need for equal treatment and the high skills of women managers, it is important for action to be taken in relation to both objective factors (increased family responsibilities) and subjective factors (limited expectations, limited self-confidence). Such action will allow women who deserve it to claim the right to take up top positions, as their male colleagues do.In order to limit the influence of the above-mentioned subjective and objective factors, several hypotheses need to be met:* Parents need to understand that the appropriate upbringing of children requires balanced rights and obligations in family, for both males and females.* Education needs to promote the equality between males and females, as well as encourage the equal participation of both sexes in the educational procedure.* The government needs to continue the efforts that encourage the equal treatment and establish new laws and policies which promote the equal opportunities for the two genders.* Finally, companies and organisations need to be able to exploit adequately the available leadership talent of both males and females. In doing that, the role of the human resource management (HRM) department is essential, since it can raise the awareness on attitudes and stereotyping through policies in key HRM functions, notably staffing, development, assessment and rewards, as well as balance of work-family programmes and flexible working arrangements, from which women might benefit, in particular.For this reason, innovative programs which promote work/family balance solutions and help women to combine their multiple roles successfully are required. There are several examples where such policies have proved positive for both employees' satisfaction and organisational effectiveness. In today's competitive world, no organisation can afford to underutilise its human resources on the basis of their gender.\n9 Limitations and future research: The current paper is mostly based on a research conducted in Greece. The main limitations that this approach entails have to do with the applicability of the findings to other countries and cultures, such as developing countries, emerging markets or cultures with more negative attitudes towards women with power. For example, can the relative stability of the attitudes towards women as managers (WAMS) across time be generalised for other cultures and environments or it could be attributed to the relevantly high score of WAMS in the first research round? Further research, possibly repeating the current research in countries with less positive attitudes towards women as managers and generally lower participation of women in power positions and decision making is deemed necessary in order for the findings of the current paper to prove useful globally.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to deal with the attitudes towards women as managers, and the leadership style that women managers adopt. By replicating a study that was conducted in 1990, it is intended to explore how things have changed during the last 15 years, in terms of attitudes towards women in management, as well as in terms of the leadership style that each gender tends to apply at work.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A longitudinal survey, first run in 1990 and repeated in 2006, with a similar to the original sample of 229 Greek middle managers. Three very popular research scales are used to study the phenomenon: the women as managers scale, the satisfaction with the supervisor and the Likert four types of leadership styles.\nFindings: - The 2006 initial findings indicate greater presence of women in managerial positions, and relatively stable attitudes towards women as managers. Satisfaction with supervisor does not appear to be significantly correlated with the managers' gender, while, at the same time, no significant difference appears to exist between the leadership styles that male and female managers adopt.\nOriginality/value: - This research is unique in drawing on cross-time, large pool of data, to support the existence of persisting effects in the attitudes towards women as managers, as well as the effect of gender on the satisfaction with supervisor.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The role of psychological capital in employee creativity	[ "Self-efficacy", "Resilience", "Hope", "Employee creativity", "Optimism", "Psychological capital" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In an era of global competition and dynamic environments, the workplace and work lives of employees are transformed by economic, social and technological changes and developments. The constantly changing world also poses challenges for organizations and requires employee to be creative, which manifests as thriving on chaos, being proactive, and growing by overcoming hardships and difficulties. Previous research has posited that employee creativity can fundamentally contribute to the workplace (Madjar et al., 2002) and organizational competitive advantage (George and Zhou, 2002; Oldham and Cummings, 1996; Amabile, 1996; Argyris and Schon, 1978; Nonaka, 1991; Oldham, 2002; Chin et al., 2016). The findings from previous studies were based on the assumption that employee creativity is beneficial for workplace and organizational outcomes, and researchers have devoted considerable attention to identifying the importance of employee creativity; however, they have shown much less interest in its antecedents and effects. Some researchers believe that employee creativity flourishes when the role of psychological capital, hereafter referred to as PsyCap, has strong potential to promote employee creativity (Avey et al., 2012; Cai et al., 2018; Rego et al., 2012; Sweetman et al., 2011). To date, only a few studies have attempted to determine the impact of PsyCap on employee creativity in the workplace context. Cai et al. (2018) argued that the PsyCap construct as a whole is associated with positive employee creativity rather than each of its four distinct aspects. However, each of the four aspects of PsyCap may independently influence employee creativity and thus lead to different desirable outcomes (Rego et al., 2014). This study attempts to address this issue by investigating how four distinct aspects of PsyCap, including optimism, hope, self-efficacy and resilience, impact employee creativity.\nResearch background and hypotheses: Employee PsyCap and creativity\nMethodology: Sample and procedure\nDiscussion and contribution: Despite the large number of studies on the determinants of PsyCap, little conclusive evidence has been reported regarding the theoretical coherence of the \"black box\" of PsyCap in exploring the PsyCap-employee creativity relationship in human resources management. That is, how the four distinct PsyCap components work systematically and are structured to contribute to employee creativity. Our results resonate with prior empirical studies that have proposed that the four distinct PsyCap components may not make equivalent contributions to explaining a specific behavior or outcome (e.g. Madrid et al., 2018). Based on previous studies and our study findings, we argue that the four subdimensions of PsyCap may have a particular causal sequence, reflecting the fact that various psychological resources drive employee creativity differently.\nLimitations and future research: Our study has several potential limitations that should be noted. First, this study focused only on individual employee levels to measure PsyCap and employee creativity. Employee creativity was measured through self-report surveys, which may not reflect the employees' actual creative outcomes. Thus, future research could use more objective evaluations of employee creativity, such as ratings from supervisors or peer evaluations. Second, our data were collected through one-wave surveys, and there were statistically significant differences between PsyCap and the employee creativity outcomes. However, our data collection was based on one period, and time-lagged data collection for variables may obtain better reliability for the measures. Moreover, future studies could use a two-wave design for data collection and encourage respondents to answer the questions as honestly as possible by assuring their confidentiality, thereby enhancing the consistency of the findings. Third, although we presented theoretical arguments and statistical evidence indicating that four distinct PsyCap components have different effects on employee creativity, the causal mechanisms by which PsyCap results in employee creativity should be interpreted with caution. Future research could address other variables that might mediate the relationship between PsyCap and employee creativity outcomes. Potential mediating variables, such as employee engagement, may affect employee creativity. A comparison of PsyCap with employee engagement in predicting employee creativity would help in understanding the relative strength of positive PsyCap. Finally, future research could examine employee innovation ability as an outcome variable and identify the circumstances under which the relationship between PsyCap and employee innovation become stronger or weaker.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the roles of four distinct but related aspects of psychological capital - optimism, hope, self-efficacy and resilience - in facilitating employee creativity. Drawing on the psychological capital perspective and the creativity literature, we propose that optimism and hope increase employee self-efficacy and resilience, which benefits employee creativity. Moreover, the authors hypothesize that self-efficacy and resilience have mediating roles in the psychological capital context, which, in turn, has a positive effect on individual employees' creativity.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data were obtained from a survey of multiple manufacturing firms on individual employee psychological capital and creativity. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses regarding psychological capital and creativity in a sample of 468 individual employees.\nFindings: The results provide evidence that only resilience plays a mediating role between optimism and hope and employee creativity. The authors found that psychological capital is positively related to employee creativity.\nPractical implications: These findings provide guidance for understanding how to better address the psychological capital that contributes to employee creativity in the workplace. Specifically, this study provides a rationale for facilitating the development of employee creativity by exposing the effect and path of psychological capital.\nOriginality/value: This study is the first to examine the antecedents and mediating role of four distinct yet correlated dimensions of psychological capital on employee creativity. The findings of this study contribute to the theoretical development of a conceptual model that investigates the black box of the four aspects of psychological capital and creativity.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Factors influencing the fund raising process for innovative new ventures: an empirical study	[ "CEO", "Entrepreneurship", "Human capital", "Fund raising", "New ventures/startups" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Entrepreneurial activity fosters the innovation and technological change of a nation (Schumpeter, 1943). Shane (1995) demonstrates how entrepreneurship is key for the economic growth of the country providing data about the contribution of entrepreneurial firms to the US economic growth in the period 1947-1990. Moreover, new ventures are responsible for job creation (Vesper, 1996). Recent studies (Stangler and Kedrosky, 2010; Kane, 2010) show that startups are accountable for almost all the new jobs created in the USA (about 63 percent). A research by Haltiwanger et al. (2013) on the US economy in the period 1992-2005 confirms that existing firms are net job destroyers, losing one million jobs net combined per year. By contrast, in their first year, new firms add an average of three million jobs. During recessionary years, job creation at startups remains stable. For all these reasons, entrepreneurship has attracted the attention of scholars since many decades and startups are becoming a growing area of interest. A large part of the entrepreneurship research focusses on the concept of opportunity identification (Stevenson and Sahlman, 1989). Therefore, it is possible to refer to entrepreneurship as a process whereby firms and individuals (entrepreneurs) explore and exploit opportunities (Stevenson and Jarillo, 1990; March, 1991), leveraging their ability to manage uncertainty in a pro-active way. Moreover, this process impacts (and is impacted by) the company's strategy and business model (Onetti et al., 2012) as well as the ability to raise capital (Eckhardt and Shane, 2003). The way entrepreneurs mobilize resources (in terms of quantity and quality) to exploit opportunities is a crucial research issue in the field of studies related to entrepreneurship. As pointed out by Clarysse et al. (2011), the growth paths of young technology-based firms result from structuring resource portfolios. Resources embrace human, technology, and financial resources. More specifically, this entrepreneurial model is usually associated to a need for capital exceeding the founders' ability to self-fund and the company's capability to self-sustain. Consequently, new ventures (also referred as \"startups\" or \"young and new technology-based companies/NTBF\"[1]) in the early stages base their development on the resources collected through external financing, which comes from investors specialized on equity (seed and venture capital, as well as business angels, incubators, accelerators, recently also crowdfunding). Equity capital acquisition is one of the most critical factors in the growth path of a startup/new venture (Hustedde and Pulver, 1992; Colombo and Grilli, 2010; Colombo et al., 2010). The lack of adequate funds hinders firms' growth and even threatens survival because it is strong correlated to resources acquisition (Carpenter and Petersen, 2002). Therefore, it is critical to understand the variables affecting the ability of new ventures - specifically in the early-stage phase - to access to financial resources. Insofar, only a few studies have focussed on the influence of human capital and firm's characteristics on fund raising. Cressy (1996) suggests that human capital determines the ability of a company to access to financial resources, while others affirm that capital raised by a startup is positively related to the entrepreneurs' level of education (Bates, 1990). By contrast, other authors (Storey and Wynarczyk, 1996) find that company-specific factors also have a great explanatory power as fund raising is involved.\nTheoretical framework: Although the idea of considering a company as a set of resources was already addressed by Penrose (1959), it was only during the 1980s that academic researchers began to consider resources as a key aspect for strategic management. Until that time in fact, attention was focussed mostly on the industry and on the company positioning within a specific strategic group. Wernerfelt (1984) introduces the concept of resource position barriers in analogy to entry barriers and shifts the focus of analysis from the product/business side to the resource side. The resource approach offers a theory able to explain the linkages between diversification and economies of scope, as defined by Panzar and Willig (1981). In fact, the tangible and intangible assets owned by a firm are supposed to drive its diversification process, the choice of the markets to address and the types of firms to acquire or partner with. In this perspective, mergers and acquisitions as well as alliances can be seen as a way of obtaining a set of resources in an imperfect market.\nTheory and hypotheses: Human capital\nData and methodology: To shed light on the proposed issue we used a data set composed of 108 Italian innovative new ventures that in 2011 voluntarily submitted their business plan to the Business Plan Competition organized by Mind the Bridge Foundation, a non-profit (501 c3) corporation based in San Francisco. As confirmed by Foo et al. (2005), using data of participants of a business plan competition is an accepted practice. In addition, drawing the sample from this source provides several advantages, i.e.: identify teams engaged in the early stages of the entrepreneurial process; scout firms and founders characteristics and perform longitudinal studies, monitoring the phenomenon in a specific area or region.\nDiscussion and implications: Our results show that the level of education positively affects the fund raising process. In particular, the regression model strictly correlates the amount of capital raised with the fact the startups' CEO has an MBA degree. Entrepreneurs with stronger education background are better able to develop and communicate a business plan. Specifically managerial and finance competences are required ability to properly identify and explain the value proposition, strategy and business model of the new venture as well as the target market and customers. Entrepreneurs with an MBA also may benefit of higher credibility vis-a-vis potential investors.\nConclusion and limitations: Our analysis focusses the factors that influence the fundraising ability of innovative new ventures/startups. The literature review highlights a lack of empirical studies dealing with the ability of new ventures to raise capital specifically in the early stage of development. The innovativeness of this study lies in the choice of the sample, since it is composed mainly by young and innovative startups. Our findings show a significant link between the amount of capital raised and the level of education of the CEO, specifically managerial and finance education (MBA). In particular, the higher the education, the higher is the amount of capital raised by the startup. Consistently with previous studies carried out on the topic (Colombo and Grilli, 2005; Hustedde and Pulver, 1992), we found that \"MBA-like\" and - in general - post-graduate education on management/business topics facilitates the ability of entrepreneurs to attract outside investments. Our data do not seem to support the role played by prior entrepreneurial/work experience. As regards firm-specific characteristics, the model reveals a significant relation between the company size and the ability in fund raising.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that influence the fund raising ability of innovative new ventures/startups.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors investigate a data set composed of 108 Italian innovative new ventures. Specifically, the authors run a Tobit regression model linking the amount of equity raised by the company to the human capital of the company. The authors focussed the analysis on the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the new company, who usually is a founder and, in the early stages, the most charismatic figure.\nFindings: The analysis shows a significant relationship between the ability of a startup to raise funds and the level of education of the CEO. The findings suggest that this causal relation is even stronger as the CEO holds an MBA.\nResearch limitations/implications: The results of our empirical study provide further insights about the characteristics of the CEO that mostly impact on fund raising ability of the new ventures. The results are limited to startups founded by Italian entrepreneurs. A cross-country comparison will represent the natural prosecution of our research.\nPractical implications: The study provides important implications for researchers and practitioners who are interested in understanding the fundamentals of the fund raising process for innovative startups. Moreover, these findings may also be helpful for policy makers in better understanding the factors potentially influencing the Italian startup ecosystem.\nOriginality/value: The paper sheds light on the factors affecting the fund raising process of innovative new ventures in the early stage of the company's life cycle. Specifically, it is one of the few study focussing on the profile/background of the CEO in early-stage companies.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Rethinking enterprise flexibility: a new approach based on management control theory	[ "Performance measurement", "Stability", "Flexibility", "Management control systems", "Metacontrollability", "Strategic options" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Enterprises must be able to manage and control their resources efficiently and effectively in order to deal with uncertainty and complexity, following certain strategic options and guidelines. Revealingly, management control (MC) was defined by Anthony (1965) as \"the process by which managers ensure that resources are obtained and used effectively and efficiently in the accomplishment of the organization's objectives.\" But to accomplish this, enterprises need to exercise an adequate balance between flexibility and stability that mirrors their strategic options and management control systems (MCS) - given their strategic role in the enterprise - should be instrumental in achieving this goal. Notwithstanding the latter, organizations need to adequately manage tensions emerging from forces operating within them to strike a balance between the two. Such balance is to guarantee, on the one hand, the effectiveness and stability of operations under changing conditions and circumstances, and the achievement of the enterprise's strategic objectives on the other. Thus MCS are the drivers of the successful incorporation and management of enterprise flexibility and stability measures in the enterprise.\n2. Enterprise system's metacontrollability: engineering a proper use of enterprise flexibility: While flexibility measures may be well prescribed for treating unexpected variations from outside factors which threaten the system with disorder and disarray, the same prescription may not be used just the same and to the same extent for unexpected variations and their derived uncertainties, and then expect similar results (Cordova and Yanine, 2013). For instance, some variations and their derived uncertainties may be dealt with effectively in terms of increasing stocks of raw materials, for example, when there is uncertainty about the availability of the required types and quantities of materials (De Toni and Tonchia, 1998; Swamidass and Newell, 1987; Slack, 1997). This may be due to external conditions such as unreliable suppliers or shipment not readily available, or, on the other hand, an enterprise wanting to produce for stock of finished products when facing the uncertainty of how much the demand for a certain product may vary over a certain period, risking expected sales figures.\n3. Conclusions and future work: MCS have thus far been underscored and underutilized in terms of their true role and strategic relevance in securing an adequate balance between flexibility and stability in the enterprise, being tied to strategic performance measures. MCS are responsible for providing the necessary flexibility and stability measures to the organization when and where it needs them. At the same time, MCS control when and how much of both are needed over a certain time frame, and all of this dynamic behavior is tied to specific strategic options designed within the enterprise.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to a void in the literature on enterprise flexibility: The Management Control Systems' (MCS) role in the enterprise flexibility and stability discussion. MCS can be instrumental in securing an organization's strategic performance objectives, far beyond the mere managerial control and accounting perspectives of traditional MCS' roles.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study is qualitative in nature, and presents a theoretical approach with a conceptual model to address enterprise flexibility and stability jointly; arguing that both should be part of the MCS' design and implementation with a distinct strategic outlook. Several theoretical and practical arguments are presented which reinforce this thesis.\nFindings: To operate optimally, enterprises must be able to manage their limited resources in efficient and effective manner. This is especially so when dealing with uncertainty and contingencies on an ongoing basis, while following a defined strategic choice. Such choices are expected to mirror enterprise flexibility types and measures without neglecting enterprise stability requirements, linking both to strategic performance measurement indicators.\nResearch limitations/implications: Further work is needed to explore not only how different types of enterprise flexibility and stability measures can bring additional benefits to the firm but also how best to apply such types in accordance with business and operations strategies, organizational stability requirements and management control strategies.\nPractical implications: MCS can and should take part of an organization's strategic performance measures but these are to be understood from a systemic design perspective of the enterprise system's metacontrollability, addressing flexibility and stability jointly.\nSocial implications: There is a need to reevaluate the role of MCS and their strategic potential. The approach presented can have valuable potential ramifications and insights for management and information sciences as well as for the enterprise management practitioners as a whole.\nOriginality/value: This paper provides original research on enterprise flexibility and stability analysis, covering all aspects of MC and its role on the enterprise's metacontrollability. Design and coordination of the seven basic elements which comprise MCS are analyzed, as well as how they influence one another. The paper includes two tables to illustrate the approach being proposed. Table I presents a classification of the literature reviewed in the paper while Table AI presents the choice of the theoretical lens on enterprise flexibility from other authors which contrasts with the model proposed. The role of MCS in the enterprise is also included.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Critical success factors for Polish agricultural distributors	[ "Performance management", "Critical success factors", "Agricultural distributors" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Global food systems can be described as a set of local and global, partially linked food supply chains with lots of interactions within them, between them and with the external environment (Vermeulen et al., 2012; Paloviita et al., 2017; Yanes-Estevez et al., 2010). Vladimirov (2011) indicated that one weak link in a food chain can put the whole chain at risk; therefore, it is important to ensure efficiency and safety of all chain partners, including the agricultural ones. Caiazza and Volpe (2013) divided partners of agro-food chains into two groups: the companies which are mainly located in the agricultural production segment and the companies located in agriculture-related activities. The latter group comprises the companies of upstream and downstream stages of a value chain, including, inter alia, agricultural distributors. In this paper, agricultural distributors are defined as the companies that supply farms over 50 hectares, providing advisory services on plant protection programs, and shops supposed to supply remaining smaller farms. The key merchandises, which comprise crop protection, seeds and fertilizers, are being purchased either from producers or imported from abroad. Agricultural distributors also consider feeds and grains trading as auxiliary activities. Polish agricultural distributors are numerous and yet not consolidated when compared with other markets such as those in Germany and Britain. Since Polish distributors supply farms with a significant sum of around PLN 8.6bn (EUR 2bn) per year, operate on low profit margins and are exposed to several high risk factors, it is vital for these distributors to focus only on characteristics, which are called critical success factors (CSF) in the literature.\n2. Methodology: A large number of CSF has already been discussed in the literature, with great differences indicated for different countries and industries. Since the number of already identified CSF for other industries is too large to be tested effectively and as there might exist industry-specific, or even unique CSF it was concluded to start the study with interviews. Next the indications of experts with significant experience in agricultural distribution are compared to the findings presented so far in the literature for other industries. The significance of each CSF identified and the overall completeness of CSF for the studied industry are econometrically measured.\n3. Results and discussion: 3.1 Experts' interviews\n4. Conclusion: Given remarkable volume of data available inside and outside companies it has become vital for decision makers to focus only on those factors, which affect significantly companies' performance, i.e., CSF. With respect to this, evidence for the effects of CSF on performance in the Polish agricultural distributors' industry was obtained. This has primarily been achieved through the literature review, conducting several interviews followed by the empirical study, based on panel data of 22 companies in Poland over the 11-year period (2006-2016).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify critical success factors (CSF) and to examine their influence on the performance of Polish agricultural distributors operating within local agro-food systems.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A mixed methods research approach comprising eight in-depth expert interviews and regression analysis of unbalanced panel data based upon a sample of 22 of the most significant Polish agricultural distributors over the period 2006-2016 is applied.\nFindings: The following CSF have been identified and confirmed empirically: market share, gross margins (GM), high accounts payable levels, low assets maintenance, sound historical results and the use of external financing. Additionally, the regression model, based on stated variables, has been estimated. The highest regression coefficient values of GM, market share and accounts payable appear to play key roles in enhancing these companies' performance.\nResearch limitations/implications: First, only Polish agricultural distribution companies with the market share exceeding 80 percent are considered. Second, not all of the identified CSF have been empirically tested, but only CSF filtered out by industry experts as the most important.\nPractical implications: The proposed set of CSF can be directly implemented by agricultural distributors in order to focus on critical areas and therefore improve their performance.\nOriginality/value: The first set of CSF for agricultural distributors is identified, empirically tested and presented. Furthermore, the significance of the proposed CSF has been econometrically measured.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Mega, monster or misplaced? Do portion size brand extensions meet consumer needs?	[ "Advertising", "Brand extensions" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 64 percent of adults are overweight (CDC, 2005); 15 percent of children aged six to 19 are considered obese (Galvez et al., 2003). Obesity has been linked to a number of medical problems, including diabetes and heart disease (Saul, 2005). Tommy Thompson, former US Secretary of Health and Human Services, called obesity a \"crucial health problem,\" and Dr Julie Gerberding, director of the CDC, pointed to \"the epidemic of overweight among today's youth\" (NARC, 2004). Furthermore, as Americans gain girth, criticisms of food marketers gain momentum. Some observers take aim at advertisers as culprits, particularly in the childhood obesity epidemic (Strasburger, 2001). Fast food companies have been vilified in lawsuits and popular culture (e.g. Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock's documentary about a steady McDonald's diet) while food marketing practices have been subjected to governmental hearings and singled out for proposed legislative action.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to examine the brand extension tactics of food marketers, considering the implications in view of public health concerns related to obesity.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper provides examples of food marketers that have introduced and promoted healthy menu or product options and examples of product line extensions that are based on larger size as the differentiating attribute.\nFindings: - The paper finds that brand extensions that are based solely on introducing larger sizes may meet consumer needs and benefit organizations in the short term, but at the risk of diluting brand equity and compromising society's long-term health goals.\nPractical implications: - The paper suggests that food marketers should consider long-term brand equity issues and societal needs as well as short-term corporate goals and immediate consumer needs when extending their brands.\nOriginality/value: - The paper provides guidance for food marketers, identifying the potential shortcomings in applying the marketing concept to brand extension without consideration of broader societal needs.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Cultural factors and entrepreneurial intention: The role of entrepreneurship education	[ "Cultural values", "Entrepreneurial intention", "Ukraine", "Universities", "Enterprise education" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Despite inconclusive evidence surrounding whether entrepreneurship-specific education (ESE) generates specific economic benefits (O'Connor, 2013), governments promoting economic development want to increase the pool of enterprising individuals, who discover and create entrepreneurial opportunities in general, and knowledge and technology-based opportunities, in particular (European Commission, 2012). Despite considerable advances in entrepreneurship education and related topics, debate still surrounds the goals of entrepreneurship education, and the issue of whether entrepreneurship can be taught and learned. Discussion also surrounds what, how and by whom ESE should be taught (Henry et al., 2003). ESE encourages students to accumulate the human capital assets required for entrepreneurial careers in new, established, small, large, private and public organizations. It shows students what is possible to achieve when they chose an entrepreneurial career as opposed to traditional, large organization based employment (Matlay, 2011).\n2. Ukrainian context: The Ukraine became an independent state in 1991. Formerly, it was the second largest country in the former Soviet Union. The Ukraine can be viewed is a rent seeking state that combines the intentions of a market economy with a continuation of a Soviet-style management (Ivy, 2013). Its population has decreased over the last 20 years. Economic problems have led to a low birth rate and high out migration. In 2012, the Ukraine had a population of 45.6 million. Heavy industry and agriculture are in decline. Practitioners have introduced policies to transform the economy from a totalitarian system to a free market economy. Entrepreneurship is viewed as a key driver to stimulate economic development, and to reduce social and regional inequality. However, there are several barriers to enterprise (Iakovleva et al., 2013). Notably, there are numerous taxes and they are perceived to be relatively high. There is insufficient finance for new firms and loans are expensive (Parsyak and Zhuravlyova, 2007). Further, there are frequent changes in tax reporting requirements, recurrent legislative alterations to the sale of goods and services, difficulties recruiting skilled labour, and poor management practices, etc. (IFC, 2011).\n3. Theoretical insights: 3.1 EET\n4. Research method and data collected: 4.1 Sample, data collection and respondents\n5. Results: Hierarchical multiple OLS regression analysis was used to explore variations in the interval level of intention dependent variable. Models reported in Table II are significant at the 0.001 level. Model 1 is the baseline control variable model. Students from the EU (p<0.001), and those from self-employment and/or business ownership backgrounds (Parents) (p<0.05) reported significantly higher intensity of intention.\n6. Discussion and conclusions: Supporting previous evidence relating to developed economy contexts (Krueger et al., 2000), this study detected that students who cited a perceived desirability and perceived feasibility for entrepreneurship reported higher intensity of entrepreneurial intention in a transition economy context. With regard to the links between cultural values and entrepreneurial intention, we detected two significant relationships relating to a transition economy context, which has received relatively limited conceptual and empirical attention by enterprise scholars. Students who cited initiative taking reported significantly higher intensity of entrepreneurial intention, but those reporting capability beliefs reported significantly lower intensity of intention. In line with evidence from developed economy studies (Souitaris et al., 2007), ESE students reported higher intensity of entrepreneurial intention in a transition economy context, which did not formerly promote risk-taking and individual alertness to the discovery and exploitation of opportunities for personal reward. As found elsewhere (Barbosa et al., 2008), students who cited capability beliefs reported significantly lower intensity of intention. In part, presented evidence appears to question the universal validity of self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1997) in a rent seeking transition economy with a continuation of a Soviet-style management. We infer relating to this context that ESE honed a more realistic perception of the skills, capabilities and other resources required for entrepreneurship by students seeking to pursue careers in new and established organizations, and an increased awareness that they did not currently possess the resource base required to successfully launch an entrepreneurial venture, or pursue an entrepreneurial career.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Universities provide entrepreneurship-specific education (ESE) to equip students with the skills required to pursue entrepreneurial careers in new firms and innovative private and public sector organizations. Building upon insights from entrepreneurial event theory, cultural values theory and human capital theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore the linkage between perceived local cultural environment, ESE investment and the intensity of entrepreneurial intention with regard to becoming an entrepreneur.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Survey information from 321 students from three universities in the Ukraine was hand collected. Hierarchical multiple ordinary least squares regression analysis and slope analysis were used to test presented hypotheses.\nFindings: Analysis revealed that students who cited a perceived desirability and perceived feasibility for entrepreneurship, initiative taking culture and participation in ESE reported significantly higher intensity of entrepreneurial intention. Conversely, students who cited the capability beliefs culture factor reported significantly lower intensity of intention. ESE interactions with perceived cultural factors as well as perceived desirability and perceived feasibility for entrepreneurship were not significantly associated with higher intensity of entrepreneurial intention.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study was limited to three universities in the Ukraine and university students who followed business or engineering courses. The generalizability of the findings might be limited to this context. Additional quantitative and qualitative research is warranted to explore the external validity of presented findings with regard to other countries, universities and courses.\nPractical implications: Practitioners in transition economies are seeking to increase the rate of new firms formation in order to encourage economic development and to reduce social and regional inequality, but they also want existing organizations to grow utilizing the skills and capabilities of talented graduates with transferable skills. This study has confirmed that it is unrealistic to assume that ESE alone can alleviate cultural barriers to an entrepreneurial intention. The authors detected that participation in ESE was associated with higher entrepreneurial intention, but failed to highlight the specific entrepreneurial skills and capabilities associated with a higher entrepreneurial intention.\nOriginality/value: The authors extend the conceptual base by exploring novel hypotheses relating to the assumed direct role ESE plays in promoting a higher intensity of entrepreneurial intention in a transition context. Notably, the authors propose that ESE will moderate the relationships between the cultural factors perceived by students and their reported intensity of entrepreneurial intention. The authors suggest that ESE can raise awareness of positive cultural values that stimulate an entrepreneurial intention. In addition, the authors suggest that ESE can foster the accumulation and mobilization of skills, capabilities and knowledge required to circumvent attitudinal and resource barriers to enterprise.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Information literacies of self-identified sadomasochists: an ethnographic case study	[ "Communities of practice", "Embodied experiences", "Information literacies", "Sadomasochism", "Sexual information seeking" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Information literacies (IL) form a debated concept. It is usually tied to discussions on what is learned, why, and in what context, as well as whether it is possible to apply such literacies toward gaining skills, which are not immediately tied to the contexts and practices in which they are learned. Such literacies are not formed by interaction with specific information, but rather through practices, activities and tools specific to a setting. The meaning of the term \"information literacy\" varies according to context (Limberg et al., 2012). For the purposes of this paper, it is defined as an understanding of how and why information is produced (see Lloyd, 2010b), an understanding of the \"difference that makes a difference\" (Bateson, 1972). People who are information literate have \"a deep awareness, connection and fluency with the information environment\" (Lloyd, 2007a). A significant element of that understanding is the ability to read the activities of others as texts and to interpret them. To examine these processes, I have studied and interviewed Finnish sadomasochists, whose hobby and lifestyle practices echo several prominent IL concepts. In this, my work expands existing research on embodied ILs, which have so far mostly been connected to workplace environments. It also provides a case example group, through which facets of IL can be better illuminated.\nSadomasochist stigma and ILs: Sadomasochism is conveniently summarized as the often (but not always) sexual enjoyment of certain consensual activities relating to acts of temporary, agreed-upon dominance and submission. These are accompanied by actions such as humiliation, administration of pain, and/or bondage (Nordling, 2009). Different individuals have very different likes and dislikes within that set of potential activities. What exactly counts as sadomasochism therefore varies from one individual to the next, meaning that it is not possible to calculate, or even estimate, the number of actual practitioners (see e.g. Ortmann and Sprott, 2013). What is so far known, for example, is that in a 1999 Finnish survey, about 8 percent of men, and 7 percent of women, reported that they had at least once tried bondage, and 3 percent, and 1.5 percent, had tried sadomasochism. In answers from young adults, the numbers were much higher (Haavio-Mannila and Kontula, 2001). This suggests that sadomasochism and bondage are sexual trends, the popularity of which is currently increasing. Practitioners themselves have noted that sadomasochist communities seem to be microcosms of the surrounding society, in that they contain people from all walks of life (e.g. Harrington and Williams, 2012).\nEmbodied perspective on information literacy: In this paper, my focus on information literacies is particularly on the embodied practices of IL. All information literacy is in some sense embodied. It is dependent on the body-presence of the observer-reader within the setting in which information is observed and turned into potential practices (see Talja, 2010). Likewise, the observation of an action needs a person-acting, as embodiment is derived from being situated (Lave, 1988). Of central interest here is an inclusive approach developed especially by Annemaree Lloyd in her studies on trainee firemen, emergency service workers, and so forth (e.g. 2005, 2007a, b, 2010a, b). This is because her subject groups, as do sadomasochists, deal with very real risks in their practices. The practices are often very physical, and the practitioners need to adapt formal information sources into actual knowledge, by also reading the actions of others. According to Lloyd (2007a, p. 182), information literacy is \"a way of knowing the many environments that constitute an individual being in the world.\" It is contextual, and constituted \"through the connections that exist between people, artifacts, texts, and bodily experiences, which enable individuals to develop both subjective and intersubjective positions\" (Lloyd, 2007a). It is based on the ability to perceive information, in addition to accessing, evaluating and processing it. One becomes information literate by being aware of one's presence in an information environment and learning to know that environment. This is a process that most efficiently takes place in contact with a community of practice (as per Wenger, 1998).\nResearch ethics and methods: The data for this paper comes from two sources. The first of these is ethnographic work I have done in the Finnish sadomasochist community. Over two decades, I have been to numerous BDSM parties and helped organize several of them. I have attended safety and technique workshops, at some of which I also taught myself. I have discussed intimate and intricate details of personal play practices with hundreds of self-identified sadomasochists, and been present at BDSM sessions at both public events and in private. My status as a scholar has been public knowledge to any scene member interested in that fact, so no research ethical line was breached during those years. The ethnographic part of the research was conducted through both participant observation and radical empiricism - the learning of, and engagement in, the skills and practices of the community (as per Jackson, 1989). As noted by many scholars of sexual practices (see e.g. Haeberle, 1989; Newmahr, 2011; Frank, 2013), the visceral nature of the activity requires a participant's understanding and integration with the community to analyze it, even as one does not \"go native.\" This fall in line with Fine's (2003, p. 53) suggestion that one should strive to reach \"expected participant in social life\" status in the community one seeks to study.\nFindings: The combination of ethnography and interviews revealed several findings relevant to the study of information practices. These are listed below, and then, in the discussion section, placed into the context from data coming from other communities. Central themes were the instructional structures of BDSM communities, available sources of information, IL-based appraisals of the reliability of those sources, and the appropriation of the information into potential knowledge.\nDiscussion: Most of the interviewees described their learning-related information acquisition with answers resembling in Bruce's (1999) sixth face of information literacy, \"information literacy is experienced as working with knowledge and personal perspectives adopted in such a way that novel insights are gained.\" For them, acquiring important, useful information about sadomasochism was first and foremost an experiential process based on a combination of experimentation, action-observation, and location of reliable second-hand sources. Their ILs were experienced as their sense of control over information. In this, they seem to reflect Jean Lave's ideas that everyday practice is for certain activities far more natural as a learning pattern than is any formal teaching (see Talja, 2010).\nConclusions and research possibilities: In this paper, I have shown how Finnish sadomasochists apply their ILs for the purpose of acquiring both necessary and potentially useful skills and social practices. Central to their information acquisition is the way that they read the actions of other practitioners, as \"texts\" that they then interpret and possibly append to their own repertoires. This strongly correlates with the professional groups studied by Lloyd - just as firefighters learn to \"read\" and \"speak\" the fire (Lloyd and Somerville, 2006), sadomasochists learn to read and speak pain, humiliation and power dialectics, also in situations not associated with their own activities. Unlike the firefighters and other professional groups, however, they are unlikely to receive formalized training for their craft. Therefore, they have to rely even more on their ILs, in order to discern credible information sources and to adapt information that they find interesting, but do not trust.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present findings on the way in which self-identified sadomasochist apply their information literacy skills, and to analyse those applications in the context of existing research on information literacies (IL).\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper is based on the author's two decades of ethnographic work within a national-level sadomasochist community, supplemented by interviews with 30 practitioners and an extensive literature survey.\nFindings: Sadomasochists avoid the social stigma associated with their activities by developing highly refined ILs. Central among these is the ability to learn from other practitioners by reading and interpreting their actions as \"texts.\" They furthermore stockpile potentially useful information for later use. Their ILs not only make sadomasochists more skilled in their practices, but also provide them with safety.\nOriginality/value: By examining its subject community, the paper develops the ideas of embodied information literacy, currently strongly associated with workplace learning, to the hobby and lifestyle sectors, as it deals with a particularly corporeal set of ILs. This radical example allows scholars to conduct research on the ILs other communities of practice, in which the activities may be less obviously corporeal, but the literacies just as based on embodied interpretation and the reading of others' activities as texts.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The effects of store environment elements on customer-to-customer interactions involving older shoppers	[ "Consumer behavior", "Customer satisfaction", "Store environment", "Customer-to-customer interaction (CCI)", "Older shoppers", "Retail experience" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Today's aging population is unprecedented. It is a global phenomenon, with profound implications for many facets of human life. According to the United Nations (2015), until 2030, the number of people aged 60 years or over is projected to grow worldwide by 56 per cent, from 901 million in 2015 to 1.4 billion in 2030; by 2050, it is expected to be 2.1 billion. Driven by reductions in fertility and improvements in longevity, population aging began in Europe and Northern America. However, this aging process is also growing rapidly in developing countries. For example, in Brazil, the current percentage of people aged 60 or over is 11.7 per cent, and it is projected to reach 18.8 per cent in 2030. Brazil is among the top ten countries with increasing rates of older people in its population, and it is also among the ten largest countries in the world (UN, 2015). This increasing number of people over 60 years of age in the marketplace reinforces the importance of empowering older people to advance their well-being, which includes providing environments that enable satisfying shopping experiences (Ford et al., 2016).\nTheoretical background: Store environments\nMethod: Aiming for a holistic understanding of how the environment elements of a retail store might influence the interactions of older customers with other customers when they shop, various qualitative research techniques were undertaken, including three interviews with retail architecture experts; two interviews with store employees; one interview with a psychologist and one interview with a gerontologist; five interviews with older shoppers; and three focus groups with older shoppers. The data collection was conducted in Porto Alegre, south of Brazil, where there are many supermarkets options, from small neighborhood stores to those of international chains (e.g. Walmart, Carrefour).\nResults: To facilitate an understanding of the findings, the results are presented according to the broad categories that are used in the study, specifically, perception of store environmental elements, perception of older shopper behavior and perception of older shopper behavior associated with store environmental elements. Following this description, the major findings are discussed in light of the current literature, and the data are synthesized in Table I.\nDiscussion: The results indicate that the environment elements of a store tend to influence older customers' behavior and satisfaction, which corroborates the previous studies that have not focused on this specific segment (Newman and Foxall, 2003; Puccinelli et al., 2009). Moreover, the outcomes of the various interviews and focus groups suggest that such elements can influence how older customers interact with other customers while they shop, and this might not always result in satisfying experiences.\nMain contributions and future research directions: This study presents interesting contributions to the literature on older shopper behavior and age-related CCI. Although age can be understood as a relative concept (Nicholls and Mohsen, 2015), physical constraints because of aging are inevitable (Ford et al., 2016). Given that such a development can have psychological consequences as well as consequences for socialization, a major contribution of this study is that the findings suggest that the experience of grocery shopping can enhance such effects, either positively or negatively, depending on the environment elements of the store. The present study provides empirical evidence that such elements influence how older customers might interact with other customers when they shop, which can promote either satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their buying experiences. For example, the size of the store can influence the satisfaction of older customers. Specifically, smaller stores can increase direct CCI, which can positively influence older customers' satisfaction.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate older shopper behavior in a retail environment. The study focused on how the environment elements of supermarket stores influence older customers to interact with other customers when they shop for groceries.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Various qualitative research techniques were undertaken, including interviews with retail architecture experts, store employees, a psychologist and a gerontologist; in addition, five interviews followed by three focus groups were conducted with older shoppers in Brazil.\nFindings: Customer-to-customer interactions that are related to the environment elements of supermarkets tend to influence the shopping experience of the older shoppers, which has an impact on satisfaction. Although some customers may value social contact, some interactions can involve discomfort and embarrassment.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study sheds light on the understanding of the influence of the environment elements of supermarket stores on customer-to-customer interactions, and it proposes such interactions to be a relevant strategy that is used by older customers to maximize their satisfaction, although such strategies can also lead to dissatisfaction.\nPractical implications: The findings provide insights regarding the specific needs of older customers in a supermarket context, associated with the design and ambient elements of the store environment, which can be valuable for retailers and policy-makers.\nOriginality/value: Considering the limited understanding of older shoppers and their experiences, this study provides a thorough understanding of how the retail environment can influence customer-to-customer interactions that involve older shoppers. Moreover, the study captures how interactions, which are influenced by the retail environment, can result in dissatisfaction; however, such interactions can also be used by older customers to modify their satisfaction with the shopping experience.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A critical perspective on learning outcomes and the effectiveness of experiential approaches in entrepreneurship education: Do we innovate or implement?	[ "Implementation", "Effectiveness", "Learning outcomes", "Entrepreneurship education", "Innovation", "Experiential" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Despite extensive research into entrepreneurship education[1] (e.g. Dainow, 1986; Gorman et al., 1997; Hannon et al., 2004; Pittaway and Cope, 2007b; Solomon et al., 1994; Blenker et al., 2014), many studies focus upon pedagogical \"good practice\", rather than establishing its effectiveness. As well as achieving the social goals of any curriculum in terms of enabling students to fulfil their potential and ultimately to obtain gainful employment, entrepreneurship can also potentially be evaluated to establish whether it meets its desired objectives or learning outcomes. Our aim, therefore, is to conduct a critical appraisal of how experiential approaches can more effectively enhance the achievement of learning outcomes in entrepreneurship education. In particular, we critique whether actual learning outcomes can be profitably used to measure effectiveness; and consider how student performance can be evaluated through lenses of implementation or innovation.\n2. Entrepreneurship education approaches: traditional vs experiential: This section contrasts more traditional, lecture-based approaches to the more innovative experiential approaches to entrepreneurship education (which are heavily influenced by the seminal learning theories of Dewey, 1938; Lewin, 1942; Kolb, 1984). First, we examine the way in which competence-based approaches have helped to develop students' knowledge and expertise and thereby contribute to the achievement of learning outcomes (which we return to in Section 3). Studies have specifically documented how experiential approaches are viable for entrepreneurship education (Cooper et al., 2004; Heinonen and Poikkijoki, 2006). The \"entrepreneurial-directed approach\" has been evaluated, including by analysis of learning diaries, by Heinonen and Poikkijoki (2006), noting that this approach not only imbues students with \"entrepreneurial skills and behaviours\" (as defined above and explained below) but also widens their \"perspectives\" (Heinonen and Poikkijoki, 2006, p. 80). Indeed, Heinonen and Poikkijoki (2006) focus upon the holistic individual, not just on his or her knowledge and - through \"learning by doing\" and reflection - the student becomes more competent and skilled in the important elements of entrepreneurial practice, such as recognising opportunities (Heinonen and Poikkijoki, 2006). Taatila (2010) describes experiential projects as the \"most effective\" method of learning because they are \"pragmatic\" and use an \"abductive\", rather than deductive or inductive, approach (Taatila, 2010). Both authors highlight how \"holistic\" entrepreneurial (psychological) competencies, rather than just rote learning, may be gained through more effective experiential approaches. Cooper et al.'s (2004, p. 11) evaluation of an experiential entrepreneurship programme at a Scottish university concluded that: \"the traditional lecture-based, didactic methods of teaching and learning alone are insufficient\". Such experiential approaches, could - speculatively - increase the learning outcomes of students on entrepreneurship courses, and arguably these approaches are assumed to enable entrepreneurial competences to be learned through experience.\n3. Effectiveness and actual learning outcomes in entrepreneurship education: Accordingly, this section explores some of the literature on the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education, particularly in terms of learning outcomes. Prior studies, though limited and being most prevalent in recent years, have attempted to assess the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education, despite an apparent \"mismatch\" between what entrepreneurs need and \"actual outcomes\" (Matlay, 2008) and perceptions \"not matching students' skill expectations with skill acquisition\" (Cheng et al., 2009). Although outcomes are influenced by the \"underpinning philosophy\" (Hannon, 2005), that does not necessarily link objectives with actual learning outcomes and these need to be fully understood (Hytti and O'Gorman, 2004). Whilst graduates not having sufficient \"work experience\" is likely to militate against successful start-up (Edwards and Muir, 2005), key weaknesses of entrepreneurship education included a lack of focus upon \"competence\" (rather on \"knowledge\") (Garavan and O'Cinneide, 1994, p. 3). Indeed, many established entrepreneurship education approaches are not experiential as such, but tend to involve traditional lectures and also business planning assessment (Honig, 2004; Pittaway and Edwards, 2012). First, we group together different measures of effectiveness that have been identified. These have included those which suggested that learners' \"propensity and intentionality\" is increased, but it is unknown whether they are thus \"more effective entrepreneurs\" (Pittaway and Cope, 2007a), or their \"perceptions of the desirability and feasibility of starting a business\" alters (Peterman and Kennedy, 2003), while other studies (e.g. McMullan and Gillin, 1998; Vij and Ball, 2010; Vij, 2014) found that entrepreneurship education programmes encourage students to consider starting their own business.\n4. Effectiveness, learning outcomes and student assessment: implement or innovate?: First, why use actual learning outcomes as a measure of effectiveness at all? Effectiveness relates to purpose and also to the creation of perceived value for people who care - and the implication is all the people who care. So we have to ask: why are we teaching this module (or paper), for whom and what is it they are looking for? It is the answers to these questions that should drive the learning outcomes if they are to be used to measure effectiveness. But are they really outcome driven and value related - or rather more likely to be based on academic assumptions and preferences. It can also be argued that creativity and innovation can only be evidenced in context, and that a student's learning environment will impact on the essential ingredient of newness. What may be new to one individual, group or society may well be well-trodden ground to another. Learning outcomes might also relate more readily to measures of efficacy (are the stated learning objectives or desired learning outcomes being delivered?) and efficiency (can the learning objectives or desired outcomes be achieved with the resources available basically?). It is also an interesting question as to whether the relevant learning objectives (desired outcomes) are generic and relevant for experiential entrepreneurship \"anywhere\" or whether (and how much) they are location specific and thus vary from programme to programme depending on local needs. Is there any risk that a module or paper is really valuable for students in developing entrepreneurial orientation or entrepreneurship skills (which are both laudable and relevant outcomes), and it is delivered well by capable staff, but it fails to meet poorly specified desired learning outcomes - so it is not judged effective? The nature of experiential entrepreneurship approaches is that there is broad purpose and direction but an unclear route - participants (educators as well as students) learn as they go along about the value and relevance of particular choices and actions. There are, therefore, two themes - learning about specific cause and effect themes within the context of the purpose - and a broader purpose of refining behaviour and judgement capabilities. The educator's role is fundamentally to provide opportunities for students to experience and to learn. How specific can we realistically be about just what they learn, however? They all start from different starting points, so we have to query how well we are setting the desired learning outcomes if we are using them as a measure of effectiveness. We could consider what we believe experiential approaches to entrepreneurship are really about and whether the desired learning outcomes we traditionally employ truly \"stack up\".\n5. Conclusions and implications: In terms of articulating the rationale for this research: first, we need to establish the effectiveness of experiential approaches so that investment in these by Government and universities may be justified; and, second, in the literature review we have identified that the argument for experiential entrepreneurship approaches is under-developed in that it launches well, continues to rise impressively, but then fails to \"land\" because of a lack of evidence of its effectiveness. Thus the argument for experiential approaches is two-fold but with a missing third fold. First, \"traditional\" programmes, which rely upon lectures or other directed, non-experiential approaches to entrepreneurship education, are not effectively achieving their objectives, or these objectives are not ambitious enough to achieve effective outcomes. Second, experiential approaches are an interactive, participative, realistic, viable and potentially more effective, alternative to these \"traditional\" approaches and include, for example, simulation and other experiential approaches. Third, there is a lack of evidence on their effectiveness. The literature on entrepreneurship education, therefore, provides much argumentation - and \"good practice\" documentation - on experiential approaches. These are assumed to be more effective than \"traditional\" approaches. However, the underlying philosophy behind these approaches is not constructed upon how effective they are. In particular, we do not know enough about whether these approaches more effectively enable students to achieve desired learning outcomes, because these are \"proving elusive\" (Matlay and Carey, 2007, p. 252).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to conduct a critical appraisal of how experiential approaches can more effectively enhance the achievement of desired learning outcomes in entrepreneurship education. In particular, the authors critique whether actual learning outcomes can be profitably used to measure effectiveness; and consider how student performance can be evaluated through the twin lenses of implementation or innovation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors undertook a review of both traditional and experiential approaches to entrepreneurship education. In addition to comparing these approaches, the authors critiqued a number of \"taken for granted\" assumptions regarding the effectiveness of experiential approaches to entrepreneurship education and made recommendations.\nFindings: Although there is a large body of research on experiential approaches towards entrepreneurship education, the authors know little about how these approaches contribute towards the effective achievement of desired learning outcomes. Whilst many authors claim that such approaches are effective, such assertions are not supported by sufficient robust evidence. Hence the authors need to establish more effective student performance evaluation metrics. In particular: first, whether actual learning outcomes are appropriate measures of effectiveness; and second, the authors should evaluate student performance through the lenses of the two \"Is\" - implementation or innovation.\nPractical implications: Whether actual learning outcomes are used as a measure of effectiveness at all needs to be critiqued further. Implementation involves doing things that are determined by others and matching against their expectations, whereas innovation comprises producing multiple and varied solutions that respond to change and often surprise.\nOriginality/value: Through revisiting the discussions on the art and the science of entrepreneurship education, this paper represents an initial critical attempt - as part of an ongoing study - to fill a gap in entrepreneurship education research. The paper, therefore, has significant value for students, entrepreneurship educators and policy-makers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Toward supporting information-seeking and retrieval activities based on evolving topic-needs	[ "Information retrieval", "Research" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Because of the vast amounts of information stored in databases and the complexities of projects in knowledge-intensive work environments, knowledge management systems (KMSs) and enterprise content management systems (CMSs) face the challenge of helping users find pertinent and needed information in a timely manner (Bloodgood and Salisbury, 2001; Markus, 2001). Normally, a worker uses documents to understand a task's related topics and solve a specific problem. When a worker begins a task, he/she may search the organization's knowledge repository for information that will help solve the problem at hand. However, most commercial information retrieval systems rely on a keyword search method as the primary retrieval mechanism. In many cases, the worker may only have a general idea about a topic and may be uncertain about the information required for the task. Thus, an effective search solution requires more than a basic search function. The retrieval capability of KMSs and enterprise CMS applications must be enhanced by including additional search techniques that consider users' search behavior patterns (Kampffmeyer, 2006; Smith and McKeen, 2003). For professional projects in knowledge-intensive domains, providing relevant information that meets workers' information needs precisely is of the utmost importance.Seeking and retrieving information is an essential aspect of knowledge workers' behavior during problem-solving and decision-making tasks. It is generally agreed that seeking and retrieving information is not an easy task; and in the long run, it can be a complex process for workers during a task's execution (Bates, 1989; Hider, 2006; Komlodi, 2004; Kuhlthau, 1993; Spink et al., 1999; Vakkari and Jarvelin, 2005; Vakkari et al., 2003). Knowledge workers are often unable to express their information needs precisely in short query terms (Pons-Porrata et al., 2007). Normally, users seek information from a variety of sources to satisfy their needs, which are often vague initially and evolve during the search process (Bates, 1989; Kuhlthau, 1993). Bates' well known \"berrypicking\" model (1989) is based on the notion that users may start with a broader topic, adjust their information needs based on the pieces of information they encounter and then form a new query. A user may repeat an information retrieval activity and revise a query several times until his/her information needs are fulfilled. This \"bit-at-a-time\" retrieval approach is called \"berrypicking\" because the search or information seeking behavior evolves over time (Bates, 1989; Komlodi, 2004). Hider (2006) observed that users might change the search goal, either consciously or unconsciously, while they are interacting with systems. Accordingly, he proposed an IR model based on search goal revision that provides a perspective of user-system interaction. Since IR is a method for obtaining information dynamically during problem-solving tasks, a single search session can not accurately reflect changes in the user's information needs during the problem-solving process. Information seeking (IS) involves searching for, extracting, and using information for a specific purpose when a person does not have sufficient prior knowledge. IR can be regarded as a process of IS, so the latter may include one or more information retrieval activities (Ingwersen and Jarvelin, 2005; Vakkari et al., 2003; Wilson and Walsh, 1996; Wilson, 1999). In the past, researchers emphasized various aspects of computer science and designed algorithms for information retrieval systems (IRS). There has been much less interest in using information retrieval (IR), information seeking (IS) and computer-human interaction (CHI) (Belkin et al., 2004; Ingwersen and Jarvelin, 2005; Marchionini and Komlodi, 1998) to design IRSs that satisfy users' information needs. Recently, however, user-oriented information seeking (IS) research methods rooted in the social sciences have been integrated with computer science-based Information Retrieval (IR) approaches to capitalize on the strengths of both fields. The concept is called the information seeking and retrieval (IS&R) framework. In this paper, we present evolving topic-needs determination methods based on a synthesis of the IS&R models proposed in previous studies (Beaulieu, 2003; Bystrom and Jarvelin, 1995; Kuhlthau, 1993; Roberts and Wilson, 1988; Vakkari, 1998, 2001; Wang and Soergel, 1998; Wang and White, 1999; Wilson, 1981).The proposed model observes the user's search behavior pattern to determine his/her cognitive status from a macro viewpoint (i.e. changes in problem stages) and a micro viewpoint (i.e. changes in the topics needed across problem stages) simultaneously. The objective is to capture changes in the user's information needs precisely so that evolving information needs can be satisfied in a timely manner. Like Kuhlthau (1993) and Vakkari (2001), our previous study (Wu et al., 2008) showed that users' information needs and search behavior patterns vary in different stages. We therefore proposed a knowledge support model to provide relevant documents for knowledge-intensive tasks based on the user's problem stage. The results confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed method for knowledge-intensive tasks compared with the traditional information filtering (IF) techniques, especially in the early stages of a task's execution. However, we found that the stage-based knowledge support model could not accurately determine users' information needs for specific topics across the information seeking process.In recent years, several studies have stressed the importance of modeling users' interests or information needs for a specific work task incrementally in terms of topics, instead of as a set of weighted keywords or meta-data (Godoy and Amandi, 2006). Incorporating the domain ontology (i.e. a hierarchical structure of domain topics/categories) into the profiling process is another effective way of modeling users' information needs (Middleton et al., 2004; O'Leary, 1988; Pons-Porrata et al., 2007). Although IF systems provide proper profiling methods to learn a user's dynamic information needs and interests, few of them analyze variations in the user's topics needs and the characteristics of each problem stage during the information seeking process. To address this research gap, we propose a domain ontology which is a multi-level, topic-based taxonomy generated from our research domain to determine variations in a worker's topic needs and help him/her locate relevant information on topics of interest. Hereafter, the constructed domain ontology, is called a topic ontology. This structure, allows us to observe, and record workers' behavior, and feedback, when they use the proposed system (i.e. their search behavior, and relevance feedback on knowledge items), and then determine their information needs. Evolving topic-needs across problem stages can be identified implicitly by indicators of \"generality\" and \"specificity\" based on variations in the proposed topic ontology. In different problem stages, the indicators have different functionalities, which influence the final interactive topic-needs identification process. The system also provides an optional mechanism to help users identify their information needs for topics interactively. Based on the user's current profile and problem stage, the system displays the relevant topics in the topic ontology and interactively maps his/her information needs to a specific level of the topics. In this way, the system can provide relevant documents in the long-term based on the proposed evolving topic-needs determination method and the results of the interactive topic-needs identification process.The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. Section 2 contains a review of related works. In section 3, we define the research problems and provide an overview of the proposed information seeking and retrieval (IS&R) framework. In section 4, we describe the evolving topic-needs determination methods based on the user's problem stages and variations in topic-needs. The experiment design and experiment results are presented in sections 5 and 6 respectively. Then, in section 7, we summarize our conclusions, and indicate the direction of our future work.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Information seeking and retrieval\n3. Overview of the research problems and the IS&R model: 3.1 Research problems and basic concepts\n4. Supporting personal search activities based on a user's evolving topic-needs: In this section, we describe the proposed approach in detail. The evolution of a user's topic-needs can be determined by examining the variety of topics included in the topic ontology. The variety indicates the degree (level) of change in the topic ontology.4.1 Overview of the proposed approach\n5. Experiment setup and procedure: We conducted two experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed methods. Section 5.1 provides an overview of the experiment setup and the evaluation metrics. Section 5.2 details the experiment procedure and methods.5.1 Experiment setup\n6. Experiment results: 6.1 Experiment one: effects of the topic-based methods\n7. Conclusion and future work: There is increasing demand for more effective enterprise content (document) management (ECM) systems that go beyond the basic document management and retrieval functions of current knowledge management systems (Paivarinta and Munkvold, 2005; Smith and McKeen, 2003). To address this demand and facilitate effective ECM, there is a growing trend in user-oriented information retrieval (IR) research to apply information seeking and retrieval techniques in social and organizational contexts (Ingwersen and Jarvelin, 2005; Tyrvainen et al., 2006). This fact motivated us to:* develop a novel IS&R model that considers the user's search pattern and the project or task contents; and* design a search function for ECM applications.Because of the rapid advances in applying search engine techniques to support enterprise search activities, users can employ search engines to find useful information and search for topics of interest when their information needs are vague or evolving. Most current user modeling approaches focus on the analysis of changes in a user's information needs in his/her daily work life, instead of considering the user's information needs for a specific long-term task. To address this issue, we propose an evolving topic-needs determination method based on an analysis of information seeking and retrieval (IS&R) theories. The evaluation results demonstrate the improved precision of the proposed methods. Specifically, the methods can retrieve more relevant documents for the searcher because they consider his/her information needs for topics across problem stages. Among the compared methods, the proposed Stage-Topic-Interaction method achieves the best performance on average, especially in the early and late problem stages. The results also show that the method can help users find relevant topics via an interactive topic identification process.There are several issues that need to be investigated further. In this work, we have adopted some concepts from the IS research area to enrich the IR and IF research areas. In the future, we will conduct an in-depth analysis of the interrelationships of users' information search behavior patterns, information needs, and different search tasks. The IS&R model will be enhanced by incorporating personal, task, and social factors to provide a more comprehensive IS&R framework. Furthermore, the cognitive model of document use in a research project at three points or stages, i.e. document selection, reading, and citing, proposed by Wang and Soergel (1998) and Wang and White (1999) will be incorporated into the academic IR system. Specifically, to design a friendlier interface, we will consider their findings about the importance of document information elements (DIEs), mediators, and decision rules. We will also investigate interactive search issues to improve the proposed evolving topic-needs determination technique based on the IS&R model (Borlund, 2003; Kelly et al., 2009; Belkin et al., 2004; White et al., 2004, Vakkari, 2008; Wilson, 2008). Finally, with the rapid growth in the number of web searches, there are still many interactive IR research issues that need to be explored; for example, the number of interactions, metrics for evaluating the output and the effectiveness of using an interactive IR system in information seeking contexts (Vakkari, 2008; Xie, 2008). Our work contributes to the research on applications of intelligent information retrieval systems, and enhances the use of knowledge retrieval functions to support the execution of projects/tasks by academics and business professionals. It also provides further insights into the human judgment and decision-making processes involved in achieving search goals.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Seeking and retrieving information is an essential aspect of knowledge workers' activities during problem-solving and decision-making tasks. In recent years, user-oriented Information Seeking (IS) research methods rooted in the social sciences have been integrated with Information Retrieval (IR) research approaches based on computer science to capitalize on the strengths of each field. Given this background, the objective is to develop a topic-needs variation determination technique based on the observations of IS&R theories.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - In this study, implicit and explicit methods for identifying users' evolving topic-needs are proposed. Knowledge-intensive tasks performed by academic researchers are used to evaluate the efficacy of the proposed methods. The paper conducted two sets of experiments to demonstrate and verify the importance of determining changes in topic-needs during the IS&R process.\nFindings: - The results in terms of precision and discounted cumulated gain (DCG) values show that the proposed Stage-Topic_W (G,S) and Stage-Topic-Interaction methods can retrieve relevant document sets for users engaged in long-term tasks more efficiently and effectively than traditional methods.\nPractical implications: - The improved precision of the proposed methods means that they can retrieve more relevant documents for the searcher. Accordingly, the results of this research have implications for enhancing the search function in enterprise content management (ECM) applications to support the execution of projects/tasks by professionals and facilitate effective ECM.\nOriginality/value: - The model observes a user's search behavior pattern to determine the personal factors (e.g. changes in the user's cognitive status), and content factors (e.g. changes in topic-needs) simultaneously. The objective is to capture changes in the user's information needs precisely so that evolving information needs can be satisfied in a timely manner.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Perceptions of workplace health: building community partnerships	[ "Personal health", "Health education", "Risk management", "Occupational health and safety", "Canada" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes and cancer account for the majority of death and disability in Canada (Wielgosz, 2001; Alter et al., 2003; Manuel et al., 2003; O'Brien et al., 2003; Vaillancourt et al., 2004; Simunovic et al., 2005; Ugnat et al., 2005). Atlantic Canadians share numerous health issues including high rates of smoking, physical inactivity and obesity, which put them at higher risk for chronic conditions and premature death and disability (Tanuseputro et al., 2003). Many initiatives have been developed to address these health issues, with workplace wellness (also called workplace health or workplace health promotion) a notable example. Workplace health initiatives are now recognized as an effective way to reach adults and support improved employee health (Wilson et al., 1996; Pelletier, 1997; Emmons et al., 1999; Engbers et al., 2005). Safe, healthy and supportive working conditions and environments are important elements that contribute to the health and well being of workers, their families and the broader community (Glanz and Mullis, 1988; Jeffery et al., 1994; French et al., 2001; Matson-Koffman et al., 2005).Despite suggested effectiveness of comprehensive workplace health promotion, it has yet to be widely implemented in an integrated manner. The Atlantic Health and Wellness Institute, in partnership with Abbott Laboratories, Aventis Pharma and Luedey Consultants Inc. with representatives from Departments of Health in Atlantic Canada, Chambers of Commerce and Atlantic Heart and Stroke Foundation, established a joint Advisory board called Wellness Initiatives Network (WIN). The purpose of this group was to provide a forum for organizations in Atlantic Canada to share knowledge and experience on workplace health. Focus groups were conducted with businesses/organizations in the four Atlantic provinces:to learn how organizations/businesses define workplace health;to assess employer support and commitment for workplace health initiatives;to assess facilitators and barriers to workplace wellness/health; andto understand workplace needs around evaluation and outcome measures.\nMethods: Qualitative methods were used to gather information via five focus groups from four provinces in Atlantic Canada: St John's, Newfoundland; Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Sydney, Nova Scotia; and Moncton, New Brunswick. Participants were selected from contacts of members of the Wellness Initiatives Network and local Chambers of Commerce and from a business directory (Table I). Potential organizations received an information letter and were then contacted by phone. The following summarizes information on participating organizations:most were larger organizations with over 200 employees;most were engaged in some wellness initiatives.;unionized and non-unionized organizations participated;a range of organizations participated in each focus group including private businesses, public sector organizations (e.g. health authorities), municipalities, and universities;most were organizations with human resource staff; andhuman resource staff and/or senior management participated in the focus group.A semi-structured interview guide was used. Focus groups were 90 to 120 minutes long and were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Once transcribed, data were coded manually (i.e. broken down into meaningful pieces related to emerging themes) by a consultant with expertise in qualitative research and workplace health promotion. Sub-categories illuminating the data in ways not provided by the main codes/concepts were created as needed and attached to the main nodes/themes.Transcriptions and written data (i.e. facilitator's and coordinator's field notes) were first analyzed separately and then compared and contrasted to the analyzed transcripts. Cross-case analyses followed the case analyses, a process in which researchers regroup answers to similar questions from different people and analyze participants' different perspectives (Patton, 1990). Emerging themes were discussed with the focus group facilitator. In addition, the facilitator and coordinator reviewed and confirmed all data analyses, as did focus group participants.Trustworthiness of the findings was assured through several methods, including:independent and systematic coding and data analyses;the use of direct quotations from participants to substantiate findings;an audit trail, which kept a log of activities and methodological decisions, and outcomes of contacts;peer review and debriefing between the qualitative researcher conducting the analyses, the facilitator and members of the advisory board; and*member checking.Qualitative interviewing (e.g. focus groups) is exploratory in nature and thus provides rich and valuable insights into people's views and feelings, but is not intended to be generalized or quantified.\nFindings: The meaning of workplace health\nDiscussion: The current project was exploratory in nature but gathered valuable input into organizations' perceptions of workplace health. Most participants were from larger organizations with significant internal infrastructure to facilitate the implementation of workplace health initiatives. However, small businesses make up the greatest proportion of businesses in Atlantic Canada, and they face unique issues and challenges. The small business perspective should be sought to determine how they can best build healthy workplaces.An inclusive inventory could not be gathered given the qualitative methodology of this project. The next phase could include a more detailed survey on number and type of wellness initiatives, including delivery mechanisms, duration, and evaluation strategies. Research techniques would allow stratification of workplaces according to variables such as type and size of business and would ensure a representative sample.Furthermore, it is recommended that workplace health promotion encompass a comprehensive approach. Despite the growing evidence in support of workplace health initiatives, they are not widely implemented in a comprehensive manner. As recommended by focus group participants, workplaces should adopt broader strategies that recognize the important role of personal health practices and coping skills, as well as social and environmental factors (Wetter et al., 2001; Sorensen et al., 2004; Yassi, 2005). Individual health behaviour is only one component. It is now recognized that \"efforts that target individual behaviour change must be integrated with changes in the worksite environment and in the structure of work to maximize the potential for coronary heart disease (CHD) risk reduction in the worksite\" (Sorenson et al.. 1992). This approach, known as comprehensive workplace health, is defined as:[...] an approach to protecting and enhancing the health of employees that relies and builds upon the efforts of employers to create a supportive management culture and upon the efforts of employees to care for their own well-being (Shain and Suurvali, 2000).Comprehensive workplace health encompasses health practices and personal resources of individuals and the workplace environment, including the organization's philosophy or culture. Organizational development to help foster a more supportive environment is critical for long-term sustainability of workplace health promotion.As acknowledged by focus group participants, comprehensive workplace health initiatives demonstrate a good return on investment for both employers and employees (Golaszewski, 2001; Health Communication Unit, 2002). Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that comprehensive workplace health programs not only lower heath care and insurance costs (Wellness Councils of America, 1995; Edington, 2001; Serxner et al., 2003), but also decrease absenteeism, and improve performance and productivity (Bertera, 1993; Pelletier, 1993; Aldana, 2001; Pelletier, 2005).In conclusion, these focus group findings indicate both interest and readiness to implement workplace health initiatives amongst participating employers in Atlantic Canada. There appear to be leaders that understand the factors that impact organizational and employee health. Respondents expressed keen interest to meet again and continue to share ideas and learnings through an Atlantic network. There is an opportunity to involve such individuals in helping to build awareness, understanding and commitment to healthy workplaces. Engaging such leaders in a network that includes government, business and health sectors would be a critical step in building an integrated, comprehensive and sustainable approach to workplace health. Employers in Atlantic Canada recognize the value of a healthy workplace and are ready for a comprehensive approach. However, as discussed, barriers do exist to achieving a healthy workplace. It is necessary to address such barriers to optimally implement and ensure success of healthy workplace initiatives. In addition, evaluation of health promotion efforts, including health outcomes and return on investment, is an essential component of a comprehensive approach to workplace health.While the focus group findings provided important information about the state of workplace health in Atlantic Canada, this project was exploratory in nature with most participants from larger organizations with significant internal infrastructure that could be mobilized for workplace health. However, small businesses make up the greatest proportion of businesses in Atlantic Canada and they face unique issues and challenges in implementing workplace health. Therefore, next steps in this project is a comprehensive and inclusive survey with appropriate sampling methodology that builds on the current work, to assess the current state of workplace health in businesses throughout Atlantic Canada. Such information will help establish best practice standards and a realistic framework for workplace health programs relevant to the needs of Atlantic Canadians.\nAcknowledgement: Special thanks are extended to Allan Snook of Sanofi Aventis, Andrew Wynn of Abbott Laboratories, William J. Luedey and Bill Luedey of Luedey Consultants Incorporated for their guidance and support throughout this project. The expert assistance of Sheri Price is gratefully acknowledged. Justina Dollard of the Atlantic Health and Wellness Institute and Suzanne Lewis of Luedey Consultants Incorporated provided invaluable administrative support. Thanks are extended to the representatives of the many organizations in Atlantic Canada who gave freely of their time to participate in the focus groups. Without their participation, this study would not have been possible. Special thanks to the Heart and Stroke Foundations of the four Atlantic provinces for their invaluable support throughout this project. The financial support of Sanofi-aventis and Abbott Laboratories in funding this study is especially acknowledged. Finally, thanks to the members of the Advisory Board for their invaluable input and guidance throughout this project. New Brunswick: Ms Bonita L. Green, Program Manager, Public Health Services, NB Department of Health and Wellness; Ms Heather Erb-Campbell, Executive Director, Heart and Stroke Foundation of New Brunswick; and Ms Faye Terrio, Meetings and Events Coordinator, Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce. Nova Scotia: Ms Heather Christian, Coordinator of Public Health, Nova Scotia Department of Health; Ms Jane Farquharson, Executive Director, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia; Mr Jeff Sommerville, President and CEO of Premier Executive Suites/Halifax Chamber of Commerce; and Ms Valerie Bobyk, Chairperson, Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce. Newfoundland and Labrador: Ms Heather Comerford, Public Service Commission, NL Department of Health and Community Services; Mr Stephen Browne, Executive Director, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador; and Ms Sharon Horan, Director, St. John's Board of Trade. Prince Edward Island: Ms Mary Nicholson, Executive Director, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Prince Edward Island.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Workplace health promotion initiatives are an effective way to reach adults, and provide safe and healthy working environments that support individual health. The purpose of this project was to: learn how organizations/businesses define workplace health; assess employer support and commitment for workplace health initiatives; assess facilitators and barriers to workplace wellness/health; and understand workplace needs around evaluation and outcome measures.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A community partnership, Wellness Initiatives Network (WIN), was established to provide a forum for organizations in Atlantic Canada to share knowledge and experience on workplace health. Focus groups were conducted with businesses/organizations in the four Atlantic Provinces. Tape-recorded transcriptions were analyzed using thematic analysis.\nFindings: - Ingredients for successful workplace health initiatives include onsite programs, the provision of incentives and recognition for employees, and the need to build awareness, understanding and commitment among managers who can help to create a supportive culture, which supports employee health. Measuring outcomes related to workplace health is critical.\nPractical implications: - Workplace health promotion should encompass a comprehensive approach that acknowledges the important roles of personal, social and environmental factors.\nOriginality/value: - There is both interest and readiness to implement workplace health in Atlantic Canada. Workplace health is a responsibility of all - individual employees, employers and workplaces, and government. All stakeholders must be involved to help employees, workplaces and the health system cope with an aging population and concomitant increasing stresses at work and home. Engaging leaders is a critical step in building an integrated, comprehensive and sustainable approach to workplace health.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Perceptions of fine dining restaurants in Pakistan: What influences customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions?	[ "Pakistan", "Service quality", "Customer satisfaction", "Behavioural intensions", "Fine dining restaurants" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: People are the most important marketing quality facet that influences the restaurant quality and loyalty (Kukanja et al., 2017). A popular phrase \"getting it right the first time\" (McDougall and Levesque, 2000) continues to prevail in the hospitality environments these days. Anticipating the decision-making process of many consumers, particularly those that consider different restaurant-related elements prior to deciding where to dine, could prove very valuable to the restaurateurs as the first impressions are the lasting impressions. For Psomas and Jaca (2016), a company can improve its performance by focusing on specific total quality management factors which in turns provide the foundations not only to survive but to stay competitive in the current global scenario. Total quality management is a dynamic resource that influences strategy formulation process and contributes to the achievement of a sustainable competitive advantage (Yunis et al., 2013). In order to justify quality management, quality managers must focus even more on how to improve and achieve results (Eriksson, 2016).\n2. Literature review: The most important steps required to build successful rapport with customers are to provide individual attention to each customer and understand their specific needs (Kayeser et al., 2013). Understanding the customers' needs is the first step in developing customer relations that focuses on loyalty, retention and long-term relationships (Wang et al., 2014). To identify customers' wants, strategize how to satisfy them and implement these strategies into operational practices is the best way to build satisfaction and positive intentions among restaurant customers. As noted by Susskind et al. (2018), organizational policies and support for employees contribute to a positive service climate, customer satisfaction and firm performance. Hence, for managers it is very important to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the delivered services (Dabestani et al., 2016). To improve and develop specific quality measurement techniques suited to the needs of the restaurant industry, different models have been identified (Keith and Simmers, 2011; Kim et al., 2009; Sulek and Hensley, 2004; Vanniarajan, 2009). For instance, SERVPERF (Cronin and Taylor, 1992, 1994) was introduced to validated the (service-performance) measurement technique; DINESERV (Keith and Simmers, 2011) modified the original DINESERV questionnaire by adopting the performance approach to quality measurement, TANGSERV (Raajpoot, 2002) enables the measurement of tangible quality indicators and DINESCAPE (Ryu and Jang, 2008) introduced a multiple-item scale to assess the physical environment in restaurant settings. All of these techniques focus on the service quality of restaurants.\n3. Hypotheses and model development: The research framework is based on the SERVQUAL instrument which is developed by Parasuraman et al. (1985). Based on the expectancy confirmation theory (Oliver, 1980), this instrument measures the expectation and perceptions of customers which in result builds customers' satisfaction and loyalty. Following hypotheses are assumed on the basis of literature review:\n4. Research methodology: 4.1 Research procedure and participants\n5. Results: 5.1 Demographics of the respondents\n6. Gap analysis: Gap analysis is a process of identifying, diagnosing and solving human and organizational problems in any business or educational study (Clark and Estes, 2008). For company resource allocation, it provides a clear direction (Oh, 2000). The present study checked the gap between the importance of key restaurant attributes and the performance of each restaurant attribute.\n7. Discussion, implications and conclusion: 7.1 Implication from gap analysis result\n8. Conclusion: Customers always reflect high expectations from service especially in restaurants' settings because they expect to get better quality of services in order to become a satisfied and build their revisit intentions. This case increased the understanding of the quality of restaurants attributes provided by the fine dining restaurants of Pakistan.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between restaurant key attributes, customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions. The mediating role of customer satisfaction is assessed between restaurants' key attributes of service quality and behavioral intentions.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data were collected from a sample of 296 customers dining in the fine dining restaurants of Pakistan through a self-administered questionnaire. The data were then analyzed through regression analysis and gap analysis. Model fitness was checked in SPSS AMOS through CFA.\nFindings: The findings suggest that the key restaurant attributes have a significant positive effect on behavioral intentions. Customer satisfaction partially mediates the relationship between key restaurant attributes and behavioral intentions. The findings also suggest that there is a significant gap between the perceptions of customers regarding the importance and performance of key restaurant attributes.\nPractical implications: The result indicates that food taste and environmental cleanliness are the cornerstones of fine dining restaurants' success in Pakistan and are among the strongest predictor of customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions; while improvement efforts should be made in four key areas, i.e., healthy food option, food freshness, food safety and fair price.\nOriginality/value: No comparative study has been directed in fine dining restaurants of Pakistan with respect to the key restaurants attributes, i.e., food quality attributes, service quality attributes, atmospheric quality attributes, and other attributes which have been analyzed in the current study. This research was conducted to investigate the perceptions of customers toward the fine dining restaurants of Pakistan to measure the key restaurants' attributes that influence customers' satisfaction and their post-dining behavioral intentions. This study will facilitate restaurants' managers to understand the stronger and as well as the weaker aspects of service quality and permit them to investigate the factors which contribute toward customers' satisfaction and their post-dining behavioral intentions in order to build and maintain long-term relationship between restaurants and customers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A comparison of customers' readiness for mass-customisation: Turkish vs British customers	[ "Mass customization", "Automotive industry", "United Kingdom", "Turkey", "Customers" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The aim of this study is to examine customers' readiness for mass-customised products in two European countries, Turkey and the UK. In doing so the study examines the demand side of the market and begins to explore whether mass-customisation can be implemented as an international product strategy. It also attempts to link the theory of the globalisation of markets with the theory of mass-customisation.Since Levitt (1983) argued that advances in technology in relation to transport and communication were the drivers of the globalisation of markets there has been much debate on the feasibility of globally standardised products. Pine's (1993) theory of \"mass-customisation\" appears to contradict the globalisation approach, however. According to Pine (1993) people are no longer willing to sacrifice their preferences in return for consistent quality at low prices, but are looking for exactly what they want and need and are willing to pay extra to obtain it. Moreover, with advances in computer aided manufacturing, economies of scale can be achieved with a small batch size, and even individual products can be provided cost effectively. Based on this premise, a number of theoretical works have emerged in the literature which identify and classify the ways in which mass-customisation can be implemented efficiently and effectively (Pine, 1993; Lampel and Mintzberg, 1996; Gilmore and Pine, 1997; Andersen, 1997; Feitzenger and Lee, 1997). However, these works assume that customers are ready for mass-customisation, without presenting evidence from systematic research that this is indeed the case.\nCustomers' readiness for mass-customisation: It is not the aim here to present a detailed review of the literature on mass-customisation. This has been undertaken elsewhere (Bardakci and Whitelock, 2003). Rather the aim is to focus on a comparison of customers' readiness for mass-customisation, as identified through exploratory research undertaken in Turkey and the UK. Pioneering applications of mass-customisation have suggested three major inconveniences that customers are likely to face: mass-customised products are more expensive than standardised products (Kotha, 1995), a customised product cannot be delivered to the customer at the time of purchase, and, since the customer initiates the design process, the customer is required to invest time in \"designing\" the product (Pine et al., 1995). Thus, customers' readiness may be determined as follows:1. Are customers willing to pay a premium for a customised product?2. Are customers willing to wait to receive their customised product?3. Are customers willing to invest time in \"designing\" the product?Readiness may be defined through a positive response to all three questions. This is to say that, provided customers are willing to accept all three inconveniences of mass-customisation, they will be considered to be \"ready\" for customisation (Bardakci and Whitelock, 2003).A related concept is the issue of customer customisation sensitivity (Hart, 1995). Two basic tenets determine customer customisation sensitivity, the uniqueness of the customer's needs and the customer sacrifice gap. Uniqueness of the customer's needs is a function of the relevant demand pattern. If the demand pattern is primarily functional (such as the demand for table salt), customers do not care whether they are offered customised solutions or not. On the other hand, if the demand pattern is innovative customers are more likely to pay attention to customisation. The customer sacrifice gap is the gap between the desired product and available products in the market. All kinds of sacrifices fall into this category: hassle, inconveniences, discomforts, long queues, product deficiencies, high cost, ordering difficulties and so on. The bigger the gap the more the customers are sensitive and the more customisation becomes a desirable strategy (Peppers and Rogers, 1993; Hart, 1995; Gilmore and Pine, 1997; Peppers and Rogers, 1997). This customer customisation sensitivity suggests additional research propositions.\nResearch propositions: RP1. Customers' in today's market are no longer willing to relinquish their preferences in return for low price but are looking for exactly what they want. As a result customers will be willing to pay a premium for a customised product.\nMethodology: The new car market was selected for study as it can be said to present the conditions of demand fragmentation and market saturation that are argued to favour mass-customisation (Pine, 1993; Kotha, 1995). Moreover, the auto industry has radically changed its ideas about manufacturing twice in the last century, first with Ford's system of mass-production and second with Toyota's lean production in Japan. Finally, this is a global industry and a comparative study of the potential for mass-customisation of cars in the UK and Turkey has implications for global marketing and competition. European countries are often assumed to be similar in terms of the stage of economic development, the nature of marketing infrastructure and industry conditions, encouraging firms to standardise their marketing efforts across markets. However, wide differences can be observed within the European arena between very highly and less highly developed market economies. A study within the UK and Turkey may provide evidence of those differences at the customer level and signal the need for caution in the uniform use of either globalisation or mass-customisation strategies.The aim was to conduct research among a population defined as \"all persons interested in buying a brand new car in the lower-medium, super-mini and upper-medium categories of cars (which represent the largest segments of the automobile market in terms of new registrations). A questionnaire was developed and pre-tested with sales executives in three car dealers in Manchester, UK, and also with potential car purchasers in two dealers, which were not subsequently included in the full research study. The draft questionnaire was administered through personal interview with respondents\" completing it themselves in the presence of the interviewer, except in the case of one dealer who refused permission for this but instead administered the questionnaire to customers to complete while they were waiting in the showroom. A total of seven responses were received in this way, as a result of which minor changes were made to one question to improve clarity. A total of 800 questionnaires were subsequently distributed through car dealers and 58 responses received over a five months period. Follow-up phone calls and facsimile messages to those in the dealerships who had agreed to co-operate revealed that questionnaires had been distributed to their prospects. Follow-up of these prospects was not possible since questionnaires had been distributed by the dealers on the strict understanding that prospects would remain anonymous.The questionnaire was translated into Turkish by the second author, a Turkish native speaker, and was administered to respondents in Iskilip, a province of the city of Corum. Fifty questionnaires were distributed to a convenience sample of respondents who were all identified as considering buying a new car in the next two to three years, and who differed in their occupations, level of disposable income, and education level. Thirty-seven usable replies were obtained over a three weeks period.Problems in obtaining research data in international marketing have been much discussed in the literature (Cavusgil, 1987). Steenkamp and Hofstede (2002) comment on the difficulties of sampling equivalence. Clearly, the sample in the UK differs from that in Turkey in terms of method used and profile from which the sample is drawn. However, Kumar (2000) comments that the stress should be on \"the equivalence of the information collected from the sample [s]\", rather than on sampling frame. Consequently, we believe it is appropriate to compare the data we have collected from these two countries.The questionnaire consisted in the main of self-rated, non-comparative single-item rating scales used to assess respondents' level of agreement or disagreement with statements relating to the benefits and disadvantages of customised cars, to their satisfaction with standard features and to the difficulty of choice between many alternative models. Dichotomous (yes/no) questions were used for each of the three constructs of price premium, design time and waiting time, with a multiple choice question added to each to allow the construct to be quantified. Additional dichotomous questions (relating to features which are disliked but which the customer is prepared to accept and sex of respondent), multiple-choice questions (relating to age, education, marital status and occupation) and open-ended questions (relating to make, model and date of purchase of current and next car) were also included.\nFindings: Figure 1 shows that 57.1 per cent of the UK sample and 75.68 per cent of the Turkish sample are prepared to accept the three inconveniences of mass-customisation and hence may be regarded as \"ready\" for this product strategy. Multivariate analysis of the three variables - increased price, wait time and time spent in design - indicates that Turkish respondents are more frequently ready than British respondents for mass-customisation (chi-square=3.34, p=0.07, a=0.73). However, individual analysis of the three variables shows that increased price is the differentiating variable, as indicated in the discussion of findings in relation to research propositions below.RP1. Customers' in today's market are no longer willing to relinquish their preferences in return for low price but are looking for exactly what they want. As a result customers will be willing to pay a premium for a customised product.\nLimitations of the study and directions for further research: This study raises a number of questions. First, it is exploratory in nature and was limited in terms of research sample. Consequently, generalisations cannot be made and further research is needed to verify the findings. However, examining the views of customers from more than one country has allowed our decision framework and research propositions to be tested outside the single-country domain. Second, readiness for mass-customisation is, of course, a twofold concept concerning both the demand and supply sides of the market. As such, the focus on the customer, although justified by the lack of previous research attention paid in this regard, attempts to explain only one side of the equation. How far the organisation is ready to adopt a mass-customised approach is a further question to be answered requiring further research. Future research in contexts other than new cars should also be undertaken. Mass-customisation in relation to other products may produce different results, with the three key considerations weighted differently depending on the nature of the product and the level of required customisation. Finally, we have focused on \"readiness\" for mass-customisation and do not attempt to provide any link between this \"readiness\" and behavioural intentions. This is, of course, an important issue that may be addressed by future studies.\nDiscussion, conclusions and recommendations: This paper compares the findings from two exploratory studies undertaken in Turkey and the UK which examine how far customers' are \"ready\" in practice for mass-customised products in the context of the new car market. Three inconveniences that customers are likely to face were identified and formed the framework for the research. First, although it is suggested in theory that mass-customised products might be offered at the price of mass-produced products, pioneering applications indicate that mass-customised products are more expensive than standardised products. Second, a mass-customised product cannot be delivered to the customer at the time of purchase. Finally, since the customer initiates the design process, the customer must spend time on \"designing\" the desired product. As a result \"customers' readiness\" has been operationalized in this research as the acceptance by customers of all three considerations.A summary of the findings in relation to the research propositions are shown in Table VII. Overall, the findings do not differ significantly between the two countries and suggest that a large proportion of customers from both countries would be willing to pay extra to own a product which exactly meets their needs and preferences. However, more respondents in the Turkish sample were willing to do so than in the UK sample. This may be the result of the customer sacrifice gap, which seems to be higher in Turkey than in the UK. Additionally, Turkish respondents were keen to update the features of their car over time, a fact which is favourable to mass-customisation as a concept. This may be the result of the propensity to keep cars for a longer time period than in the UK.The research suggests that there may be a viable market of customers for mass-customised cars, in both the UK and Turkey. An element-by-element examination of this framework revealed that payment of a premium is the most important consideration for mass-customisation since the proportion of the sample that is willing to pay such a premium is the smallest. However, possible increased price is not the only variable involved in determining customers' readiness. Producers now need to examine the price that would be acceptable to customers and whether such a price would be sufficient to offset any additional costs that may be incurred in offering a mass-customised product.An advantage of mass-customisation for respondents in Turkey, where the customer satisfaction gap is greater, is found in regard to the opportunity for price adjustment, where attributes which are outside the customer's budget constraints can be excluded from the product. The opportunity to update the product over time is also important for this group, probably as a result of the fact that the planned replacement period for a new car in Turkey is long relative to the mature UK car market, where respondents plan to replace their cars rather than to update them. In the UK, a segment of customers who are \"ready\" for mass-customisation seems also to have been identified. However, the findings also suggest that there is a sizeable segment of customers looking for a low price, hence standardised and mass-produced, product. Therefore it may be concluded that, for cars at least, mass marketing is by no means dead. Mass-customisation might be implemented in the UK to increase competitive advantage over global rivals without a complete shift to mass-customisation being necessary or desirable. In both countries, the high number of products available hinders the decision process for customers in terms of finding the right product. In such market circumstances collaboration with customers through mass-customisation may solve the problem, as customers will not have to pay for product features that they do not want, an advantage favoured by \"ready\" customers.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - To examine customers' readiness for mass-customised products in two European countries, Turkey and the UK.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Examines the demand side of the market and begins to explore whether mass-customisation can be implemented as an international product strategy. A questionnaire was developed, pre-tested and administered in the UK and (after translation) in Turkey to potential new car buyers.\nFindings: - A large proportion of customers from both countries would be willing to pay extra to own a product which exactly meets their needs and preferences. However, more respondents in the Turkish sample were willing to do so than in the UK sample. Additionally, Turkish respondents were keen to update the features of their car over time, which favours mass-customisation.\nResearch limitations/implications: - This study is exploratory and limited in terms of research sample. Consequently further research is needed to verify the findings. Second, how far the organisation is ready to adopt a mass-customised approach is a further question to be answered requiring further research. Future research in contexts other than new cars should also be undertaken. Finally, we have focused on \"readiness\" for mass-customisation and do not attempt to provide any link between this \"readiness\" and behavioural intentions.\nPractical implications: - There may be a viable market of customers for mass-customised cars, in both the UK and Turkey. Producers now need to examine the price that would be acceptable to both customers and themselves.\nOriginality/value: - This is the first systematic research study to address the demand side of mass-customisation in two European countries.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Community level approach to youth alcohol related risk	[ "Community-based interventions", "Public health", "Alcohol", "Health promotion and public health development" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Drinking in young people occurs in the context of the individual's relationship, community, society and culture in which they live. The complex interdependencies of individual drinker characteristics (age, gender), drinking patterns (preloading, binge drinking), drinking contexts (family, friends, commercial establishments) and commercial alcohol markets can be difficult to separate. Social ecological models identify multiple contextual influences on health behaviour at the individual, interpersonal, community, environmental policy levels (McLeroy et al., 1988; Grzywacz and Fuqua, 2000; DeJong and Langford, 2002; Gruenewald et al., 2014; Golden et al., 2015). This provides a framework for better understanding the environmental, social and political determinants of health issues and to provide a comprehensive community-based approach to health promotion initiatives (Stokols, 1992; Krieger, 2001).\nMethods: The participants in this study fell into two groups, community workers and managers of drinking venues in the NTE (venue managers). There were ten venue managers (one female and nine males) and nine community workers (four female and five male) who had roles that encompassed such areas as law enforcement, enforcement of local bylaws around alcohol consumption, venue security (bouncers) and education and prevention of alcohol-related harm.\nFindings: The participants were asked about their perceptions of young people socialising in the NTE. There was considerable agreement across the community workers and venue managers about the nature of risk for young people in the NTE. Two central themes of \"perceived risk\" and \"management of risk\" emerged from the data. Further, the community workers and venue managers identified different spaces in the NTE as high-risk locations for young people.\nDiscussion and recommendations: In the health promotion discipline, local community is recognised as the setting of decision-making and public health action. This study explored the working practices and relationships among organisations, institutions, informational networks and businesses within a defined boundary to gain a better understanding of the complex environment presented as drinking spaces in the NTE. As such, redirecting health promotion from focussing on the individual to focussing on the community and the role of social and physical environments associated with risky drinking practices in young people.\nConclusions: Overall, the present study provides a qualitative perspective of the functions of the community level. The social ecological model is used to better understand alcohol consumption behaviour and its interaction with the social and physical environment. The social ecological model can be valuable in developing a more comprehensive community-based prevention programme to reshape the physical, social and legal environment that influences risky drinking practices in young people.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Young people drinking to extreme drunkenness is a source of concern for policy makers and health promoters. There are a variety of community groups who appear to respond to the alcohol-related problems. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the working practices and relationships among local community groups as part of the pre-intervention context-assessment process.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Drawing on the narratives of nine community workers and ten venue managers the authors examine the community level approach to inform the choice of interventions to reduce risky drinking practices and community wide alcohol-related harm.\nFindings: There was considerable agreement across the community workers and venue managers about the nature of risk for young people in the night time economy (NTE). Two central themes of \"perceived risk\" and \"management of risk\" emerged from the data. Further, the community workers and venue managers identified different high-risk locations and strategies to improve their ability meet the needs of young people experiencing risk in the NTE. The local authorities, community organisations and night time operators adopted a broad proactive and connected approach to develop a coherent strategy to achieve new measures of safety in the NTE.\nOriginality/value: Applying the social ecological model to provide a framework for the understanding of the social, environmental and political factors that influence alcohol use in young people.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
An empirical framework developed for selecting B2B e-business models: the case of Australian agribusiness firms	[ "Business‐to‐business marketing", "Electronic commerce", "Australia", "Agriculture" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this issue.\nIntroduction: E-business continues to be of growing importance with many organisations increasingly conducting their business activities in the electronic environment (Goodridge, 2000; Kalakota and Robinson, 1999; Cunningham and Froschl, 1999). The use of technology has played a major role in many strategic initiatives (such as reengineering and cost-cutting) where attempts have been made to capitalise the benefits of e-business to strengthen customer and supplier relationships, and establish new markets (Hackbarth and Kettinger, 2000). E-business has played a significant role in the business-to-business segment where it has grown significantly (NOIE, 2000) and is expected to reach US$8.5 trillion worldwide by the year 2005 (Gartner Group, 2001). This trend requires existing business models to be rethought to reflect the transformation required by organisations to take advantage of this environment (Barnes and Hunt, 2001). Furthermore, organisations are faced with a wide range of e-business models, with many factors influencing their ultimate choice. The increasing adoption of e-business by organisations both worldwide and in Australia and the resulting lack of empirical research to assist organisations in making these choices have resulted in the need to develop a framework to assist organisations in selecting appropriate B2B e-business models. This phenomenon is particularly evident in the Australian agribusiness industry (NOIE, 2001).Agribusiness organisations worldwide have capitalised on the many advantages of e-business to improve the marketing of their products (Allen Consulting Group, 2000). In Australia, the agribusiness industry is regarded as a major contributor to the economy and this is particularly evident in Queensland, where it accounts for one-third of exports and employs over 80,000 people (Queensland Government, Department of State Development, n.d.). Although this industry consists of a large number of small enterprises, many are supportive of the adoption of e-commerce techniques (The Australian Electronic Business Network, 1998). In addition, the high reliance on accurate and timely information (such as weather and stock information) and large physical distances between producers and customers in this industry, have made this sector conducive to the benefits of e-business (Allen Consulting Group, 2000). This exploratory research will address the question \"What factors influence the choice of B2B e-business models used by Australian agribusiness organisations?\" and develop a preliminary framework for Australian agribusiness organisations seeking to select B2B e-business models.\nLiterature review: The choice of B2B e-business model is one of many strategic decisions that organisations make when conducting business activities in the e-business environment. Current literature on both strategic decision making and the development of B2B e-business models does not adequately address the many complexities facing today's agribusiness organisations considering e-business initiatives. The existing literature is disparate in that it addresses how organisations should make strategic decisions in general (Song et al., 2002; Gulati et al., 2000), and the detail and development of e-business models (Wise and Morrison, 2000; Timmers, 1999; Rappa, 2001) but the two disciplines have nowhere been combined. Furthermore, practical and operational issues (such as resources availability, technology infrastructure and knowledge required) that impact such decisions, specifically for agribusiness organisations, have also not been addressed.In developing the framework, organisations need to have a good understanding on the types of models available for adoption. While there is no single unique classification system for the types of B2B e-business models available (Rappa, 2001; Timmers, 1999), B2B e-business models are generally classified into four generic categories: merchant models; manufacturer models; the buy-side model; and brokerage models (Timmers, 1999; Rappa, 2001; Strauss and Frost, 2001). Each of these models has different functional characteristics resulting in different models being more applicable or suitable to particular industries, markets or situations. In addition, the focus of these models varies from buyer centric (such as the buy-side model) to supplier centric (such as the manufacturer model) with some being neutral (such as the mega-exchange model). Based on these four categories, a recent study has identified 10 specific e-business models (see Table I for their comparative features) as being used for conducting B2B e-commerce in the agribusiness industry (Ng, 2002).In addition to the complexity of the models, many factors are known to influence the strategic decision making process of organisations (Eisenhardt and Martin, 2000), which are also likely to impact on the choice of B2B e-business models. The choice of e-business model is a strategic decision as the model chosen will form the framework for the organisation to pursue its business activities in the e-business environment and will also affect an organisations' overall strategic direction (Nwachukwu, 2002; Malhotra, 2000).Factors influencing the choice of e-business models can be classified into two categories; internal and external (Papadakis et al., 1998). The literature suggests 16 influencing factors, of which nine are internal and seven are external in nature (see Figure 1). Based on the literature, a preliminary model (see Figure 1) was developed suggesting that although the choice of B2B e-business models is a unique strategic decision, traditional factors (both internal and external) that would normally impact such a decision will apply in this context. Furthermore, the relative importance of each of the factors in the strategic decision process will also be examined as it is assumed that some of these factors may be more important than others, and in addition differences may also occur based on size and sector.\nMethodology: This study was exploratory in nature and was conducted in two stages; depth interviews (stage one) and case studies (stage two). During the depth interviews stage, interview protocol was developed and was structured into three sections that consisted of 20 questions, aimed at addressing the relevant issues and objectives. Interviewees for the depth interviews were selected based on their extensive experiences in the agribusiness industry (either in the private or in the public sector) as well as their extended knowledge and expertise (practical or theoretical) in the fields of e-business, e-commerce and strategic management.Eight depth interviews with e-business experts and industrial professionals were undertaken to examine the appropriateness of those B2B e-business models and factors identified in the preliminary model whilst organisational size and industry sector were also explored as possible influencing factors to the choice of models. In addition, general issues associated with homogeneity within the agribusiness sector as well as potential frameworks were also investigated.The second stage of this research used case studies to assist in confirming or disconfirming the preliminary model as several sources (Perry, 1998; Yin, 1994) confirm the appropriateness of a case study methodology when building theory as in this research. From the findings of the depth interviews, ten cases across two sectors, grain (five) and cotton (five) with large (five) and small medium (five) enterprise organisations that were either intending to conduct, or who were currently conducting B2B e-commerce were selected judgementally. Two interviews were conducted in each case with the managing director or equivalent and a middle level manager or operational personnel, to determine if there are any significant differences in their respective opinions (management and operations perspectives) on the selection of models. Furthermore, where possible, secondary sources such as the company's business plans, marketing plans and other relevant documentation were used to further triangulate the results.\nDepth interview results: Findings from depth interviews confirmed the ten models identified in the literature were used for conducting B2B e-commerce, five of these models (the procurement portal, manufacturer, mega-exchange, online storefront and distribution portal models) appeared to be commonly used. Whilst, the e-speculator, solution provider, buy-side, sell-side asset exchange and specialist originator models were less frequently mentioned. All interviewees agreed that the procurement portal model was the most commonly used model in the agribusiness industry because current market trends indicated that buyers were making purchases as groups and they were acknowledging the benefits (such as discount purchases) involved. On the other hand, the two least frequently mentioned models identified by the interviewees were sell-side asset exchange and specialist originator models. The main reason for the lack of use of these two models was their complexity and perceived lack of suitability to the agribusiness industry, which was seen to be only in the infant stage of adopting e-business.The results also revealed support for the 16 factors identified in the literature as potential influencing factors to the choice of models with the most frequently mentioned influencing factor being the type of industry, since interviewees suggested that models that were used in one industry might not be applicable in other industries or sectors as they could be quite different. Environmental factors (such as economy) were regarded as the least important influencing factor where interviewees indicated that organisations alone had limited control over this factor, thus having very minimal impact on the selection of models.In addition, potential differences within agribusiness based on industry sector and organisational size were also highlighted. These findings were then further investigated in stage two of this research to determine if different frameworks were needed by individual sector (grain and cotton) and organisational size (large enterprise and small- to medium-sized enterprise (SME)).\nCase-study results: The findings in the second stage of the research supported the 16 factors (internal and external) developed in the preliminary model as influencing the choice of B2B e-business models. However, five of the 16 influencing factors were identified in this study as being less important to the selection of B2B e-business models with the internal factors appearing to be more influential than the external factors.Internal factors\nConclusions and implications: In conclusion, this paper has explored the factors influencing the choice of e-business models and provided insight into the current practices of Australian agribusiness in relation to the selection process of e-business models for conducting B2B e-commerce. The findings have highlighted the relative importance of those influencing factors and help to provide a framework to agribusiness organisations in assisting them to make decisions on the selection of the most appropriate e-business model. From this framework, managers are able to consider and examine the relevance of these guidelines and criteria, and determine the essential factors that require consideration during their selection processes. The guidelines can also assist managers to determine the level of resources, technological infrastructure and knowledge and the understanding of e-business models, required. For example, managers from SMEs might consider resources available to be critical to their selection of models whilst managers from large enterprises would regard organisational structure and culture as important to their choice of models. Furthermore, agribusinesses can also use the guidelines to help evaluate their business and marketing strategies in relation to the appropriateness of the various models available for adoption. The guidelines can also provide indications of the type of models suitable for specific situations. For example, organisations with substantial resources that seek ultimate control and long-term relationships might choose to adopt either the manufacturer or the buy-side model as these models would be managed by the organisations themselves and give the ability to work closely with business partners. The steps that organisations take when selecting an e-business model and the information required of each step can be used as a checklist for agribusiness organisations.Since this study is exploratory in nature, further conclusive explanatory research is required for generalisation and the guidelines developed in this study should be replicated and tested in other agribusiness sectors, such as the seed sector and the beef sector which were frequently mentioned in either the in-depth interviews or the case studies interviews as potentially involve in e-business. This could further made contributions to the theory and practice where comparisons to the findings could be made to determine if any significance existed between these sectors on the factors influencing the choice of B2B e-business models and the guidelines to be developed. In addition, other industries (such as the telecommunications industry) or countries (such as the USA) could also benefit from considering the implications of this study to their particular contexts since they were regarded as active participants of e-business and findings could also be examined from other perspectives.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - To develop a preliminary framework for Australian agribusiness organisations seeking to select business-to-business (B2B) e-business models.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A literature review was conducted on topics related to strategic decision making and B2B e-business models. Particularly, factors influencing the strategic decision on the choice of e-business models to be selected were examined. The review aims to provide an initial framework for the research study to be conducted. The research was conducted in two stages: depth interviews (stage one) and case studies (stage two).\nFindings: - Provides information on factors (both internal and external) influencing the choice of e-business models and also insight into the current practices of Australian agribusiness in relation to the selection process of B2B e-business models. A framework was developed to assist agribusiness organisations to make decisions on the selection of the most appropriate e-business models.\nResearch limitations/implications: - This study is exploratory in nature and thus the findings cannot be generalised to the population at large. Further conclusive explanatory research is required for generalisation and the guidelines developed in this study could be replicated and tested in other agribusiness sectors or in other industries.\nPractical implications: - Managers are able to consider and examine the relevance of the guidelines and criteria developed, and determine the essential factors that require consideration during their selection process. The guidelines can also assist managers to determine the level of resources, technological infrastructure and knowledge and understanding of e-business models required.\nOriginality/value: - This paper brings together two disciplines - strategic decision making and development of e-business models - that have not been combined prior to this study. The research findings have contributed to the development of existing theory in these two areas. The research also offers insights into the selection of e-business models within the agribusiness industry that traditionally lagged behind in e-business. The development of the framework and guidelines has assisted managers in their selection of e-business models and given them an appreciation of what others in the industry are doing.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Minimum wage impacts on wages, employment and hours in China	[ "China", "Migrant workers", "Propensity score", "Minimum wages", "Cost offsets", "Difference-in-difference" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Minimum wages (MWs) have attracted increased interest in China for a variety of reasons. The increase in income inequality in China has created pressure to enhance the earnings of low-wage earners. The increased role of market forces places an emphasis on ensuring that the benefits are widely distributed, including to those at the bottom of the wage distribution through MWs. There is a concern that the benefits of growth will not filter down to those at the bottom of the wage distribution, given that the abundance of surplus labor from the country-side puts downward pressure on those wages. Broadly distributing the benefits of economic growth can reduce resistance to the adjustment consequences of market forces (Laliberte, 2012). Increased emphasis is being placed on providing a degree of protection to the most vulnerable through labor standards such as MWs (ILO, 2014, pp. 9-10). China is also sensitive to its image on the world stage, with adherence to providing labor standards, including MWs, being an important component of that image. There is also a view that higher MWs may encourage investment in productivity-improving technology to foster the restructuring away from low-wage low value-added sectors toward higher value-added sectors that can sustain the higher wages (Cooke, 2005).\n2. Minimum wage policy in China: The features of MW legislation in China are well documented in studies such as Fang and Lin (2015), Long and Yang (2016), Wang and Gunderson (2018) and Xing and Xu (2016). As such, only its main features will be discussed here, with an emphasis on those features that are most relevant for this study. In the early years after China implemented its MW policy in 1994, MWs have continuously increased but remain at a very low level relative to the general increase in wages that has occurred. This situation, however, changed substantially in 2004 when the Ministry of Labor and Social Security revised the Regulations on Company MWs. This new regulation notes that there are two types of MWs: monthly MWs and hourly MWs. The monthly MW is applicable to full-time employees who are paid by the month, and the hourly MW is applicable to part-time employees who are paid by the hour. The MW standard is based on the average living expenses of local people in poverty, also taking into account social insurance, housing funds, average wages in the community, social assistance funds and unemployment insurance. However, the revised standard did not specify the exact working hours per week (or month) for the monthly MW, simply noting \"within legal working hours or legal contract regulated working hours.\" As such, for workers on a monthly MW, firms may extend working hours for those who remain employed to offset some of the costs due to the increase in the MW. Testing for the possibility of this cost offset is an important component of this paper.\n3. Theoretical expectations and existing literature: Our theoretical expectations pertain to the three inter-related outcomes of our analysis: employment, monthly earnings and hours. Basic economic theory predicts that MW increases will lead to reductions in the employment of low-wage migrant workers as firms substitute other inputs for the higher-priced labor, and as firms reduce their output (perhaps some even going out of business) in response to the higher costs.\n4. Estimating equations: We take advantage of the substantial variation in MWs across prefectures (municipalities) and overtime after the 2004 reforms to estimate the impact of increases in MW on migrant workers' employment, wages and working hours. Specifically, we use conventional DID equations:(1)\n5. Data: We estimate our equations by combining micro data at the individual level with macro data and MW data at the prefecture level. The micro data originates from the household survey on migrant workers by the National Population and Family Planning Commission collected in 2011 and 2012. It is repeated cross-section data and not panel data so it does not involve the same individuals in each year. The macro data regarding municipalities' population, GDP and employment information originates from the China Economic Information Network database. To account for the lagged effect of the macro data on individuals, the macro data were based on 2010 and 2011, which is one year earlier than the individuals' data. We restricted our analysis to those with a non-local household registration, between the ages of 16 and 65, and having lived in the local area more than one month. We further excluded the self-employed. The survey questionnaire includes information on the individuals' age, education, gender, marital status, household registration, employment, earnings and covers all of the 31 provinces. There are 234 prefectures and 128 thousand observations in 2011 and 239 prefectures and 158 thousand observations in 2012.\n6. The impact of MWs on migrant workers' employment, earnings and hours: In this section, we analyze the impact of MWs on migrant workers' employment, earnings and working hours after controlling for the effect of characteristics of individuals and their prefectures (municipalities).\n7. Propensity score matching as a robustness check: As a robustness check, we also use Propensity Score Matching procedures to deal with the possibility that increases in MWs are not random across the various jurisdictions. This method estimates the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) by matching individuals in the treatment group with individuals in the comparison group who are as similar as possible in that they have the same or similar probabilities of being treated but are not treated. Rosenbaum and Rubin (1983), Dehejia (2005) and Glazerman et al. (2003) show that using the method of propensity score matching can reduce the bias in the estimation of treatment effects with observational data sets, particularly when combined with a natural experimental method such as DID.\n8. Concluding observations: The various results of the effect on MW increases on employment, wages and hours of work highlight the importance of drilling deeper and disaggregating results by such factors as gender and region. They also highlight the importance of examining effects by such factors as employment, earnings and hours of work to delineate the differential impacts, cost offsets and tradeoffs that can be involved. When MWs are based on monthly earnings, for example, employers may offset the cost of wage increases by increasing the monthly hours of work of those who receive the wage increases, and this may negate any adverse employment effects. If such cost offsets do not occur, then reductions in employment will ensue.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to estimate the causal effect of minimum wages (MWs) on the wages, employment and hours of migrant workers in China, and to show their inter-relatedness and how employers can offset some of the costs through subtle adjustments. This paper also illustrates the importance of disaggregating by region and sex.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Causal estimates are provided through difference-in-differences (DID) analysis, and robustness checks through propensity score matching. The analysis is based on micro data at the individual level from the household survey on migrant workers by the National Population and Family Planning Commission, combined with macro data regarding municipalities' population, GDP and employment information based on the China Economic Information Network database.\nFindings: MW increases for those paid by the month increased the earnings of both low-wage males and females. However, males tend not to experience an adverse employment effect because part of the cost increase is offset by employers increasing their monthly hours of work. Hours of work do not increase for females, so they experience an adverse employment effect. This highlights the importance of examining cost offsets such as increases in hours of work, as well as analyzing effects separately for males and females.\nResearch limitations/implications: The reason behind why employers offset some of the cost increase for males paid by the month by increasing their hours of work, but this cost-offsetting adjustment does not occur for females is uncertain.\nSocial implications: For workers paid by the month, employers can offset some of the cost increase by increasing their hours of work, leading to no reductions in employment. But this adjustment occurs only for males. Hours are not increased for females, but they experience reductions in employment. Clearly, MW increases have adverse effects either in the form of employment reductions (for females) or increases in hours of work for the same monthly pay (for males).\nOriginality/value: This paper provides causal estimates through DID analysis and robustness checks through Propensity Score Matching, and also indicates how employers can offset the cost of MW increases by increasing hours for those paid by the month, resulting in no adverse employment effect for such workers, but an adverse employment effect when such an adjustment does not occur.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Are high-fit CSR programs always better? The effects of corporate reputation and CSR fit on stakeholder responses	[ "CSR", "Reputation", "Fit", "CSR outcomes", "Reverse image transfer" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: As the global economy continues to weaken, the general public views businesses with greater scrutiny and skepticism. Corporations have responded to this decline in trust by embracing corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies in an effort to establish themselves as responsible and ethical. CSR initiatives have become essential public relations practices used by businesses to survive in the current competitive economic climate (Kim, 2011). Fortune 500 companies spend $15bn annually on CSR activities (EPG, 2014). As a result, the line of research about the factors contributing to the effectiveness of CSR has grown steadily. CSR programs have been recognized as symmetrical public relations practices that enhance mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and its publics given that CSR initiatives are ethical practices that aim to serve businesses, their stakeholders and society (Kim and Choi, 2012; L'Etang, 1994).\nLiterature review: Previous research on the effects of CSR fit and its limitations\nStudy 1: Methods\nStudy 2: The purpose of study 2 is to replicate the conceptual relationships among variables in the first study, but testing them with actual companies to enhance the external validity of the study. In addition, the second study further examines the reverse transfer mechanism from corporate reputation to CSR programs in different fit situations in order to provide more empirical support for the theoretical rationales previously explained. While some research has explored changes in attitudes, corporate perception or intentions among stakeholders, supporting empirical evidence for reverse image transfer process is very limited. Thus, study 2 tested all of the hypotheses proposed in the first study, and further tests whether respondents' perception of CSR initiatives significantly worsens when confronted with a bad reputation company, especially under a high-fit condition. It is important to note that the focal point of the study is not to validate the theoretical discussions that are used for the purpose of providing adequate theoretical explanations and rationales to logically derive hypotheses. Despite attempts to add empirical support for the mechanism of the second study, the focal point of both studies is to examine under which reputational condition a particular CSR fit leads to more beneficial CSR outcomes by testing the proposed hypotheses.\nConclusion: This study examines how corporate reputation interacts with CSR fit and affects stakeholders' SA of CSR motives, as well as the formation of attitudes, supportive communication intent and purchase intent among stakeholders. This study proposes that the effects of CSR fit differ by corporate reputation; a high-fit CSR program does not necessarily engender more favorable outcomes, nor does it stimulate SA as some have expressed concern. This study proposes the strong main effects of corporate reputation based on dispositional attribution theory in the process of image transfer. Crossover interaction effects between CSR fit and reputation were also proposed, anticipating that high-fit initiatives would produce desirable CSR outcomes for reputable companies, while causing potential backlash for companies with poor reputations. For bad-reputation companies, low-fit CSR was predicted to generate more desirable CSR outcomes than high-fit initiatives. Two experiments with stakeholder samples were conducted, which revealed almost identical results.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how corporate reputation interacts with corporate social responsibility (CSR) fit and affects stakeholders' skeptical attribution (SA) of CSR motives, as well as their attitudes, supportive communication intent and purchase intent. This study proposes that a high-fit CSR program does not necessarily engender more favorable outcomes, nor does it stimulate SA. The study proposes the effects of CSR fit differ by corporate reputation. For bad-reputation companies, low-fit is anticipated to generate more desirable CSR outcomes than high-fit initiatives.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Two experiments were conducted. The first experiment employed a randomized 2 (CSR fit: high fit vs low fit) x 2 (good reputation vs bad reputation) x 2 (Industry: food retailing and insurance) full factorial design to examine the suggested hypotheses. The second study employed a randomized 2 (CSR fit: high fit vs low fit) x 2 (good reputation vs bad reputation) full factorial design with consumer samples to replicate the conceptual relationships among variables in the first study.\nFindings: While reputation plays a dominant role in influencing stakeholders' CSR-related responses across both CSR fit situations, a SA partially mediates the relationship between reputation and stakeholder reactions. CSR fit interacts with reputation, and influences the partial mediation process through SA; under a bad reputation condition, low-fit CSR engenders less SA and results in better stakeholder reactions. A similar tendency was found with supportive communication intent and purchase intent. High-fit CSR initiatives by a negative reputation company engendered the weakest supportive intent and purchase intent. For a reputable company, across both CSR fits, respondents displayed generally very positive attitudes toward, greater intent to support, and intent to purchase from the company.\nOriginality/value: The study findings provide useful and empirically supported logical explanations of why high-fit CSR programs sometimes cause backlash effects, despite the general consensus that such initiatives generate positive outcomes. This study offers an alternative and more relevant perspective to conceptualize the complexity of anticipating CSR outcomes.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Data literacy: in search of a name and identity	[ "Research", "Data", "Information literacy", "Academic libraries" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The increased interest in data characterizes not only the highly instrumented scientific and engineering research, but the social sciences and the humanities, as well. The vast amounts of data allow researchers to ask new questions in new ways, and - in the same time - also pose a wide range of concerns for access, management, and preservation (Borgman et al., 2011). Data sharing is also an issue. To make data accessible, we need to develop appropriate technical and organizational infrastructures for storage and retrieval. Incentives and policies for researchers to share data are also indispensable (Kowalczyk and Shankar, 2011) and data literacy, which carries the potential of motivation, is one of the essential elements of this infrastructure.\nResearch data and the library: In the same way as the library has traditionally facilitated access to documents, now information professionals could facilitate access to data, even though data do not necessarily fit into the same, document formats that libraries used to offer (Stuart, 2011). It is clear namely now that technology-driven research, known as eResearch, generates large quantities of data. However, the lack of tools, infrastructure, standardized processes and properly skilled personnel may impede the continued development of e-research (Carlson et al., 2011).\nIn search of a name and identity: We must search for a name because the literature shows that differing concepts and terms are used. Besides data literacy there is data information literacy (Carlson et al., 2011), science data literacy (Qin and D'Ignazio, 2010), and research data literacy (Schneider, 2013).\nThe content of data literacy education: No doubt, data literacy's learning outcomes need to be codified and (when acquired) best practices for data literacy programs have to be articulated (Hunt, 2004). Ascertaining these outcomes is the continuation of our efforts to delineate data literacy beyond a short definition. Several authors list the needed competencies, as a rule, using the words skills and abilities interchangeably and synonymously.\nData literacy and other literacies: The work of today's researcher mobilizes competencies on three levels:\nConclusion: Data literacy is an evolving concept and it is in the need of using unified terminology. Data literacy education is an emerging field, which has a dual nature, i.e. its target audience is both potential data literate researchers and data specialists. The latter may either educate researchers to data literacy or fulfil different supporting functions in data-related research processes. Data literacy is akin to information literacy, while sharing a number of features with several other literacies. Among its features, borrowed from information literacy we find another duality. To be able to teach data literacy or be involved in any data-related research requires information professional to be data-literate themselves.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The role of data literacy is discussed in the light of such activities as data a quality, data management, data curation, and data citation. The differing terms and their relationship to the most important literacies are examined. The paper aims to discuss these issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: By stressing the importance of data literacy in fulfilling the mission of the contemporary academic library, the paper centres on information literacy, while the characteristics of other relevant literacies are also examined. The content of data literacy education is explained in the context of data-related activities.\nFindings: It can be concluded that there is a need for data literacy and it is advantageous to have a unified terminology. Data literacy can be offered both to researchers, who need to become data literate science workers and have the goal to educate data management professionals. Several lists of competencies contain important skills and abilities, many of them indicating the close relationship between data literacy and information literacy. It is vital to take a critical stance on hopes and fears, related to the promises of widespread ability of (big) data.\nOriginality/value: The paper intends to be an add-on to the body of knowledge about information literacy and other literacies in the light of research data and data literacy.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Determination of level of correlation for products of pharmaceutical industry by using modified X-bar chart	[ "Level of correlation (Φ)", "Out-of-control ARLs", "Pharmaceutical industry", "Sample size", "Modified X-bar chart" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Various statistical tools to monitor the quality of the products have been suggested by many researchers which are very useful for many industries. The control chart is one of the important statistical tools for monitoring industrial processes and controlling the quality of manufactured products. The performance of the chart is measured in terms of the average run length (ARL) that is the average number of samples before getting an out-of-control signal. Shewhart (1931) suggested the upper control limit (UCL) and lower control limit (LCL) as: (Equation 1)+3s'/[?]n and (Equation 1)-3s'/[?]n, respectively, where (Equation 1) is the target mean, s' is population standard deviation and n is the sample size.\n2. Literature review: Many researchers used innovative techniques to counter the effect of autocorrelation. Moreover, other tools like artificial neural networks (ANNs) and MATLAB, etc. have also been developed and used for quality control purposes. Researchers found that these tools are user friendly and result oriented. Many researchers used to vary the sample sizes, sampling intervals and both to deal with the autocorrelation. Different methods like time series, Markov chain and neural networks (NNs) are used to develop autocorrelated data. In case of time series approach; autoregressive equation of order one; AR(1) is widely used for simulation.\n3. Formulation of autocorrelated series of observations: A series of positively autocorrelated numbers with a mean of zero and standard deviation of one is generated by using the MATLAB 6.5 at various levels of correlation (Ph).\n4. Procedure to implement the modified (Equation 1) chart: A modified (Equation 1) chart based on the sum of kh2s and using the WLs is developed and implemented for the observations of tablets of a pharmaceutical industry. Its performance in terms of ARLs is evaluated for different sample sizes (n) at various levels of correlation (Ph). Figure 1 shows the modified (Equation 1) chart with control limits (CL) and WLs.\n5. Computation of ARLs for modified (Equation 1) chart at various levels of correlation: Various schemes of modified (Equation 1) chart are developed for sample size (n) of four at different levels of correlation (Ph) by maintaining the in-control ARL of approximately 370. The in-control ARL of 370 is maintained by varying the width of CLs (L) and WLs (W) simultaneously. The in-control ARL of approximately 370 is considered because Shewhart (1931) considered the same in the basic design of (Equation 1) chart and it is also as per the normal distribution curve with +-3s limits. Montgomery (2002) suggested that ARL is the average number of points that must be plotted before a point indicates out-of-control condition. Then, ARL can be calculated as:\n6. Implementation of the modified (Equation 1) chart in pharmaceutical industry: This section deals with the implementation of the modified (Equation 1) chart in the products (tablets) of a pharmaceutical industry. This industry is located in the northern part of the India. It manufactures tablets and syrups. The manufacturing processes of the products are studied and the process parameters are analyzed. It is observed that the process outputs are autocorrelated. The modified (Equation 1) chart is implemented in one product (tablets) of the industry. This industry manufactures healthcare products like cough syrups, tablets, capsules, etc. The annual turnover of the industry is approximately 15 crores with more than 150 employees. The products of this industry are: cough syrups; baby supplement syrups; tablets; capsules, etc.\n7. Conclusions: The purpose of the design of the modified (Equation 1) chart is to counter the effect of autocorrelation among the observations of the process and applying it to various manufacturing processes, where correlation exists. Various schemes of the modified (Equation 1) chart for sample size (n) of four at the levels of the correlation (Ph) of 0.00, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00 are presented. The schemes, which give quick response to shift in the process mean, are termed as optimal schemes. Samples of weights of the tablets are taken from a pharmaceutical industry. The mean weight of the tablets was 735 mg. The level of correlation among the observations of the weights of the tablets is computed and matched with the suggested optimal schemes of modified (Equation 1) chart for sample size (n) of four. It is found that the observations closely resembles to the simulated observations of level of correlation of 0.75 in this case study. The performance of modified (Equation 1) chart for sample size (n) of four at the level of correlation (Ph) of 0.75 is also compared with the conventional (Shewhart) (Equation 1) chart and it is concluded that the modified chart performs much better than Shewhart chart. One limitation of the modified (Equation 1) chart is that it is applicable for the autocorrelated observations taken from normal distribution. However, research must not be limited to this distribution only. Further the modified (Equation 1) chart is developed for fixed sample size and sampling interval; which can also be varied.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: It is found that the process outputs from most of the industries are correlated and the performance of X-bar chart deteriorates when the level of correlation increases. The purpose of this paper is to compute the level of correlation among the observations of the weights of tablets of a pharmaceutical industry by using modified X-bar chart.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The design of the modified X-bar chart is based upon the sum of kh2s, using warning limits and the performance of the chart is measured in terms of average run lengths (ARLs). The ARLs at various sets of parameters of the modified X-bar chart are computed; using MATLAB software at the given mean and standard deviation.\nFindings: The performance of the modified X-bar chart is computed for sample sizes of four. ARLs of optimal schemes of X-bar chart for sample size of four are computed. Various optimal schemes of modified X-bar chart for sample size (n) of four at the levels of correlation (Ph) of 0.00, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00 are presented in this paper. Samples of weights of the tablets are taken from a pharmaceutical industry and computed the level of correlation among the observations of the weights of the tablets. It is found that the observations are closely resembled with the simulated observations for the level of correlation of 0.75 in this case study. The performance of modified X-bar chart for sample size (n) of four at the levels of correlation (Ph) of 0.50 and 0.75 is also compared with the conventional (Shewhart) X-bar chart and it is concluded that the modified X-bar chart performs better than Shewhart X-bar chart.\nResearch limitations/implications: All the schemes are optimized by assuming the normal distribution. But this assumption may also be relaxed to design theses schemes for autocorrelated data. The optimal schemes for modified X-bar chart can also be used for other industries; where the manufacturing time of products is small. This scheme may also be used for any sample sizes suitable for the industries\nPractical implications: The optimal scheme of modified X-bar chart for sample size (n) of four is used according to the computed level of correlation in the observations. The simple design of modified X-bar chart makes it more useful at the shop floor level for many industries where correlation exists. The correlation among the process outputs of any industry can be find out and corresponding to that level of correlation, the suggested control chart parameters can be used.\nSocial implications: The design of modified X-bar chart uses very less numbers of parameters so it can be used at the shop floor level with ease. The rejection level of products in the industries can be reduced by designing the better control chart schemes which will also reduce the loss to the society as suggested by Taguchi (1985).\nOriginality/value: Although; it is the extension of previous work but it can be applied to various manufacturing and service industries; where the data are correlated and normally distributed.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Editorial and note on the writing of management history	[ "Methodology", "Poststructuralism", "Postmodernism", "Management history", "Scientific research" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: This is the first edition of the journal put together under the auspices of a new editorial team and a reconstituted Editorial Board. Since the departure of the previous permanent editor, Shawn Carraher, events have moved quickly. Many thanks in this transition goes to Professor Patrick Murphy, a past Chair of the Management History Division (MHD) of the Academy of Management (AOM). Despite his considerable duties, which include editing Management Decision, Professor Murphy not only oversaw the production of the previous edition but also worked diligently to help place the Journal of Management History (JMH) on permanent footings. I would also like to thank Kieran Booluck and the Emerald Publishing Group for their tireless support, and the five distinguished scholars who have agreed to serve as Associate Editors, namely, Dr Andrew Cardow (Massey University), Dr Wim van Lent (Montpellier Business School), Dr Professor Adela McMurray (Director of Doctoral Training at RMIT University and current Executive Member of the AOM's International Theme Committee), Professor Katja Rost (University of Zurich) and James Wilson (Glasgow University and current MHD Professional Development Workshop Chair). All can boast a record of achievement not only in their own fields of research but also within the AOM. Thanks also needs to be rendered to the Editorial Board members, new and old, who have acted as prompt and considered reviewers for JMH. With their assistance, we have been able to provide Referee Reports and Decision Letters to all submitting authors within four weeks of submission; an achievement that I anticipate will be a permanent benchmark.\nThis edition: This edition is fortunate in having articles that exemplify JMH's aspirations and expectations. The lead article, Raymond Holger's study, \"From Ludlow to Chattanooga and Beyond\", is exemplary in that it takes key historical events associated with non-union employee representation and relates them explicitly to current American labour relations policy and practice. Noting that \"the New Deal collective bargaining model has run its course\", and that American unions now \"lack the power to equitably distribute the productive output of American industry\", Holger proposes a radical prescription. Although clearly sympathetic to the cause of organised labour, Holger nevertheless argues in favour of increased legal status and ease of representation for company-based employee representation schemes. Implicit in Holger's prognosis is that, although independent forms of employee representation are better than company-based ones, the latter are better than none.\nWriting management history: Management history finds itself facing deep methodological and conceptual divides. For decades, the \"traditional\" principles of research in the social sciences have been under sustained assault, first from postmodernists, the intellectual heirs of Foucault, and, more recently, poststructuralists, the disciplinary inheritors of Derrida's theoretical frameworks. These divisions are highlighted in a trio of articles published by Business History in early 2015. In one corner, de Jong, Higgins and van Driel put forward what is arguably the \"mainstream\" position within management research - although certainly not historical studies. Noting that a majority of Business History articles provide neither a statement of methodology nor a theoretical thesis that could be tested against the evidence - a state of affairs that is currently replicated in JMH - these combatants called for history that \"is both empirical and theory-oriented\". Such research, they continued, must explicitly aim towards the development of \"scientific knowledge by constructing theories, which are subjected to empirical testing\" (de Jong et al., 2015, p. 13). From the other side of the ring, Whittle and Wilson put the case for \"ethnomethodology\", a viewpoint that sits within a poststructuralist paradigm. For them, the key issues are as follows: \"how certain chronologies are ratified as 'factual'\" and how others are written off (Whittle and Wilson, 2015, p. 51). Sitting between these opposing viewpoints, Drucker, Kipping and Wadhwani put a case framed within the intellectual inheritance of Foucault. Like Whittle and Wilson, these authors reject \"the dominant science paradigm and its hypothesis-testing methodology\", while calling for \"new business histories\" that \"fully account for the particular\" in areas, such as cultural history and histories of capitalism (Drucker et al., 2015, p. 33, p. 31).\nMethods and purpose: Within both historical research and management studies, currently, there are more passionate debates about matters of methodology than there about issues of substance. At the heart of these debates is division as to whether the principles of \"scientific research\" - the establishment of theoretical principles formulated by testing theses against empirical evidence - are still applicable. Such debates are, of course, hardly new. Nor have they been restricted to the fields in which we work. Since the European Enlightenment, with its emphasis on rationality, science and material progress, a host of critics - Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, the English \"romantic poets\" (Byron, Shelley and Keats), William Morris and the Pre-Raphaelite movement, Frederick Nietzsche - have argued that advancement on such principles entailed more costs than benefits. Although science and rationality has delivered wealth and material progress, they have also led to more destructive wars and the loss of much of the natural world. Economic emphases have, it is also suggested, caused curtailment of humanity's emotional and metaphysical well-springs. Particularly, objectionable to such critics are those who seek to explain human history through the application of generalised theories, be they associated with Marxism or, more recently, the French Annales School and neo-Weberian sociology and social history. Michel Foucault, the progenitor of \"postmodernism\", sits self-consciously within this long-established oppositional tradition. Accusing practitioners of mainstream methods of \"allowing the living, fragile, pulsating 'history' to slip through their fingers\" (Foucault, 1972, p. 11), Foucault - as a French theorist - found the work of Fernand Braudel and the Annales School particularly objectionable. For this school, the decisive factors in history and the advance of Western capitalism were not individual actions but rather the longue duree (long movement) in society's economic and demographic substructure. Such conclusions, Foucault (1972, pp. 8-9, p. 205) argued, were an inevitable result of an increased utilisation of statistical \"series\"; a trend that had to be resisted by emphasising \"discontinuity\" and the particular in history so as to leave \"no privilege to any centre\".\nEvidence and context: Writing in the History Workshop Journal more than 20 years ago, Samuel (1992, p. 220) complained that the \"deconstructive turn in contemporary thought [...] invites us to see history [...] as an invention, or fiction, of historians themselves\". Such comments still hold true. Those who believe, as we do, that empirical evidence is a precondition for any advances in management history, inevitably experience challenges waged by Jacques Derrida's philosophic heirs. If Foucault was steeped in European metaphysical traditions, Derrida was self-consciously the intellectual child of Rousseau, a philosopher who believed that humanity's embrace of science, and its abandonment of nature and the realm of the spirit, were morally and socially disastrous. Reflecting such beliefs, Derrida challenged not only the \"grand narratives\" that dismayed Foucault but also the very fabric of western scientific and historical research, arguing (Derrida, 1976, p. 121) that \"man's exploitation by man is the fact of writing cultures of the Western type. Communities of innocent and unoppressive speech are free from this accusation\". Famously labelling \"the dominant discourse\" in Western thought as \"structuralism\", Derrida (1976, p. 113) declared that any historical narrative about other peoples and cultures, be they in the past or present, necessarily evokes an exercise of power over them, given that the \"mere presence\" of the writer as a \"spectator [...] is a violation\". Whittle and Wilson (2015, p. 43) similarly observed in the recent debate within Business History that \"social facts\" do not reflect objective reality but only \"unequal opportunities [...] to produce accounts and have them accepted by others\".\nIn summation: the path forward for Journal of Management History: The JMH has always been, and should remain, open to rigorous, high-quality research that uses diverse methodologies and theoretical approaches. We nevertheless hold to the view that carefully formulated empirical, historical evidence is a precondition for disciplinary advancement. We also hold to the view that the utilisation of the scientific method, based around the testing of theses, drawn from our existing knowledge and contributing to that knowledge, is the methodological bedrock of our discipline. Management history research should also draw on relevant theoretical frameworks and provide conclusions that extend and develop these frameworks. Papers should expound a clear methodology, including any possible limitations, and show a developed sense of historical context.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The aim of this study is to outline principles for the writing of management history. First, it is argued that if management history is to advance, pessimism of both purpose and intellect must be dispelled. Authors must bring with them a sense of how their research leads to better organisations, institutions, workplaces, economies and social relationships. Second, it holds that the utilisation of the scientific method, based around the testing of research theses, drawn from our existing knowledge and contributing to that knowledge, is management history's methodological bedrock.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Much opposition to scientific methods in historical research, most notably from postmodernists and poststructuralists, is based on false premises. Drawing on Poincare's La Science et L'Hypothese (1902), this paper notes that there are no fundamental differences between research in the natural and historical sciences. All studies are conditional.\nFindings: This editorial recommends five steps in writing management history. First, know how your sources were put together, by whom, for what purposes, what they sought to record and what they did not. Second, use multiple sources. Third, keep your research questions in mind, modifying them as evidence demands. As E.H. Carr observed, research theses are \"the indispensable tools of thought\". Fourth, understand the social, intellectual and economic contexts of the study. Context is the key to understanding change. The more severe the restraint on change, the more significant is any change that breaks these bonds. Finally, use numbers as numbers count in history. While statistics must be subordinate to the theses, they allow more complex stories, be they of a society or micro-events within a firm.\nOriginality/value: The growth of postmodernist and poststructuralist research paradigms has created uncertainty with regards to both methods and purpose among management and business historians. This editorial includes a defence of the values of empirically based scientific research.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Paving the path toward strategic agility: A methodological perspective and an empirical investigation	[ "Balanced scorecard", "Interpretive structural modelling", "Strategic agility", "Organizational agility", "House of quality", "Quality function deployment" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In recent years, frequent changes in the market and business environment have become bolder than ever. The dominance of internet and related emerging phenomena such as Internet of Things and Industry 4.0, rapid technological advancements, changes in customers' taste and the internal changes in organizational environment such as increased knowledge transfer rate and complex employee management are some of the drivers that put an evolving pressure on organizations to quickly adapt and respond to the changes in their working environment. The permanence of change as an intrinsic element of the twenty-first century's market submits that organizations have to continuously revisit their strategic decisions. Organizations which are not able to keep the pace with the change are pushed to the margins or eliminated from the market.\n2. Survey of literature: 2.1 From manufacturing agility to strategic agility\n3. The proposed methodology: The proposed methodology consists of four main phases, namely synthesis of KPIs, prioritizing KPIs, evaluating the intra-relationships among agility indicators, followed by evaluating inter-connection among them and selecting the best improvement paths for strategic agility. The proposed methodology is illustrated in Figure 1. Throughout the methodology, fuzzy logic is extensively deployed in combination with other techniques, namely fuzzy-Likert scale, fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), fuzzy screening and fuzzy QFD, to address the ambiguity and uncertainty inherent in the competitive and volatile working environments where strategic agility is needed the most. In the following, the phases within the methodology are described.\n4. Empirical investigation: 4.1 Introduction of the case and the context\n5. Discussion and research synthesis: This section discusses the findings from the application of our proposed methodology and compares the findings with the literature. Starting from the ranking of KPIs achieved at phase II, most KPIs in the first quartile belong to the BSC perspective \"learning and growth\", while the KPIs related to \"internal processes\" appeared just at the end of the second quartile and were generally ranked low. This highlights that despite the overriding importance of issues such as employee training, commitment and productivity, a gap exists between the current status and the desired level of these KPIs in the studied organization. On the other hand, the organization is performing efficiently with respect to its internal processes. The inclusion of KPIs related to the internal environment of the organization through learning and growth is in line with the literature asserting that strategic agility not only addresses the changes in the external environment of organizations but also entails responding to internal challenges (Ivory and Brooks, 2018).\n6. Conclusions: 6.1 Theoretical contributions\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: For organizations competing in volatile environments, strategic agility is the key for sustaining in the market. It is essential for such organizations to identify the main agility indicators that contribute to their strategic core. The purpose of this paper is to propose and test a systematic methodology that identifies key agility indicators through prioritization and establishing the intra- and inter-relationships among them.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The methodology consists of four phases. Phase I forms a pool of agility key performance indicators (KPIs). Phase II categorizes and ranks the KPIs based on their importance and the gap that exists between their current and desired level. Using interpretive structural modeling, phase III establishes the intra-relationships among the KPIs as well as agility attributes, agility enablers and improvement paths, collectively referred to as agility indicators. Finally, phase IV analyzes the inter-relationships among agility indicators using three consecutive houses of quality.\nFindings: To demonstrate the capability of the proposed methodology, it was applied to a dairy food company operating in a competitive environment. The application could address the shortcomings of previous agility methodologies and helped the company to assign resources to the right agility indicators with the highest influence on strategic agility.\nResearch limitations/implications: The methodology was applied to a single organization only. The application does not include long-term post-implementation observations and measurement of strategic agility.\nPractical implications: Practitioners can benefit from the methodology to identify the right agility indicators of their organization and assign organizational resources for the improvement of such indicators. The methodology ensures selecting indicators that contribute to organization's strategic agility, although ostensibly seem unrelated.\nOriginality/value: The paper contributes to the literature of strategic and organizational agility by proposing a systematic methodology that considers both intra- and inter-relationships among agility indicators. The methodology also makes a decent contribution in addressing organizational ambidexterity by analyzing mutually exclusive indicators pertaining to current and future opportunities for the organization.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Excavating archival description: from collection to data level	[ "Digital libraries", "Museums", "GLAM", "Metadata", "Digitization", "Archival description" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Libraries, archives and museums recognize the need to make content discoverable across material types. To create searchable online catalogs, all records would ideally describe individual items. Museums and libraries often describe their materials at the item level; however, archives most frequently describe materials at the collection level. Archives must balance the need to describe the collection as a whole alongside individual collection materials that may require further description to reconnect with library and museum items. This is particularly true of materials such as natural sciences field notes, which often exist as collections of manuscripts in archives. Increasingly, scientists in natural history museums have been expecting more item-level description from archives. Natural sciences archivists believe additional description is paramount to supporting scientists' research. The scientists who create the field notes have long recognized their importance as well. Joseph Grinnell, Founding Director of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at University of California at Berkeley and developer of the Grinnell Method for taking field notes, stated:\nDescription levels: Collection description\nCase 1: University of California, Berkeley, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: The Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ) holds 1,825 field books, the smallest of the three collections. The archive has a close relationship with the faculty and students. Field notes are actively used and frequently referenced. They function more actively than traditional, closed collections in an archive. The field books are obtained through two sources: required deposit (students) and voluntary contribution (current and emeritus faculty).\nCase 2: American Museum of Natural History: The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) has approximately 3,500 field books. Historically, they have been managed not only by the Research Library and Archive but also by the natural sciences departments themselves. Field books are primarily used in support of the specimen collections and were mainly created by the staff or donated to the museum with specimen gifts and purchases. The field book content not only supports the scientific research at the museum but also is used for supporting the broader mission of reaching museum audiences through exhibits, education and other forms of outreach.\nCase 3: Smithsonian Institution: The Smithsonian has by far the largest of the three collections with over 8,600 field books. Like those of the other institutions, these field books are part of much larger archival holdings. Field books have historically been managed by either natural sciences departments or the Smithsonian Institution Archives. Field books deposited at the Archives are usually voluntarily transferred by the staff or as part of departmental papers. Field books primarily document specimen holdings, but the researcher use varies widely. Field books that are of primary interest to departments are housed in the respective department.\nLessons learned: All three institutions described in this article are able to describe field notes both within the context of their collections and as individual bibliographic records. Larger institutions often face the task of reconciling legacy MARC records and workflows with current archival processing. Whether an institution begins with finding aids or item-level records, inevitably, the material will need to be described both ways.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss three projects from three institutions that are dealing with challenges with natural sciences field documentation. Each is working to create the collection, item and data-level description required so that researchers can fully use the data to study how biodiversity has changed over time and space. Libraries, archives and museums recognize the need to make content searchable across material type. To create online catalogs that would make this possible, ideally, all records would describe one item. Museums and libraries describe their materials at the item level; however, archives must balance the need to describe the collection as a whole alongside needs of collection materials that may require more description to reconnect with library and museum items. There is a growing determination inside of archives to increase this flow of data, particularly for the natural sciences, by creating workflows that provide additional description to make these data discoverable. This process is a bit like drilling into the earth: each level must be described before the next can be dealt with.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The piece describes challenges, approaches and workflows of three institutions developing deeper levels of description for archival materials that will be made available online to a specialized audience. It also describes the methods developed so that the material's data can eventually be accessed at a more granular level and linked to related resources.\nFindings: Current systems, schema and standards are adapted as necessary, and the natural sciences archival community is still working to develop best practices. However, they are getting much closer through the collaboration made possible through grants in the recent years.\nOriginality/value: The work described in this paper is ongoing, and best practices resulting from the work are still under development.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The impact model of business intelligence on decision support and organizational benefits	[ "Decision support benefits", "Organizational benefits", "BI functions", "Business intelligence (BI) benefits", "Partial least squares (PLS) technique" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In response to increasing the importance of information intelligence for managers and their business environment, today's enterprises have made remarkable investments in business intelligence (BI) systems (Hou, 2012). Actually, BI is designed to portray organization's information assets for developing an accurate understanding of business dynamics and making better decisions by information gathering from multiple sources (Aruldoss et al., 2014; Li et al., 2008). One overarching theme that has surfaced in the research is that the BI as a generic term constitutes a set of technologies such as data warehouses, data mining, on-line analytical processing (OLAP), decision support (DS) systems, balanced scorecard, and so on, to improve work-flows and decision-making process (Chen and Wang, 2010; Eckerson, 2010). Mostly, BI system is considered to equip decision makers (DM's) with required information in both tactical and strategic level for understanding, managing, and coordinating the operations and processes in organizations (Tseng and Chou, 2006). In the simplest sense, all these functions are seeking to provide users with acceptable assistance in the decision-making process. By the same token, various benefits of organizational DS have emerged in the academic literature (Turban et al., 2008; Vercellis, 2009). On this basis, BI is thought out as one of the leading areas on information technology and has been set top priority for many executives (Evelson, 2011).\n2. Literature background: Due to the fuzzy nature of BI, it can be understood and identified in several distinct approaches and viewpoints. On one hand, Petrini and Pozzebon (2009) developed two core approaches includes managerial approach with emphasize on excellence of managerial decision making, and technical approach by considering BI as an instrument to support managerial approach. On the other hand, Ghazanfari et al. (2011) complement previous studies by presenting a new approach called system-enabler, in which the main focus is on value added features of enterprise systems on supporting required information into decision making. In this study, we define BI among system-enabler approach comprising of broad functions to support the strategic decision-making process by preparing an appropriate DS environment. Moreover, by reviewing DS concept, we separate outcome benefits in two different layers include DS benefits, and organizational benefits. In here, we assume DS benefits as the main benefits derived across the process of decision making. Further, organizational benefits mean all that stems as the outcomes of decisions. In other words, DS benefits are those that originate from the process of decision making. However, organizational benefits are considered as long-term results. In the following, a detailed description in terms of relevant research on BI functions, DS benefits, and organizational benefits are presented.\n3. The research model and hypotheses formulation: Our research model and its hypotheses are highlighted in Figure 1. In this study, we construct the research model based on an extensive reviewe of the literature on BI and DS concept. This study encompasses three main areas: BI functions, based on BI evaluation criteria which was extended by Ghazanfari et al. (2011), DS benefits and organizational support benefits which was mainly borrowed from Holsapple and Sena (2005), Udo and Guimaraes (1994), and Power (2002). Although previous research made a contribution about several special benefits in taking appropriate decisions, this study aims to determine the impacts of distinct types of intelligent functions on DS benefits. Therefore, we select the functions of BI which encourage DS benefits to formulate our research model. The proposed model entails five constructs (Ghazanfari et al., 2011) for BI functions, namely AIDS, providing EEI, ORM, reasoning, and EDMT. As better knowledge processing, reduced decision time, reduced decision cost are exactly related to the decision-making process, they are considered DS benefits. Also, effective decision, competitive advantage, and stakeholders' satisfaction are considered as organizational benefits, because they are really the results of decision-making process at organizational level. In brief, our research approach is intended to investigate the relationships between BI functions and its impact on DS and organizational benefits. The statements of hypotheses are completely discussed below.\n4. Research method: The research steps including research model and hypotheses formulation, instrument development, data collection, data analysis using PLS, and finally providing research discussion and implications are depicted in Figure 2 and more discussed in this section.\n5. Data analysis: To validate our hypotheses we utilized the structural equation modeling (SEM) for data analysis. We used the PLS technique of SEM that utilizes a variance-based approach for estimation. The specific tool used was SmartPLS 2.0, which was created by Ringle et al. (2005). Unlike the covariance-based packages, i.e., LISREL that employs kh2 statistics, PLS uses R2 statistics and does not place strict demands on sample size and data normality. In general, the PLS approach is suitable for predicting the validity of models (Chin, 1998). Two assessments are supported by PLS: the measurement model assessment - here item reliability, convergent and discriminant validities of the measurement scales are examined; and the structural model assessment - this aspect presents information related to the strength of paths in models. The path significance levels using t-values are estimated by the bootstrap method.\n6. Discussion: In response to the challenges of decision-making environment, organizations require to resolve their problems by using various BI functions. In this regard, it is crucial for firms to be aware of the main benefits of each BI function to employ an appropriate functions that fits to their business requirements and follow the strategic and empirical pattern. Therefore, developing a conceptual model for organizations as BI function adoption pattern toward strategic decision making is needed. Hence, the main objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between BI functions, DS benefits, and organizational benefits. The findings empirically display this fact that how BI functions impact on various DS benefits. Similarly, it shows the impact of DS benefits on organizational benefits. Based on research findings, some interesting propositions are exhibited.\n7. Implications for research and practice: Since, there are few studies assesseing the main benefits of BI function in detail, our findings could provide several insightful implications for both academicians and practitioners as follows.\n8. Limitation and future research: This study has five main limitations. First, we focussed on a limited number of benefits in terms of DS environment. Although these are known as the most famous benefits, other benefits such as greater reliability, better communication and coordination could also be considered. Second, our research does not have a strong theoretical background in some parts of the relationships between BI function and DS benefits. Although our research model and hypotheses were established through logical reasoning on BI function associated with DS benefits, we did not provide certain robust theoretical background for our model in mentioned sections. Third, there are several different approaches to describe BI, which unconsciously affect and also create bias on participants' responses in here. We tried to minimize this bias by giving a standard and spectrum definition of BI in the questionnaire. Forth, while making generalizations from the research sample, the context of Middle East has to be taken into consideration. It is difficult to establish the validity of findings on the basis of a single study. Further testing of the proposed model should seek to establish its validity in other contexts. Last but not least research limitation, is the choice not to use control variables, such as industry type, organization size or management support, that could potentially influence the dependent variables. We did not include these additional control variables in the model because of our relatively small sample size. Based on mentioned limitations, and in considering the results obtained in the study, it is possible to make some insightful recommendations for future research. First, it is difficult to establish the validity of findings on the basis of a single study. Second, using a broad span of benefits in both DS and organizational context might present more valuable knowledge for organizations. Finally, it is recommended to consider the aforementioned control variables on the model behavior and also mapping the relationships based on decision environment.\n9. Conclusion: In this paper, a model for examining the relationship between BI functions and the desired decisional and organizational benefits is presented. This study provide a conceptual framework comprising three major layers: \"BI function,\" \"DS benefits,\" and \"organizational benefits\" to determine the direct impact of BI functions on both DS and organizational benefits and also shed light on to adopt more appropriate function in regard to firms' requirements. Based on the literature, 11 components such as AIDS, EDMT, reasoning, providing experiments and environmental environments, ORM, better knowledge processing, reduced decision time, reduced decision cost, effective decision, competitive advantage, and stakeholders' satisfaction were identified as the constitutes of those model layers. After finalizing the components of conceptual model, based on literature, our model was designed and the expected relationships were confirmed. The findings of this research, demonstrate that among all the 16 hypotheses only the relationship between better knowledge processing and reduced decision time are not supported. With respect to our results, some respectful and applicable suggestion can be presented as follows: first, due to the relationship between the three layers, we can decide on the precedence of each function than others by considering the degree of importance. Second, determining the most needed functions by considering business requirements and making bridge between them are required, therefore the organizations have a roadmap to implement the right BI functions and evaluate their impacts in an evaluation system based on the research model and findings of this research. Current research provides an insightful understanding about which functions of BI have strongest impact on the outcome benefits. Also, the results can provide effective and useful insights for investors and business owners to utilize more appropriate BI tools and functions to reach more idealistic organizational advantages.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Decision support (DS), as a traditional management concept, have had a remarkable role in competitiveness or survival of organizations and nowadays, business intelligence (BI), as a brand modern impression, has various contributions in supporting decision-making process. Although, a variety of benefits are expected to arise from BI functions, researches, and models that determining the effect of BI functions on the decisional and organizational benefits are rare. The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between BI functions, DS benefits, and organizational benefits in context of decision environment.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This research conducts a quantitative survey-based study to represent the relationship between BI capabilities, decision support benefits, and organizational benefits in context of decision environment. On this basis, the partial least squares (PLS) technique employs a sample of 228 firms from different industries located in Middle-East countries.\nFindings: The findings confirm the existence of meaningful relationship between BI functions, DS benefits, and organizational benefits by supporting 15 out of 16 main hypotheses. Essentially, this research provides an insightful understanding about which capabilities of BI have strongest impact on the outcome benefits.\nOriginality/value: The results can provide effective and useful insights for investors and business owners to utilize more appropriate BI tools and functions to reach more idealistic organizational advantages. Also it enables managers to better understand the application of BI functions in the process of achieving the specified managerial support benefits.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Relationships of organizational culture toward knowledge activities	[ "Organizational culture", "Knowledge management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Interest in knowledge management has seen an exponential growth over the last 3-5 years. Whilst knowledge management could be dismissed as yet another in a long line of management fads, the fundamental problems it seeks to address are, it is argued, more enduring (Swan and Scarbrough, 2001). These centrally concern the difficulties of transferring, diffusing, storaging, and innovating knowledge in the context of new structural forms of organization. Their effectiveness in these activities, relative to the competition, determines performance. But the efforts of many companies to manage knowledge have not achieved their objectives, and there is a growing sense of disenchantment among executives about the practicality of trying to enhance organizational knowledge.Recent studies have expressed considerable interest in knowledge management practices and organizational culture. For example, Jassawalla and Sashittal (2002) report what they have learned about the distinctive features of highly innovating-supportive cultures in product-innovation settings and propose how organizations might develop such cultures. Furthermore, Lin and Lee (2004) used Ajzen's TPB to assess the factors that influence encouragement of knowledge-diffusing intention and behavior by senior managers. The analytical results showed the main determinants of enterprise knowledge-diffusing behavior were the encouraging intentions of senior managers. Additionally, senior managers' attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control were found to positively influence intentions to encourage knowledge diffusing. Ruppel and Harrington (2001) explore factors affecting the implementation of knowledge-transferring facilities, like intranet or extranet, which are the technologies upon which many knowledge management systems are built. The results of this study found that the management should ensure that the proper values are in place to optimize intranet implementation and facilitate knowledge sharing.Our research in 154 companies pursuing knowledge activities revealed that organizational culture is widely held to be the major barrier to acquiring and leveraging knowledge assets. The purposes of this paper are to demonstrate the importance of the cultural perspective on many of the issues central to effective knowledge activities; to explore what kind of organizational culture more benefits running of knowledge activities. In short, our intent is to provide managers and researchers with a reexamination for understanding and diagnosing how and what organizational culture would favor attempts to encourage knowledge activities.\nLiterature review: Knowledge has become a prominent theme in organization studies (Kubo and Saka, 2002). There is a growing interest in the way organization's process and create knowledge (Myers, 1996; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Fruin, 1997; Cutcher-Gershenfeld et al., 1998; Drucker, 1999; Lahti and Beyerlein, 2000; Ndlela and Toit, 2001). The knowledge base of companies is increasingly seen as underlying a firm's performance, and the role of organizational culture within this framework is seen as strongly associated with a firm's competitive performance.Organizational culture\nResearch model and hypotheses: This study focused on organizational culture because managers and scholars have largely accepted the notion the organizational culture is linked with positive organizational results (Jassawalla and Sashittal, 2002), and there is growing evidence to suggest that cultures supportive of knowledge-leveraging (henceforth innovation-supportive cultures) can foster creative, innovative, and initiative-taking behaviors among participants - i.e. behaviors that are linked to advantageous knowledge activities. Therefore, this study examined what kind of organizational culture would benefits running of knowledge activities. Figure 1 shows the suggested research model for this study.Organizational cultures, like people's personalities, are elusive, complex and paradoxical. Understanding culture means understanding the difference between the formal and the informal rules, the espoused way of doing things and the real way. To survive and thrive in an organization, one must evaluate and operate within the hidden cultural expectations and rules. Therefore, this research focuses on the aspects - entrepreneurial, tasks-goal-accomplish and smooth-running - of an organizational culture (Wallach, 1983; Cameron, 1985; Ogbonna and Harris, 2000) that may affect knowledge activities.Entrepreneurial culture toward knowledge activities\nResearch methodology: Participants\nData analysis and results: Descriptive statistics\nDiscussion: Our research on knowledge management initiatives has shown that knowledge activities and culture are inextricably linked in organizations. From findings, we reinforce the notion that the scene of knowledge activities within an organization, culture can serve as a powerful frame of reference for thinking and actions. The stronger the entrepreneurial culture, the greater running of knowledge activities is, thus supporting H1 (Table IV). An entrepreneurial culture, because of its external focus and willingness to undergo change, would be aware of knowledge's rapid growth and be willing to explore and implement relative facilities. The three cultures were entered into a structured equation model to determine the impact of each culture on running of knowledge activities. As can be seen in Table VI, it does explain the variance in knowledge activities beyond that explained by an entrepreneurial culture.Implications for practitioners\nConclusions: This research adds to the body of literature on knowledge activities and cultures. As the knowledge shared across people to people continues to move from the posting of knowledge activities, such as employee manuals and other explicit knowledge, to greater sharing of tacit knowledge, an entrepreneurial culture will become increasingly important. It is this developing of knowledge that will yield organizations more competitive advantage from knowledge activities.But there is a secret worry. When organizational knowledge activities gets filled with irrelevant, inaccurate, and unreliable pile of low quality knowledge, however, it will make organizational knowledge utilize more time-consuming and unproductive, ultimately driving away end-users from the knowledge activities.Therefore, a qualified KMS is also regarded as a critical facilitator for knowledge quality. It would contributes to supporting or executing knowledge activities, connecting people regardless of temporal and spatial distance, streamlining information of knowledge flow, and facilitating collaboration among organizational members and alliances.But information technology is not sufficient by itself to guarantee knowledge quality. For this reason, from organizational characteristics, we believe that the factors in organizational culture and structure, such as learning orientation, communication, coordination, knowledge sharing intention, and flexibility, are infrastructures to establish an explicit quality control.An organization should be able to execute proper managerial actions in a timely fashion as its knowledge activities capability evolves. Managerial drivers for knowledge activities would come from top management support, rewarding policies, team-building, and managerial commitment.Furthermore, when knowledge activities are opened up to outside organizations for access, synergy of knowledge will as clear as day, but there is a serious question lie low secretly, that is culture. Therefore, the role of culture in adoption and implementation of knowledge activities will continue to be a major concern and may increase in importance as knowledge management program continue to develop.\nLimitations: This study was an attempt to explore the adoption of entrepreneurial culture as an activator supporting running of knowledge activities. Since it as a massive mailing of a somewhat lengthy, blind survey to busy managers, we believe the response rate was low. Even so, because of the low response rate, the generalizability of these findings is somewhat in question, and it is important that the study be replicated in Taiwan.The conclusions for this study are largely drawn on data collected at the advent of knowledge activities had much opportunity to alter the culture. This study points out the need for the consideration of culture when knowledge activities are implemented that may be incompatible with the existing culture. Such organizations can benefit from understand culture's role in knowledge management program implementation.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This study seeks to explore factors affecting the implementation of knowledge activities, which are the organizational culture which many knowledge management programs adopt. The main problem under investigation is to assess the importance of organizational culture within an enterprise and to ascertain how it can ensure that knowledge activities would continue to be fitting and proper in an enterprise.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - An empirical survey was conducted in 154 Taiwanese companies to investigate understanding of the organizational cultures, determine enablers and barriers to implement knowledge activities.\nFindings: - It is suggested that enterprises should adopt an entrepreneurial culture when establishing knowledge activities.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Since it was a mass mailing of a somewhat lengthy, blind survey to busy managers, the response rate was believed to be low. Even so, because of the low response rate, the generalized nature of these finds is somewhat in question, and it is important that the study be replicated in Taiwan.\nPractical implications: - The awareness of the external versus internal focus of the organizations will make the organization more or less aware of adoptions in organizational culture efforts and either more or less conducive to implementing knowledge activities.\nOriginality/value: - This study points out the need for the consideration of culture when knowledge activities are implemented that may be incompatible with the existing culture. Such organizations can benefit from understanding culture's role in knowledge activities implementation.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]

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